Yesterday by Lennon/McCartney (cover)
 

When I heard about the new movie, "Yesterday," it reminded me of playing the Beatles' song "Yesterday" back when I was in high school. I decided to renew my acquaintance with this song and decided to play it with more of a fingerstyle approach to see how it sounds.

I hope you like this. :-)

The black background in the video comes from the use of a green screen based on some input I got from KevWind and also various YouTube videos. I tried other backgrounds besides black but found them too distracting. Also, zooms and pans are very visually disorienting with most backgrounds when they don't move with the subject.

The good thing about trying the green screen is that I invested in some lighting equipment -- not very much really -- so that even if I stop using the green screen, the lighting will be of value.

Paul McCartney sang this, I believe, with his guitar tuned down two half steps playing the song in G, which means he sang it in the key of F. When I sang this in high school, I, too, sang this in F. I transposed the song to the key of D and put the capo on the 2nd fret, making the song in E, a half step down from where Paul McCartney sang this. I tried it on capo 3 but thought that I sounded a little better today with the capo on the 2nd fret.

Thanks for watching. :)

- Glenn

That is an absolutely beautiful rendition Glenn. Tender, smooth and natural... the way it should be. Just perfect. I need to study the way you are chording it so I can drop down to E. Playing it like McCartney in F is a lot of fun, but vocally it’s a real struggle for me to sing softly.

Very well done, Glenn. I really enjoyed this a lot. Thanks for posting.

I like the black background. More artistic.

Roger

You have a really nice voice. I'd kill to be able to sing those high F's that easily! Being a bass II through High School and College, it is not in the cards for me. Beautifully and professionally done. Looks like some very good mic equipment too.

Hi Mikey!

Thanks so much!

I used to play this in F when I was in high school. I thought if I played it in F, hard as it was, it would make me a better guitar player. And I did learn to do it, and when a guy is only 16-18 years old, those high notes are not such a big deal.

I found that dropping that down just one half step made it a lot more manageable as I am now in my early 70s.

But, wow, what a great song after all these years -- don't ya think!!! :)

I hope all is well for you!

Thanks so much for your comments!

- Glenn

PS: If you'd like me to post the lyrics and chords, I'd be glad to do that. Let me know! :)

Hi Roger!

Thank you! It's great to have your artistic eye looking this over! I'm so glad you approve of the black background! I liked it, too! Not that my artistic taste is anything like yours!

Thanks so much for watching and listening Roger! I always appreciate your comments! I hope you are well! :)

- Glenn

Hi Three4rd!

Thanks so much for taking the time to watch and comment here! It is very much appreciated!

I have been lucky with my voice in that I can still sing -- with a fair amount of practice, of course -- into my early 70s.

In truth, I am really not hitting F notes but E notes because I am one half step lower than where Paul McCartney sang this. And, if a guy with a bass voice were to simply take the capo off the guitar that would bring the high notes down to D notes. Still high, but not nearly so bad.

If you would like me to list the lyrics and chords, I'd be glad to! Let me know!

I hope you are well! Thanks so much for taking part in this thread -- very generous of you! :)

- Glenn

PS: The microphones are from Warm Audio, which I got from Sweetwater. A WA-47 large diaphragm condenser tube mic for voice and two WA-84 small diaphragm condenser mics for the guitar. They are very nice mics but not as expensive as they could be if made by someone else. I am also using a couple of Warm Audio preamps, WA-273. These are modeled after the Neve preamps of the early 70s. I am very fortunate to have some nice equipment. Thank you for noticing!

So good Glenn. Your voice is amazing. Can listen for hours my friend.

Greetz, Jimmy

Great job on a beautiful song.

Thanks for sharing.

Mike

Thanks so much Jimmy!

You are always so generous with your praise -- Thank You! And thanks for the comments on my YouTube channel, also, which is greatly appreciated! :)

I found it interesting how quickly the song came back to me after all those years, even though today I am using different chords. Music is one of those things that sticks with a person, I think. At least it does with me. :)

I hope all is well for you Jimmy! All the best to you!

- Glenn

Thank you Mike!

It is a beautiful song; I'm so glad you felt that this came out well! :) Thanks for taking the time to listen and comment! Much appreciated! :)

- Glenn

You are always setting the standard for the rest of us cats, Glenn. Voice and guitar sound great. And the new backdrop is way cool! It really makes you and your gear pop off the screen. I like it.
All the best,
Frankie

Thank you Frankie!

How terrific to hear from you! I'm glad you thought the song came across okay, and I am also glad to know that you thought the black backdrop worked out okay. I still probably need to do a little more work on getting the lighting better distributed, but every time I make one of these videos I learn something.

About the time I get everything figured out I will be too old to do this stuff! :D

Thanks so much for taking the time to comment Frankie! :)

- Glenn

Oh, BTW Glenn,
When are we going to see your son and grand-daughter make another appearance in one of your productions? My family keeps telling me to ask you! 😂
f

Well... :) I sure wish they would join me in another project, but they are both pretty busy. They just finished doing "Pirates of Penzance" at the local college. My son and his wife were co-directors and my grand daughter played the lead romantic female role of Mabel.

Now Emma is involved in a summer musical at a large local theater and she has the lead female role in that. That musical happens in August and uses up most of the summer.

Her thing is musical theater. This is what she lives for. She does an occasional thing with me for my YouTube channel because she hates to say NO to me.

I will keep thinking about something we can do when the time is right. If she is doing too many things, it's just too much pressure on her. Maybe end of summer.

Thanks for the kind words on this... :)

- Glenn