McCartney's Freakin' Awesome~

[The Golden Boy]

McCartney is so much of the reason I wanted to play music, and why I wanted to play bass when I was a kid. (don't ask me why a 9/10 year old kid would want to be like McCartney around 1979)

A few minutes ago I threw in Anthology 2 with the full idea of playing along with "And Your Bird Can Sing." Instead I got caught up in "Yesterday." I've never learned "Yesterday." I never really liked the song. Yeah, it's a classic. Yeah, it probably would get you some tang. But I've never learned it, and never had too much of the desire to.

I was flipping through songs, and came across "Yesterday." I put my bass back in the case and grabbed a guitar and started playing along with the instructions Paul gave.

He's a freakin' genius!!

The way it all works together is so...

... perfect and beautiful.



I've never been a big fan of that song. Sometimes playing a song takes the "magic" out of it. But dagnabbit- this is a freakin' awesome song.

[Philbiker]

He dreamed that song. He awoke from his dream and remembered it. He thought it was some old Jazz melody or something, hummed it to people asking them what it was for weeks before realizing that it was his own composition.

[P. Aaron]

The bass playing on "Taxman" is killer stuff.

[zack01]

What about his Accustic guitarr skills...he most be really good at that. The only person in the beatles that could play fingerstyle was Lennon.....is that true?

[cheezewiz]

Originally Posted by zack01

What about his Accustic guitarr skills...he most be really good at that. The only person in the beatles that could play fingerstyle was Lennon.....is that true?

Donovan taught Lennon to play fingerstyle while they were in India.

[fearceol]

Yeah, Mc Cartney is an amazing bassist. I'm not too long playing and started off listening to his lines with the Beatles. When I first attempted "Day Tripper" I thought , "how the ---- does he do this. Most tabs for this song show it played on the lower notes, but Mc Cartney actually plays it high.

[The Golden Boy]

Originally Posted by zack01

What about his Accustic guitarr skills...he most be really good at that. The only person in the beatles that could play fingerstyle was Lennon.....is that true?

Like cheezewiz said, Donovan taught Lennon some of that weird alternate fingerpicking stuff. McCartney took what he wanted out of what was being taught. Came up with stuff like "Blackbird."

Pretty sweet if you ask me.

Ever seen that footage of McCartney playing Blackbird? Awesome pants.

[JimK]

Originally Posted by fearceol

When I first attempted "Day Tripper"...Most tabs for this song show it played on the lower notes, but McCartney actually plays it high.

2-3 years ago(?), Bass Player transcribed this tune...they also mentioned why the bass was played up an octave-
The bass would sound better "up" when listened to through an auto's tiny/tinny radio speaker.

[morf]

Originally Posted by JimK

2-3 years ago(?), Bass Player transcribed this tune...they also mentioned why the bass was played up an octave-
The bass would sound better "up" when listened to through an auto's tiny/tinny radio speaker.

Well, that and really theres something odd about the open E for every line opening. I just dont like the chaotic sound of the open E, it doesn't fit the tightness of the song. Dunno, maybe its just my E that sucks.

[DeaconK]

Actually, "Blackbird" is the result of a classical music riff that McCartney and Harrison used to do to impress chicks. They worked on it when nothing else was happening and it developed into "Blackbird." He explained it on a recent interview that was featured on XM.

[fearceol]

Originally Posted by JimK

they also mentioned why the bass was played up an octave-
The bass would sound better "up" when listened to through an auto's tiny/tinny radio speaker.

They 're right, it does sound better played higher......... a lot harder to play it up there too.

[Philbiker]

Originally Posted by fearceol

They 're right, it does sound better played higher......... a lot harder to play it up there too.

My band covers this song (quite badly, frankly - we should drop it) so I play it a lot. This song was obviously written to be played on a 32" scale bass, not a 34 or 35" scale one. It's not that hard really, just a bit of a stretch. The real challenge is the quick position changes. I can't even imagine how Paul played this and sang it at the same time.

[Jared Lash]

The amazing thing to me about Macca's bass playing is that he has stated that he never wrote anything on bass, ever. Every song he wrote started on guitar or piano. And even if it was a song by John or George, Paul still wouldn't lay down his bass tracks until the very end.

I was surprised to learn that, since his bass parts often seem like such integral parts to their songs.

[JimK]

Originally Posted by fearceol

They 're right, it does sound better played higher......... a lot harder to play it up there too.

Bass Player also TAB'd it as McCartney played it...he was not into 'economy of motion'.

I forget what DVD it is...Mccartney is playing "I Saw Her Standing There"-
Ouch! It looked painful...

...also, loved the "I forget my plectrum" thing on the Anthology's "One After 909" bit.

[Philbiker]

Originally Posted by JimK

Bass Player also TAB'd it as McCartney played it...he was not into 'economy of motion'.

Again, it's a lot less motion on a 32" scale bass.

[iamthebassman]

I don't recall him ever playing a 32" scale bass.

[BillMason]

Originally Posted by iamthebassman

I don't recall him ever playing a 32" scale bass.

The Hofner "Beatle" bass, the one shaped like a viol.

[iamthebassman]

Originally Posted by BillMason

The Hofner "Beatle" bass, the one shaped like a viol.

The Hofner is 30" scale. Here's mine:

[iamthebassman]

Here's the basses I use for my Beatles cover gig:

[Philbiker]

Excellent, I thought the Hof was 32. 30" makes it even easier to move around on!