I always find the Beatles' more vulnerable and slow songs to be a true testament to their songwriting. Material like Yesterday, Something, and Don't Let Me Down show that they never lost their roots back from their first album. Cheers
Paul has so many perfect chord progressions I honestly couldn't guess which this would be before I watched the video. I would nominate "Michelle," "Penny Lane," and "Blackbird" as also having perfect chord progressions. That's just to name a few that I think are particularly elegant and creative.
Some of the simplest sounding ones are fascinating. The chords (and the way they're voiced on the guitar) of "Two of Us" are surprisingly complicated, and John and Paul play different chords that compliment each other, Paul sings the verses and high harmony, and there are lots of time signature changes (4/4, 2/4/ 3/4). But it seems utterly natural. The picking on "Mother Nature's Son" is hard to replicate because there are subtle changes in how he plays the chords and arpeggios that you have to study to get right. Paul, John, and george are underrated as guitar players even after 60 years. They rarely turn up at the top of "best guitarist" lists, but I think they should be.
I really love these song deconstruction videos. Understanding why I love certain parts and progressions to my favorite songs is probably the single most enjoyable aspect of my guitar journey these days. I've known how to play this song for years, but sitting down early in the morning with my coffee, picking up my guitar, and just following along with you while you breakdown and analyze the song, part by part, is really fun and special for me. Keep up the great work and thanks for the video.
I can't see him as separate from John Lennon in songwriting terms, even when a song's almost entirely his. Same with John; I always think of his songs as a team effort. It's always "Lennon-McCartney" to me. Like they're a single person.
Another hallmark of McCartney is while he’s playing chords primarily under his songs, he puts in little snippets of melody on the instrument. Not too much, just enough to accentuate in certain spots of the song. You hear this in certain piano-based songs of his, such as Hey Jude and the Long and Winding Road.
I think it's the bass player in him, writing songs with a precise mindset around tonalities and harmonic locality. That just enough, melodic but at the same time minimalist approach to framing a song.
I would say that it is one of the most beautiful melodies that have been composed in the history of music. McCartney, as a melody creator, can compete with the greatest of all time.
Less so when you consider they had classically trained George Martin helping them. Even less so when you consider the melody of Yesterday is basically an old Neapolitan song
@@sean2520 As if plenty of other producers didn't also have a great understanding of music? The Beatles were lucky to have George but he was lucky to have them as well. Let's not make this a competition of who has the most help for success like this is some sports debate.
Brilliant, fascinating and fantastically well explained. Thanks Paul. Both Pauls! The fact that a 23 year old wrote this instinctively with zero formal music training or academic knowledge is astounding. There'll be no one like him again. I'm sure of it.
I’m coming on 71 y/o and have heard every Beatle song hundreds and hundreds of times over the years to the point where I just back off for a period of time. I listen to all genres of music from Miles and Coltrane to Country to Metal even hip hop now and then. Yet I always come back to the Beatles every now and then and it blows me away how fresh their music feels, to my ears anyway. Thanks Paul for stoking the fire of the wonder of these four lads yet again.
I feel the same way, but at 25. The Beatles never cease to inspire and move me. Must’ve been incredible to grow up while they were still releasing new music!
@@mikaelMMK It really was a special time. Every generation has great memories of the music they grow up with but prior to the Beatles, the pop charts were dominated by teen idol solo acts. When they appeared on Ed Sullivan in early 1964 it was truly an event. That appearance literally kicked the door down musically and a flood of amazing bands appeared seemingly out of nowhere, all inspired by that single event. The rest is history of course but it was clear even then that the Beatles were very special. What they accomplished in six short years is astonishing to this day. I would rate Revolver as my favourite album, absolutely ground breaking stuff. Tomorrow never knows, are you kidding me! When I first heard that cut I was gobsmacked. The progression of their music in a few years was mind blowing. As Elvis Costello said, artists are still trying to make that album today. So many great bands that I was able to see live in Vancouver where I grew up, Cream in 1968, Led Zeppelin 3 or four times, on and on. Keep searching out good music in all genres, it remains one of the great pleasures in my life.
Great timing on this video, I just watched the film Yesterday again with my wife a few nights ago and it always sends me on a Beatles revival, they’re all I’ve been listening to the last few days!
Impeccable video! Shows how great of a melody writer McCartney is, when he talks about writing music I always get the idea he was primarily a "melody-first" writer, so he had the melody already and just had to work out chords to go underneath to support it, the opposite of how a lot of people are taught and how pop is written today. So in the end I feel like it's actually the melody that dictates the chords, and that pretty much all legendary songs were written this way too.
This is undoubtably the case. He’s told the story a few times of how he woke up with the melody one morning and quickly recorded his voice singing it, to the words “scrambled eggs, etc”. Then he went to various friends houses that morning, including John, asking if they’d ever heard the melody and they said they hadn’t. It took Paul a year of jumping in and out of the raw song, before he finished it while on holiday in Portugal.
Yesterday is one of the songs, that was so overexposed when I was young, that hardly anyone ever mentioned it in the last 15 years. I think it will soon have a comeback as a top level masterpiece!
A great example of a superb melody, with the guitar playing basic chords in and around it. The days when we could whistle the tunes on the radio. Nice video Paul. Thank you.
It has never occurred to me till watching this excellent video of the connection between Yesterday and Blackbird. Written within a short space of time from each other, both feature the ascending melody with descending bass. It really shone out when Paul played that section. What genius, to have this melody appear in your mind, fully formed, while asleep. What talent to write the words and find the chord voicings to compliment it. One of the greatest songs ever written.
Something that's been haunting me for years now: the contrast between the sorrow expressed by the the lyrics and the outspoken, direct, no-frills way in which he sings them. No tears. No sobs. Only selfconsciousness. It is that contrast, that tension, that is heartrending.
Brilliant analysis. I especially love the acknowledgement of the third of a chord being sharp in equal temperament tuning and it sounding better being "flat."
Well to be honest while I'm playing if any of my guitar's strings go out of tune and/but either because of the composition of the piece or any playing style differences it prompts in me it still sounds good, I keep it that way until it doesn't anymore xd. If cheesiness is allowed, then "let the guitar sing its own tune a little" I mean.
7:30 Try playing it in F standard tuning. I've tried playing it both D tuned, and non-transposed. F standard sounds best, and it is still how I would opt to play it today.
I have loved this song since early childhood but never tried to learn it. Thanks for breaking it down. Had the pleasure of seeing Sir Paul play it live in 1990.
Hi Ray. 👋 I thought so. Mum told me of her trips to her grandmother in lower Bebington, near Liverpool, to see Paul as a child. My grandfather took me to St Andrews, Gretna Green, and my dad took us for a holiday to Kintyre, where Paul and Linda lived. The food in the local hotel near Paul's house was fantastic. I tried to get my daughter interested in guitar. I think it would be a good way to relax.
I can’t tell what’s better. The Beatles coming out w songs like this in a time where nobody could. Or you(Paul David’s) having one of the best FREE guitar lesson UA-cam Channels I’ve ever seen. Thanks for letting us see these methods the way you do.
This is awesome. I only started learning guitar about 9 weeks ago & I'm documenting my entire learning journey on here so this was super motivational! It was actually a visit to Liverpool just a few months ago that helped inspire me. Nice one Paul.
Wow.... for someone just learning to play, you've sure taken the high road. I've been playing a long, long time and every moment, I learn something new. I hope you post your journey, for all of us to see and enjoy, with you.
@@pistolp01 Haha thanks so much... I can already see after just 10 weeks that we can be learning & improving on this instrument forever if we choose to do so...! Loving the journey so far!
@@NewLifeWithGuitar I still vaguely remember my first learning experience with guitar. When I started you would just learn from friends by picking their brains and technique. Now, today, it's just crazy with all the incredible input. My first big achievement was learning, Needle and the Damage Done, by Neil Young. This was from a buddy who taught it to me, note for note, exactly like Neil played it. Very tough, I was about 4 months in, but there were times I'd play 10 hours a day... talk about sore fingers. I think the thing that always drove me mad, was everytime I finally thought I was the shit, someone would come along and put me back in my place. LOL Like you said and all of us know, we never stop learning. Good luck and pretty soon those calloused fingers feel no pain. I looked at your channel and you're making good progress. You may want to throw in an extra hour a few times a week, but we all have our own pace. Good luck.
Paul was so young when he wrote this timeless classic. He is so exceptional in so many ways. I don't think he gets the credit he deserves. For example, he's never at the top of lists when it comes to rock/pop vocalists, which is crazy. He's brilliant, and still thinks of himself as working class even though he's become extremely wealthy, as he's deserved and earned. Ringo has said many times that if not for Paul's exceptional work ethic, they'd have never done as much or accomplished as much as they did as The Beatles.
I’m honestly amazed at the song writing from Paul and John and eventually George and how great they were. I think the best was Paul evidenced by his continued success. It’s a shame John’s life was cut short, who knows what he might have done. And for George as well. Rest in Peace you two.
John was the only one of the three who was still writing Beatles quality songs in 1980 such as “Real Love”, “Watching the Wheels”, “Now and Then”, “Woman”, etc
content aside, which is great, i love the style of your videos. No unecessarily long intro, not arduous overexplaining, just straight to the point while effortlessly explaining the key points you want to bring across. Always a pleasant watch!!
Yes, mr Davids in short span of time Beatles created different tunes and chord progressions, their uniqueness couldn't be matched...they are the greatest ..your subscriber here, primo Castro from philippines
I love that Paul uses the shapes of the chords to say what key they’re in. I do that a lot. A song will be in Bb and I’ll say either capo 3 G shapes or capo one A shapes
Great video. The Beatles songbook is so popular for beginner guitarists due to those incredible melodies often over relatively easy guitar chords that make you sound amazing right away. The magic is in the songwriting. Beautiful.
The best analysis of this great tune I could find in many years searching. Was great for me to tune down and play in the original key. I used it as a lesson to relearn the tune taking care of the details.
Hi Paul - I love looking at your in detail diagnostics of Pauls song from 58 years ago ! you have analysed and exposed what Paul played naturally to him at the time.. It just shows what a talent he has and you have explained well what came naturally to Paul at all that time ago. Big respect to both of you.. Cheers Phil
You so easily could be the next David Attenborough. You really have an ease and peaceful elegance to your voice. I surely can't be the first to say this. You have a voice for money.
Love your stuff. You didn't mention the important fact that the A sections are 6 measure phrases which is extremely rare in pop music, and makes Yesterday a bit challenging to improvise over.
Always wanted to play a guitar (any type) but just never got around to doing it in my life. I'm now 64 and still love listening to the instrument. Listening to the terminology Mr Davids uses in this video leaves me completely baffled! He may as well be talking in Mandarin Chinese! It was educational to say the least, but waaaay above my comprehension. Brilliant song, brilliant break-down of the song chords, brilliant video. (I'm now off to study a much less brain-taxing subject, like 'rocket-science' or 'open heart surgical procedures')
I always start with theme and lyrics and the first verse says it all. 1 word three syllables next three lines basically 9 syllables per line. So its a construction of what a three syllable thematic word, then the melody runs of the 9 syllable lines after that for each verse. Suddenly takes the next verse. Nice structure to understand why things work from words to melody.
Awesome, we all love these Beatles' classics! Apparently, he dreamt about the melody, woke up and quickly wrote it down; the next day he wandered playing it to several people he was working with to see if he involuntary committed plagiarism (he was not). Thanks for sharing Paul! Ps I am currently following your Acoustic Adventure course and I am loving it: the fingerpicking lessons drastically changed both my way of playing and listening to music... once you learn to ear those continuous basses you never go back... speaking of which: Paul, I would really love to see you breaking down some of Robert Johnson's songs: the way he played the blues definitely shaped the way we see the instrument nowadays, and nobody's making a video on it!!! Have a wonderful day, and thanks for sharing! Cheers ☀️
I've said it for decades - I regard Paul McCartney to be the greatest songwriter there has ever been. Add to the fact that he doesn't read music just increases my admiration and awe. The word 'genius' is used FAR too often, but Paul is 100% a genius, absolutely no doubt.
The greatest songwriter ever is also a master at writing lyrics. Paul in his solo Career specially falls very short of the mark. Nevertheless, he’s one of the greatest in my book as well, on a very short list
Even as a very young child I remember hearing this and being blown away by its melancholy beauty, that’s pretty darn impressive imo. Glad this song exists, it is heavenly.
the B7 (09:20) is in the position our lead guitarist called "the Cowboy B7" when he taught it to me. Sure a lot easier to play on a keyboard -- your fingers just fall there.
I remember the day when I heard that old song for the very first time when I was a little kid, I felt nostalgia for the first time. I didn't even know what it was. I didn't even know who the Beatles were, how big or famous they had been, but that very special song reminded me of a time, or someone I was sorely missing. Pretty impressive.
Nope, a true statement. I was once talking about music with someone under thirty five and they said, "Who's Paul McCartney?" Many younger people have never heard the name, let alone know much about musical history!. @@paulnovak833
One factor on yesterday and the flats you talk about doesnt have to be with pauls brilliance but back in the 60's was not common left handed guitars so he just swapped the strings from position without modifying the intonation on the saddle of the acoustic guitar.
In terms of song writing- it is worth to thing about what is called instrument idiomatic song writing- meaning that they (Beatles) are using some of the first chords that you learn to play on a guitar - and chord theory coming from classical theory, is based on what falls natural on a piano or organ(for your fingers). You can often hear what instrument is used to compose a specific song even though it's not used on the recording. So if your are into song writing try to use different instruments as an inspiration. Example going from G to E mayor to C mayor is not very comfortable (obvious) on a piano. But on a guitar is some of the first chord you learn- and theory wise is weird because you omit a lot of common tones- --- aka interesting to listen to as a cadence.
When writing this song, before they had the actual lyrics written, and were just getting the chords and melody down.. The placeholder lyrics for this song were.. "Scrambled eggs, Oh my baby how I love your legs. Not as much as I love scrambled eggs" Not only is this hilarious, considering the tone of the song.. But also genius! The idea of using placeholder nonsense lyrics purely to aid in composition, and then deliver a solid framework for the real lyrics later, is an incredibly effective and efficient writing technique. I have never been a huge Beatles fan, but song-writing is definitely one thing those guys had in spades! There are only a handful of truly great songwriters. And even fewer compare to The Beatles... Bowie is another one, and definitely more my "thing", and he too had a really interesting song writing technique.
As a songwriter who learned theory and how to play by studying chords, I absolutely love these videos! Bob Dylan's use of chords is masterful, please do something like Make You Feel My Love or The Times They Are A Changin'. I learned a lot from how Bob uses inversions (like C/G, C/B). Note that McCartney had Dylan as an influence!
@@smftrsddvjiou6443 But he does much more. Initially that's what I thought of, if you dive into his catalog you'll find much much more. I've learned a lot from it
I never heard of it. I only know Yellowsubmarine, Cant buy me love, here comes the sun, and Octopus Garden. Those are my favorite song because i played them on Rock Band Beatles. Im definitely gonna play that game today and listen to Yesterday. Its in the game but its probably one of those songs that didnt grab my attention at first. Im more open minded with music now compared to when 15 years ago. The Beatles does go hard imo.
If you really aren’t joking and didn’t know this song, that blows my mind. It’s often named the most famous song of all time, and I think is officially the most covered ever. But then again, it blows others people’s mind that I don’t know hardly any popular music today 😂
I love these videos. Your musical knowledge is to be aspired to. It would be interesting to know if Paul really thought through the musical theory of it, in the manner you described. Seems like he just knows what sounds good and plays what he likes. Doesn't matter though. Beautiful song, and you give it all its due. Thank you for the videos!!
Probably not. I'd say there's more than a 90% chance he wasn't thinking about "theory" when he put the song together, just watch interviews where he admits he writes with his musical instinct. He fairly recently did a long interview with Rick Rubin you should check out. They go through and analyze a bit about their song writing. It's on UA-cam, originally done for Hulu.
As I want to play AND SING this great song and don't have a high voice like Paul McC, I play it with guitar chords in C (that works well the baselines as well) and lift it with a capo to D - or higher on a good day 😊
I call this the "Bobbit" song and cant hear it with thinking of his incident "I'm half the man i used to be" "I said something wrong, now i long for Yesterday" cracks me up every time.
Please can you do ‘Here, There and Everywhere’? I’ve always been massively intrigued by how McCartney is able to connect chords together that seem like they shouldn’t fit but do
The genius of the asymmetrical verses (7 bars) and 8 bar middle 8 (makes sense), with 2 bar intro and coda = 2+7+7+8+7+8+7+2 = 48 bars of perfection and economy. The 7 bar verses don't seem unbalanced because the melodic motif (1+2) is developed, syncopated and rhythmically displaced so brilliantly, becoming 1, 2+ (including the closing 'yes-terday'). The genius of Paul McCartney
Can't wait for the Rick Beato video where Rick interviews Paul McCartney and how Paul saw a video of yours and says you're not quite right in how you play it lol
You mean that he realises I am actually correct? And that Paul then emails me with his appreciation and invites me to his concert? Yes, that would be awesome!
I drop the low E string down to a D (Drop D tuning) and modify the key of F chord fingerings to allow for the D bass. Everything sounds almost identical, but I don't need the guitar tuned a whole step down. It may sound complicated, but it's not.
Recommend the Bluray 'Produced by George Martin' (2012) where we get a great insight on the influence of Martin on Beatles songs. With his classical training he contributed massively to the arrangements, especially songs like 'Yesterday'
I always find the Beatles' more vulnerable and slow songs to be a true testament to their songwriting. Material like Yesterday, Something, and Don't Let Me Down show that they never lost their roots back from their first album. Cheers
Mother nature’s son is one of my favourite songs - it’s just so beautiful
She’s Leaving Home
I'd argue their early work didn't contain anything near the quality of those songs you've named.
For no one, In my life
@@LuckeGabrielExactly. Not sure what the comment was all about.
Paul has so many perfect chord progressions I honestly couldn't guess which this would be before I watched the video. I would nominate "Michelle," "Penny Lane," and "Blackbird" as also having perfect chord progressions. That's just to name a few that I think are particularly elegant and creative.
Also Martha My Dear for me has a perfect chord progression
'Here, There And Everywhere' is the first one I thought of seeing the title of the video.
Some of the simplest sounding ones are fascinating. The chords (and the way they're voiced on the guitar) of "Two of Us" are surprisingly complicated, and John and Paul play different chords that compliment each other, Paul sings the verses and high harmony, and there are lots of time signature changes (4/4, 2/4/ 3/4). But it seems utterly natural. The picking on "Mother Nature's Son" is hard to replicate because there are subtle changes in how he plays the chords and arpeggios that you have to study to get right. Paul, John, and george are underrated as guitar players even after 60 years. They rarely turn up at the top of "best guitarist" lists, but I think they should be.
Also, "I'm Looking Through You" and "I'll Follow The Sun" have great chord progressions.
Spin off of besame mucho…
I really love these song deconstruction videos. Understanding why I love certain parts and progressions to my favorite songs is probably the single most enjoyable aspect of my guitar journey these days. I've known how to play this song for years, but sitting down early in the morning with my coffee, picking up my guitar, and just following along with you while you breakdown and analyze the song, part by part, is really fun and special for me. Keep up the great work and thanks for the video.
McCartney has instinctively written his music to be great pop songs. In my opinion, best pop songwriter of my generation.
I can't see him as separate from John Lennon in songwriting terms, even when a song's almost entirely his. Same with John; I always think of his songs as a team effort.
It's always "Lennon-McCartney" to me. Like they're a single person.
Another hallmark of McCartney is while he’s playing chords primarily under his songs, he puts in little snippets of melody on the instrument. Not too much, just enough to accentuate in certain spots of the song. You hear this in certain piano-based songs of his, such as Hey Jude and the Long and Winding Road.
And I've learned a lot about sonwriting and composition with that! The Beatles still surprise me with so many little subtile details in their songs!
I think it's the bass player in him, writing songs with a precise mindset around tonalities and harmonic locality. That just enough, melodic but at the same time minimalist approach to framing a song.
@@gandalf8216 Excellent point.
One of the most beautiful melodies in rock history.
The most beautiful
I would say that it is one of the most beautiful melodies that have been composed in the history of music. McCartney, as a melody creator, can compete with the greatest of all time.
Sadly they did not write it.
@@nathanmiller2982 what do you mean ?
@@zaziou711 He didn’t write it. Between 62-66 I don’t think the Beatles wrote anything
Always mind-blowing when I think of how young the Beatles were when writing so many masterpieces.
They broke up before any of them were 30. Just ridiculous
@@schuckdaddy1318 and George was only 26 by the time it was all over, honestly mindblowing
Right?! Paul was only 21 when he first wrote this masterpiece, 22 when it was completed. It’s seriously unfathomable
Less so when you consider they had classically trained George Martin helping them. Even less so when you consider the melody of Yesterday is basically an old Neapolitan song
@@sean2520 As if plenty of other producers didn't also have a great understanding of music? The Beatles were lucky to have George but he was lucky to have them as well. Let's not make this a competition of who has the most help for success like this is some sports debate.
The isolated voice of Paul gives chills to my spine!
You might be sick. Have that looked at.
@@FrankBatistaElJibaro Haha! you are so funny bro 😂😂😂😂
Brilliant, fascinating and fantastically well explained. Thanks Paul. Both Pauls! The fact that a 23 year old wrote this instinctively with zero formal music training or academic knowledge is astounding. There'll be no one like him again. I'm sure of it.
Don't forget George Martin's influence.
yeah thinking about the Beatles' ages when they wrote these songs never fails to blow my mind
I like the subtle "both pauls". You know what's up Lol
I’m coming on 71 y/o and have heard every Beatle song hundreds and hundreds of times over the years to the point where I just back off for a period of time. I listen to all genres of music from Miles and Coltrane to Country to Metal even hip hop now and then. Yet I always come back to the Beatles every now and then and it blows me away how fresh their music feels, to my ears anyway. Thanks Paul for stoking the fire of the wonder of these four lads yet again.
I feel the same way, but at 25. The Beatles never cease to inspire and move me. Must’ve been incredible to grow up while they were still releasing new music!
@@mikaelMMK
It really was a special time. Every generation has great memories of the music they grow up with but prior to the Beatles, the pop charts were dominated by teen idol solo acts. When they appeared on Ed Sullivan in early 1964 it was truly an event. That appearance literally kicked the door down musically and a flood of amazing bands appeared seemingly out of nowhere, all inspired by that single event. The rest is history of course but it was clear even then that the Beatles were very special. What they accomplished in six short years is astonishing to this day. I would rate Revolver as my favourite album, absolutely ground breaking stuff. Tomorrow never knows, are you kidding me! When I first heard that cut I was gobsmacked. The progression of their music in a few years was mind blowing. As Elvis Costello said, artists are still trying to make that album today. So many great bands that I was able to see live in Vancouver where I grew up, Cream in 1968, Led Zeppelin 3 or four times, on and on. Keep searching out good music in all genres, it remains one of the great pleasures in my life.
you have a gift for explaining things so clearly. thanks for all your videos.
Great timing on this video, I just watched the film Yesterday again with my wife a few nights ago and it always sends me on a Beatles revival, they’re all I’ve been listening to the last few days!
Impeccable video! Shows how great of a melody writer McCartney is, when he talks about writing music I always get the idea he was primarily a "melody-first" writer, so he had the melody already and just had to work out chords to go underneath to support it, the opposite of how a lot of people are taught and how pop is written today. So in the end I feel like it's actually the melody that dictates the chords, and that pretty much all legendary songs were written this way too.
This is undoubtably the case. He’s told the story a few times of how he woke up with the melody one morning and quickly recorded his voice singing it, to the words “scrambled eggs, etc”. Then he went to various friends houses that morning, including John, asking if they’d ever heard the melody and they said they hadn’t. It took Paul a year of jumping in and out of the raw song, before he finished it while on holiday in Portugal.
Whats even crazier is the fact that all of this just manifested spontaneously in his dream. Unbelievable talent.
after having played Georgia on my Mind for years.
Yesterday is one of the songs, that was so overexposed when I was young, that hardly anyone ever mentioned it in the last 15 years. I think it will soon have a comeback as a top level masterpiece!
A great example of a superb melody, with the guitar playing basic chords in and around it. The days when we could whistle the tunes on the radio. Nice video Paul. Thank you.
It has never occurred to me till watching this excellent video of the connection between Yesterday and Blackbird. Written within a short space of time from each other, both feature the ascending melody with descending bass. It really shone out when Paul played that section.
What genius, to have this melody appear in your mind, fully formed, while asleep. What talent to write the words and find the chord voicings to compliment it.
One of the greatest songs ever written.
Something that's been haunting me for years now: the contrast between the sorrow expressed by the the lyrics and the outspoken, direct, no-frills way in which he sings them. No tears. No sobs. Only selfconsciousness. It is that contrast, that tension, that is heartrending.
I just found out about this movie called yesterday..and while watching it suddenly this video pops up...your scaring me paul
Brilliant analysis. I especially love the acknowledgement of the third of a chord being sharp in equal temperament tuning and it sounding better being "flat."
Well to be honest while I'm playing if any of my guitar's strings go out of tune and/but either because of the composition of the piece or any playing style differences it prompts in me it still sounds good, I keep it that way until it doesn't anymore xd.
If cheesiness is allowed, then "let the guitar sing its own tune a little" I mean.
7:30 Try playing it in F standard tuning. I've tried playing it both D tuned, and non-transposed. F standard sounds best, and it is still how I would opt to play it today.
I have loved this song since early childhood but never tried to learn it. Thanks for breaking it down. Had the pleasure of seeing Sir Paul play it live in 1990.
Hi Ray. 👋 I thought so. Mum told me of her trips to her grandmother in lower Bebington, near Liverpool, to see Paul as a child. My grandfather took me to St Andrews, Gretna Green, and my dad took us for a holiday to Kintyre, where Paul and Linda lived. The food in the local hotel near Paul's house was fantastic. I tried to get my daughter interested in guitar. I think it would be a good way to relax.
“Hi I’m Paul McCartney and I was 21 when I wrote one of the most important songs of all time. No big deal”
Would be great to watch you play this whole beattle's song at the end of your video🙏
I can’t tell what’s better. The Beatles coming out w songs like this in a time where nobody could. Or you(Paul David’s) having one of the best FREE guitar lesson UA-cam Channels I’ve ever seen. Thanks for letting us see these methods the way you do.
This is awesome. I only started learning guitar about 9 weeks ago & I'm documenting my entire learning journey on here so this was super motivational! It was actually a visit to Liverpool just a few months ago that helped inspire me. Nice one Paul.
Nice one Paul. McCartney or Davids?
@@noahorellana Haha both Paul's..!!
Wow.... for someone just learning to play, you've sure taken the high road. I've been playing a long, long time and every moment, I learn something new. I hope you post your journey, for all of us to see and enjoy, with you.
@@pistolp01 Haha thanks so much... I can already see after just 10 weeks that we can be learning & improving on this instrument forever if we choose to do so...! Loving the journey so far!
@@NewLifeWithGuitar I still vaguely remember my first learning experience with guitar. When I started you would just learn from friends by picking their brains and technique. Now, today, it's just crazy with all the incredible input. My first big achievement was learning, Needle and the Damage Done, by Neil Young. This was from a buddy who taught it to me, note for note, exactly like Neil played it. Very tough, I was about 4 months in, but there were times I'd play 10 hours a day... talk about sore fingers. I think the thing that always drove me mad, was everytime I finally thought I was the shit, someone would come along and put me back in my place. LOL Like you said and all of us know, we never stop learning. Good luck and pretty soon those calloused fingers feel no pain. I looked at your channel and you're making good progress. You may want to throw in an extra hour a few times a week, but we all have our own pace. Good luck.
Paul was so young when he wrote this timeless classic. He is so exceptional in so many ways. I don't think he gets the credit he deserves. For example, he's never at the top of lists when it comes to rock/pop vocalists, which is crazy. He's brilliant, and still thinks of himself as working class even though he's become extremely wealthy, as he's deserved and earned. Ringo has said many times that if not for Paul's exceptional work ethic, they'd have never done as much or accomplished as much as they did as The Beatles.
I love that warm place that you have in background
I’m honestly amazed at the song writing from Paul and John and eventually George and how great they were. I think the best was Paul evidenced by his continued success. It’s a shame John’s life was cut short, who knows what he might have done. And for George as well. Rest in Peace you two.
John was the only one of the three who was still writing Beatles quality songs in 1980 such as “Real Love”, “Watching the Wheels”, “Now and Then”, “Woman”, etc
Always nice to hear you break down such a seemingly simple and beautiful song
content aside, which is great, i love the style of your videos. No unecessarily long intro, not arduous overexplaining, just straight to the point while effortlessly explaining the key points you want to bring across. Always a pleasant watch!!
Great video Paul! Hope the family is well!
Yes, mr Davids in short span of time Beatles created different tunes and chord progressions, their uniqueness couldn't be matched...they are the greatest ..your subscriber here, primo Castro from philippines
Always a good day when Paul Davids uploads!
I love that Paul uses the shapes of the chords to say what key they’re in. I do that a lot. A song will be in Bb and I’ll say either capo 3 G shapes or capo one A shapes
i can vouch for the acoustic guitar course. well worth the effort
I always learn so much when I listen to you. When I tune my uke by ear, to me it sounds better but my tuner says I'm flat. Now I know why. Thank you.
This was really awesome. Great work!
Great video. The Beatles songbook is so popular for beginner guitarists due to those incredible melodies often over relatively easy guitar chords that make you sound amazing right away. The magic is in the songwriting. Beautiful.
... one of the best "feel good" to enjoy! ... Thanks Paul, and Paul!!!
Please keep these chord progression study lessons coming. Learning way more than following blindly.
So good! Thank you, Paul. Your videos are always so fun, comfy, and fascinating. :)
The best analysis of this great tune I could find in many years searching. Was great for me to tune down and play in the original key. I used it as a lesson to relearn the tune taking care of the details.
Hi Paul - I love looking at your in detail diagnostics of Pauls song from 58 years ago ! you have analysed and exposed what Paul played naturally to him at the time.. It just shows what a talent he has and you have explained well what came naturally to Paul at all that time ago. Big respect to both of you.. Cheers Phil
I think We all would want an instructor as Mr Davids. His family is charmed.
You so easily could be the next David Attenborough. You really have an ease and peaceful elegance to your voice. I surely can't be the first to say this. You have a voice for money.
Fascinating about paul singing the yester “dayyyy” down a semitone…just a natural musical genius.
Love your stuff. You didn't mention the important fact that the A sections are 6 measure phrases which is extremely rare in pop music, and makes Yesterday a bit challenging to improvise over.
Something else, Mr Lennon loved His B string a little flat. Seems to work alright.
@@R.Akerman-oz1tf John didn't seem to work alright. :p
Even John's self-rebuked songs meant a lot.@@MrChopsticktech
@@R.Akerman-oz1tfJohn didn’t play on this song
Well; define "Play".@@ewest14
Always wanted to play a guitar (any type) but just never got around to doing it in my life. I'm now 64 and still love listening to the instrument. Listening to the terminology Mr Davids uses in this video leaves me completely baffled! He may as well be talking in Mandarin Chinese! It was educational to say the least, but waaaay above my comprehension. Brilliant song, brilliant break-down of the song chords, brilliant video. (I'm now off to study a much less brain-taxing subject, like 'rocket-science' or 'open heart surgical procedures')
Mind Blowing
The string movement highlighted at 5:10 is basically Somebody Made for Me by Emitt Rhodes
I always start with theme and lyrics and the first verse says it all. 1 word three syllables next three lines basically 9 syllables per line. So its a construction of what a three syllable thematic word, then the melody runs of the 9 syllable lines after that for each verse. Suddenly takes the next verse. Nice structure to understand why things work from words to melody.
Awesome, we all love these Beatles' classics!
Apparently, he dreamt about the melody, woke up and quickly wrote it down; the next day he wandered playing it to several people he was working with to see if he involuntary committed plagiarism (he was not).
Thanks for sharing Paul!
Ps I am currently following your Acoustic Adventure course and I am loving it: the fingerpicking lessons drastically changed both my way of playing and listening to music... once you learn to ear those continuous basses you never go back... speaking of which: Paul, I would really love to see you breaking down some of Robert Johnson's songs: the way he played the blues definitely shaped the way we see the instrument nowadays, and nobody's making a video on it!!!
Have a wonderful day, and thanks for sharing!
Cheers ☀️
Great video and great acoustic style choice (double slope shoulder) for Yesterday
I've said it for decades - I regard Paul McCartney to be the greatest songwriter there has ever been. Add to the fact that he doesn't read music just increases my admiration and awe. The word 'genius' is used FAR too often, but Paul is 100% a genius, absolutely no doubt.
The greatest songwriter ever is also a master at writing lyrics. Paul in his solo
Career specially falls very short of the mark. Nevertheless, he’s one of the greatest in my book as well, on a very short list
Even as a very young child I remember hearing this and being blown away by its melancholy beauty, that’s pretty darn impressive imo. Glad this song exists, it is heavenly.
McCartney is a genius. We are so blessed. ❤
Paul is One of The greatest of ALL TIME!!!!!
possibly the best song of all time? loved every second of this ❤
the B7 (09:20) is in the position our lead guitarist called "the Cowboy B7" when he taught it to me. Sure a lot easier to play on a keyboard -- your fingers just fall there.
I remember the day when I heard that old song for the very first time when I was a little kid, I felt nostalgia for the first time. I didn't even know what it was. I didn't even know who the Beatles were, how big or famous they had been, but that very special song reminded me of a time, or someone I was sorely missing. Pretty impressive.
Yes, it is beautiful. Thank you, Paul(s).
Classic , such a beautiful song. Thank you Paul
Excellent! Most people don't realize the musical genius of Paul!!
Is this a sarcastic comment? I hope so
Nope, a true statement. I was once talking about music with someone under thirty five and they said, "Who's Paul McCartney?" Many younger people have never heard the name, let alone know much about musical history!. @@paulnovak833
Ya think?
He’s only hailed as the greatest songwriter of the 20th century
@@PastPerspectives11 Sadly, most people I have spoken to under the age of 30 have no idea who he is.
Paul, you should do a whole video series of these that breakdown what makes these songs good and how to replicate it in our own songwriting.
keep up uploading such great videos
Really well presented and explained!
I'm currently learning this song, perfect timing
Amazing explanation ! Apparently Paul came up with part of the melody in his sleep for this song ☺️ even more magical
One factor on yesterday and the flats you talk about doesnt have to be with pauls brilliance but back in the 60's was not common left handed guitars so he just swapped the strings from position without modifying the intonation on the saddle of the acoustic guitar.
OOO yesterday is my favourite song for all time. Great bro 😀😀
In terms of song writing- it is worth to thing about what is called instrument idiomatic song writing- meaning that they (Beatles) are using some of the first chords that you learn to play on a guitar - and chord theory coming from classical theory, is based on what falls natural on a piano or organ(for your fingers). You can often hear what instrument is used to compose a specific song even though it's not used on the recording. So if your are into song writing try to use different instruments as an inspiration. Example going from G to E mayor to C mayor is not very comfortable (obvious) on a piano. But on a guitar is some of the first chord you learn- and theory wise is weird because you omit a lot of common tones- --- aka interesting to listen to as a cadence.
When writing this song, before they had the actual lyrics written, and were just getting the chords and melody down.. The placeholder lyrics for this song were.. "Scrambled eggs, Oh my baby how I love your legs. Not as much as I love scrambled eggs" Not only is this hilarious, considering the tone of the song.. But also genius! The idea of using placeholder nonsense lyrics purely to aid in composition, and then deliver a solid framework for the real lyrics later, is an incredibly effective and efficient writing technique.
I have never been a huge Beatles fan, but song-writing is definitely one thing those guys had in spades! There are only a handful of truly great songwriters. And even fewer compare to The Beatles... Bowie is another one, and definitely more my "thing", and he too had a really interesting song writing technique.
Very interesting. Never heard of or thought about this before.
As a songwriter who learned theory and how to play by studying chords, I absolutely love these videos! Bob Dylan's use of chords is masterful, please do something like Make You Feel My Love or The Times They Are A Changin'. I learned a lot from how Bob uses inversions (like C/G, C/B). Note that McCartney had Dylan as an influence!
If only he was a better singer! I feel like Bob's music is being forgotten as the years go by.
Dylan is happy to play 3chord songs. Sometimes he add a 7th.
@@smftrsddvjiou6443 But he does much more. Initially that's what I thought of, if you dive into his catalog you'll find much much more. I've learned a lot from it
Dylan always complimented the Beatles for their chords. That's one of the main things he'd point out about them.
Your videos are TOP notch man. Well done
for someone like me who knows nothing about music theory, this is wonderfully easy to understand. Thank you so much.
Top notch content once again, Mr Davids!
I never heard of it. I only know Yellowsubmarine, Cant buy me love, here comes the sun, and Octopus Garden. Those are my favorite song because i played them on Rock Band Beatles. Im definitely gonna play that game today and listen to Yesterday. Its in the game but its probably one of those songs that didnt grab my attention at first. Im more open minded with music now compared to when 15 years ago. The Beatles does go hard imo.
If you really aren’t joking and didn’t know this song, that blows my mind. It’s often named the most famous song of all time, and I think is officially the most covered ever. But then again, it blows others people’s mind that I don’t know hardly any popular music today 😂
McCartney is the most underrated gtr player ever. The greatest all round musician and composer ever.
Well, playing that song is not that difficult. Coming up with it in the first place is the true greatness.
Brilliant harmonic aprouch! Many thanks!
This is great! I liked the combination of theory and demo in this classic tune. ii V I. But with cool additions...
I love these videos. Your musical knowledge is to be aspired to. It would be interesting to know if Paul really thought through the musical theory of it, in the manner you described. Seems like he just knows what sounds good and plays what he likes. Doesn't matter though. Beautiful song, and you give it all its due. Thank you for the videos!!
Probably not. I'd say there's more than a 90% chance he wasn't thinking about "theory" when he put the song together, just watch interviews where he admits he writes with his musical instinct. He fairly recently did a long interview with Rick Rubin you should check out. They go through and analyze a bit about their song writing. It's on UA-cam, originally done for Hulu.
As I want to play AND SING this great song and don't have a high voice like Paul McC, I play it with guitar chords in C (that works well the baselines as well) and lift it with a capo to D - or higher on a good day 😊
And to think, Paul and actually none of the Beatles knew how to read music or had any formal theory training...this my friends, is a gift...
Something remarkable was going on in their subconscious, certainly.
Love the Beatles, love their music, love Paul Davids, what a perfect watch, cheers
11:17 he does sing that descending melody after the chorus the second time around
I call this the "Bobbit" song and cant hear it with thinking of his incident "I'm half the man i used to be" "I said something wrong, now i long for Yesterday" cracks me up every time.
Nice to see you playing an Alistair Atkin. Beautiful guitars from a great bloke.
timeless. what an achievement, to write down something that will never age.
wonderful song, and excellent video !!
love the analysis/explanation
I bought Acoustic Adventure, really enjoying it.
Please can you do ‘Here, There and Everywhere’? I’ve always been massively intrigued by how McCartney is able to connect chords together that seem like they shouldn’t fit but do
The genius of the asymmetrical verses (7 bars) and 8 bar middle 8 (makes sense), with 2 bar intro and coda = 2+7+7+8+7+8+7+2 = 48 bars of perfection and economy. The 7 bar verses don't seem unbalanced because the melodic motif (1+2) is developed, syncopated and rhythmically displaced so brilliantly, becoming 1, 2+ (including the closing 'yes-terday'). The genius of Paul McCartney
Can't wait for the Rick Beato video where Rick interviews Paul McCartney and how Paul saw a video of yours and says you're not quite right in how you play it lol
You mean that he realises I am actually correct? And that Paul then emails me with his appreciation and invites me to his concert? Yes, that would be awesome!
yes of course @@PaulDavids
Just checking back to see if the comment aged well. No? Still not? Aight I’ll be back
I drop the low E string down to a D (Drop D tuning) and modify the key of F chord fingerings to allow for the D bass. Everything sounds almost identical, but I don't need the guitar tuned a whole step down. It may sound complicated, but it's not.
Funny, just played it again today and now I can enjoy your new Video. Good day.
And to think it all came in a dream to him. Like a gift from the sky.
Great chord progression, Great Stuff.
Beautiful. Thank you!
Paul, I would love to see a video you examining "Here, There and Everywhere"
Recommend the Bluray 'Produced by George Martin' (2012) where we get a great insight on the influence of Martin on Beatles songs. With his classical training he contributed massively to the arrangements, especially songs like 'Yesterday'