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12-string guitar songs

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(@djiwo)
Active Member
Joined: 18 years ago
Posts: 3
Topic starter  

Hi everybody, i'm new to guitarnoise :p
i'm 16 years old and i've been playing the guitar
for three months now.
I learned quite some songs, burnt the major scales into my head,
learned a bit about the twelve bar blues en tried to play as many
chords as possible.

But now i've got a new challenge to face,
i bought myself a twelve string guitar, and i found out that the songs
that sound good on the normal guitar mostly don't on the 12 string.

So i was hoping anybody could help me out here by giving some
songs that sound good on the twelve string.
only one i know now is hotel california :p :oops:
hope you guys can help me out :D


   
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(@demoetc)
Noble Member
Joined: 21 years ago
Posts: 2167
 

Welcome to the boards.

I'm wondering what you mean when you say the songs don't sound good on the 12-string. Are you strumming chords or playing leads? There are songs that are famous for 12-strings - like the one you mentioned - but in my experience just about any song will sound good on a 12-string. Is it a tuning issue, or does it just sound weird to you? 12-strings sometimes take awhile to get your ear accustomed to; they're really 'full' sounding and the octave strings give you really different voicings - even for the most basic chords.

Just some thoughts...no big deal. It's just that...I'm on the verge of bringing the 12-string out again, but as a solo instrument, using various tunings, and yours seemed like an interesting thread.

Best regards :)


   
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(@djiwo)
Active Member
Joined: 18 years ago
Posts: 3
Topic starter  

It could be that i'm just not used to the sound of the twelve string, but when i try out songs like californication or michel by anouk it's killing me (actually killing me) :?
But chords are no problem, they always sound good, but when it comes down to songs that are played a note at a time it can get nasty (especially with the g octave string)
i hope i'm not the only one having this problem :x
i'm using an electronic tuning device so i don't think the tuning could be wrong?

thx for the info on the 12-string tho 8) i've got a lot to learn

edit: not to mention how bad nothing else matters sounds to me :p
but anyhow, i'd just be glad with some songs that sound superb on the 12 :P
cause hotel california sounds like heaven on the twelve :O
i've been looking for more songs like that but i haven't found any so far :roll:


   
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(@musenfreund)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 22 years ago
Posts: 5108
 

Some famous 12-stringers from the Beatles:

"Help!"
"A Hard Day's Night"

The Byrds did "Mr. Tambourine Man" on electric twelve string.

Well we all shine on--like the moon and the stars and the sun.
-- John Lennon


   
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(@twistedlefty)
Famed Member
Joined: 19 years ago
Posts: 4113
 

another dylan cover by the byrds "my back pages" sounds great as well

#4491....


   
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(@zaiga)
Trusted Member
Joined: 18 years ago
Posts: 64
 

It could be that i'm just not used to the sound of the twelve string, but when i try out songs like californication or michel by anouk it's killing me (actually killing me) :?
But chords are no problem, they always sound good, but when it comes down to songs that are played a note at a time it can get nasty (especially with the g octave string)
i hope i'm not the only one having this problem :x

Playing chords on a 12-string indeed sounds like heaven. Picking single notes on a 12-string requires a different technique than on a 6-string. Rather than playing both strings on a 12-string for a "single" note, you can choose to play only one of these strings. This requires a bit of practice, and it is handy to have either long fingernails or a pick to get this right. For example, to play the intro of Nothing Else Matters, you would only pick the lower sounding note of each pair of strings, instead of playing both strings.


   
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(@cooker)
Estimable Member
Joined: 19 years ago
Posts: 112
 

"As Tears Go By"..Stones....,"Here Comes The Sun"..,My Sweet Lord"..,"Isn`t It A Pity"..George...." The Wizard"...Uriah Heep..."Melissa" Allman Bros....."Horse With No Name"..."Sister Golden Hair"..America..."Space Oddity" David Bowie...Mrs.Robinson...Simon and Garfunkel..."lyin` Eyes" ...,"Best Of My Love"..Eagles...."American Pie".. Don Mclean.."One Toke Over The Line"..Brewer and Shipley...."The Weight"..The Band.."All I Have To Do Is Dream" Everly Bros..."Imagine" John..."Tweeter And The Monkeyman" ...Traveling Wilbury`s ..

You can sleep when you`re dead!
"and baby all you need...is just a little more love"


   
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(@djiwo)
Active Member
Joined: 18 years ago
Posts: 3
Topic starter  

"As Tears Go By"..Stones....,"Here Comes The Sun"..,My Sweet Lord"..,"Isn`t It A Pity"..George...." The Wizard"...Uriah Heep..."Melissa" Allman Bros....."Horse With No Name"..."Sister Golden Hair"..America..."Space Oddity" David Bowie...Mrs.Robinson...Simon and Garfunkel..."lyin` Eyes" ...,"Best Of My Love"..Eagles...."American Pie".. Don Mclean.."One Toke Over The Line"..Brewer and Shipley...."The Weight"..The Band.."All I Have To Do Is Dream" Everly Bros..."Imagine" John..."Tweeter And The Monkeyman" ...Traveling Wilbury`s ..

Wow man :D
that's awesome ^^
exacty the stuff i wanted 8)


   
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(@kalle_in_sweden)
Prominent Member
Joined: 19 years ago
Posts: 779
 

San Fransisco bay blues by Jesse Fuller
Alberta Alberta by "Leadbelly".

Two easy (open chords) strumming 12 string songs performed by Eric Clapton on the Unplugged album

Tanglewood TW28STE (Shadow P7 EQ) acoustic
Yamaha RGX 320FZ electric guitar/Egnater Tweaker 15 amp.
Yamaha RBX 270 bass/Laney DB 150 amp.
http://www.soundclick.com/kalleinsweden


   
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