When The Beatles first crashlanded on the rock scene, no one had seen anything like them. For all of the great rock and roll diols that had come before, the Fab Four perfected the idea of what a rock band should be, with every member having an identifiable look and sound whenever they stepped up to the microphone. While each of them may have been able to carry a tune, what did they contribute to the instrumental side of things?
Although many would just consider the basic setup of guitars, bass and drums for most of the band’s catalogue, they were all known to be enormously inventive in their craft, often playing different instruments to get the sounds they heard in their head. Even when they weren’t playing them themselves, they practically played the studio like an instrument, using different sonic techniques to get what they heard in their head out.
That’s before you even talk about George Martin, being one of the unsung heroes of the band’s studio career, constantly translating their sonic ideas into works of musical art on tracks like ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ and ‘A Day in the Life’. For all of the great opportunities they had around them, though, every member of the group was pivotal in making the band the cultural juggernaut that many know today.
Whether it’s a piano, classical instrument, or strange Eastern instruments, any of The Beatles were willing to have a go at playing any instrument so long as it could aid in the creation of a great track. From percussion to guitars to the occasional woodwind instrument, this is a small helping of the music each member could make across the instrumental spectrum.
What instrument did The Beatles play?
Ringo Starr
Let’s begin this with the section that will no doubt take the least amount of time. While Ringo Starr may have been the beating heart of The Beatles, he never claimed to be the most versatile musician, always sitting behind his drumkit to plonk out whatever beat he could. Although that beat served as the clear pulse of every great Beatles tune, Starr would also become a unique musician when looking at the kinds of percussion he used.
Outside of playing the drumkit, a handful of Beatles cuts would involve Starr taking the basic drumming setup and toying with it, playing the bongos for the track ‘And I Love Her’ and even slapping his knees when working on their cover of Buddy Holly’s ‘Words Of Love’. Starr even admitted that he wasn’t the most novice player in the world in his solo career and that he could only play the piano in C on the song ‘Early 1970’. While Starr may have found his calling behind the kit, his role as the drummer has led to many innovations throughout the band’s career.
John Lennon
Compared to the greatest songwriters of his generation, John Lennon never claimed to be a musical prodigy. Throughout his time with the band and during his solo career, Lennon often talked about his frustration trying to translate what he was trying to say on the guitar half the time. While his role was dominated by the guitar, he was versatile when trying both sides of the instrument.
When working on every one of his songs, Lennon was known for playing rhythm guitar, locking in with Starr to create a distinctive groove, while switching to playing lead on rare occasions for songs like ‘You Can’t Do That’ and ‘The Ballad of John and Yoko’. For any other songs, Lennon would also end up manning instruments that would suit the song, picking up the bass when McCartney wanted to play lead guitar and manning the piano for songs like ‘Ob-La-DI Ob-La-Da.’ Even though Lennon may not have had the most sophisticated musical vocabulary among his bandmates, he still got his emotion down onto his instrument far better than most.
George Harrison
One of the main reasons George Harrison got the gig in The Beatles was his uncanny ability to play lead guitar. Starting with the group by playing the instrumental ‘Raunchy’ on the top row of a double-decker bus, Harrison would be the band’s go-to guitar superstar, always coming up with different riffs to improve the songs. By the time the band started getting in tune with different instruments, Harrison became fascinated by the sounds of Eastern music.
After hearing the music of artists like Ravi Shankar, Harrison would immerse himself in Eastern philosophy and the accompanying instruments, bringing the sitar into Western culture on ‘Norwegian Wood’ and utilising instruments like tambura, swordmandels and tablas. Even though Harrison would include demos with bits of organ, he would stick to playing guitar for most of his time in the group, reverting to slide guitar during the back half of their career. Eventually picking the ukulele during his solo years, Harrison could practically make any instrument with strings sing like a bird.
Paul McCartney
Throughout their time together, none of The Beatles claimed to know anything about music theory. As much as they may have been able to create the sounds they heard in their head, it wasn’t always practical to tell them to play an augmented chord or tell them which mode a track is in. If there was any member of the band who moulded himself into a musical virtuoso, it was Paul McCartney.
Starting on guitar, McCartney would toy with any instrument he could get his hands on, playing bass on most of the band’s recordings and playing piano and drums occasionally. Outside of the usual suspects, McCartney would blossom into a prolific instrumentalist, picking up instruments like ukulele and mandolin in his solo career while also incorporating slide whistle on ‘The Fool on the Hill’ and even conducting the orchestra for ‘A Day in the Life’. While some of the band members may have been afraid to try different instruments, McCartney could take pride in getting a tune out of almost any instrument he touched.
