How To: Play Blackbird by the Beatles (A Memorial Song for the Dead Birds in Arkansas)

Blackbirds are NOT singing in the dead of night.  At least, not in Arkansas.

The unexplained deaths of over 100,000 drumfish and 4,000 blackbirds in Arkansas over the New Year's weekend is still baffling the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.

Was it a lightning storm that killed off thousands of red-winged blackbirds?  Or was it a vicious hail storm in the sky?  Could it have been the celebratory fireworks exploding in the sky on New Year's Eve?  Was it a nearby top-secret government facility accidentally releasing a toxic biochemical weapon that only affects blackbirds?  How about a mass suicide?  Birds have feelings, too, you know.

It literally could have been anything.  But there is no official word yet as to why the blackbirds in Beebe, Arkansas fell from the sky during the New Year celebration.

UPDATE: AP reports that 500 more dead blackbirds fell from the sky, this time 300 miles away from Bebe, in Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana.

But is the death of the hundreds of thousands of drumfish a mere coincidence?  Aside form conspiracy theories, some speculate it even could have been an earthquake releasing toxic gases.

No matter what you believe, the blackbirds are NOT singing in the dead of night.  But that's just because they're all dead right now.  But there's no better time to stray from the news and play a little music, specifically, the classic Beatles song "Blackbird".  How fitting.

Although commonly credited as written by both John Lennon and Paul McCartney of the Beatles, McCartney is the one who actually wrote the famous "Blackbird" song in 1968.

In the following video, you'll get a good guitar lesson on playing "Blackbird", broken down into six steps (written below the video).

If you want the tab, there's a link at the end of this article.

1. Pluck the A-string and B-string at the same time.
2. Sweep your index finger down.
3. Sweep your index finger back towards you.
4. Pluck the A-string (bass note) with your thumb.
5. Pluck the open G-string with the tip of your pointer finger.
6. Sweep your index finger down, away from you.

If you're looking for the tablature to "Blackbird" by the Beatles on guitar, check out the TAB at Guitartab.com.