BLACKBIRD by Paul McCartney – Ukulele arrangement by “UKULELE MIKE” LYNCH

Please note: my UKULELE BASICS DVD is now available for purchase.  For mor information email: mike@ukulelemikelynch.com

I vividly remember that cool November day in 1968 returning to my college dorm room with my newly acquired treasure tucked under my arm.  It was the newly released Beatle’s “WHITE” double album.  I quickly put it on the turntable. . . does anybody remember turntables? ha ha ha. . . And my ears were immediately delighted by Paul’s travis picking on the acoustic Martin D28 as he played his now classic song “BLACKBIRD”  Now, that year I had just taken up the classical guitar and one of my earliest endeavors was to learn J.S. Bach’s composition BOUREE.  Something about this BLACKBIRD piece hauntingly reminded me of BOUREE.  It wasn’t until just a few years ago that I heard Paul claim that he too was working on the BOUREE that same year and out of that piece evolved BLACKBIRD.  How crazy is that?

I quickly grabbed my Martin D28 and began to feverisly learn this new song directly from the LP.  That friday at a college dance I played it at an open mic during a short break in the dance.  The song had already hit the airwaves and was fast rising to the top so everyone knew this song.  I remember how amazed they were by the fact that I had learned this song in just a matter of 2 or 3 days.  I’ll admit I was proud of myself and a memory I’ll never forget.

I’ve had so much fun translating this 6 string tune into a 4 string Ukulele tune.  I hope I’ve done it justice. . . The tablature for my arrangement is included in my large SOLO UKULELE INSTRUMENTALS Volume 1 2013 enlarged edition eBook. It is available for purchase $28.95 and can be purchased by paying through the paypal donate button on my website: http://www.ukulelemikelynch.com It will be emailed to you within the day of purchase.