He also just after that said “I thought America was the land of the free” and the crowd erupted. As I Canadian-American, I was laughing my ass off

If you’re trying to play exactly like Paul, I read in an interview that playing that way was killing his fingernail, so he had a ladies’ press-on nail put on his finger for concerts. Smart fella.

Damn, I was only waiting for this moment to arise. Now I learned to to play it like Sir Paul.

Paul McCartney and Wings were one of the best bands in the 70s w straight up rock and roll and really good melodies and lyrics like Magneto Titanium Man. Medicine Jar is great as well.

Saw this Wings Tour in the 70’s, where I was finally able to watch him play it live. It was a surprise to see how he actually played it with his right hand moving way up the neck just as you did without missing a single note. The man was always clutch and made everything look effortless. There is a concert video of Wings Over America from what I believe is the last night of the North American Tour in Seattle, WA. A great show.

Holy fret buzzing

Just gorgeous!! That's one of my favorite songs.

Yeah.. it's the "strum" while picking that becomes the challenge. Blackbird was the first song I learned in it's entirety. My interpretation of how it sounds has changed over teh decades quite a bit.. sometimes picking, sometimes strumming. it's an awesome tune. If you can learn Blackbird you can be guaranteed you can learn anything.. given enough time and practice. Thanks for the tip.. I will try it out.:)

I Like the Jeff Beck “Black Bird”. Makes me Cry. Makes me Love you and all People and Animals. Makes Me Humble.

Interesting, this is almost like playing the guitar like a ukulele. Very cool to see improvised techniques like this from such iconic songs!!!

O. M. G. Thank you for finally clearing up what I’d heard years ago - that no one plays blackbird correctly. I had no idea what that meant. THANK YOU!

I've not played this song before, but I started using this technique after I started making my own song that used it, it came about when I was trying out Ben Howard's pick-n-go technique.

That change really did make it sound more like McCartney. At that slightly slower speed I was actually hearing a moment of Mother Nature's Son

Great job, sir!!

I was at that concert. Paul is a fricking great musician 👏. And for sure a LEDGEND

Honestly Blackbird is one of my favorite songs by the Beatles. In large part it's because of Paul MaCartney's instrumentation with the guitar. The buzzing twang of the guitar really tugs at the heart strings.

Incredible! Thank you.

Thank you for showing us that we must pay closer attention to the details.

Really enjoying this kind of content.

I was at that concert, Los Angeles’s sofi stadium. Hilarious when he said that

I've been playing it differently for many years. First ,how my teacher taught me. Then many years later I saw him in concert and noticed how his fretting was different and I started playing it like that. Now I hear the difference in how your strumming it and realize that's what Paul was playing cause it sounds right. So now I'll try I like you're doing it.

So this is why I mix this tune up with some John Mayer songs

I learned that song in the late '70s and I never played it like that. I just enjoyed playing it on my 12 string.

I'm not changing the way I play Blackbird. It was too hard to learn to unlearn.

I prefer the first version

Thank God I always played it correctly. It just felt right, and sounded right.

Nice it’s the little details . I had to learn on one of them little black, Panasonic, cassette players I swiped from the library at school.

It's been 20 some years ago he did a concert on TV. When he played Black Bird he hid his guitar behind an upright piano. So, all you could see was his face.

Almost like a Mayer “stop this train” kind of technique

That's a big one. It does make all the difference

Thats actually how I play it because I tend to use Mayers neon fingerpicking style

I always played like this because 1) it sounds right and 2) it's easier to play 😂

Thank you!! I knew something was off when I was playing it. I would try and pluck the G string twice but even tho it sounded closer it wasnt right!

Yeah, That's the "Sir Paul" style 👌,man. If U may remember, back in the late 90's, On the TV family drama show "7th Heaven", that they incorporated that "Sir Paul "McCartney acoustic guitar 🎸 style on the shows soundtrack? "Rock-On", man......

I really like the version that The Analogues do. He plays it really well.

Gen Xers had guitar tabs. Every guitar player I knew all played the same songs 'cause of Guitar for the Practing Musician. Blackbird was one of those songs everyone played. (I thought then) it was because of tabs for the song. Other fingerstyle songs I played was Clap, Mood for a Day, Horizons, & Dear Prudence.

I was there! he said this right before playing blackbird in Baltimore

This was in a guitar tab I borrowed from a library and it was,I think,a series of rather hard---at least for me--chords to fret. I THINK I might improve if I watch you here. Buddy of mine used to be in a band and he played some of it for me when he came to visit. Should have asked him for help then(he's in a different province now). Decades ago a cousin played it for me. Can't ask him now. He's in Australia. lol. Thanks.

Almost with a claw hammer style

Fellow Gen X'r here, it was good when we didn't have youtube to watch and imitate musicians. I really think that's why we got such great music in that era and everything sounds the same these days.

I went to that concert, it was the second show when he came to the t mobile arena in Vegas

Yeah it’s the motion Mayer based his “hammerclaw” technique on. The nice thing is both sound lovely and you don’t need to play percussively to get it right.

The frist way sounds better though the actual way sounds to scratchy

I've always heard that along with the foot tap.

Thanks for the chords

Reminds me of John mayers “easy” technique for songs like neon and stop this train where it’s not using multiple fingers for multiple strings but instead using only about 2 to brush over strings

I just went to listen to it and ur right.... I can actually hear it.... I wish I hadn't seen this video cuz im curious if I would've caught that on my own.... I probly would have but there's a chance I wouldn't have 🤔🤔🤔🤔

Quoting my son: Hey, that's the Boss Baby song.

I remember doing this because it seemed to sound right and my guitar teacher would pull me up and make me use three fingers lol

Paul has a funky six string strum!

That's exactly how I heard it and play it.

New strings? The attack and crispness is crazy.

I heard him say that! Nice licks man! 🎉

Love you content Brother. ⚔️

The best thing about McCartney's concerts is the in-between song stories. If you're going to video his concerts record that. You already know the songs. You'll be glad you did. 🎼🎵🎶🎸👍

I learned it on guitar when I was also learning banjo so I play it like I'm playing banjo

I was at that concert, it was amazing

It's also a Civil Rights movement promotional song!!!

That sweeping index finger is the same one he always plucked his bass guitar with.

The story I heard 20 years ago was that when McCartney heard Kenny Rankin’s version, he liked it more than his own. Dont know if its true but its a cool story and Rankin’s version is beautifully whimsical and melodic.

I still prefer the claw or talon method in playing this type of song. Unless you have a broken finger it sounds a lot cleaner than the brush technique. Bass guitar brushes are good because the strings are thicker.

Wow! That's amazing!

It does sound great with that brushing technique.

Me who learnt from KZfaq and plays it right “my cuticles are non-existent”

Im pretty sure for the slow rise the bass note on the A string just move up chromatically from the 3rd fret to the 7th. Ive never seem anyone play that right

"Paul actually plays it like this" - starts slapping E string.

He did that when he played in Knoxville, TN. And I laughed in acknowledgement!

Dude thats brilliant. Sounds very 60s.

also note that Paul was not actually plucking with pointer but using his thumb instead

IMHO you are almost correct. It’s even more strummy with the pointer finger and drops the bass thumb notes during the strummy bit.

I always knew how he played it, but always played it how I felt like playing it lmao

You have to use that technique for the short chords too, not just the longer held chords.

I've always considered myself a serious Beatles fan but I always assume George Harrison played that. I guess we really can learn something new everyday.

Paul is a genius

very helpful. thanks for the info!

Well the first version sounded nicer, maybe that's why most people played it that way

He also uses this technique on Yesterday.

Bruh I saw someone playing this at my school today wondering what it was called then the first yt short i see is this lol

It's easier to keep the g string going with the thumb alternating with bassnote and keep first finger strumming if you like that strumming sound

Great video sir thanks

I've always played it correctly since it was released.

I was at this concert and there wasn't a dry eye there during this song.

Awesome shirt on the wall....

That’s an awfully conceded statement to make to people when you have no idea how they play your song Sir Paul. I used my ears to learn it and I always played it like this.

However it is played, it is a beautiful piece of music

I will still play it the way I do.

I always have played blackbird with two finger. Using my pointer finger to slip off the b string and strike the g string.

I still can't get over how every time I see you the dead milkmen shirt is hanging in the back i love it

at another Paul McCartney he exploded and died while singing living let die

Paul’s way or no way!!

Truth is, while in Rishikesh singer Donovan tried to teach Paul, John, & George the Travis fingerpicking method. George could already do the Chet Atkins version of this, bouncing a flat pick between 2 bass notes while completing the pattern with his middle & ring fingers. John, often considered the least capable guitarist of the three, learned to execute the actual Travis pattern perfectly (ie. Julia/Dear Prudence). Paul couldn’t get it - so he worked out his little “cheat” using only his thumb & index finger, hence - Blackbird. More recently, this has become the famous John Mayer fingerpick, usually with a thumb/palm slap on the backbeat. Playing Blackbird using the actual Travis picking sounds really good, but you’re correct - it’s not what McCartney does.

When i tried this i never learned finger-picking and just used my index finger to play black bird

That’s how I learned to play it when I saw the tab, to me it’s ten times easier with just 2 fingers.

That's kind of how I do it... Because I suck at finger picking.

It's called crab claw. Get good, scrubs.

Different people different times different music Time Marches On

This is a pretty good channel. 👍

Thanks for making my version of blackbird seem weak 💀

Minus the string slap of course

If you listen to and watch videos of Paul performing Yesterday and apply that pattern to Blackbird? That's it.