Paul McCartney appeared on ABC News’ 7.30 and discussed the key ingredients of songwriting. Why does Paul tell them that he does not know how to write songs?
“Yeah, I think it all comes down to instinct. That’s sort of how it is. I get to talk to children these days. I have several songwriting students at my old school, which George and I used to attend and is now a performing arts institution. When I get into the room one-on-one with one of the students, the first thing I say is, ‘ I genuinely don’t know how to do this,’ which doesn’t inspire much confidence. But, when you’re writing music, there’s no way to do it.
McCartney also explained his approach to his students, emphasizing the uniqueness of the creative process:
“Because, you know, it’s her song or his song, and what I can do with them is sit around and listen to what they’ve done, and then maybe attempt to offer something like, ‘What about that word? You rhymed the other verses, but not that one. Should we look for a method to rhyme this? But I must admit, it is instinct.”
He also disclosed something about The Beatles that fans find difficult to believe.
“The other thing that surprises people is that none of us, even the Beatles and the Stones, can read or compose music. It’s just the way we do things. My argument is that I am of Celtic descent, and they never wrote anything down. It’s all bards, and you need to remember everything.”
In a 2021 interview, Paul McCartney revealed his methods and instructed the writers:
“Usually I’ll sit down and start doing whatever I want to do, either in a key I want to play around in [on guitar] or on the piano, and I’ll see where I go first, just see where it leads me. This is how we’ve always done it. I would sit down with John and just sort of go down this road.
Try to get to the end in one sitting; it’s usually pretty much written. You may then look at it and say, “Oh, that line is a little ropey.” If you’re lucky, you’ll discover that you’ve already completed the task.
Watch the full interview below:
