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All the musical instruments that Paul McCartney can play.

Posted on by L. Dreeye
All the musical instruments that Paul McCartney can play.

Paul McCartney - 1974 - David Litchfield

(Credits: Far Out / David Litchfield)

Will the world’s most successful songwriter ever truly get the recognition he deserves? Of course, you could argue that the proof is in the title…Sir Paul McCartney, but that’s part of the problem. Even before his knighthood, Macca was considered The Beatles establishment. While John Lennon was a radical, George Harrison a spiritualist, and Ringo Starr an everyman, Paul was a knight of the realm. The ever-cheerful, thumbs-up figure responsible for divisive Christmas tunes and forever associated with his idiosyncratic Hofner bass was often overshadowed by his own caricature.

I would listen if you want to object, that’s enough for anyone. Despite the death of monoculture, our celebrities are more worshiped than ever, and perhaps the claim that there are hidden depths to the literal Beatles is part of the problem. However, McCartney was always a more daring and unconventional musician than he thought. Of course, Lennon and Harrison were into experimental and unusual art styles at the height of the Fabs’ popularity, but neither of them wrote “Helter Skelter.”

Even the music Lennon dubbed “granny shit” requires a certain level of courage. It’s one thing to be crazy about squares and be considered the height of taste for them, and quite another to wear your squareness with pride and embrace it with all your heart. This musical omnivorousness can be seen in the huge number of musical instruments to which man has had a hand. Now, of course, he is an excellent singer, bassist and pianist, but his first instrument was the trumpet, which he took up at the age of five.

Although McCartney was an avid trumpet player, Lennon recounts his actual prowess in The Beatles Anthology, saying, “He had a wild theory that he actually learned how to play the old song ‘When The Saints Go Marching In.’ It just blew as hard as it could, drowning out everything we tried to do. He thought he did a great job with the melody, but we didn’t learn anything from it!” However, this was not the last time his musical abilities failed him.

Even as a member of the Beatles, his first instrument was the guitar. He was given only low frequencies because stage fright prevented him from playing solos, which was the specialty of the young George Harrison. After the band retired from touring, McCartney had time to expand his musical palette, becoming a capable enough drummer to use drumsticks on tracks such as “Back In The USSR” and “The Ballad of John & Yoko”. He’s no Ringo, but he’ll get you where you need to go. However, in his solo career, you can really see what a musical polymath McCartney has become.

Several of his solo records, including the famous McCartney trilogy, feature no instrumentalists other than Maxers himself. Seeing him master the organ, Mellotron, synthesizers and one amazing achievement in McCartney Iglasses. I bet this was Ringo’s solo career? McCartney IIIrecorded during the Covid-19 lockdown and documented for the film’s release by Jack White’s Third Man Records, this is where Paul really comes into his own. Record tracks on mandolin, harpsichord, cello and harmonica. There’s even a great video of McCartney performing a solo cover of “Heartbreak Hotel” on upright bass, and it has to be seen to be believed.

Of course, no one is in less need of critical reappraisal than the man who wrote “Yesterday.” However, it’s always nice to give credit where credit is due, and Paul has much more musical depth than many give him credit for. Dive into his solo career and there’s no telling what you’ll find.

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