 One of the band 's assistants , Tony Bramwell , served as producer . Bramwell recalls that , inspired by Voormann 's comment on hearing " Strawberry Fields Forever " – that " the whole thing sounded like it was played on a strange instrument " – he spent two days dressing up a large tree in the park to resemble " a piano and harp combined , with strings " . Writing for Mojo magazine in 2007 , John Harris remarked that Bramwell 's set design reflected the " collision of serenity and almost gothic eeriness " behind the finished song . 
