"John will whistle at me, and I whistle back at him." The Creative Process According To Paul McCartney
I stumbled upon a wonderful Facebook post from Beatle John on Facebook today that I think gives us several insights into the creative process. The post quotes Ivor Davis, an investigative reporter who was given unprecedented access to The Beatles when they were on tour in the early 1960’s. In the following blurb, Davis describes what he saw when he saw John and Paul working, creating, and writing some of the greatest music of all time.
From the book "The Beatles And Me On Tour" by Ivor Davis.
I never heard Paul and John actually writing songs together, but I knew they must have been penning some tunes on the road: in a hotel room, in the back of the Electra jet, a dressing room or anyplace they could find a quiet corner away from the craziness. Wherever Paul went, he carried with him a battered and scuffed fat brown briefcase.
Every time I went into their suite that old bag with bronze, rusting buckles was sitting there, on the bed, on a bedside table or on the floor. And if Paul didn't have it, then Neil was the keeper of the case. Carrying it under his arm or wearing it on a strap over his shoulder.
Once — after we had arrived in Toronto — I walked into his room at the King Edward Hotel to scrounge a drink. The suite was already a mess, the television on, predictably without the sound, and there, shoeless, sitting cross-legged on the floor like a couple of kids at play, were Paul and John surrounded by a sea of notepaper. It looked like someone had emptied a wastebasket onto the carpet, with dozens of sheets scattered on the floor and other pages spilling out of the voluminous briefcase. In 1964, Paul confessed to writer Al Aronowitz: 'None of us really knows how to read or write music. The way we work it is like we just whistle. John will whistle at me, and I whistle back at him.
This one blurb is loaded with creative insights.
Let’s review them all, one by one.
Fact: Paul kept a briefcase with their ideas. Insight: write your ideas down when you have them for review/inspiration later.
Fact: the television was on, sound off. Insight: a low-grade distraction can be helpful when trying to think of new ideas.
Fact: John and Paul were shoeless, sitting cross-legged on the floor like a couple of kids. Insight: disarm the participants by eliminating as much social pressure between them as possible.
Fact: dozens of sheets scattered on the floor and other pages spilling out of the briefcase. Insight: to get a single great idea, play the numbers game (more is better).
Fact: none of the Beatles knew how to read or write music. Insight: the fewer rules, the better (in The Beatles’ case, no rules at all).
Fact: John will whistle at me, and I whistle back at him. Insight: it’s about an individual’s ideas, sure, but the real magic comes when you allow others to build and riff on your ideas (and vice versa)—creativity loves the team dynamic.
The right conditions increase the odds.
What I love most about these insights from John and Paul is that they are actionable. We can be inspired by them and try them ourselves. We may not write “A Hard Day’s Night,” but we might have an easier day’s night of creativity.
While it can always be better, the Ideasicle X web application happens to address many of these insights. Every project has a team of four people building and riffing (whistling?). Each participant is reduced to a typeface, which is disarming and emboldens the team. Every idea posted is captured digitally on that job’s Idea Stream, not unlike Paul’s briefcase. It’s about volumes of ideas, sometimes as many as 50 ideas in a one-week session.
But even these manufactured conditions don’t guarantee success, only increase the odds. In The Beatles’ case, it helps to have two geniuses in their own right sharing an ambition, a dream, a vision of conquering the world with their hard work, incredibly high standards of what makes an idea great, and, of course, their music.
Take that, AI. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Will Burns is the Founder & CEO of the revolutionary virtual-idea-generating company, Ideasicle X. He’s an advertising veteran from such agencies as Wieden & Kennedy, Goodby Silverstein, Arnold Worldwide, and Mullen. He was a Forbes Contributor for nine years writing about creativity in modern branding. And he’s the consummate Beatles fan. Sign up for the Ideasicle Newsletter and never miss a post.