Guitar

smiles

Who here plays guitar?

I've been learning for the last couple of weeks and i've got one or two songs under my belt (American Pie, Time of your Life, Fields of Athenry, The One I Love), and i was wondering if anyone had any suggestions of good songs (ie. songs i'd know) that are relatively simple to learn on the guitar.

Also who else plays guitar and for how long?

<< Fio >>

oq4v3ht0u76kf2

I'm getting my bass guitar and amp in a few days (I hope)... does that count?

Anyway, are you learning chords and stuff or just learning tabs?

It wasn't me!

I've been playing for about two months now but no major accomplishments.

Chimaera

Been playing about 2 years now, so I'm not too bad. Bare Naked Ladies stuff is easy enough to play - the likes of "If I had a Million Dollars" or "Be My Yoko Ono".

A good place to look if you want to download chords is http://www.danmansmusic.com/songs2.htm - they have most of the old OLGA database there.

I would suggest as well, that you find songs you want to play, and then see if you can play them or not. I downloaded a lot of stuff ages ago, and I keep going through it from time to time, and I find that I usually manage one or two more that I didn't the last time I checked.

Try and find a few more guitar players as well - the best way to pick up songs is to play with other people, and watch the chords they're playing.

Good luck with it!

:D mags :D

Im hoping to get one for christmas and start learning.

Mystic Fibrosis

been playing for bout 4 years, but It feels like 15 :P


Most of the stuff I could tell you to play would probably be too hard/ boring ( No, im not cocky...:))

ll=llannah

i've been playing for four years, too.

qwidgybo

i've been playing for about two years....songs,hmm,i know a couple older stereophonics songs which are quite easy to play...matchbox twenty's stuff is pretty easy too....i can't really think of what else i can play,i usually can't until i have a guitar in my hand and an audience in front of me...i'll have a think and get back to you

Sev

I can play the set square.

Barry Aldwell

I used to play, but 3 years of music class with the comically named Ms. Melody destroyed all love that I had of music.

Green Hand Guy

My Dad's side of my family is actually pretty musical but seen as I can't be arsed to learn to play any instruments I'm not.

shep the malevolent pixie

been playing for a year and a half but i suck. wonderful tonight by eric clapton is miserably easy and a lot of bob dylan stuff is pretty easy too, also the beatles and *some* U2 stuff. riffs are fun..
sHep :cool:

purplepolkadot

i can play time of your life. slowly. very slowly. and some of yesterday. REALLLLLY slowly
go me *does happy proud dance even though she sucks*

Chimaera

One thing I've found, is that many apparently difficult songs can be played quite easily once you leave out a lot of the fancier stuff - for instance the song "Sweet Home Alabama" is quite complicated to play properly if you do all the little licks and solos and stuff, but if you just stick to the basic chords, it becomes D C G, with an F somewhere in the second verse.

Also, finger-picking can make a song sound far more complicated than it actually is. Time of Your Life would fall into this category methinks.

Of course, if you actually want to be able to sing while you're playing, then it's a somewhat different story - after two years of playing I'm still only getting used to singing and playing at the same time.

Crash

One of the most satisfying riffs to get is the opening one to dire straits Rome & Juliet. not an easy song (i constantly **** it up) but sooo satisfying

Mystic Fibrosis

One of the most satisfying riffs to get is the opening one to dire straits Rome & Juliet. not an easy song (i constantly **** it up) but sooo satisfying

One of the most satisfying things is pulling off the odd Joe Satriani Riff perfectly, or playing some bitch-hard self-made music( I have the unfortunate make your own stuff as hard as you can syndrome)

[edit: to fix the quote thingie]

Dalamar

A lot of Slayer's stuff is fairly easy to play, it's only the speed factor.

Playing for about 1/2 year, and still suck.

SOL

I play guitar by times, learn sweet home alabama, its easy and cool

ll=llannah

Sweet Home Alabama is really easy if you just do the chords with simple strumming, but it's really fun to add some picking stuff and whatever the hell you want to make it sound more like the song. but that song is a lot of fun to mess around with. but, then again, you can make pretty much any song really simple by just strumming the accompaniment chords, but doing the more intricate stuff is harder, yeah, but so much more fun when you master it. (in my opinion, at least)
Well, just out of curiosity, how many of you guys can sight-read?
Cause I constantly hear jokes about how guitar players can't sight-read (or read music for that matter.) I always get them back by proving I can do it (and not too shabbily either...guess those piano, guitar and theory lessons paid off, eh?) but I was just curious how many of our bunch do read music.

RicardoSmith

A lot of G'n'r stuff is all the same 4 chords too. The solos are another story. Beatles stuff is handy to pick up and most of it is chords too. Go into a music store and get a song book for guitar that has a few songs that you know (and like) well. It will make it easier to learn.

Another trick is to record yourself playing a short piece at a time play it back and compare it to the original. You'll get a better "feel" for how it should sound, and where you are making mistakes than simply playing on your own or learning from a book.

smiles

Originally posted by twix_girl
Well, just out of curiosity, how many of you guys can sight-read?
Cause I constantly hear jokes about how guitar players can't sight-read (or read music for that matter.) I always get them back by proving I can do it (and not too shabbily either...guess those piano, guitar and theory lessons paid off, eh?) but I was just curious how many of our bunch do read music.

I can, well mostly, i did music in first year, and then i learned violin for about a year, and i picked up a lot of sight reading (had to for orchastra exams: unknown pieces (yaya! First Class Honours)).

<< Fio >>

Chimaera

I used to be able to read music fairly well, but then I gave up going to lessons (after 7 years, I'd had enough, and didn't have the time in college to prepare for grade 7 flute, or grade 8 theory), and started playing by ear a lot more. As a consequence, my sight reading is now very laboured, and I need to take a fair bit of time to get a piece of written music into my head. If I can hear it a few times first though I'm grand.

Mystic Fibrosis

Yeah, I's can sighteread. I taught myself

It stills takes awhile, I ahvent tried in yonks

qwidgybo

Originally posted by Chimaera
I used to be able to read music fairly well, but then I gave up going to lessons (after 7 years, I'd had enough, and didn't have the time in college to prepare for grade 7 flute, or grade 8 theory), and started playing by ear a lot more. As a consequence, my sight reading is now very laboured, and I need to take a fair bit of time to get a piece of written music into my head. If I can hear it a few times first though I'm grand.

i've been the other way around with regard to sight-reading.i did piano exams up to grade seven,and couldn't sight read for ****,and then i gave it up,played piano for the junior cert practical,and sight-read flawlessly.madness...

SOL

played piano for the junior cert practical,and sight-read flawlessly.madness

rofl jc practical, no offense but that hardly counts as sight reading

Well, just out of curiosity, how many of you guys can sight-read?

i can sightread music but not on guitar, what do you mean like tabs r what?

qwidgybo

Originally posted by SOL
rofl jc practical, no offense but that hardly counts as sight reading

fupp off,cormac,it does when your supposedly ****e at it.

bioch.

stevanavich

sight reading is sight reading, no matter what the level. so long as you can read the notes it makes no difference...playing them is a different matter of course...

fitz

Reading music is over-rated. Having a good ear is far better...
I've been playing on and off for 14 years. Can read a note. Yet I've done session work for some big names. Ear is more important I think...

stevanavich

well said my good man.
truely, to have a musical ear is one of the greatest gifts one can have. yet one might be surprised at the amount of musically talented people who disregard it and have almost nothing to do with music....it's sad.

Sev

What exactly is a "musical ear" anyway?
Maybe I have one, unlikely as it may seem.

lordsippa

it's kinda like athletes foot methinks.

Wheeler

Oasis wonderwall is pretty easy.so is Scremager by Therapy and Lucky man by the Verve

fitz

To have a musical ear or to play by ear is to be able to just play along without having to read music. To just be able to hear the notes, know what they are, and to just go to the right note naturally, without thinking about it, or having something in front of you to tell you to. Or something like that. You can develop it over time, but you may never develop it. It's just one of those things... And no, I'm not at all suprise at how many people write it off. Too many people don't regard it as important. Their loss. You can hear it when you listen to someone who's "technically" very good. Sounds wooden and unnatural. Listen to someone like Simon Goode (ex-Maryjane) who's currently filling in for the Frames. One of the best guitarists I've ever played with, sounds so natural and effortless....

lordsippa

Sense of humour? <makes swishing motions>

fitz

Also a vital tool of the discerning guitarist. Any opportunity to take a frontman down a notch or too

lordsippa

thank god. I was worried you were going to take my messing seriously and get pissed off as many others have. Fitz... I you're alright y'hear.

fitz

...I take music fairly seriously cause I love it, but it's still at it's core got to be fun! You have to take the piss...I've ripped the piss out of everyone I've played with, ever...

lordsippa

Fitz who be thee?

<sigh> i'm a budding musician but everytime i go to learn an instrument something fecks up. But I really just love to sing more.

stevanavich

no offense sven, but you dont exactly strike me as the singing type... more like a metal-head biker guitarist, complete with a special moshing technique named after you...that would be so cool. and whatever happened to your guitar? please dont say you've given that up too...

lordsippa

I'll have you know i have the voice of an angel. Ask me to sing some jeff buckley, or radiohead, or motorhead, or ... well most things... plus standard rock n' roll wail (although can't hold the highs as long and clear as i'd like).

I'm actually serious btw. Wanna get lessons after my lc.

fitz

Tony Fitzpatrick. Engineering instructor during session 2 just gone. If you're into singing, get your voice trained. It's something I need to get done, just to improve my breathing. Kylemore is very good apparently, a friend of mine had her voice trained there, and people rave about her voice...

purplepolkadot

yeah does anyone know of like a REALLY simple way of getting voice lessons? cos if it's difficult i can't be arsed. c'mon people who know stuff...

Cait

i'd love to get my voice trained....especially just so i could have
a better range.....hmmmmm.....

(hey tony!! )

fitz

How's tricks missus? Hope your well...thanks again for the DMB cd, it's great...

No easy way to get your voice trained, but look on the web, you'll be able to find stuff on technique I'm sure...

"Sing with you diaphragm, not your lungs..."

SOL

I would say yes while ear is needed so is reading which after 12 years of suzuki i prettymuch learned the hard way,

Cait

i'm very well indeed. i saw your name on the back of a t-shirt yesterday. very impressive!
i trust all's well with you....

fitz

...yeah, I played a Maryjanes song with the Maryjanes at the tribute to Mic. Binzer and Paul Smith (Kittsers keyboard player) both played on the song aswell. Two drummers. Class. Was a great night, fitting tribute to someone we all miss so much. Mic's family were delighted with how the whole night went, and Chirst is it a bloody good album...

Cait

pretty funky indeed. I did only see mic play once, supporting the frames. but it was truly wonderful. and the album kicks ass!

dera

just don't let them train away any of the natural beauty in the voice .. good to learn to breathe properly though I imagines..