YouTube – And Your Bird Can Sing by The Beatles – How to play bass

Thanks for another great request. I’ve been receiving lots of requests for Beatles bassline tutorials, which I absolutely love! Keep them coming!

And as always, a huge thank you to everyone who has sent PayPal donations. I really, truly appreciate it. Thank you!

YouTube – Drive My Car by The Beatles – How to play bass

As always, thank you for the request! Add this to the long list of excellent bass line by the master, Paul McCartney. Enjoy!

YouTube – Paperback Writer by The Beatles – How to play bass

Thanks so much for the request! This is yet another awesome bass line by Paul McCartney. Hope this helps!

YouTube – Rain by The Beatles – How to play bass

Thanks for the request! This is, of course, another fantastic bass line by Paul McCartney. Have fun!

Here’s my new video guitar lesson, “The Fact Remains” by Juliana Hatfield:

YouTube – The Fact Remains by Juliana Hatfield – How to play cool songs

I hope my instructions help!

This is from Hatfield’s 2008 album How to Walk Away. It’s a great album and is very poppy and polished, unlike Made in China (2005), Juliana’s Pony: Total System Failure (2000), and Bed (1998), which are fantastic albums, but much more heavy and raw.

Visit Juliana Hatfield’s web site: www.julianahatfield.com

Here’s my new video guitar lesson, “Close Your Eyes” by Juliana Hatfield:

YouTube – Close Your Eyes by Juliana Hatfield – How to play cool songs

I hope my instructions help!

This is one of Hatfield’s softer songs, from her 2000 album Beautiful Creature. It’s yet another great song that’s pretty easy to play. The vocals are right in the middle of my range, so I enjoy singing it, too.

Visit Juliana Hatfield’s web site: www.julianahatfield.com

Here’s my new video guitar lesson, “Little Pieces” by The Juliana Hatfield Three:

YouTube – Little Pieces by The Juliana Hatfield Three – How to play cool songs

I hope my instructions help!

This is one of my favorite songs. It’s from Hatfield’s 1993 album Become What You Are, which was the first Hatfield CD I bought along with Bed in 1999. They’re both excellent and of course, I recommend buying them on Amazon, iTunes, or at your local CD store. If you have even the slightest interest in alternative rock, indie rock, or pop rock, these two purchases are no-brainers. They’re two of the best albums of the 1990s.

Visit Juliana Hatfield’s web site: www.julianahatfield.com

Here’s my new video guitar lesson, “Don’t Let Me Down” by Juliana Hatfield:

YouTube – Don’t Let Me Down by Juliana Hatfield – How to play cool songs

This is a great song from her 2004 album In Exile Deo. As you can see, the guitar part is pretty easy, which seems to be the case with many of the best songs.

“Don’t Let Me Down” features Hatfield’s raw-yet-polished vocal harmonies and ragged lead guitar playing, which I’ve enjoyed album after album. At 3:59 long, it’s a perfect pop rock song. I highly recommend checking it out on Amazon or iTunes, or buying In Exile Deo at your local CD store. If you aren’t already familiar with Juliana Hatfield’s music, you’re in for a treat!

Visit Juliana Hatfield’s web site: www.julianahatfield.com

YouTube – Birthday by The Beatles – How to play bass

Thanks for the request! It’s a fun song with a great bass part by Paul McCartney, of course George Harrison. I hope my instructions help. Enjoy!

UPDATE November 24, 2009: Thanks to thefoolonthehill for correcting me in the comments!

YouTube – Figure of Eight by Paul McCartney – How to play cool songs

My parents and I saw Paul McCartney live at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ, in June 1990. The concert was part of McCartney’s Friends of the Earth tour, to promote his 1989 album Flowers in the Dirt. It was my first concert and I still remember it well. Paul and his band played several new songs I’d never heard before, but he also played a bunch of Beatles songs, Wings songs, and a tribute to John Lennon which – if I remember correctly – consisted of “Help!,” “Strawberry Fields Forever,” and “Give Peace a Chance.”

During “Fool on the Hill,” McCartney played a colorful upright piano that ascended over the audience and rotated mid-song. It was quite a sight! What ever happened to the fun, upbeat Paul McCartney from back then? I miss the silly, happy, youthful Paul.

In October 1990, McCartney released the concert, minus the Lennon tribute, as a double album called Tripping the Live Fantastic. My family and I listened to the cassette tapes in the car on a daily basis and one of my favorite songs was “Figure of Eight,” the album’s opener. When I finally heard Flowers in the Dirt, I remember liking the live version better than the studio recording, but maybe it’s just my memory playing tricks on me after all these years…or maybe it was just because I heard the live version first. I’ll have to track down the live CDs and see which one I prefer now.

I actually bought Flowers in the Dirt from the iTunes store a few nights ago and listened to the album for the first time since the early 1990s. This version of “Figure of Eight” is very good and I’ve been listening to it constantly this week. My other favorites are still here too, just as I remembered them: “This One,” “My Brave Face,” “That Day Is Done,” and “Put It There.”

“Distractions” is a pleasant surprise. I didn’t particularly like that song as a child – too soft and boring, or so I thought – but now I appreciate and enjoy the gentle mood and lush, jazzy orchestral arrangement. I can do without the rest of the songs on the album though. They’re not horrible and I might listen to them occasionally, but if they were somehow deleted from my iPhone and computer, I wouldn’t miss them.

By the way, my voice is back to normal now and I’m still hoping to post more Beatles remastered CD reviews soon. I promise!