Blackbird question..what's the clicking noise?
Bob Stahley
David <dav...@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
: Listen to Blackbird, on the White Album, and you will hear a tapping or
: clicking beat. I thought it was Paul tapping his foot or the guitar, but my
: guitar teacher said it was a metronome that was recorded with the song.
I'm sure I'll be corrected if I'm recalling this wrongly, but I believe
that, the last time this came up, opinion was pretty much split on this.
Some (myself included) believe it's his foot tapping, but others insisted
that the tapping is too consistant, so it must be a metronome.
--
__ __
_) _) bo...@primenet.com if the fates allow. Until then
__)__) tosa? wassatosa? we'll have to muddle though somehow
David
Listen to Blackbird, on the White Album, and you will hear a tapping or
clicking beat. I thought it was Paul tapping his foot or the guitar, but my
thought it was strange that they would record that. Does anyone know what
it is? The reason I think it is Paul tapping is because it stops in the
middle, when he pauses, and the bird chirping comes in, you know? So, if it
were a metronome, it wouldn't stop, right? Please post a response to this
message at this newsgroup, instead of a reply to my e-mail. I check here
twice daily....David
Michael Kudlacik
> clicking beat. I thought it was Paul tapping his foot or the guitar, but
my
> guitar teacher said it was a metronome that was recorded with the song.
He
> thought it was strange that they would record that.
He should have trusted his instincts. It's McCartney's foot.
Yellow Listerine
In article <01bbe897$5731ae40$73ee1fcc@default>, "David"
<dav...@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
> Listen to Blackbird, on the White Album, and you will hear a tapping or
> clicking beat. I thought it was Paul tapping his foot or the guitar, but my
> guitar teacher said it was a metronome that was recorded with the song. He
> thought it was strange that they would record that. Does anyone know what
> it is? The reason I think it is Paul tapping is because it stops in the
> middle, when he pauses, and the bird chirping comes in, you know? So, if it
> were a metronome, it wouldn't stop, right? Please post a response to this
> message at this newsgroup, instead of a reply to my e-mail. I check here
> twice daily....David
Foot tapping.
David Haber
In article <58qr5j$h...@nnrp1.news.primenet.com>, Bob Stahley <bo...@primenet.com> wrote:
>David <dav...@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
>: Listen to Blackbird, on the White Album, and you will hear a tapping or
>: clicking beat. I thought it was Paul tapping his foot or the guitar, but my
>: guitar teacher said it was a metronome that was recorded with the song.
>
>that, the last time this came up, opinion was pretty much split on this.
>Some (myself included) believe it's his foot tapping, but others insisted
>that the tapping is too consistant, so it must be a metronome.
Can a metronome make a "tapping" noise as heard in Blackbird? I thought
mechanical metronomes made clicking noises, like a pendulum clock, and
electronic metronomes made beeps.
-Dave
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digiboy
In article <58r50j$7...@nnrp1.news.primenet.com>, bea...@primenet.com
(David Haber) wrote:
> In article <58qr5j$h...@nnrp1.news.primenet.com>, Bob Stahley
<bo...@primenet.com> wrote:
> >David <dav...@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
> >: Listen to Blackbird, on the White Album, and you will hear a tapping or
> >: clicking beat. I thought it was Paul tapping his foot or the guitar, but my
> >: guitar teacher said it was a metronome that was recorded with the song.
> >
> >I'm sure I'll be corrected if I'm recalling this wrongly, but I believe
> >that, the last time this came up, opinion was pretty much split on this.
> >Some (myself included) believe it's his foot tapping, but others insisted
> >that the tapping is too consistant, so it must be a metronome.
>
> Can a metronome make a "tapping" noise as heard in Blackbird? I thought
> mechanical metronomes made clicking noises, like a pendulum clock, and
> electronic metronomes made beeps.
>
> -Dave
>
"
'Tis a mechanical metronome, folks! There are dozens of shapes and sizes
and they all sound different. There are wooden ones and plastic ones. I
have an old plastic one that sounds a lot like the one he is using,I
recognized the sound right away. How does he get it to stop on time?
Simple: it didn't stop at all it kept going. It was recorded on a separate
track and after Paul finished they just go back and find the click that
matches the end of the song track and then erase all the clicks recorded
after that one.
--
You can't have everything, where would you put it?
-Steven Wright
Rialto
"David" <dav...@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
<<Listen to Blackbird, on the White Album, and you will hear a tapping or
clicking beat. . . . <<
No one responding so far has noted that Lewisohn says it's a metronome (at
page 137):
[11 June 1968]
"While John was busy experimenting with sounds, Paul started and finished
the recording of 'Blackbird', a lovely new composition which featured his
own lead vocal, double-tracked in places via an overdub, accompanied by
his acoustic guitar and a metronome gently ticking away in the
background."
There may be reasons to dispute this. Lewisohn is damm good and we're all
eternally grateful for his research and chronicles but he's not infallible
(we recently discovered that his Anthology 3 notes on "The Begining" were
not entirely accurate, it was not previously unreleased). Once you get
past Lewisohn as god (admittedly not an easy thing since he's all we got)
and unless you have access to George Martin or Paul, it's speculation as
to what went on in the studio (but hey, speculation is a perfectly
legitimate activity for a newsgroup such as rmb). I still vote for
metronome cause that's what it sounds like to me but I remember when I was
a kid and I first listened to the album I thought then that it was Paul
tapping his foot. In other words, ignore what I think and think for
yourself.
Bryce David
Michael Kudlacik (em...@bellatlantic.net) wrote:
:
: my
: > guitar teacher said it was a metronome that was recorded with the song.
: > thought it was strange that they would record that.
: He should have trusted his instincts. It's McCartney's foot.
Don't think so - it does not sound like a foot... I think its a metronome.
Huck Caton
Michael Kudlacik <em...@bellatlantic.net> wrote:
> He should have trusted his instincts. It's McCartney's foot.
If so, then Lewisoh has it wrong in Recording Sessions:
"Paul started and finished the recording of "Blackbird"... accompanied
by his acoustic guitar and a METRONOME gently ticking away in the
background."
Then again, he's been wrong before so...
--
hu...@sure.net
"Intel Inside"--the world's most widely-used warning label!
Bob Stahley
Rialto <ria...@aol.com> wrote:
: No one responding so far has noted that Lewisohn says it's a metronome (at
: page 137):
: [11 June 1968]
In _Chronicles_ (p 286), Lewisohn exponged any mention of a metronome,
just as he removed his obviously-false assertions in _Recording Sessions_
that there was no Hammond organ on either "You Won't See Me" and "I'm
Looking Through You."
--
__ __
_) _) bo...@primenet.com if the fates allow. Until then
__)__) miwakawiconic we'll have to muddle though somehow
Danny Caccavo
In article <19961213202...@ladder01.news.aol.com>, ria...@aol.com
(Rialto) wrote:
>
> There may be reasons to dispute this. Lewisohn is damm good and we're all
> eternally grateful for his research and chronicles but he's not infallible
> (we recently discovered that his Anthology 3 notes on "The Begining" were
> not entirely accurate, it was not previously unreleased). Once you get
> past Lewisohn as god (admittedly not an easy thing since he's all we got)
> and unless you have access to George Martin or Paul, it's speculation as
> to what went on in the studio (but hey, speculation is a perfectly
> legitimate activity for a newsgroup such as rmb). I still vote for
> metronome cause that's what it sounds like to me but I remember when I was
> a kid and I first listened to the album I thought then that it was Paul
> tapping his foot. In other words, ignore what I think and think for
> yourself.
>
> ria...@aol.com
If you listen closely on headphones, you will realized it's his foot. You
can occasionally hear his foot grinding into the floor.
DC
--
Danny Caccavo (dan...@interport.net)
"And for Paul, I'll use the eyes of a poodle!!"
revolvr
digiboy wrote:
> 'Tis a mechanical metronome, folks! There are dozens of shapes and sizes
> and they all sound different. There are wooden ones and plastic ones. I
> have an old plastic one that sounds a lot like the one he is using,I
> recognized the sound right away.
I agree. My music professor demonstrated a metrononme in class this
semester, and it sounded _exactly_ like what is heard on "Blackbird"
> How does he get it to stop on time?
> Simple: it didn't stop at all it kept going. It was recorded on a separate
> track and after Paul finished they just go back and find the click that
> matches the end of the song track and then erase all the clicks recorded
> after that one.
I've done this quite a few times with things I've recorded. This would
make more sense than having the engineers put a mic near Paul's foot...
Biffyshrew
pet...@inch.com (Peter R. Livingston, Jr.)
>Metronome ... not even McCartney has that precise a foot!
But he apparently has a metronome that can run out of juice at the
appropriate point during the song and then start up again. Maybe Ringo
was turning it on and off while Paulie played? Or maybe the metronome was
miked on a separate track and mixed out when it wasn't desired?
Your pal,
Biffy the Elephant Shrew @}-`--}----
Info on THE BRANDNEWBUG CONCERTOS--voted the 606th best album of all time in a recent poll--at http://users.aol.com/biffyshrew/biffy.html
"Don't take life so serious, son...it ain't NOHOW permanent."--Porkypine
drgnfist
You can easily touch the metronome pendulum and halt it momentarily and
when you let it go it will start up again. Not a very hard 'trick' for
an advanced studio engineer or drummer.
John loves You
Merry Xmas and Happy Saturnalia
Peter R. Livingston, Jr.
> > How does he get it to stop on time?
> > Simple: it didn't stop at all it kept going. It was recorded on a separate
> > track and after Paul finished they just go back and find the click that
> > matches the end of the song track and then erase all the clicks recorded
> > after that one.
>
> I've done this quite a few times with things I've recorded. This would
> make more sense than having the engineers put a mic near Paul's foot...
It's also a common practice for studio musicians to play to click tracks.
Sometimes it's used to keep sync with sequenced synth parts, etc. But
in all cases it serves the same general purpose: to keep even time. It's
just a measure of the Beatles' inventiveness that Paul chose to use the
metronome as just another instrument.
PETER
greg/pat frey
digiboy wrote:
>
> it is a metronome
>
> it is
>
> really
>
> a metronome
>
> a m e t r o n o m e
>
> stop making sense
>
snip
I don't usually jump into ratholes, but...just listened to the damn
thing with good headphones on a good CD player & on a OOPs speaker.
It's NOT a metronome. It's not steady enough or consistent enough
(the sound changes quite a bit). In fact, it messes up quite a few times
(not quite on the beat). It sounds like a pencil or maybe
a drumstick hitting a soft book (phone book) or maybe a padded chair.
Sorry.
ps. my better half - who is a 15+ year recording veteran - concurs.
digiboy
it is a metronome
it is
really
a metronome
a m e t r o n o m e
stop making sense
elvis has left the building
paul is not dead
read this one more time: it is a metronome
say it out loud together, kids: it is a metronome.
go home now, the show is over.
Naz Nomad
"David" <dav...@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
>Listen to Blackbird, on the White Album, and you will hear a tapping or
>clicking beat. I thought it was Paul tapping his foot or the guitar, but my
>guitar teacher said it was a metronome that was recorded with the song. He
>thought it was strange that they would record that. Does anyone know what
>it is? The reason I think it is Paul tapping is because it stops in the
>middle, when he pauses, and the bird chirping comes in, you know? So, if it
>were a metronome, it wouldn't stop, right? Please post a response to this
>message at this newsgroup, instead of a reply to my e-mail. I check here
>twice daily....David
It is most definitely Paul tapping out the rhythm with his foot on the
floor. There is a very clear, live, synch-sound shot of this in the
"Antholoy" video (the commercial one, not the ABC one.)
Naz Nomad
David
O.K. everybody....I posted the original message about this one week ago,
and I now agree that it is a metronome, being played on a separate track,
which is not played during the pause with the bird noises, and then
continues again. The most interesting response to my post was one saying
that Paul stated in an interview that the clicking noise was "a pencil
tapping a phone book" - very funny Paul....messing with our minds again.
Great response 'yall.....thanks.
David
Eric
Since we're on the "what's that noise" subject, Did anyone else but me
notice that on "I Will" the bass part is actually HUMMED by Macca?
Eric B.
rasm...@aol.com
Alfred Hitchcock was working on a film, never released, in which the
Beatles are unwittingly involved in a terrorist plot. Sean Connery is
aware that there is a bomb, set to go off, but it will only be triggered
by a solo beatle doing finger picking. He manages to save the day without
anyone knowing that he or the bomb were there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
John Sinclair
On 12/15/96 06:31PM, in message
<19961215163...@ladder01.news.aol.com>, Biffyshrew
>
> But he apparently has a metronome that can run out of juice at the
> appropriate point during the song and then start up again. Maybe Ringo
> was turning it on and off while Paulie played? Or maybe the metronome was
> miked on a separate track and mixed out when it wasn't desired?
It was recorded on a separate track. Listen to the stereo verison - it's on the
left channel.
--
John Sinclair
=====================================
Big boys bickering,
And so their game goes on and on,
Big boys bickering,
They're f**king it up for everyone...
John Sinclair
Metronome Studios
David (dav...@ix.netcom.com) wrote:
: Listen to Blackbird, on the White Album, and you will hear a tapping or
: clicking beat. I thought it was Paul tapping his foot or the guitar, but my
: guitar teacher said it was a metronome that was recorded with the song. He
: thought it was strange that they would record that. Does anyone know what
: it is? The reason I think it is Paul tapping is because it stops in the
: middle, when he pauses, and the bird chirping comes in, you know? So, if it
: were a metronome, it wouldn't stop, right? Please post a response to this
: message at this newsgroup, instead of a reply to my e-mail. I check here
: twice daily....David
Yeah, but can't one stop a metronome?
digiboy
Surprize! If you play Blackbird backwards and isolate the "clicking" sound
you can clearly hear Paul whispering "I am going to tell everyone this is
a metronome when it's really just me clapping me hands and stomping me
feet! whatta joke!"
Qbert
What's the big mystery? It's just percussion of some sort.
Steven Weseman
I believe it IS a metronome; a mechanical wind-up type you find in
neat little wooden pyramid-shaped cases. If miked separately, the
metronome's signal into the studio mix board can easily by muted with a
simple button that switches off the sound. It wouldn't get recorded, but
it may have played on in McCartney's cans (headphones). All Paul would
have had to do is wait that pause, catch the next down beat and during
the final mixdown, mute out the metronome during the pause.
Steve W.
DynamicMic
The sound has a noticeable alternating "tick" and "tock," as would a
pendulum-type metronome (and as would *not* a tapping foot.) Someone
commented that they heard Paul's foot grinding on the floor on tape. This
is not evidence that the clicking sound is his foot. It is evidence that
there is foot grinding noise on tape.
Steve
DynamicMic
nazn...@wspice.com (Naz Nomad) wrote:
>It is most definitely Paul tapping out the rhythm with his >foot on the
>floor. There is a very clear, live, synch-sound shot of >this in the
>"Antholoy" video (the commercial one, not the ABC one.)
I'm sure he tapped his foot on *many* songs. The purpose of this is to
keep time, so OF COURSE it will sync up with a click track. It's certainly
not proof that this is the sound we hear.
Steve
Jack Plant
OK, this will probably be easy for you all, but.. What is the rattling
noise at the end of Long.Long.Long??
Metronome Studios
a...@van1s03.cyberion.com>:
Distribution:
Jack Plant (jpl...@wwdc.com) wrote:
: OK, this will probably be easy for you all, but.. What is the rattling
: noise at the end of Long.Long.Long??
Bottle of Blue Nun rattling on a Leslie.
cn
rasm...@aol.com
In article <59a0c0$i...@van1s03.cyberion.com>, jpl...@wwdc.com (Jack Plant)
writes:
>OK, this will probably be easy for you all, but.. What is the rattling
>noise at the end of Long.Long.Long??
>
>
George kept a pet Rattlesnake in the studio. During the White Album
sessions, he used it to keep Yoko from sitting on his amp. : ---)~
De Repentigny Yves
jpl...@wwdc.com (Jack Plant) writes:
>OK, this will probably be easy for you all, but.. What is the rattling
>noise at the end of Long.Long.Long??
A bottle of wine on a Hammond Organ.
--
Yves de Repentigny "Oncle Henriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!"
Département de sciences biologiques
Université de Montréal -Agelaius phoeniceus
Huck Caton
De Repentigny Yves <dere...@ERE.UMontreal.CA> wrote:
> A bottle of wine on a Hammond Organ.
Blue Nun, as I recall.
Jack Plant
Neil Koomen
The following may or may not be of interest, but I thought you guys might enjoy
this:
Jazz great Sarah Vaughan did an LP of Beatles songs.
On her version of "Blackbird," the percussion is the sound of someone sawing
with a hand saw.
When the song ends, you hear the sawing stop, followed by the sound of the wood
that's been cut off dropping on the floor.
It's very clever and worth hearing. Don't know if this LP was ever put on CD.
My wife bought the LP during the late 1980's.
Frank
First nazn...@wspice.com (Naz Nomad) wrote:
>>It is most definitely Paul tapping out the rhythm with his >foot on the
>>floor. There is a very clear, live, synch-sound shot of >this in the
>>"Antholoy" video (the commercial one, not the ABC one.)
Then, dynam...@aol.com (DynamicMic) informed us:
>I'm sure he tapped his foot on *many* songs. The purpose of this is to
>keep time, so OF COURSE it will sync up with a click track. It's certainly
>not proof that this is the sound we hear.
>Steve
The difference is that, in the Anthology video spoken of above, Paul's
foot is **miked**. This would indicate that the sound of Paul's foot
tapping is being **recorded** by the mike. This would indicate that
the recorded sound of Paul's miked foot would be **used** for some
reason. This would indicate that the sound of Paul's **miked** foot
was being **recorded** for **use** on the finished record.
I didn't see one shot of a metronome, though.
Also, Paul is a big fan of using "body noises" on recordings such as
these. Listen to "I Will" (what a coincidence - - another acoustic
number from the White Album where Paul puts his body sounds on tape
**and** the finished recording)and "Put it There" (What a coincidence
- - Paul using body percussion sounds on an acoustic number).
I've **never** heard the sound of a metronome on any McCartney record,
and neither have you because **one doesn't exist**.
Frank
DORIAN C. ARNOLD
I'm pretty sure it's a bomb. ;)
DynamicMic
Well okay. I finally got the CD (had been listening to a cassette) and now
can't find any reason to suggest that the foot believers aren't right.
f...@worldnet.att.net (Frank) wrote:
>Helen Keller laughs at your aural observation skills.
Nice.
dale cooper
dynam...@aol.com (DynamicMic) wrote:
>Nice.
I always thought it was someone biting down!
-Henry Stewart
Roger Wiseman
In article <19970105192...@ladder01.news.aol.com>,
dynam...@aol.com (DynamicMic) wrote:
>Well okay. I finally got the CD (had been listening to a cassette) and now
>can't find any reason to suggest that the foot believers aren't right.
>
>f...@worldnet.att.net (Frank) wrote:
>>Helen Keller laughs at your aural observation skills.
>
>Nice.
Don't worry, Charlie McCarthy laughs at Frank's conversational skills.
LIMOH
I'm going to say this one last time...In a 1980's interview with Musician
Magazine, McCartney said it was a pencil on a phone book!
KEVIN684
McCartney used three microphones when recording Blackbird. One recorded
vocals, another recorded his acoustic guitar. The third recorded him
tapping his foot. I'm sure this is in Lewisohn's book, but I don't have
it in front of me right now.
*********************************
Kevin Rehmer
Kevi...@aol.com "It's a perfect day for bananafish."
Wheeling, IL -- J.D. Salinger
"Me and the Lord, we have an understanding."
"We're on a mission from God." --Blues Brothers
A. Bergsma
kevi...@aol.com (KEVIN684) wrote:
>McCartney used three microphones when recording Blackbird. One recorded
>vocals, another recorded his acoustic guitar. The third recorded him
>tapping his foot. I'm sure this is in Lewisohn's book, but I don't have
>it in front of me right now.
No, it's a metronome, according to Lewisohn.
========================
"I heard a funny chord"
-A. Bergsma
-ber...@dds.nl
Danny Caccavo
In article <Pine.GSO.3.93.97010...@hamlet.uncg.edu>,
"DORIAN C. ARNOLD" <dcar...@hamlet.uncg.edu> wrote:
> I'm pretty sure it's a bomb. ;)
No, it's a Fiendish Thingie!! <g>
DC
--
Danny Caccavo (dan...@interport.net)
"And for Paul, I'll use the eyes of a poodle!!"
Obdobd
I have thought about this so many times. I agree, it's Paul tapping his
foot on a wooden floor to the music. At first I thought it might be his
hand tapping on the guitar but then realized that there had to be a mike
at his foot. Paul likes being unplugged (love AII version of Blackbird)
one of his best.
Hans Petter Nenseth
Obdobd wrote:
>I have thought about this so many times. I agree, it's Paul tapping his
>foot on a wooden floor to the music.
One rumour says it's Donovan tapping a pencil or a drumstick on the
table. I've read this different places.
--
******************************
* Hans Petter Nenseth * Alt for mange mennesker
* http://home.sol.no/hanspn/ * drømmer i farger og lever i svart-hvitt.
******************************
CdMorrow
paul's feet tapping. Courtesy of "Beatlesongs".
juananil...@gmail.com
prim...@gmail.com
geoff
If so, tapping on what ?!!!
geoff
R Kellog
P-Dub
> My guess is it's his foot tapping. The sound doesn't have the "click" of a metronome.
Composition and recording
The song was recorded on 11 June 1968 at EMI's Abbey Road Studios in London,[12] with George Martin as the producer and Geoff Emerick as the audio engineer.[13] It is a solo performance with McCartney playing a Martin D 28 acoustic guitar. The track includes recordings of a male Common blackbird singing in the background.[13][14]
Only three sounds were recorded: McCartney's voice, his Martin D-28 acoustic guitar, and a tapping that keeps time on the left channel.[15] This tapping "has been incorrectly identified as a metronome in the past", according to engineer Geoff Emerick, who says it is actually the sound of Paul tapping his foot. McCartney also said the same in The Beatles' Anthology documentary. Emerick recalls as being mic'd up separately.[16] Footage included in the bonus content on disc two of the 2009 remaster of the album shows McCartney tapping both his feet alternately while performing the song.
The mono version contains bird sounds different from the stereo recording, and was originally issued on a mono incarnation of The Beatles (it has since been issued worldwide as part of The Beatles in Mono CD box set). The song appears on Love with "Yesterday", billed as "Blackbird/Yesterday". "Blackbird" provides an introduction to "Yesterday".
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackbird_(Beatles_song)
The rest of this article is awesome! Donavan helped Paul figure out how to play this, and there's also reference to George and Paul playing a classical piece as youngsters playing a part.
Wow - I can still learn stuff about the Beatles!!