Conversation so far:
What was the approach used to creating Good Vibrations?
The modular approach was used to create Good Vibrations
What alternative was used instead of working on a whole song for Good Vibrations?
Instead of working on whole songs with clear large-scale syntactical structures, Brian Wilson limited himself to recording short interchangeable fragments.
Had this approach of recording short interchangeable fragments ever been used before Good Vibrations?
The modular approach used in Good Vibrations was the same modular approach used during the sessions for Smile and Smiley Smile.
Is there anything interesting about the modular approach used to create Good Vibrations?
To mask each tape edit in Good Vibrations, vast reverb decays were added at the mixing and sub-mixing stages.

Question: How long did the recording session take?
Self-contained rewrite: How long did the recording session for Good Vibrations take?