Do you know the story of George Harrison auditioning to get into the Beatles by playing the song Raunchy?
He was 14 years old. Supposedly he played it perfectly. That was enough to get him in the band.
I bring this up for two reasons.
First, I am a fully formed adult, not 14, and I still can’t really play Raunchy.
Second, this significantly lowers my chances of being accepted into the Beatles.
It also messes with your head a little.
How did a dumb kid in the 1950s have all those skills, while me, an adult in 2026, with infinite lessons, a laser tuner, pre-formatted tabs, and loopable videos somehow can’t keep up?
I mulled.
And I decided:
They weren’t better. They were narrower.
Little fourteen-year-old George Harrison didn’t know what you know. He didn’t know theory. He didn’t know multiple genres. He didn’t know he’d someday be measured against fifty years of guitar history that hadn’t happened yet.
He did know a small number of songs, in one style, and he knew them inside-out. Needle-on-the-record, play-it-again, drive-everyone-else-in-the-house-crazy style.
That kind of repetition stacks hours fast. And when people say “he was only 14,” what they really mean is “he already had thousands of hours.”
So what do we do with this idea, us 2026 adults, with a ukulele and a life?
I say: steal the good parts.
Not the “being 14” part, or the “no internet” part.
Just the “no no no” instead of the “yes yes yes.”
Zero in on one little thing — imagine you’ll be having to impress John Lennon a little later today, and DIG IN.
Individually, they may feel like a lot of little nuthin’s — but a lot of little nuthin’s add up!
(And if you ever do get Raunchy down cold, let me know. I hear the Beatles are still taking auditions.)
- This is one of many posts meant to be a little bit fun and a lot bit motivational.
- For Beatles-lovers, here’s how to play like Ringo!
- And here’s the spookiest Beatles songs for Hallowe’en