How to Play "Blackbird" (The Beatles) -- Guitar Tutorial

Here's a 17-minute ("in-depth") tutorial on how to play "Blackbird," including the secret ingredient that will help you, and your audience, connect with the song and have more fun with it. I posted a full performance of the song on my channel as well -- see the comments below for the link.
"Blackbird" was the first song I learned that involved fingerpicking -- that was a LONG time ago :) Today, "Blackbird" is still one of the best songs for anyone interested in learning fingerpicking, or even "finger-style," guitar.
I hope the helps those of you interested in learning this classic acoustic pop song.

[@gldnedge]

After learning this piece, I've wanted to make it sound more dynamic and polished. This video teaches exactly that. Thanks!

[@CraigRelyea]

That’s great to hear, thank you Aaron

[@wilfredoverzosa3480]

What a great tutorial of this song ! Thanks a lot Craig !

[@CraigRelyea]

Thank you!

[@ronaldwilcott4475]

This is the best tutorial that I’ve been able to find on this song. Nice job! One point of information: the pedal you mentioned comes to us from keyboard player(JS Bach come as to mind here too), but it refers to the organ which gets this effect by holding down a pedalboard note. Thereby it’s called a pedal tone or pedal point. Piano composers used it but the organ is the origin of the term.

[@CraigRelyea]

@@ronaldwilcott4475 - Thanks Ronald, and good to know!

[@jmgt1]

I agre. The best tutorial for this song. Thank you a lot, Craig.

[@CraigRelyea]

@@jmgt1 - Thank you !

[@adamrafferty]

Hey Craig, great lesson and great production! Enjoying this very much!!!!

[@CraigRelyea]

Thanks Adam, that's extremely generous praise coming from you -- I've always admired your lessons both from a production pov but also, more importantly, your ability to teach in a way that is accessible for all levels of players. Hope you're doing well over on the other side of the pond, stay safe and healthy please!

[@andrewlyons69]

This may be the best guitar tutorial on KZbin.

[@CraigRelyea]

Thank you 🙏🏼

[@williamthomson3018]

I like your teaching techniques: break it down into chunks, starting off with just the thumb and middle finger (later you incorporate the index finger), plus your two secret tips to really add more life to the performance. 17 minutes of time well spent.

[@CraigRelyea]

Thank you, I really appreciate the kind comments -- so load this was valuable to you.

[@marchallaert7372]

Great lesson. Thank you!

[@krebstarinc.4225]

Nice tutorial. I've known this song for a very long time but haven't played it in a while. Appreciate the refresher. But.... Bro, your tone!! So great. Sounds awesome!

[@CraigRelyea]

Thanks, I appreciate it!

[@mordekhain]

Best tutorial! Thanks a bunch

[@CraigRelyea]

Thanks, glad it was helpful.

[@user-xh6ur1dx9y]

Sounds great. You are an awesome player/teacher. McCartney uses only his thumb and index finger throughout. Even the “strum” is a distinct pattern with just thumb and index. The drone G is always a downward brush with the nail side of the index finger, not an upward pluck.

[@johncaudrey-music]

Very nicely explained!

[@CraigRelyea]

Thanks John

[@SergeUnplugged]

Solid tutorial on a great song

[@CraigRelyea]

Thank you!

[@fransgreg]

Impeccable ! Merci !

[@CraigRelyea]

Thank you! Merci pour votre visite 🎶

[@AlDunbar]

In the same way that John and Paul traveled across town to meet a guy that could teach them the open B7 chord, I watched your video (excellent presentation, by the way) just for the first part of the secret, as that is the part I knew was there but didn't know how it was done. A trip definitely worth more than the 17 minutes.

[@CraigRelyea]

Thank you, I appreciate it - glad it was helpful.

[@CraigRelyea]

🎶 Hope you find this tutorial useful. Full performance of "Blackbird" is here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/m53amGN5fth3b5o NOTE: there's an error in the diagram around 10:05 - 10:10 showing a fingering on the 8th fret high "E" string instead of the correct "B" string (which my hand shows). My apologies! 🎶

[@rockfredtemps]

Well done !

[@CraigRelyea]

Thanks!

[@rodvansanten5037]

This is very good Great Sound

[@CraigRelyea]

Thank you

[@klausziegler60]

This is really great

[@CraigRelyea]

Thank you

[@majtx]

Always so VERY pleased when you post the teaching versions of your songs. This was super. I think the chord diagram may be off at 10:06 secs no big deal. Would you consider doing a teaching session for just the Superstition portion of that recording. Rafferty has made it next to impossible to get a teaching on this without a big paid subscription. I invite you to do as many teaching sessions as your time permits. All the best during a time where we can all play a lot more.

[@CraigRelyea]

Hi Mark, thanks for listening and commenting, I'm glad my video lessons are helpful. I plan on doing more tutorials this year, but I stay away from Adam's arrangements because it would be unfair for me to offer free lessons for an arrangement he created and charges for. But it's a goal of mine to create and post more lessons, so hopefully that will be of value to you and others -- stay tuned! Thanks again 🙏🏼

[@kevinking2468]

Super Lesson!!!

[@CraigRelyea]

Thank you, much appreciated!

[@bobmichell6508]

Great Lessons

[@CraigRelyea]

Thanks!

[@robertbehling5918]

Very nice!

[@CraigRelyea]

Thanks!

[@DanielMunoz-ub2us]

Excelente!

[@CraigRelyea]

Thank you!

[@Bernd_Boeckmann]

Great workshop, my friend! Very detailed and informative! Iwould subscribe if I hadn't already! 😉 👍🏼

[@CraigRelyea]

Thanks Bernd, very kind of you and always appreciated! 🙏🏻

[@cindyhull8313]

Good stuff…unique approach…nice insight…thanks…(Keith not Cindy)

[@CraigRelyea]

Thank you Keith!

[@slavaukraini404]

When it is played wrong it sounds wrong. McCartney's playing is brighter sounding than the way most play it.

[@guitar1950]

That cat made me laugh!

[@kevinhurst8911]

Outstanding lesson! Best and most correct one out there, hands down. Thank you! I love the bright tone of your Martin. Which strings and gauge do you use?

[@CraigRelyea]

Thanks, much appreciated! I use John Pearse strings, "slightly light" gauge (their terminology) with 0.11 for the high-E.

[@dinardoworldwide]

This is a cool channel

[@CraigRelyea]

Thank you!

[@klausgeltl5654]

I imagine this can really confuse somebody who doesn't know how to play it, particularly as you repeatedly keep playing that fourth chord after the first three (with c on 5th string, e on 2nd) which at that point is not the next chord to play. Unnecessary to play Bach and Sheeran here, it just distracts a beginner. I started to learn it with the track on the White album by ear, played it wrong until an American tourist in England showed me the up and down chromatic bit, then still had one note wrong until I found it by watching two videos of McCartney playing in onstage. A few years ago, I met a former personal assistant of McCartney, John Hammel, and he promised me to give me one of McCartney's plectrums, but on the next day, he'd forgotten to bring it. I would never have used it, I'd just have kept in a safe place, like a gold coin.

[@markmartin3221]

Hi Craig, I like your teaching style! What guitar year and model is yours. I have a 2021 00015SM and think it’s a great guitar. I like the cutaway though. Especially when your doing brown eyed girl type of riffs.

[@CraigRelyea]

Thanks Mark - I’m playing a Martin 000CXE-Black on this one. It has a bright sound and gives off a ton of harmonics. Fun guitar to play!

[@tuftyaurelius9062]

This piece makes heavy demands on the fretting hand fingers. You’re mostly playing two note chords. To relieve my hand sometimes I play natural harmonics at the 12th fret which gives exactly the same frequency (Hz) as the12th fret fretted note. One gets a nice bright sparkling, resonant note from the b string! You can also use a natural harmonic for the G string. Gives this piece more tonal colours.👆Hence the pinky finger gets pressure relief.🤣

[@CraigRelyea]

Great tips - thanks!

[@monkyman404]

Great lesaon, but PLEASE use a guitar with dots on the fretboard. Thst guitar is sweet, but learning a song from KZbin really needs dots to help us quickly see where you are, especialy on one likemthis one that moves up the neck, thanks

[@johngibson8676]

McCartney only uses his thumb and index finger.

[@TheJadedFilmMaker]

whoa .. i thought it WAS Paul McCartney

[@jondear2009y]

13:52

[@Billsingsong]

Play the chord chart I mean show the core chart like you did the one in the beginning of the video cannot see what your fingers are doing. Thank you.

[@dem3127]

Can you do it slowly next time please

[@DWVAR1]

You’re supposed to play it left handed

[@grahamspencer5550]

this made me chuckle!