# In 1966, Paul McCartney was working on one of The Beatles’ greatest songs. His music teacher wasn’t impressed

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/in-1966-paul-mccartney-was-working-on-one-of-the-beatles-greatest-songs-his-music-teacher-wasnt-impressed/
- Published: 2026-10-31T20:53:10+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-31T21:39:06+00:00
- Original publisher: Far Out
- Original article: https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/in-1966-paul-mccartney-wrote-one-of-the-beatles-most-haunting-songs-it-got-him-dismissed-from-music-class/
- Topics: Art, Culture, Entertainment, Music

## Key points

- McCartney played an early “Eleanor Rigby” in a music lesson.
- He sang placeholder lyrics over E-minor chords.
- The teacher’s focus on scales ended the lessons.

## Summary

Paul McCartney recalled that a music teacher was unimpressed when he played an early version of “Eleanor Rigby” during lessons in 1966. The episode illustrates the gap between his ear-led songwriting and the formal music training the teacher wanted him to pursue.

McCartney said he played the melody on piano before completing the lyrics, singing placeholder words over repeated E-minor chords. He remembered the teacher asking him to practise more scales, after which he stopped taking lessons. The finished Beatles recording paired his vocal with a string quartet arrangement, helping give the song its distinctive sound.

---
Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.