Did Paul McCartney Steal From Bach? (Blackbird Chords And Guitar Lesson)

Behold, in my humble but accurate opinion, one of the greatest songs ever. 

Yet so many guitar lessons online make this magical piece WAY harder than it needs to be. In fact, one time I had a student who told me he had been trying to get this song down for 14 years. When I revealed to him what I am going to share with you below, he learned how to play it in 2 days.  

That’s the power of understanding the fundamentals… and… not following fake gurus on the internet. 

So, grab your guitar, and let’s dive into this “Blackbird” chords and guitar lesson!

Who Wrote Blackbird?

"Blackbird" is one of the most iconic songs by The Beatles. It was written by Paul McCartney and credited to the Lennon-McCartney partnership. This magical acoustic track was released in 1968 on what is commonly known as The Beatles’ White Album. 

"Blackbird" is a metaphorical and symbolic song that means something a little different to everyone. But it has struck a chord with listeners all over the world, and across generations. 

“Blackbird” is often interpreted as a song about the civil rights movement in the United States during the 1960s. McCartney has mentioned in various interviews that the song was inspired by the struggle of African Americans during that period. 

When I saw McCartney live years ago, he mentioned that this song was inspired by legendary classical composer J.S. Bach. The opening guitar part to “Blackbird” sounds very similar to the opening to Bach’s Bourrée in E minor, a piece both he and George Harrison had learned on guitar as teenagers. 

The recording session for "Blackbird" took place on June 11, 1968, at Abbey Road Studios in London. It was one of the rare instances where McCartney recorded entirely by himself. The tapping sound in the song is McCartney's foot, which was added to keep time, giving the song a more intimate, almost live performance feel. 

"Blackbird" has been widely acclaimed and is considered one of McCartney's finest compositions. And I don’t disagree with this. While it was never released as a single, it became a beloved track from The White Album and has since been covered by numerous artists across various genres.

Rolling Stone ranked it among "The Beatles 100 Greatest Songs." McCartney has performed "Blackbird" live many times, and it remains a staple of his concerts. Even during his 1973 Wings tour, the song was part of the setlist, and it continued to be a significant part of his solo performances in the decades that followed.

The song also has a connection to the Beatles’ breakup. While "Blackbird" predates the breakup of The Beatles, its recording showed a turn of the increasingly individualistic nature of the band’s later work. McCartney recording the song alone shows the growing creative and personal distances between the band members.

“Blackbird" is a quintessential example of McCartney's songwriting genius.

Now, if you’re trying to play this legendary song on guitar you may be wondering…

What is the tuning for Blackbird?

While there are live versions of Paul McCartney playing with Wings and using a guitar tuned down one step to play “Blackbird”, the original is in standard tuning. In the earlier days, Paul would play “Yesterday” and “Blackbird” back to back live. Since on “Yesterday” the guitar is tuned down 1 whole step, he would then just play “Blackbird” tuned down a whole step as well, that way he didn’t have to change guitars.  

Recently when I saw Paul play this live, he had a separate guitar for both “Blackbird” and “Yesterday. So he kept “Blackbird” true to the original tuning which is: 

• E (6th string, lowest pitch)
• A (5th string)
• D (4th string)
• G (3rd string)
• B (2nd string)
• E (1st string, highest pitch)

Let’s next take a look at the…

Blackbird Chords

To play “Blackbird” on guitar you’ll need to know 15 tiny chord shapes, G, Am11, G/B, C, A7/C#, Dadd11, B7/D#, Em, Eb, Cm, A7add11, D7sus4, Fadd9, Dmadd11, and Bb6. 

That may sound like a lot but as you’ll see many of these shapes can be played with just one or two fingers. Because there are open strings that ring throughout many of these chords, this results in some of the chords having longer names. Fear not, let’s take a look at a few ways these shapes can be played.

G can be played using all 6 strings in a folk style like this:

Am11 is played on strings 5 through 2 like this:

G/B is played on the middle strings as well. This chord is commonly used as a walk-up chord in folk styles:

C is played with a shape we’ll move around the fretboard throughout this song:

A7/C# looks like G/B just shifted up to frets:

Dadd11 looks like the C chord but shifted up to the 5th position:

Then we’ll follow the same pattern again and move to a B7/D# like this:

Em is a beautiful minor shape at the 7th position like this:

Then simply drop the root note on the 5th string one fret and you’ll land on Eb like this:

Cm looks like the G/B shape and the Em shape but this time in 3rd position:

A7add11 just uses one finger like this:

Move the one fretted note from A7add11 down one fret and you’ll land on D7sus4 like this:

Let’s take a quick break for a second. It’s important to keep in mind that while these chords have fancy names, you don’t need bar chords, or complex fingerings to play them. 94% of the chords require just one or two fingers. So don’t get too bogged down by the names and focus on the simplicity of the shapes.

 The magic comes in the strum hand with the clawhammer style of picking.

Those are all the chords for the verse. The last 3 chords come in during the chorus. So let’s sally forth with…

Fadd9 is played in the 8th position like this:

Dmadd11 is played in 5th position like this:

And finally, Bb6 is played at the 1st fret like this:

If you go back and analyze all these chords you’ll see there are just a couple shapes to know. Then armed with those shapes you move them around the fretboard to get all the chords for the song. 

“Blackbird” is a very shape-based, and pattern-formed song. Many of these patterns I point out in the video above. The chords are all based on the interval of a 10th.

A tenth is a compound interval, meaning it exceeds the octave. If you think of it in terms of simpler intervals, a tenth is essentially an octave plus a third. So, if you play a note and then another note that is an octave higher plus a third above the first note, you're playing a tenth.

If you struggled to understand and navigate the fretboard for rhythm and lead then get your hands on my free fretboard guide PDF right here:

Now that you know the “Blackbird” chords let’s talk about…

Is Blackbird by The Beatles hard to play?

“Blackbird” if taught right is not a super advanced song. In fact, I have even taught it to beginner guitar players and they have gotten it down with success. 

You don’t need to memorize all the chord names like I have just written out above. I would bet Paul McCartney himself couldn’t tell you all the names in that much detail. This is because he’s just moving tiny shapes around the fretboard and following his ear. 

I’ve played the song for years alone without ever analyzing the chords and names. If you want to solo over the song or play it with a trio. Then you might want to start diving deeper into the actual harmony behind the tune. But to play you’re own cover you don’t need to know everything about it. 

Simply learn the grips (which again most of the time only require one or two fingers) and combine them with the clawhammer picking style. Do this and you’re golden. So, if you’re wondering if “Blackbird” is a beginner guitar song, the answer is if taught right yes. However, many guitar instructors WAY overcomplicate it. This hurts many students.

What key is Blackbird in?

“Blackbird” as recorded by The Beatles is in the key of G major. However, Paul McCartney uses many chromatic chords and walking bass lines that weave through the chords. But the tonic and home key is G major. (See the video above for more on these chord secrets.) 

Now that you understand the key and chords, let’s talk about the…

Blackbird Strumming (Brushing) Pattern

The main underlying groove for "Blackbird" is an 8th-note brushing feel. These brushes should be seen like strumming patterns but with your fingers. Strumming 8th notes means dividing each beat of a 4/4 time signature into two equal parts.

To properly strum 8th notes, you need to understand how to count them within each measure. In a 4/4 time signature, each measure has four beats. When subdividing each beat into 8th notes, each beat is divided into two equal parts, giving us a total of eight 8th notes per measure.

To count 8th notes, you typically use the following syllables:

1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &

Here’s the breakdown:

1: The first 8th note (on the beat)

&: The second 8th note (off the beat)

When counting out loud, it sounds like:

"One and, Two and, Three and, Four and"

While this is the “feel” for the song, you might not want to strum all the 8th notes all the time. Instead, you could try mixing in a few quarter notes with the 8th notes to let it breathe and open up. Here’s an example of playing in this style:

Conclusion

"Blackbird" by The Beatles is a masterful blend of simplicity and depth, making it a great song for guitar players of all levels. For beginners, the key to mastering this song lies not in memorizing complex chord names but in understanding and applying fundamental techniques.

By focusing on the basic chord grips and the distinctive clawhammer picking style, you can unlock the beauty of "Blackbird"  

Keep it up, and if you want to learn songs way faster, better understand the fretboard, and not waste years spinning your wheels with guitar, grab my free fretboard guide right here now:  

Jon MacLennan