All the talk about Sir Paul lately...

[Mike M.]

...raises a question. We all know (well, most of us) what a great singer, songwriter and instrumentalist he is. But I've often wondered how much he really knows about music. You know, does he know the whole theory thing or is he just one of those people who knows the bare basics and makes up for the rest with his imagination? Someone who just "hears it" and goes for it, perhaps? When Elvis Costello worked with him he said Paul was an extreamely intuative player who went for the right parts with a minimal of fuss. (Oh, what a joy that must be!).

I know from an interview or two Paul has said that he can't read a note of music because he's afraid it would change the way he writes. Most people I know can't read music either. Seems to me that Paul is just a natural musician and songwriter who's been blessed with the ability to come up with great melodies. How old was he when he wrote "All My Loving?" Twenty? How about the horn solo in "Penny Lane"?Paul hummed out that solo to George Martin who figured it on on piano and then scored it out!! Good grief!!

I have NO idea about what is fact in regards to what Paul really knows about the whole theory thing. But I'm almost willing to bet that he doesn't know much. Again, I think it all comes very natural to him.

Any interviews with Paul about this?

[SactoBass]

No doubt Sir Paul is pure genius when it comes to music.

It doesn't surprise me that he doesn't read music, as that skill has no bearing on musical creativity and talent. He has more talent in his fingernail than most other musicians have.

What I found entertaining is when someone asked Paul what kind of strings he uses, he replied "big shiny ones."

This just demonstrates that Paul focuses on how things sound.

[Dr. Cheese]

Macca is not flying blind. There is a clip of him giving bass lessons based on his lines, and he clearly understand keys and harmony/chord structure. He knew what he was doing when he came up with all of those melodic basslines.

[JimmyM]

the only thing paul doesn't know is how to read music. he is very advanced with chord theory and knows every note in the chords he plays and how they relate to other chords and notes. he, john and george all used to study chords and tried to use the more advanced chords whenever they could. even their early stuff is full of chords you never would expect to hear in rock and roll songs. so when he says he can't read music, don't let him fool you...the guy knows exactly what he's doing.

[Tampabass]

yeah, I've always been a bit suspicious about the whole "can't read a lick of music" line he's spouted. Not sure if I buy that.

[NickInMesa]

Music theory is not music. It's theory. Each musician follows his own path.

Eventually it all falls into place.

I am not surprised by what JimmyM says. So many musicians have no clue what chord, what mode, inverted or not, they're playing. Some learn theory from the get go, others later on, some never.

All musicians doodle and try new things and figure out what works and what does not. Theory helps but sometimes it does not.

I know some a virtuoso who started on a toy keyboard and now can play anything by ear and comes up with great songs. Has no clue what he plays and has a hard time telling me what key it's in.

[Mike M.]

Originally Posted by NickInMesa

Music theory is not music. It's theory. Each musician follows his own path.

Eventually it all falls into place.

I am not surprised by what JimmyM says. So many musicians have no clue what chord, what mode, inverted or not, they're playing. Some learn theory from the get go, others later on, some never.

All musicians doodle and try new things and figure out what works and what does not. Theory helps but sometimes it does not.

I know some a virtuoso who started on a toy keyboard and now can play anything by ear and comes up with great songs. Has no clue what he plays and has a hard time telling me what key it's in.

I also have a friend like yours. He plays guitar, writes great songs but he barely knows what the chord names are. Many times he's gone..."uh, it's this one. Like this."

No theory with him either. It's called imagination.

[dougjwray]

I think you guys all have it right. McCartney doesn't read music, and he's often said that he doesn't want to know more theory than he does, because he likes to think of each song as magical or a miracle, and he doesn't want to spoil that. (He's a big "right brain" person, apparently.)
However...
He's very self-aware about the nuts and bolts of all the songs he's written, knows chord names, uses terms like "contrary motion" and so on. He'll say, "That was the first time we did the old G to B7 to Em, which always leads to good things" or "The only time we ever used that chord was in 'Michelle'", etc. He stores everything away in his brain, for future use.
So, yeah, he knows exactly what he's doing. He just doesn't write down the notes, and he enjoys making little discoveries on his own.
I love the anecdote in his biography about "middle eights." He and John had always heard "proper musicians" refer to bridges as "middle eights", so that's what they would call them. In the book, he has a story about George Martin saying, "The middle eight? But this section has sixteen measures." "That's right!" "Oh, lovely." (I'm paraphrasing.)