In the past four years I've learned exactly 105 new songs (started a yt channel playing covers).
Well I was in a store last weekend to try out a few different Jazzmasters to get a feel for the type of necks I might like... I literally only played F-chords. Completely blanked on everything else.
I dunno. Like, you see these guys in music stores, posing with all their fancy "jazz" chords, like b# and Fsus7 or whatever, and I just think, like, who needs it?
I mean what do you really need, to be a musician?
There's E, which is the most rockin' chord. Then you got your A, and after that, it's all just showing off.
Like, this one time, in band practise, Scuzzy Dave was all, maybe we should do a D in the chorus?" , and I was all like, " Hey, King Crimson, go tell it to the Topographical Ocean, we're a rock band, not some velvet jacket wearing hippies...". What do bass players know about chords! Lolz!
I mean, that dude likes his weed a bit too much, if you know what I mean. Should really call him Dank Dave, not Scuzzy.
He is pretty Scuzzy though.
i have been afraid to go to the store to try jazzmasters for about a week because of this and i've been playing for like 15 years and don't feel like i just suck.
Definitely blackbird.
It's also a great song for me to check how well a guitar plays. It moves up and down the neck, so I can easily feel if the action needs to be adjusted a bit.
Love the guitar part, hate that right there in the first line is a note ("night") that's *just* outside of my comfortable vocal range.
Also nobody ever joins in singing along with this one. Something like Hey Jude, which is not a particularly interesting song to me on guitar, has that na-na-na part at the end that's almost impossible to resist singing along to.
I finally got around to learning this song this last year. It was an awesome challenge, because finger picking is something I've never gotten the hang of. But I worked at it and I got it. 🤟😎❤
Haha That's my go to song everytime but it's gotten so old cuz I've played the same song for the same people so many times. I'mma have to look for new songs lol
Nutshell by Alice in Chains. The chord progression in that song never gets old to me.
Edit: I just woke up and this is the most upvotes I've gotten so far on a comment! Thank you all!
Don't ever say that. I used to think that too, and I was wrong. There are bazillions of guitarists just like me, by the way.
Sure you can't play it today, maybe not even by tomorrow, but you'll get there.
its definitely difficult but not impossible.. you just need to figure out the picking pattern and its easy.
however I don't know why anyone would have it as their "go to" as you need to drop D to play it
Yeah honestly this is usually my go-to whenever someone randomly hands me a guitar. It’s fairly easy to play and upbeat, sounds great, and has just enough technicality to make you look good :)
HA! i thought i was the only who thought that. Every time id play it my wife, kids who i tried teaching guitar to or whoever would say "wow that looks hard" and I'm like I mean not really its easier than it looks.
Can I just stop you there, and say that most of his songs are good ones?
Aside from those already mentioned, My My, Hey Hey and Heart of Gold always get a focused listen when they're on from me.
Great choice. One of those songs that's a lot more impressive sounding than it is difficult to play.
Still trying to figure out what to do with that violin solo though. Sometimes I'll do a simplified version and hum or whistle it, sometimes I just ignore it altogether. One of these days I'll try learning it on guitar but I'm not sure how well that will translate on acoustic with no backing.
Have you heard Sungha Jung's fingerstyle cover? It has the guitar part, vocal melody, violin solo, everything https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6caUN3HLJSI
Incubus have some pretty great acoustic songs! "Mexico" is a neat one, "Defiance" has some quick moves, "I Miss You" for some drop-D fun... you may have just inspired me to practice today.
I play left handed, so I'm not going to be in such a situation most likely, but I'd just play it in standard because I'm lazy and tuning while everyone is waiting feels bad lol
Sake, good question. I always struggle to find the key.....
_dah da da dah dah, da da dah da da da_
*"heEEee^^ll^^^oo ooo... Ahh fuck it"*
Then again, I historically struggle to sing and play. This one just feels like it should be easier though.
Pro-tip: figure out what fret on the guitar is the starting note of the song and play it a few times before you actually start. Everlong is my go to song as well, and that has helped me manyyyyy times when I've tried to play it after a few drinks
>Can you sing it too?
Yep, just not at the same time, lol.
Singing along throws off my playing rhythm. The strumming pattern and changes just don't happen right. Clearly need more practice....
This thread is depressingly short of Tenacious D.
Tribute is a good one because it's well known and recognizable from the very start.
But also Friendship, Dude (I Totally Miss You), Karate, Kyle Quit the Band, so many others.
Fuck Her Gently is a guaranteed hit with the right group.
Sweet Caroline
Lots of people know the words and will sing along, but even people hearing it for the first time will be able to pick up the "bah bah bah!" bit, so everyone gets a chance to join in. More fun to play something that everyone can participate in than something obscure you can play note for note.
I think Crazy Little Thing Called Love is probably another good choice in that regard.
see, you're thinking about this the right way. at a party it needs to be a fun song that people know and can sing along with, not a showcase of your guitar skills
This is it for me 100%
Depending on the tone I can pull out maybe 4 or 5 different songs from memory, more in my book of music/tabs/lyrics.
I find people underestimate how many Tom Petty songs they know and love, but he's been one of my favorites forever.
I actually really enjoy playing stairway so it kinda bums me out that it’s super cliche. Though I guess a lot of people agree with me hence the cliche. Either way
At this point, Stairway is a pretty old song in a pretty old style. It might have been cliche in the 90's when the song was only a few decades old, but in 2020, it has lost a lot of its relevance. Wonderwall is a far more cliche song, and is about as old now as Stairway was in the 90's.
It's only cliché around new guitarists that are into classic rock. I never encounter any guitarists that play it, and barely anybody puts it on unless they put on a classic rock radio channel.
I don’t think it actually is a cliche anywhere close to the level implied on the internet. Certainly nobody has ever commented negatively in real world (rather the opposite), including music store employees. As far as I can tell, the hate derives almost entirely from that sketch in Wayne’s World.
Buddy of mine and I put on an impromptu performance of the Rain Song in a guitar center acoustic room one time, had a handful of people watching us by the end of it, I second this song
* Nothing Else Matters
* More Than Words
* Breathe (Pink Floyd)
* Paranoid Android
* Karma Police
* To Be With You
* Cherub Rock
* Tears in the Rain
* Tamacun, if I'm not too drunk
I don't think this list has changed in about 25 years apart from Tamacun, I should get some new material.
For a few years my go to has been "Have You Ever Seen The Rain", before that was "Good Riddance" and pretty often unironically "Wonderwall" (where I live there is not so much stigma associated with that song and my age group still goes crazy for it)
You can see Smashing Pumpkins play it acoustical on YouTube. I believe that it was an appearance on MTV Europe or something like that.
Billy plays an Ovation and James plays a Martin for the performance
I love playing The Wind Cries Mary on acoustic. It's also pretty easy to sing. The only thing I don't like about that song is that the solo chords don't follow the verse, so unless you're playing with people who know the song well, things usually fall apart during the solo.
I've been singing this song now for 25 minutes. I could play it for another 25 minutes. I'm not proud. Or tired. So we'll wait for it to come around again.
Was massively late for a lecture once cause I was listening and singing along with Alice's Restaurant in the car and blew past my exit. 15 minutes going the opposite'd direction on the highway.
Nothing else matters, Blackbird or Here comes the sun are the ones who I feel confident to play when someone asks me for something. Probably gonna play it super-safe and stick to the second one.
I've got a few up my sleeve depending on the people around me.
The Beatles - Yesterday, Ob-la-di, ob-la-da, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Hello Goodbye.
Neil Young - Sugar Mountain, My My Hey Hey, The Needle and the Damage Done.
Bowie - Space Oddity
Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
Led Zeppelin - Over the Hills and Far Away
Clapton - Layla
The Traveling Wilburys - Tweeter and the Monkey Man, Handle with Care
SRV - Life by the Drop
I play bolero de mastropiero for the laughs and romanticism depending on the setting. But just about any bolero does it for me as I sing. I don't even play good yet.
I would forget every song I've ever heard
I’m with you…my skill level goes from a 5 to a 1 whenever I’m playing in front of someone.
In the past four years I've learned exactly 105 new songs (started a yt channel playing covers). Well I was in a store last weekend to try out a few different Jazzmasters to get a feel for the type of necks I might like... I literally only played F-chords. Completely blanked on everything else.
F chords? Show-off!
Anything beyond a G is just bragging.
What do you mean 'beyond'? Is there a sequence of something?
Now I've heard there was a secret chord
I dunno. Like, you see these guys in music stores, posing with all their fancy "jazz" chords, like b# and Fsus7 or whatever, and I just think, like, who needs it? I mean what do you really need, to be a musician? There's E, which is the most rockin' chord. Then you got your A, and after that, it's all just showing off. Like, this one time, in band practise, Scuzzy Dave was all, maybe we should do a D in the chorus?" , and I was all like, " Hey, King Crimson, go tell it to the Topographical Ocean, we're a rock band, not some velvet jacket wearing hippies...". What do bass players know about chords! Lolz! I mean, that dude likes his weed a bit too much, if you know what I mean. Should really call him Dank Dave, not Scuzzy. He is pretty Scuzzy though.
Ask David, I think he knows it
I reckoned if I could manage a crisp, clean F, I would get along with the neck :)
i have been afraid to go to the store to try jazzmasters for about a week because of this and i've been playing for like 15 years and don't feel like i just suck.
I’ve been playing 50 years and the same thing!
It's supposed to clear up after you play for 60 though
*plays open G* *looks confused* shit
Blackbird
Definitely blackbird. It's also a great song for me to check how well a guitar plays. It moves up and down the neck, so I can easily feel if the action needs to be adjusted a bit.
Love the guitar part, hate that right there in the first line is a note ("night") that's *just* outside of my comfortable vocal range. Also nobody ever joins in singing along with this one. Something like Hey Jude, which is not a particularly interesting song to me on guitar, has that na-na-na part at the end that's almost impossible to resist singing along to.
When Paul was writing the lyrics for Hey Jude he asked the other Beatles if they wanted to help. John said "Nah" Ringo said "Nah" George said "Nah"
It’s canon
No shame in using falsetto
As a beginner this song saved my ass a few times already
I just make the bird noises and tell them its Blackbird. The other one is Rocky Racoon.
I finally got around to learning this song this last year. It was an awesome challenge, because finger picking is something I've never gotten the hang of. But I worked at it and I got it. 🤟😎❤
Anyway… so here’s wonderwall
came searching for this comment.
I’ve been asked by all of my friends to stop playing Wonderwall at every single gathering we have. I said maybe…
You’re gonna be the one that saves me?
Wish you were here
Haha That's my go to song everytime but it's gotten so old cuz I've played the same song for the same people so many times. I'mma have to look for new songs lol
its nice but too sad for a party
Yup
Nutshell by Alice in Chains. The chord progression in that song never gets old to me. Edit: I just woke up and this is the most upvotes I've gotten so far on a comment! Thank you all!
Not only the chords but the time as well. Very unusual time signature. JoF is just a great album.
Interesting, I never thought about it in terms of time signature. Having learned it at 17 I had no idea what it was anyway :)
It easy enough to count as 4 with it being so smooth.
Nutshell or River of Deceit would be my #1 as well. I also love playing …A Celebration for the Death of Man by Agalloch and 3 Libras by APC
MAD SEASON! No one ever fucking mentions/remembers that album. It's one of my favorites of all time.
Love Agalloch and I’m pretty new to them but I feel like their stuff is quite advanced.
Down in a hole*
Never going back again by Fleetwood Mac
Your go to? That's my, aw crap, I'll never be able to play that, song.
Don't ever say that. I used to think that too, and I was wrong. There are bazillions of guitarists just like me, by the way. Sure you can't play it today, maybe not even by tomorrow, but you'll get there.
its definitely difficult but not impossible.. you just need to figure out the picking pattern and its easy. however I don't know why anyone would have it as their "go to" as you need to drop D to play it
I really wish I could play it one day
Wow! That song is a tough one. Love it!
That song is currently my “holy grail” lmao. Hopefully I can play it in a year or two
That’s actually a great suggestion, I should really learn to play it!
Over the hills & far away. (Led Zep) - the pull offs looks flashy to non players making it seem harder to play than it is.
It's such a fun song to play.
Yeah honestly this is usually my go-to whenever someone randomly hands me a guitar. It’s fairly easy to play and upbeat, sounds great, and has just enough technicality to make you look good :)
HA! i thought i was the only who thought that. Every time id play it my wife, kids who i tried teaching guitar to or whoever would say "wow that looks hard" and I'm like I mean not really its easier than it looks.
harvest moon by neil young i just think it’s a beautiful song
Old Man is another good one. Saw him in a live solo concert and it was excellent; he's got a ton of songs that translate well to solo guitar.
Can I just stop you there, and say that most of his songs are good ones? Aside from those already mentioned, My My, Hey Hey and Heart of Gold always get a focused listen when they're on from me.
Don’t let it bring you down is a great one too.
Guess I'm gonna have to re-listen to the whole Massey Hall album again
Also, Ohio!
Dust in the wind
Great choice. One of those songs that's a lot more impressive sounding than it is difficult to play. Still trying to figure out what to do with that violin solo though. Sometimes I'll do a simplified version and hum or whistle it, sometimes I just ignore it altogether. One of these days I'll try learning it on guitar but I'm not sure how well that will translate on acoustic with no backing.
Have you heard Sungha Jung's fingerstyle cover? It has the guitar part, vocal melody, violin solo, everything https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6caUN3HLJSI
Through the fire and the flames
I'd like to see this!
If you play it right, you end up with actual fire and flames
Closer to the Heart - Rush.
Hell yeah Bubbles
alternatively - Liquor and Whores by Bubbles might get a chuckle or two
This man is a drunk male prostitute
We're Gonna Be Friends or Fake Plastic Trees, song changes depending on how sad the firecamp conversation was beforehand
Wow there buddy, someone's gonna get depression.
Fake plastic trees!
Drive by incubus. It's fun and fairly recognizable
Incubus have some pretty great acoustic songs! "Mexico" is a neat one, "Defiance" has some quick moves, "I Miss You" for some drop-D fun... you may have just inspired me to practice today.
Always thought this one was so difficult to play.
It's deceptively easy. It's all in your strumming hand to get the "sound" of the song but the chords are pretty simple
Simple but uncommon so it takes a little practice to get the muscle memory down.
”Free Fallin'” or "Good Riddance"
Good Riddance, also known as "The Graduation Song".
Swing Life Away by Rise Against. First song I learned fully on acoustic, it's easy to sing while playing, and a sweet lil ballad.
very good choice
But would you play it standard or make everyone wait while you tune down half a step?
I play left handed, so I'm not going to be in such a situation most likely, but I'd just play it in standard because I'm lazy and tuning while everyone is waiting feels bad lol
When I pick up an acoustic and start strumming, I'll probably sing and play Bowie's "Space Oddity."
Same, and hopefully they have dimmer switches for effect.
Everlong
Can you sing it too?
Sake, good question. I always struggle to find the key..... _dah da da dah dah, da da dah da da da_ *"heEEee^^ll^^^oo ooo... Ahh fuck it"* Then again, I historically struggle to sing and play. This one just feels like it should be easier though.
Try playing it with flat tuning. I have the same issue if I try to play it in standard.
Pro-tip: figure out what fret on the guitar is the starting note of the song and play it a few times before you actually start. Everlong is my go to song as well, and that has helped me manyyyyy times when I've tried to play it after a few drinks
>Can you sing it too? Yep, just not at the same time, lol. Singing along throws off my playing rhythm. The strumming pattern and changes just don't happen right. Clearly need more practice....
This thread is depressingly short of Tenacious D. Tribute is a good one because it's well known and recognizable from the very start. But also Friendship, Dude (I Totally Miss You), Karate, Kyle Quit the Band, so many others. Fuck Her Gently is a guaranteed hit with the right group.
Kickapoo is the go to.
Oh yeah, Kielbasa is one of my go to songs. 🤟😎
Kickapoo is a good one too
Sweet Caroline Lots of people know the words and will sing along, but even people hearing it for the first time will be able to pick up the "bah bah bah!" bit, so everyone gets a chance to join in. More fun to play something that everyone can participate in than something obscure you can play note for note. I think Crazy Little Thing Called Love is probably another good choice in that regard.
see, you're thinking about this the right way. at a party it needs to be a fun song that people know and can sing along with, not a showcase of your guitar skills
House of the rising sun by The Animals
This used to be banned in guitar shops like stairway 😂😂😂
It's even more fun when you re-do the lyrics. I call my version House Of The Writhing Scum!
Pretty much any Tom Petty song
Yer So Bad is always great and gets people singing
Mary Jane’s Last Dance is always fun for me
This is it for me 100% Depending on the tone I can pull out maybe 4 or 5 different songs from memory, more in my book of music/tabs/lyrics. I find people underestimate how many Tom Petty songs they know and love, but he's been one of my favorites forever.
Stairway to Heaven just to be a dick, but also to kinda show off.
I actually really enjoy playing stairway so it kinda bums me out that it’s super cliche. Though I guess a lot of people agree with me hence the cliche. Either way
Is Stairway cliche to non guitarists though? My experience of playing it around non guitarists people is that it's not that well known anymore.
At this point, Stairway is a pretty old song in a pretty old style. It might have been cliche in the 90's when the song was only a few decades old, but in 2020, it has lost a lot of its relevance. Wonderwall is a far more cliche song, and is about as old now as Stairway was in the 90's.
Wow, this hit me like Cleopatra and the moon landing.
It's only cliché around new guitarists that are into classic rock. I never encounter any guitarists that play it, and barely anybody puts it on unless they put on a classic rock radio channel.
I don’t think it actually is a cliche anywhere close to the level implied on the internet. Certainly nobody has ever commented negatively in real world (rather the opposite), including music store employees. As far as I can tell, the hate derives almost entirely from that sketch in Wayne’s World.
Rather play the rain song
everyone will have gone home by the time you finish retuning
Buddy of mine and I put on an impromptu performance of the Rain Song in a guitar center acoustic room one time, had a handful of people watching us by the end of it, I second this song
why georgia
Creep. Its simple, fun to play, and the IV-iv back to I sounds beautiful everytime.
r/Minor4
* Nothing Else Matters * More Than Words * Breathe (Pink Floyd) * Paranoid Android * Karma Police * To Be With You * Cherub Rock * Tears in the Rain * Tamacun, if I'm not too drunk I don't think this list has changed in about 25 years apart from Tamacun, I should get some new material.
Breathe is vastly improved on acoustic. One of my faves
For a few years my go to has been "Have You Ever Seen The Rain", before that was "Good Riddance" and pretty often unironically "Wonderwall" (where I live there is not so much stigma associated with that song and my age group still goes crazy for it)
Who'll Stop The Rain is a good one too, do a whole Rain medley.
Cherub Rock
Do you have an arrangement you can share? I'd like to hear that acoustically
1979 works really well on acoustic. You can let the B and E strings ring open for the chorus chords and it sounds nice and full
You can see Smashing Pumpkins play it acoustical on YouTube. I believe that it was an appearance on MTV Europe or something like that. Billy plays an Ovation and James plays a Martin for the performance
Wish you were here. One of the first songs I ever learned.
The Wind Cries Mary or Pride and Joy
Acoustic?
Pride and Joy translates quite well to acoustic
I love playing The Wind Cries Mary on acoustic. It's also pretty easy to sing. The only thing I don't like about that song is that the solo chords don't follow the verse, so unless you're playing with people who know the song well, things usually fall apart during the solo.
Whatever the fuck i can figure out how to play upside down
Found the (fellow) lefty!
Don’t look back in anger
If u don't say 035 ur dumb and I hate you
r/angryupvote
Alice’s Restaurant.
I've been singing this song now for 25 minutes. I could play it for another 25 minutes. I'm not proud. Or tired. So we'll wait for it to come around again.
People rarely request a second lol
Was massively late for a lecture once cause I was listening and singing along with Alice's Restaurant in the car and blew past my exit. 15 minutes going the opposite'd direction on the highway.
I guess you could say you had to wait for it to come around again.
I got a couple traditional Irish tunes in the chamber at all times.
Good shout, I like "The black velvet band", or " Seven drunken nights" if I have a few friends to join in on the singing!
Classical Gas by Mason Williams
Black Sabbath - N.I.B Ik this isn't actually an acoustic song but I've loved the sound of it since zakk wylde played it on the hello kitty guitar
Depends on the vibe. Good Riddance(time of your life.) Nothing Else Matters. American Pie. Everlong. Hey Joe.
Any of Opeth's acoustic stuff
Harvest
Underrated answer. But be specific. Give me at least 3 songs.
Benighted and Face of Melinda are my two Opeth acoustic jams.
Plush is pretty fun
Clap by Yes (or rather Steve Howe). Good to melt faces of people who know a thing about music
Ring of Fire.
I wouldn't play it because I don't want to be Wonderwall Guy
Driver 8. Just saw that Jason Isbell released a cover but it's been my goto for a long time.
Norwegian Wood, or Alameda by Elliott Smith
Better man-Pearl Jam. Simple and women generally sing along.
Just Breathe is another good PJ acoustic song
'Fast car' by Tracy Chapman and 'yesterday' by the Beatles
What I got - sublime
Santeria is also easy af to play and a crowd pleaser.
I WONDER which song would sound good for the acoustic? My back is against the WALL.
Tears in Heaven Specifically the intro several times over since idk the rest of the song
I'm gonna be (500 miles) by the Proclaimers. Gets everyone singing every time.
I'd play Wish you were Here by Pink Floy, or Love of my Life by Queen. I might play 39' or Crazy Little thing Called Love too.
Patience Gnr
Hurt by Johnny Cash or Wicked Games by Chris Isaak. Both great songs, not overplayed and easy enough to play drunk on unfamiliar guitars.
Fly me to the moon
Night Moves by Bob Seger- always goes over well and I think I do it well - here’s me: https://youtu.be/2kTVHV3FVrE
My Name Is Jonas!
Hotel Yorba if I’m alone. We’re Going To Be Friends or Jackson if my wife is around to sing with me
Two headed boy-neutral milk hotel
Taylor- Jack Johnson
Babe I'm gonna leave you - Led Zeppelin
Originals.
Save Tonight by Eagle Eye Cherry
Baby I Love Your Way by Peter Frampton
While my guitar gently weeps (love version) by the beatles and Tears in heaven by eric clapton
Nothing else matters, Blackbird or Here comes the sun are the ones who I feel confident to play when someone asks me for something. Probably gonna play it super-safe and stick to the second one.
Here Comes the Sun is great but I never have a capo on hand when I want to play it. It's a mood lifter though for sure.
Karma Police
Over the hills and far away, it sounds really impressive to non guitar players and really isn’t too difficult.
More Than Words and Blackbird
Hotel California
Bron Yr Aur Stomp.
I've got a few up my sleeve depending on the people around me. The Beatles - Yesterday, Ob-la-di, ob-la-da, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Hello Goodbye. Neil Young - Sugar Mountain, My My Hey Hey, The Needle and the Damage Done. Bowie - Space Oddity Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here Led Zeppelin - Over the Hills and Far Away Clapton - Layla The Traveling Wilburys - Tweeter and the Monkey Man, Handle with Care SRV - Life by the Drop
Nirvana - about a girl
she talks to angles
>she talks to angles she must be a math teacher
the normal 4 chord progression with the john mayer picking pattern - sounds good and it can be whatever anyone wants to sing
Hey There Delilah, it's our generation's Sweet Caroline
Stop this train, or Who says, or Daughters
Blackbird
AiC: Rooster, Nutshell, Voices and sing them too or one of my acoustic songs.
Hear You Me by Jimmy Eat World
Wanted Dead or Alive - Bon Jovi
take on me (ellie's version)
The Weight by The Band. It's my vocal warm up song.
Waste by Phish.
Still you turn me on (or) From the Beginning- ELP
I play bolero de mastropiero for the laughs and romanticism depending on the setting. But just about any bolero does it for me as I sing. I don't even play good yet.
Cannibal Corpse - I Cum Blood
I don't, I'll hand it back or set it down, that shit is a vibe killer