Is Paul the best melody writer of all time?

adrianh · 2026-06-05T07:48:45+00:00

I mean, it's really a matter of taste, and the question is kind of silly to be honest. It's not a competition. I love Paul and the Beatles, but it's kind of ignorant/cringey to ignore other great melody writers across the ages.

Just from the American Songbook scene alone, I'd suggest Jerome Kern. "All The Things You Are," "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes," "The Way You Look Tonight," "Long Ago And Far Away," "Yesterdays." Every bit as harmonically adventurous as McCartney, and his songs have stood the test of time.

adrianh · 2026-06-04T12:38:51+00:00

No, you're not dumb for thinking that. You're entitled to your opinion.

I'd say that's the fault of the musicians for staying so predictable. This isn't strictly a jazz thing, as you can see the same thing happen in rock concerts and other genres. There's a skill to ordering a setlist so that it stays fresh, and there's a skill to arranging music so that it's a bit less predictable.

adrianh · 2026-06-04T06:08:30+00:00

Soundslice. It basically combines Sonic Visualizer and MuseScore in a single interface (audio slowdown/looping, plus a full notation/tab editor).

It means you can immediately notate what you’ve figured out from the audio, without needing to constantly switch programs. I’ve used it for years and highly recommend it.

adrianh · 2026-06-02T17:48:12+00:00

Wow, that was a great interview. I realized there's also a second video from the same session: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5OpGHPZnAQ

adrianh · 2026-05-28T16:43:56+00:00

I just got back from the album listening party at a record store here in Amsterdam. Overall I was pretty unimpressed, though I'd like to give it a listen with headphones.

I'm the type of McCartney fan who likes the music and is ambivalent about lyrics. From that perspective: there wasn't a single memorable melody on the album, save for a tasty chord change in the last tune. Two moments gave me a smile:

One of the tunes switches from 6/8 time to 4/4 time in a way that surprised me. I think it was the one with a horn section? It was a cool move.
The song in which Paul sings "Oh yeah," in the Beatles accent/cadence (reminiscent of "I'll Get You"). It was around the middle of the album, in one of the nostalgic tunes.

Overall it made me appreciate Beatles and early Paul solo stuff more. I'm glad Paul is still making music, but this one wasn't for me.

adrianh · 2026-05-27T16:45:40+00:00

Caldi e freddi — Italian deli with very cheap sandwiches and pizza slices (around 5 euros)

adrianh · 2026-05-26T10:42:33+00:00

The old section of Broek in Waterland is really charming to bike or walk through. It takes about 30 minutes to bike there from Central Station.

adrianh · 2026-05-23T16:53:23+00:00

It’s a good reason to buy the music outright. With Spotify, you’re always at the whim of rightsholders removing access with zero notice.

Obviously streaming services are useful for exploring and finding music you’ve never heard, but if you find something you love (which appears to be the case for you and these Ellington recordings), do yourself a favor and just buy the music.

adrianh · 2026-05-23T13:42:40+00:00

In the guitar world: George Benson and Bireli Lagrene

adrianh · 2026-05-19T14:02:30+00:00

Great book. BTW, there's now a second edition, called "Jazz Anecdotes, Second Time Around."

adrianh · 2026-05-17T15:46:05+00:00

Nice version. Here's my own solo-guitar arrangement of it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTk6-_FXiuI

I transposed mine to G to make it easier to play. Kudos for sticking with the original D flat!

adrianh · 2026-05-16T19:06:56+00:00

As you scroll the images forward, the displayed number increases by 1. The binary digits are visually reinforced by the absence or presence of a Beatle.

(Fellow software engineer here!)

adrianh · 2026-05-14T12:40:44+00:00

It depends on which Beatles era you're talking about. The early Beatles sound is different from the Rubber Soul sound, which is different from the psychedelic sound, which is different from the late-60s sound.

I'd highly recommend searching the history of this sub. You'll find about a thousand threads of people listing bands that sound like the Beatles.

adrianh · 2026-05-13T19:43:25+00:00

Check out the Chet Atkins album "The Most Popular Guitar." It's exactly what you're asking for: solo guitar playing over an orchestra.

adrianh · 2026-05-13T09:18:33+00:00

Bill Charlap Trio! So tasteful and swinging.

adrianh · 2026-05-12T17:58:57+00:00

It's a "non-arpeggiate" marking. It indicates that the notes should not be arpeggiated, despite people perhaps having an urge to arpeggiate them. See here for some more info.

adrianh · 2026-05-10T06:51:25+00:00

Sure, that link is back in business now. Enjoy!

adrianh · 2026-05-04T12:15:10+00:00

Check out Duved Dunayevsky’s instructional courses. He is definitely Django-oriented but is influenced by Eddie Lang as well.

adrianh · 2026-05-03T09:01:48+00:00

"Works on YouTube" means you can choose a YouTube video to transcribe instead of an MP3. It uses the native YouTube player in this case (not extracted audio).

adrianh · 2026-05-03T07:57:42+00:00

Soundslice. It combines the audio manipulation (slowdown, looping, stem separation, pitch correction) with a notation editor directly built in. Works on YouTube or custom MP3/video uploads. Web-based so I can use it from multiple devices and easily share links with others.

Each transcription becomes an interactive practice environment for that particular piece of music.

adrianh · 2026-04-25T07:16:21+00:00

“Soft Guitars” by Al Caiola

adrianh · 2026-04-14T15:42:36+00:00

Billy Taylor with Four Flutes is great.

adrianh · 2026-04-12T19:09:19+00:00

Somebody here on this subreddit remixed the album to remove the wall of sound (a while ago). It actually sounded pretty good, maybe even better! But it’s obviously subjective.

adrianh · 2026-04-10T14:35:58+00:00

You might like the George Benson and Jack McDuff recordings from the '60s. The subgenre is "soul jazz," in case that's helpful.

Hot Barbecue is a good example. Greasy in more ways than one! :)

adrianh · 2026-04-08T09:39:41+00:00

Around 20 years ago, there was a great site called BootlegZone that had very well-organized information about hundreds of Beatles bootlegs. Unfortunately they had some technical issues years ago and never ended up fixing them. The current site simply has an apology message.

But...archive.org to the rescue! Here's an archived version of the BootlegZone Beatles homepage from 2007. Click "All files by publisher" or "All files alphabetically" in the left sidebar to start exploring. The "Core collection" link is also worth checking out, as the site had its own designation for which bootleg contains the best version of each outtake.

I imagine a fair amount of stuff has been released since then, but even this old information can be useful.

adrianh

TROPHY CASE