Paul mccarthy beatles guitars
Home / General Biography Information / Paul mccarthy beatles guitars
"In fact, I don't really think George did get too heavily into that kind of thing.
I was trying to emulate those folk players.”
Remarkably, McCartney revealed that it was Lennon — often considered the least accomplished of the group’s guitarists — who mastered fingerpicking.
“John was the only one who actually stuck at it and learned it,” McCartney explained, pointing to Lennon’s acoustic “Julia,” from the White Album.
“John learned. The proper thing.
“I got my own little sort of cheating way of doing it, so on ‘Blackbird’ I'm actually sort of pulling two strings all the time. With a bass, he told Guitar Player, “you come up with a groove, but when you're writing, you need the guitar or a piano.
It’s a solid, classic instrument.
2. When Sutcliffe finally quit the group in July 1961, McCartney took on those duties full time.
But by 1965 he began to show his guitar talents on the Beatles’ recordings, most evidently on “Yesterday,” his solo performance from the group’s album Help!, which also saw him play lead guitar on the tracks “Ticket to Ride" and “Another Girl.”
While McCartney continues to play bass to this day, guitar has remained central to his musical life.
“I guess I think of myself as a guitar player, really,” he told Guitar Player in our July 1990 issue.
George was generally a little more restrained in his guitar playing. I always did try to have music lessons. So I would always remember that first and foremost I started off as a guitar player.”
Tom Mulhern worked at Guitar Player magazine for over 13 years and has contributed to Guitar World, Guitar, Guitar Shop, Billboard, Musician, and more.
“Mainly acoustic — that's my main instrument, I suppose.
"If I couldn't have any other instrument, I would have to have an acoustic guitar. “And I said to George, ‘Maybe you could play it like this.’ I can't quite remember how it happened that I played it, but it was probably one of those times when somebody says, ‘Well, why don't you do it then?’ rather than spending the time to get the idea over.
All the latest guitar news, interviews, lessons, reviews, deals and more, direct to your inbox!
“And I don't think George was too miffed.
I think I read recently he'd learned it off Donovan or one of Donovan's friends who were more into the folk thing, so they would fingerpick in the proper way — first string, third string, and all that. And when I wasn't on stage I was even better. But when I got up on stage at the very first gig I totally blew it -- I had never experienced these things called nerves before." After cocking up his solo on "Guitar Boogie Shuffle," he decided to "lean back" and play rhythm. (Significantly, in an effort to impress Lennon after this disastrous outing, McCartney showed him a song he'd written, "I Lost My Little Girl," which prompted Lennon to show McCartney a few songs he'd written -- launching a formidable songwriting partnership.) Before long McCartney nominated his mate George Harrison for lead duties, and continued playing rhythm through the second Hamburg trip in early 1961, when he was called upon to replace struggling bassist Stuart Sutcliffe.
I always sort of figure something out. I figured anyway that everyone else was doing that correct stuff, so it wouldn't hurt. But then, when it gets to the little fingerpicking sort of thing, it's not real. It was really my first voyage into feedback. “If you listen to ‘Julia,’ he's playing properly with fingerpicking on that.
If I couldn't have anything else, I would have to have it." Paul McCartney made some surprising revelations about his favorite guitar in our historic interview with him
Although he started out as a guitar player, Paul McCartney took on bass guitar duties for the Beatles in July 1961, while the group was performing in Hamburg.
I always tried to have someone teach me how to notate music, because I still don't know to this day.”
Likewise, McCartney said guitar, like piano, remains his main instrument when composing.