How Does Paul McCartney Actually Play Blackbird?

[@kbjerke]

I learned to play it "by ear" in 1970. You definitely have the "all your life" section correct. As a side note, however, I have seen Sir Paul play *MANY* different versions of his own composition, and rightly so. I learned the version from the White Album. Thanks for sharing!

[@jh58]

Yes, different versions, but I've never heard him change his main style of picking the song, which is what this video is about.

[@Breifproductions]

Could you do a video of the more correct version please? Unfortunately I can’t hear by ear yet so it would be nice to see a video of your knowledge out there put together for those like myself who would really value from it!

[@yifat4307]

Yeah that what i was thinking... Paul himself almost always has a twist, because it happens when you play a song for so many years...

[@commodoor6549]

I learned it by ear too, and it's not the picking/struming/sweeping technique that's wrong (you can use various techniques and still play it right) it's the rhythmic pattern that people get wrong. Tap it out on your knee.

[@cstonegroove]

Thanks for sharing. I actually learned it with the finger sweeps. Back in the day, there was a very accurate tab in an old issue of Guitar magazine circa 1988.

[@jaerivus]

As someone with a terrific musical ear (it's about the only brag I ever allow myself), if "Guitar Magazine" is in any way related to the mags that were out some ten years later (namely: Guitar One and Guitar World) back when I was young, voracious, and on the very cusp of "home internet," I personally used to always find those two (that I mentioned) very dependably accurate. They certainly weren't infallible, as I recall, but their ears were apparently very gifted and/or well-trained! ...*Much* better, I should add, than most tab books and online tabs of the day (I haven't net-searched a tab in quite a while, but I *still* find them super dicey). That being said, I *do* seem to recall most Hal Leonard tab books being highly accurate. (They might have failed me somewhat on the Don't Speak solo by No Doubt, but I haven't referred to any of my old tab books in years.)

[@BibleSongs]

Yep. That's how I learned it with the strums as well.

[@timparetti1944]

I'm 72 and was familiar with the thumb alternating the bass and expanding it with "brushing". The index did itboth down and up. Hard to decipher by ear. But Merle Travis, Rev Davis, Elizabeth Cotton Mississippi John Hurt all did it. It was that era of folk that McCartney learned from.

[@TravelatorH8r]

The verdict is out Paul McCartney's the one who plays the song wrong

[@Guitarislife1977]

Haha 😂

[@Mr.Wu.]

😂

[@waterloofishing]

Lol

[@markseelye8270]

I’ve always known that.

[@michaelbaldauf]

😂

[@ckallaher]

I watched the Justin tutorial video too and thought it was pretty spot on in revealing the whole strumming versus picking thing. What gets me is (a) it’s just as hard to get the feel right doing the little strummy thing as it is picking it, if not harder, and (b) it’s also surprisingly hard to sing over it because of the tiny bit of syncopation between the vocal and guitar parts at times and the way the melody in the “ blackbird fly” part doesn’t always follow the chord tones of what you’re playing. It’s a testy little beast and he makes it sound like it’s easy as a nursery rhyme to play and sing.

[@craighendrickson7938]

Exactly

[@craighendrickson7938]

I could always pick it without the strum thing and sing all of it easily

[@writerNB]

agreed: the testy is what separates the "ams" from the "pros".... my solution: i listen real careful to interviews, i watch all the live recordings i can get (especially the originals to see what instruments were preferred)...the reason the masters are the masters is because they're good studies.. very good studies of previous masters and styles... but there is no short cut, even if u get the style right, u got to practice to you go blind :) peace; never stop playing.

[@MatGurman]

50 years ago, way before KZbin, people used to play along with the actual recording to learn a song or part. It yielded different interpretations also because people listen with varying degrees of depth. Sometimes, when comparing the results to a songbook I would find discrepancies. The ear can be tricked by hearing other instruments in the track that are doing something similar. This happens all the time with lead vocal parts crossing with backup vocals. People often incorporate the two. I still think trusting your ear in a deep listening is the most accurate way to learn. I have several instructional videos and have had people occasionally tell me that the tab is wrong in places. They are correct too! They guy who did the takedown got some stuff wrong. It happens. The ear is still the best instrument for unlocking what’s in the music even though it can be wrong. In this Blackbird example, Paul’s accompaniment is being somewhat dictated by his technique using P I (thumb and index finger). This is not uncommon for self taught players (like me) to use that technique. It’s very interesting to see in these examples and you did a GREAT job at showing it.

[@evolveguitar8635]

I completely agree!

[@Retr0racin]

I still play along to 2112 going on 61

[@waydebaker33]

I believe that we will never have guitarists like we use too because of this. No one learns music anymore.

[@townee3]

Are you serious? The live version is real...the studio version is doctored for perfection. No one really knows what tricks were used in the studio version...Always rely on live versions. That way you don't get stuck trying to perfect it like in the studio and can come up with your own variations from there. Playing and listening to songs just like the Record is boring. And already been done. With so many styles and techniques why would anyone parrot any song. Just like the Record. The recording is not a true representation.

[@richardthelionheart01]

@@townee3 Doctored recording, Really? Blackbird's actual recording is a few mic's on a guitar and he is tapping his toes. Any 'doctoring' is some birds sound thrown on top. There is even actual film of the recording session from the 60's, and it sounds exactly like the record.

[@cyndifoore7743]

Thank you for getting the right notes and strumming/picking on this song, it’s one of the most beautiful songs out there.

[@evolveguitar8635]

You're welcome, thank you!!

[@markharris2912]

But on the album, the White Album I believe, he played like it like the Tabs show it.@@evolveguitar8635

[@Freakybananayo]

No joke, this is the first time in my 9 years playing guitar that I've seen someone actually figure out the proper technique. I haven't found a single cover on KZbin where they play it correctly, even when it says "accurate" in the title! I never realised the technique was so simple, only using 1 finger. I just learnt the whole thing today using that technique and I can finally say I am satisfied with Blackbird! Thanks man

[@evolveguitar8635]

That's awesome! Glad I could help. I played it wrong for years also.

[@blucat4]

Ahh, then you haven't watched mine, check it out here. kzbin.info/www/bejne/iHqqfHaZfM5-hK8 Note that while my guitar playing is spot on, my singing sucks, I'm not a singer, what can you do? :-)

[@variousthings6470]

MJsokes (Michael Sokil) had the most accurate and thorough lesson on the picking/strumming pattern that I've seen, but he took it down a long time ago. Fortunately it's been reuploaded on another channel (Maximoosley).

[@JohnTyree]

I'm glad you did this. I thought I was going crazy looking at the 100% consensus across tabs that didn't match the song as recorded (white album). One thing I'd point out is that the bass line is straight 1/4's and doesn't syncopate like the pick/strum pattern. It looks like you tabbed it that way, but then while playing it you sometimes change the bass rhythm. 👍

[@TheBonefixr]

This is fabulous! I love the close-ups on Paul's strumming hand.

[@evolveguitar8635]

Thanks

[@MatthewMaurySmith]

Great video! As a generally classically informed style guitar player, I've always played that open G with my index finger like everyone else, and never realized he flicks downward with his index finger! Trying it, you realize how weird that is because of the orientation of the finger Strokes versus the beat. It's like playing at a completely different way.

[@budsodalsky]

You are a guitar god. Thank you. This song has always been a perplex to me.

[@yrralyrral]

Great tutorial and fabulous investigative work 🕵️‍♀️ I think you’ve cracked the code 🎸 👍

[@evolveguitar8635]

Thank you!!

[@victorwilburn8588]

The Songsterr tab now has the strum instead of the individual notes. And it also shows that the pattern isn't just a fixed 8th-16th-16th, but rather alternating between that and 16th-16th-8th. However, it also now has that A7 chord as using fret 4 on the A string and fret 8 on the B string.

[@guy0saurus]

It’s called clawhammer or frailing, it’s more common on banjo. I saw recently read that Donovan had demonstrated this technique to Paul and John. John used his version of it on Dear Prudence.

[@richardthelionheart01]

Incorrect!! Donovan showed them the RIGHT TRUE finger picking technique which involves ALL your fingers pulling a different string - John studied it and Paul did not. Paul plays a very rudimentary thumb and finger mashup while John perfected the technique on JULIA.

[@JRLNeal]

@@richardthelionheart01 i’ll go along with you on this one Richard. It was very common in the 1960s folk scene to play this Clawhammer style, such as with Ralph McTell, Donovan and Paul Simon and many others. It seems that until the trip to India, the Beatles hadn’t really come across the style of playing until Donovan had time to teach it to John Lennon and Paul McCartney. It seemed that John Lennon took it up and used it on the song, Julia, but Paul McCartney had already developed his own individual style of fingerpicking, which is really a thumb and index finger stroke which he uses on ‘Blackbird’. I swear it is a style he uses in ‘Ill Follow the Sun’ which was released in 1964.

[@cwhyles]

I was shown trailing as being putting the nail of your middle finger into the fleshy part of the base of the thumb and flicking it out at the strings. Produces a very hard accented sound.

[@michaelg1060]

After all these years playing and I thought I was doing it right. Thanks for the great post!

[@homeontherange733]

My good friend Leslie taught me how to play this song years ago. The way he described the picking was with the thumb and the first finger. The way he showed me, when you hear the strumming, you do it with the one first finger back and forth. This song was an introduction to finger picking for me. In the years since, i usually play with all my fingers with the exception of this song.

[@IAMDRREMULAKK]

2 points... first, who says that the way he plays it today is how he played it back then? Musicians often slightly improvise, and never play songs the way they were recorded, mostly because they never learnt the song (if that makes sense). They just did it. The 2nd point is there is a video of Paul playing Blackbird in the Apple studios back during the White Album sessions. I remember seeing it, though I can't find it now. He was tapping his hard shoes to the beat. So that's the video I would go to, to learn how to play it, although there's no guarantee that even then he played it exactly the same.

[@raymorgan4657]

'I agree 100% It's fair to say that most artists rarely play their own songs exactly the same every time, especially over time. They improvise, evolve, improve, simplify, etc. I think the thing with Paul McCartney saying the "You're all playing it wrong" thing is more him joking around, star ego, etc. Of course, not that Sir Paul doesn't deserve that ego, he's a legend!

[@justinkingery2489]

kzbin.infoNh7CLKz-Ll0

[@entropy_sci]

Thank you...I heard Paul tell me (the crowd) this at a San Diego show almost a decade ago. It irked me...and I looked into it enough to know I had the general notes correct and suspected some simple fingering/strumming difference, but never finished the leg work. I appreciate your time and explanation.

[@craighendrickson7938]

I could always hear that that's what he was doing

[@roadbiker1]

I learned to play it by ear a LONG time ago, and then more recently by watching Sir Paul on You tube, and have been using the thumb and finger strum for many years. I'm glad to see someone else who caught this technique.

[@NehemiahRyan]

I learned by ear and got it pretty much right as far as the strumming goes. It took years before I got the correct chord shapes, even though the chords I was playing had the correct notes. I was playing the right notes and the right strumming pattern but the wrong chord shapes until a few years ago.

[@Breifproductions]

Thank you for deciding the song, It has actually saved me a little of time from learning this song incorrectly so I thank you for putting the time and effort into putting the more correct version out there!

[@Breifproductions]

Decoding*

[@MatthewWoodwardGuitarLessons]

Nice job. I agree with you 100%. Thanks for clearing that up!

[@Xamyoff]

nunca pensé que fuera una canción sin rasgueo, ayer que me animé a aprendermela la sentía extraño y justo hoy con este video puedo confirmar el porque, muchas gracias bro, un abrazo

[@NickNicometi]

Thanks for your investigative work, sir.

[@evolveguitar8635]

Thanks for watching!

[@tonyarnold9784]

I saw Paul Mc Cartney outside our family house when I was about 8 when he and the Beatles were filming Help. There was Twickenham Studios round the corner and they used the road outside where we lived. I remeber getting in toit he limo which Ringo was in and have a photo of him in it.....only a handful of fans were about...

[@evolveguitar8635]

Fantastic story!!!

[@PostColorGear]

In reference to something you said in the video: yup. I used to LIVE by internet tabs and now that I am older I realized that 99.99999% of them are guesses or copies of other wrong guesses. Videos of the actual performers and ear for the win!

[@evolveguitar8635]

Yeah I totally agree

[@ParaBellum2024]

The vast majority of tabs, chords, and lyrics on the Internet are wrong, often massively so. The songs were transcribed years ago by well-meaning amateurs, with no guarantee that they actually knew more than a few chords, and then once uploaded, they were copied and pasted to multiple websites. Unless you have access to properly transcribed sheet music, the only real way to be sure you're playing a song anywhere near "right" is to listen, listen, and listen again, picking out basslines, slash chords, passing chords etc.

[@amaylor500]

Hey Man, thank you for the tabs , great video!

[@kurtschlarb9762]

McCartney wrote and started playing this 55 years ago. As the years passed and he played it hundreds of times, he probably added these little flourishes. I had to learn, unlearn, and learn it again, I probably still don't have it right. Good video.

[@chuckbluz]

Thanks, nice detective work! Good point about the "mini strum" with the index finger, I just assumed that Paul didn't know how to finger pick with individual fingers, But the real revelation was in the "all Your Life" part - there's definitely a chromaticism in the bass that no one plays, and it's not in most tabs. I just watched a couple of other tutorials on this song, and they didn't get it either. As I listened to the recording again, I can hear it. Thanks again for pointing this out - I'll have to go back and re-learn it. BTW - I'm working it out in OpenG, and it fits nicely in that tuning.

[@turbosoggy8404]

Funnily enough, I’ve always played it right precisely because I couldn’t finger pick it and so I just strummed it with my index finger and I noticed I sounded almost dead on to the record. Well, great minds think alike 😏

[@francescoalzetta9529]

Such an amazing video, you're very talented. I'm only recently growing fonder and fonder of guitar playing and I would love to find the time to learn how to play this magnificent instrument 😍And I love the Beatles 😍 So thank you very much, and keep up the good... playing!

[@theodorekoehler2442]

came here to learn the strumming pattern and that’s what i did - great educational video

[@evolveguitar8635]

Thanks!!

[@AlDunbar]

In a band in 67-68 we always tried to duplicate the sound of the record as closely as we could. Ruined a number of records by picking up the stylus and dropping it back a bit to keep replaying that tough to figure out part! Now I mainly try to show my respect for a song by working out an arrangement that I can play well enough not to embarrass the song. If it's not exactly like the original version, who cares - it's my version.

[@oldbladderhorn]

exactly the song any song isn't finished on one recording captured. as (but) its just a moment caught. that they will try repeat and often but soon it becomes a boring task night after night the same but now of endless possibilities stifled as the musician gathers craft with age and others might be inspired by that wonderful tune yes they to find their own muse by way of it. but give it a different flavour the originator is never allowed too. if it becomes memorable. and copycat nerds talking crap. wonderful not.

[@georgeemil3618]

I think you are all correct. Musicians play their own songs differently sometimes. I have never heard Lindsey Buckingham play Never Going Back Again in concert the way it was played on the Rumours album. And the concert version of Band on the Run, the guitar intro for the part for 'Mama' is different from the album version.

[@Seaby41]

And they aren't necessarily even capable of playing it the same as on the album.

[@songlove7777]

I think when Donovan taught John and Paul Travis picking (or is it clawhammer?) in India, it seems Paul either couldn't be arsed learning it, or just preferred the sound of flicking it with his finger. As far as I know though, Paul invented this technique and I'm not aware of anyone else using it.

[@kylemeenan8284]

What a magnificent post... Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!

[@glennlopez6772]

It doesn't matter if most play it wrong, but what matters is that some can spot it and thats what makes this tune really endearing. Many casual listeners of those days skipped this track and years later couldn't recall the tune! Doing this video certifies your good tastes. The part "all your life", played wrongly as highlighted by you could be expected from those not seriously involved. There is a definite pattern or logic in the making of this song which leads one correctly. Using the back of the fingernails is not better or worse and for this even some of his admirers called him un othordox! It certainly has snob value! Hope that in the future you won't have to rely on tabs and trust your ears. Though tabs can help increase your repertoire. It's a great feeling once you have completed a project yourself.

[@evolveguitar8635]

I agree completely

[@jaerivus]

While only some of your picking rhythm seems somewhat stilted to me, your studious musical ear (and eye!) are indeed spot-on, and I found your video very informative. Thank you very much for sharing your research. Pedantic players/Beatlemaniacs like me are always striving to perform more faithfully to the original tracks. I too have been playing Blackbird for years-- about 24 of them incidentally, and this was actually one of the very first songs I ever learned, thanks to a VHS series put out by a very talented instructor, who I believe is named Curt Mitchell-- and while I did in recent years learn the accurate way to play the "all your life" bit, I now know that I've *never* gotten the two-finger strummy technique right. I most definitely played the very precise individual notes recorded in most online tabs (just as you showed us). From what I understand (see: tutorial for Calico Skies by KZbinr "Shut Up & Play", as I recall), this "two-finger claw"* picking technique is allegedly a Rosetta Stone to Paul's picking songs. * Upon review, he never says "two-finger claw" (or it being any kind of Rosetta Stone), but I could still swear I heard that term coined by someone not me. Anyhow, Shut Up & Play does address Paul's two-finger technique at this point in his video: 04:30. I'll try to link it directly: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mIWYdHmlapWXq5o Thanks again! P. S. More corroborating evidence: kzbin.info/www/bejne/g2asg3ptgZ2sjNE (listen for about ten seconds.)

[@evolveguitar8635]

Thanks so much. Very good points. Paul surely does this technique frequently. Mother nature's son comes to mind.

[@jaerivus]

@@evolveguitar8635 Exactly!

[@seanaloysuis]

Thank you for a very nice breakdown, one thing that may cloud the issue is, over the years Paul would have almost definitely changed how he plays it numerous times, the truth of the matter is, it doesn't matter which way you play it as long as you enjoy playing it and get the feeling across because other than the odd nerd you may come across who'll find fault no matter what you do, most folk will just enjoy hearing the song live. Have fun n feel plucky.

[@thecoolcreativebuildchanne2613]

I like the way Paul did it during the Wings 1976 tour. Blackbird and Yesterday back to back were great together!👐

[@johnlundeen911]

Thank you Stevie for getting to the bottom of this. I'll sleep well tonight.

[@rockmoussealt7764]

Oh my, thanks for the research on this very lovely song.

[@TheMeJustMe75]

There's an old interview where he explains how he wrote it. He doesn't explain it part by part but he does play it slowly then plays it at speed.

[@vaaleenn]

THANK YOU I WAS SEARCHING FOR THISSSS

[@director2bob]

quite honestly....any song should have your own vibe added to it whether or not you are 100% accurate when it comes to picking. . If it sounds beautiful and you can sing in key thats all that really counts in my humble opinion. This goes for blues, rock, metal etc. Thanks for the great content you post.

[@martijn_yt]

True, but does that mean that the official sheet music should also contain a personal interprapetation of the writer that sounds kind of similar to the original recording ? ;)

[@sorcererCermet]

the "4 3" shape makes the most sense to me because it fits both when he walks up and when he walks down. like it perfectly slots in where going to "8 7" doesnt feel right at all

[@kingofkleen1]

The "All your life" A7/C# does sound better than how I'm used to playing it. I learned it by ear decades ago. Now I have to change a few details. Thanks.

[@CarlWinter-oy8uf]

you are spot on --exactly my sentiments ---well done!

[@kollelerevwien]

I learned it at Eddie Simon's Guitar Study Center in Greenwich Village 1000 years ago tuning the A-string a step down to G. It works fine.

[@pulsefg]

It’s all about the rhythm of the strumming hand. To really understand how Paul himself sees the issue, it helps to listen to him do the song in the 70s with wings. There are quite a few variations on the pattern, where he extends the ,strumming‘ of the index finger. And, of course, it has to be much faster.

[@danielhunt2510]

For those chromatic runs in the verse he’s playing a couple of notes from the C#dim7 (C# and G) to sit between the non diatonic notes of the G major scale. He also plays a D#dim7 too on the verse lead up.

[@grog5564]

I liked you video. Steve Krenz had a tutorial on Blackbird. And Steve had it exactly correct. You are right with the index finger strum. For me it will take practice to get the rhythm

[@Glicksman1]

I taught myself the alternating middle finger open "G' string way to play Blackbird because that's what it sounded like to me on the record. I also hybrid pick it. I have recently come to understand that Paul actually played/plays it with an alternating open "G " chord strum instead of the single note. That's actually much easier, but less precise sounding to me. I should have sussed it. Given any guitar playing alternative, John, Paul and George always went for the simplest, easiest possible way to play, and why not? This is not a criticism, just an accurate observation. I remember when "Revolver" came out and I worked like mad to play the seemingly double-stop solo in "And Your Bird can Sing". After a lot of blood, toil, tears and sweat, I actually got it, pretty much. Much later on, I learned that it was not double-stopped at all but was two individual guitars (Paul and George) playing single note lines in harmony. Bloody hell! Well, anyone (or two) can do that, dammit!. Playing Blackbird is much the same. I'm sticking to the single "G" note way. I like it better. Cheers.

[@bullcrap9409]

How I do love this story!

[@ebslater29]

This is hilarious because I've been having this argument with other guitarists for years. Every guitarist I know insists that he finger picks it. Vindication! I learned it strumming like Paul does from day one. I'm guessing that everyone that swears he fingerpicks it only learned it from tablature. I learned it from the record by ear. Just goes to show it pays to put in the time and figure things out by ear. You'll become a better musician if you do, and I honestly think it helped me appreciate music better.

[@KickyFut]

Strangely, as I'm not a guitarist, when you played it the first time I could tell something was missing from how the OG sounds. It's really fascinating how some people don't actively listen to the real song when learning from tabs. It's like singing a song from the lyrics website and noticing the words aren't exactly right. I am a woodwinds player who plays in ensembles groups, and you have to basically know your partners parts well enough to basically play them yourself! (And sometimes do!)

[@clairebloggs3131]

I'm using a Rock School version of this from their syllabus and it definitely includes the strums. It says "strum with back of nail" on the text.

[@robhamilton5057]

Paul has a really unusual technique when he plays, it sounds like Paul, i think he's actually a really great underrated guitarist, John too, when you start looking into stuff they played.

[@claudiavivanco3162]

Thanks! Well thought out. Refreshing change.

[@odiumimbues]

i saw mcartney live as well, and when he said that i went thru the same motions as you, but me i never learned from a tab book, yes i learned a tab but i listened to the song so many times i improvised to match the song.. and in doing so i play exactly as mcartney does minus 1 strum.

[@philkoh223]

Closer, but still wrong, I'm afraid. At your diagram at 6:52, you have notated the second '10' as an eighth note, but it's really a sixteenth note. If you watch the concert video clip, Paul plays that fast five note sequence without pausing on the second '10' as your tab indicates. Also, your playing at 7:15 does not quite agree with your tab on the screen; while playing, you are pausing one note later than that, between the the upstrum and last downstrum, also not quite correct. Paul plays 'pinch' (thumb and index together), then pauses (because the pinch is an eighth note), then a fast flurry of downstrum, upstrum, thumb, upstrum, downstrum, all sixteenth notes, except the last is sustained so is an eighth. The tab at songsterr now has the correct rhythm and strum indications (but still has some wrong string/frets). All this circulating misinformation is such a drag. I appreciate you hunting down the video and those errors; definitely set me on the right track. I took the slow part of your video and had to slow it down yet another 0.25x to see every movement of Paul's index and thumb.

[@c-LAW]

Your guitar sounds awesome. Great sustain.

[@rodcarnochan8452]

VERY NICELY DONE !!

[@kevinberthoud9347]

Interesting, thanks for posting I learned something about Sir McCartney's right hand technique. Also thanks for mentioning the chords. Most just accept the common tabs which are wrong ... (explanation with block chords, understand many are 2 or 3 note chords ...) E-, E-/D#, D add G, Db add G, C, C-, G/B, A7, Asus, etc. I want to add my 2 cents about the ascending section C, C# dim, D, D# dim (similar thing here no sevenths ... 3 note chords). That said there so MANY WAYS to play this wonderful piece of music. After 50+ years of trying to play it right, one thing I am quite certain of THERE IS MUCH more for me to learn. Thanks in advance for your corrections/comments.

[@miklc8537]

Thanks for the video. Well see with "the nail"! It has clearly "fixed" the rythm problem I had, i was feeling it was not correct. As you said, all the tabs show mostly the same. On the last carod you show, you can also get the high G on the B sting, coming from the previous cord is a bit of a strech but you dont have to move your finger to a different string.

[@mikebrown9850]

I saw a guy playing it in a music store 40 years ago, the first time I played a Taylor. He showed me the turn arounds and I’ve been playing it ever since. Finger style.

[@watersmoke1114]

we need more videos and people like u

[@xoruzer9977]

I learned this song about two years ago and back then I just couldn't get the finger pick right and smooth so I just did the finger sweep/strum thing so that's how I was unintentionally playing the song correctly

[@guyamlegend]

This is a great video, the only thing I would change is that he is consistently doing the pointer finger "flick" strum on beats 2 and 4.

[@MatthewMaurySmith]

A fun thing to tries to use your second finger on all of the chromatically ascending bass notes on the a string... it keeps you from having to hop around, and gives your left hand this smooth gliding finger as you come up the fretboard... I saw him one time in 2005, and before playing Blackbird he told a little story about how he learned classical guitar when he was a teenager and then proceeded to play the first section of that famous Bouree by Bach in E Minor that all the classical guitar players play. I was really impressed when he played that! Then he said this next song was based on that Bach piece, and went on to play Blackbird. But the funny thing is, I found a piece by Carulli, another famous classical guitar composer that everybody who takes classical guitar lessons plays lots of pieces by, that has the EXACT same beginning notes as Blackbird!!! Boy, what a coincidence :-)

[@variousthings6470]

Yeah that story about Blackbird being adapted from a Bach piece is one he told a few times around 2005. IIRC he told it either on his Parkinson interview, or on the "Chaos and Creation at Abbey Road" event.

[@DuelNature]

Thanks so much! Perfect analysis.

[@navigationmanship]

You play differently as you age! Bringing out more sound. 👍🏼

[@MikeKincaid79]

I don't even play guitar and I thought this was fantastic. Thanks for sharing. Definitely like Paul's version better.

[@deandugas1591]

I learned it off the white album where you can easily here the bass walk down 5-4-3 on the A string but I never left the B string for a lower fret on the E string. I just used the B string 5 frets up. A lot of people I tried to show this to stuck to changing the shape back and forth but once you try it a few times my way you will see that keeping the same fingers (index and pinky) in roughly the same shape on the same strings is quite easy -just a bit of stretch -which you grow into. Now I have developed a triad version using AGB strings with some complimentary frets on the G. Sounds quite faithful but nicely different. ...And that finger strum ....yes that was also easily heard on the original so that alternating G was too many peoples imaginations.

[@richardthelionheart01]

I play it this way! Was shown by a master guitarist from Montana named Blake Simspon, many years ago. That stretch is good - helped me do other things on guitar better!

[@whyyeseyec]

I don't think its been a secret that Paul has always played not only Blackbird but other songs he fingerpicks just using his thumb and index finger. It's just how he plays. Personally, I have trouble playing Blackbird the way Paul plays as I can't get my index finger to strum property so I revert to using thumb, index and middle finger.

[@L1ttleM1crosoft]

I learned jenny wren first, got the pluck and flick technique, then applied it to blackbird. Also John Mayer’s Neon uses the same technique i believe

[@maccarnold]

I learned this song watching Paul McCartney playing it in the Mtv Unplugged video. No tabs or anything, only watching my VHS tape.

[@SoCalGuitarist]

My first guitar teacher taught me the flamenco sweep with my pointer finger for this song. always sounded right to me, now I know why. I will say though, I don't recall ever seeing a standardized "flamenco sweep" notation. it's "technically" 3 notes (since you're sweeping the open G on the way up, striking the B at the 12th, then striking the G on the way back down) but the way you notated it certainly sounds much closer than the typical way the tab sites notate it.

[@MVMullins]

In the interested of full disclosure, I know I play it differently. I learned the chords probably 35 years ago and had always struggled with the picking / strumming. My dad was a Travis style finger picker and over the years, that style sank in. Eventually I adapted Blackbird to Travis style. It works like a charm, sounds awesome and is one of my favorite songs to play. I recall a while ago, somewhere on the tube, seeing Paul interviewed. He explained that when he initially wrote Blackbird, he was trying to emulate a finger style picking that he had heard and though he himself stated that he "didn't do it very well", what we hear now is what he came up with. It's timeless and beautiful, so in no way am I criticizing it. If anything, the fault is mine that I got tired of trying to copy what he did and opted for what came naturally to me. I often wondered if Paul had heard Travis or Chet Atkins playing somewhere and that was what he was referring to.

[@jayblue5310]

Do you play 19 different chords? for this tune

[@MVMullins]

@@jayblue5310 Good question and I've have to count to be exact, but yes, I do.

[@funkierblum]

Bro it’s the first time I’ve ever seen a video of yours, we have the exact same guitar

[@evolveguitar8635]

Nice! Great guitar. I love the smell of mahogany

[@pjincho]

I forget when it was… maybe 7 years ago i remember switching from playing the first way to the second. The second is a lot harder for me and never got it right, so I went back to the first. Blackbird and over the hills and far away were the first two songs i ever learned.

[@oldbladderhorn]

the trick is play it how you sing it, and best tap your foot .. soon it'll come to you there are many many various ways to play it, to bring out hidden melody's and add-lib's. the small pauses and breaths are many. and practice is needed maybe have a blackBird calling at the start even before the guitar enters' that part is the easy bit if your going to do a full nerd version. identify the right warble and chatters and the depth of the reverb. then a edited loop of a blackbird call. volume pedal it in and out throughout the tune.

[@JaquesLaGravue]

Hey, THANKS for your reply :) Relying on ones ears (if they´re trained that is...) works best, although they might need some help now & then... ;) Your search for how Sir Paul plays it stays interesting, but I still think that the record, opposed to how he plays it live, stay 2 different things... I don´t mean the following negative, but it´s comparing apples with pears. At worst, somebody who played it wright his or her whole life could get uncertain now, and that would be too bad... I´m SURE he picked the G-string nicely with his indexfinger. Maybe because he´s a lot older now, his indexfinger got too thick to fit between the strings haha. At least I notice (getting old...) that my fingers are bigger and thicker as they used to be, so for instance: I can´t play a major chord with the root on the A-string with middle-,ring-finger +pinky in line anymore on an electric guitar... :/ ;) Musical greetings, JlaG

[@niallchurch2679]

He plays it differently now than on the recording, a video from 1968 in the studio shows him.playing a little and improvising on the song!

[@floridasurffishingjcaprice3077]

Thanks, a great lesson and discussion. I will experiment a little and decide which finger placement and strum/picking patter works best for me. There is no correct way to play an acoustic song in performance guitar. Even the original players will play the same song with different fingering. When playing a classical guitar performances. There is a right and wrong. The performance must be precise in tone, accent, timing, and finger placement.

[@leibelcohen]

Excellent research

[@craighendrickson7938]

I always knew he was doing that, just by hearing it. But it's very difficult to do, as you're showing.

[@pw9133]

It doesn't matter how you play it, it's how it sounds. I never worry about looking right, just sounding right. It's all about sound.

[@daveclevenger9210]

"Shut up and play guitar" is my go to for accuracy and awesome tutorials. Andy teaches this song exactly how Paul plays it.

[@Handel9000]

nice! glad i found this. thanks!

[@pwabcd1853]

THANK YOU!!

[@jamesbeard]

People talk about looking for videos of Paul playing the song live, but just go back and listen to the original recording on 'The Beatles' and you can hear clear as day that he's strumming those high chords not finger-picking!

[@deLeonGuitarStudio]

If you compare the original released version and these more current videos of him playing the song, he seems to be inconsistent in how he plays it, varying the 16th note rhythms just a bit each time. Of course he can play it any way he wants, but to say there is one "correct" version when even Paul himself doesn't play it the same way every time is probably the wrong word to use. You could argue the way he played it on the original release is the most "correct" version, which doesn't match your transcription at 6:44. If we go to the original release as a reference, the sixteenth note rhythm is actually: eighth, sixteenth, sixteenth, sixteenth, sixteenth, eighth, with a tie happening in the upper voices across the last sixteenth of beat 1 and 1st sixteenth of beat 2, but the bass essentially sounding the first sixteenth of beat 2 (and then the same rhythm repeated on beats 3 & 4). He keeps the same rhythm consistent throughout the entire recording (unlike the video examples). I did believe him to be fingerpicking the rhythm with three fingers, but now I can see how him down-stroking and then up-stroking with his index finger can give the illusion of the 3rd string and 4th string being picked separately, as the 3rd string would get accented on the way down, and the 2nd string accented on the way up. My 2 cents anyways...

[@nathanmantle377]

I like your left hand fingering! I do that first bit the same way, with my pinky and middle finger playing that G/B chord! and then during the slide up, just like you, I replace the middle finger with my index finger. My reasoning for using fingers 2 and 4 is to prevent the open B string from ringing out as I switch from the Am7(2nd chord) to the G/B(3rd chord), and I wonder if it was the same for you?

[@e.collins2768]

If there's one thing I've learned about guitar. It doesn't matter how you play it as long as it sounds good. I've played with people who are rigid and get upset when you don't play a song exactly right. While they're over there struggling to match exact strokes of a professional musician, I'm just in my zone jamming and very much playing the same song while also sounding way smoother. Just play it how you can the best that you can

[@solofiddle]

Thanks - the tab is great! Sounds good on a nylon string guitar, too…

[@solofiddle]

The tab is good, but measures 13 & 14 should be eliminated.

[@whiteruski]

Awesome guitar color

[@LeoAr37]

5:24 it also sounds like he slides up the to D7 chord instead of playing the open strings

[@onlybugwit]

It doesn't matter if it's not EXACTLY the same,,,, so long as it sounds ok then it is. It's music,, 🇬🇧

[@philip2774]

Feels so good the way paul does it. I’ve dabbled with flamenco guitar and so, more natural.

[@MrLeorodriquez]

Very accurate video, thanks

[@edwardhumphries5566]

I understand the sweep with the index finger. However, regardless of how you play it, it's important to maintain the quarter beats in the bass note. At least, that's how it sounds in the White Album recording. Paul may be mixing it up when playing live, but that bass note - likely played with the thumb - grounds the song and stays constant throughout. So, sweep all you want, but keep that beat.