Paul McCartney Admits He’s Not a Great Songwriting Teacher — ‘I Don’t Know How to Do This’
Paul McCartney is an experienced songwriter who has created hundreds of iconic songs for The Beatles and his solo career. One would think that he has perfected his method for songwriting, but Paul McCartney revealed he still doesn’t know exactly what he’s doing.
Paul McCartney has written hundreds of classic songs
McCartney began making music at a young age and exhibited his talents early with The Beatles. He wrote dozens of Beatles hits, including “Let it Be,” “Yesterday,” “Blackbird,” and “Hey Jude.” He and John Lennon were also a dynamic duo, collaborating on several songs under the Lennon-McCartney banner.
Once The Beatles broke up, McCartney went on his own but continued to create fantastic music with Wings and as a solo artist. While he never reached the same level of success as The Beatles, he still managed to create many hits, including “Band on the Run,” “Jet,” and “Maybe I’m Amazed.” Macca continues to make new music today and released his most recent album McCartney III in December 2020.
Paul McCartney admits he’s not a great songwriting teacher
Paul McCartney often returns to his hometown of Liverpool and visits his old school, LIPA (Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts). In an interview with Barnes & Noble’s James Daunt, the former Beatle said he will often do one-on-ones with students to discuss songwriting with them. However, he admitted that he tells them he still doesn’t know what he’s doing.
“I go up there and talk to the songwriting students, so that’s the nearest I get about trying to impart any wisdom, but I must admit when I walk in the room, it’s always one-on-one with one of the students. I walk in the room, and I say, ‘Let me tell you first, I don’t know how to do this. You’d think I’d know, but each song is different. You know, it arrives out of this black hole, and I have no idea how it happened. But play me your song and I’ll talk to you about it, and if I think anything could be improved, then I’ll tell you.’
McCartney said songwriting begins out of a ‘black hole’
While describing the songwriting process, Paul McCartney called the beginning of it a “black hole.” It starts from nothing and slowly builds into something as a writer discovers the melodies and harmonies that eventually lead to lyrics. He said it’s “magical” because it’s something that appeared out of thin air.
“Like pulling a rabbit out of a hat, it’s still a hole, a top hat,” McCartney explained. “If you think, ‘Oh, I’ll write a song. I got some time, and I’m just sitting around, I’m fed up with watching telly, I think I could do it.’ So, I get my guitar, and I’m very conscious of the fact that there’s nothing there. I haven’t got any idea what I’m gonna do. It’s a black hole.”
“And then I start picking away and get a little bit of an idea. I go, ‘Oh, that’s nice.’ And you follow that trail, and at the end of maybe two or three hours, you’ve suddenly got this thing, you got this song,” he continued. “So now, instead of a black hole, you can now go and play this thing to people. You now present this little discovery. ‘Look what I’ve just done.’ And it’s a great thing to be able to do. It’s kind of magical.”
