Smartphones changing songwriting and finishing songs, says Paul McCartney

Smartphones changing songwriting and finishing songs, says Paul McCartney — a point he made in an interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe. McCartney said he now has over a couple of thousand sketches saved on his phone, and that the device’s convenience lets him record brief ideas to revisit later rather than complete them immediately. He contrasted that workflow with sessions using four-track recorders, where limited tracks meant artists had to finish ideas because there was nowhere to store unfinished material and tracks sometimes had to be wiped to free space.

McCartney noted that some of his recorded sketches develop into fully realized songs while others remain useful fragments held for the right project. He also cautioned young musicians against relying solely on gadgetry and urged them to play, learn and write the material themselves.

Paul McCartney discussed his songwriting process in an interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe. He said he has over a couple of thousand sketches saved on his phone. He said the phone’s convenience allows him to record brief ideas when he does not have long and to save those ideas for later revisitation. He said some of those recordings become fully realized songs while others remain useful fragments waiting for the right project.

He contrasted that workflow with sessions using four-track recorders, saying that four-track machines have only four tracks and that tracks sometimes had to be wiped to free up space. He said that in the past artists had to finish ideas because there was nowhere to store unfinished material and that on four-track recordings “you can’t change anything.” He told young bands not to rely too much on gadgetry and advised them to play, learn and write the material themselves, adding that he does not like records that sound as if they were made by gadgets. He said there are certain sketches in his list that he will finish because he knows they are good.

“The trouble is nowadays with phones, [In the past] you always had to finish a thing because there was nowhere to put it. You had to put it in your mind. So you had to finish it. So you did.”

“Now I must have over a couple of thousand sketches on my phone because I’ll put it down and think, oh yeah, okay, I’ll come back to that. I’ve saved it. It’s okay.”

“Because of the luxury of a phone, if you don’t have long but you got an idea, you’ll put it down.”

“There’s certain ones in that list of sketches that I will finish, that I know, ‘Oh, that is a good one’, so I will finish that.”

“If I ever get asked to do a film score, that can be the theme, you know? Whatever. Well, I like just putting them down in case.”

“With the four-track, you’ve got to wipe things because there’s only four tracks and you may want to do eight things.”

“you can’t change anything”

“That’s actually a great thing. I say to young bands nowadays, don’t rely too much on the sort of gadgetry. Just play it all, learn it all, write it all because it’s better.”

“What will happen is a lot of people rely on it, so you get records that sound like they’ve been made by gadgets. I don’t like that.”

Paul McCartney cautioned against relying too much on modern gadgetry in music production, saying to young bands, “don’t rely too much on the sort of gadgetry.”

He advised musicians directly with the instruction, “Just play it all, learn it all, write it all because it’s better,” presenting that phrase as a recommendation about how bands should work.

He stated, “What will happen is a lot of people rely on it, so you get records that sound like they’ve been made by gadgets,” and followed that remark with, “I don’t like that.”

He also said, “That’s actually a great thing,” as part of his remarks on the subject, and his comments collectively addressed the relationship between tools and the process of making records.

Paul McCartney uses his smartphone to record brief musical ideas when he does not have much time. He stores those recordings as sketches on his phone and revisits them later. He said he has over a couple of thousand sketches saved on his phone. The phone’s capacity allows him to capture fragments that might otherwise be forgotten. This workflow contrasts with limited-track recording methods he referenced.

Some of the smartphone sketches are developed into fully realized songs while others remain useful fragments until they fit the right project. McCartney said there are certain sketches he will finish because he recognizes their quality. He also mentioned that, if asked to work on a film score, a sketch could serve as the theme. He described saving ideas on his phone as a precautionary measure to have material on hand.

He said the ability to save and revisit sketches shapes how he manages ideas in his creative workflow. He contrasted this with four-track recorders where limited tracks required wiping material to free space.

Paul McCartney told Apple Music’s Zane Lowe that smartphones enable saving many brief musical ideas to revisit later, and he said he has over a couple of thousand sketches saved on his phone. He contrasted that with four-track recorders, saying limited tracks and the need to wipe material meant musicians had to finish ideas, and he said some sketches become fully realized songs while others remain useful fragments until the right project.

McCartney advised young bands, “don’t rely too much on the sort of gadgetry,” and said, “Just play it all, learn it all, write it all because it’s better,” adding that he does not like records that sound like they have been made by gadgets.

He said he will finish certain sketches he recognises as good and mentioned that a saved idea could sometimes serve as a theme for a film score.