Actually a two part question. I realize it is often mood dependent and could change from week to week, but it's still fun. I'm particularly curious to know how many times the answer to #1 and #2 are the same.
#1: There's the one song that you play really well, and if you were handed a guitar and asked to play one song and wanted to impress, this would be it.
#2: This is a song that you do play very well. This is one that you really enjoy playing the most, but maybe are not quite as good as you are with the song that you think you play the best.
I'll start.
#1: Knocking On Heaven's Door. If I was handed a guitar in front of some of my friends and wanted to impress, this would be it. PLUS, I would get to mess around a bit and do some funny Bob Dylan impressions. A close second was Dead Flowers. I went with KOHD probably because of familiarity. Everyone's heard it.
#2: This was the tough one. Like I said, mood dependent. House Of The Rising Sun is what I came up with. I don't play the arpeggios, though. I can OK enough, but I instead do some pretty hard chord (and partial chord) strumming. That, and I can let out some really high-powered vocals. I'm sure it sounds like crap and I refuse to record it just so I don't ruin it for myself. I can't always play this due to an ear thingy, but it sure is great fun when I do. No one has ever heard me play this complete with the vocals that I do when I'm alone.
So, what are your "for others" and "for yourself" songs?
Roy
"I wonder if a composer ever intentionally composed a piece that was physically impossible to play and stuck it away to be found years later after his death, knowing it would forever drive perfectionist musicians crazy." - George Carlin
Well Mr. P I never really thought about that before. No one has ever asked me to play and I don't really have any favorites to play.
My favorites are whatever song(s) I'm working on at the moment I have to learn new songs every week or I get bored. Thankfully since I only play covers there are millions out there to work on so there is no worry about running out of material.
I find songs that I never liked or listened to much will be fun to play and songs that I love to listen to can be boring to play.
AC/DC is a band I never listened to much although I've heard most of their songs but for the 3-4 of their songs I know they are fun to play.
My current new song list is: Rock n Roll Ain't Noise Pollution - AC/DC
Crazy Little Thing Called Love - Queen
Tie your mother down - Queen
Smoke Two Joints - Sublime
Crazy On you - Heart
I'd probably play Crazy Little thing called love only because I like the sound of the rockabilly solo that I just learned but I think Tie your mother down or Rock n Roll Ain't Noise pollution are more "fun"
For me I like the physicality of playing loud, hard rocking music and I think that's why AC/DC songs are more 'fun" to play for me. I could never see myself sitting there strumming an acoustic guitar it just doesn't cut it for me. I have to feel like I worked during the song. I think I would enjoy playing punk music for that reason since there is a lot of energy going on when they play.
Kind of the same when I see a live band, God to see a bunch of musicians sitting or standing like lifeless statues doesn't do it for me no matter what the song sounds like.
"It's all about stickin it to the man!"
It's a long way to the top if you want to rock n roll!
Tough one indeed. I'm, like Cnev, not much of a performer in that I dont play covers much, if at all, and rarely play my own songs. So the songs I can play decently right now are those I've recently composed. Probably the best one is I Dream of Electric Sheep, based on the novel Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep. It's a fairly easy song to play, for those who have a piano at hand, but it feels right. Wouldnt know what note to add if you'd point a gun at me.
Tricky one, Roy - for the simple reason I prefer playing electric to acoustic, but to play one song well with all the subtle nuances and fills and licks and riffs I'd need either another guitarist to play rhythm (or a bassist and drummer) or it'd have to be fingerpicked electric.
One song I've got down pretty well on electric is Nantucket Sleighride - since I managed to finally work it out a while back, I play it pretty much every day.
Acoustic? It'd have to be something I could do a decent vocal to - so probably Under The Bridge. I had to work an alternative intro out for that one, but it's recognisable..... either that or You've Got To Hide Your Love Away or possibly Behind Blue Eyes - I do it slightly differently from the Who's version, AND slightly different to David's recent lesson, but again it's very recognisable.
One song I'd love to be able to do as a solo acoustic piece is More Than A Feeling - ain't gonna happen, there are just too many guitar parts in there!
:D :D :D
Vic
"Sometimes the beauty of music can help us all find strength to deal with all the curves life can throw us." (D. Hodge.)
#1 would probably be "I Am Mine" by Pearl Jam. I've got it down and it seems to be the song I almost always play first when I'm not working on a specific song.
#2: "The Seeker" by The Who. I can play along with the record, but when I try to play on my own, I sometimes get lost on which parts go where.
Nice topic!
I think that right now it would be on my classical guitar: The Descendant of the Shinobi
I really enjoy playing that and it starts out nice and slow and melodic kind of like a "Beyond the Sea" and then speeds up pretty quickly.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXZSG58puGY&feature=channel_page
In Space, no one can hear me sing!
a fun topic that is difficult to answer.
I have so many songs from which to choose.
the easiest...Gloria.
there are a bunch of Rolling Stone, Neil Young and Yardbird songs that come to mind.
Last Time, Harvest Moon, and For Your Love.
on acoustic I'll do either 'You Got the Silver', by Kieth Richards or Misunderstood by Pete Townsend.
In my case it would have to be in order of my competancy:-
1. "The One I Love" REM, (Mattguitar's version on the ESD is where I learned it). The best thing about it are the easy lyrics and the great acoustic sound you get from the chords used.
2. "Horse With No Name" America. Fantastic to play, only two chords and I remember the lyrics easily. Great at open mics because as soon as you play the intro people of my age get hooked and can't help joining in.
3. "Knockin' On Heavens Door" The Dylan version. Need I say more! easy to play and great lyrics and you can improvise between different arrangements
4. "I Think About You" Bryan Adams. I play this well but sometimes have to have a cheat sheet in front of me for the lyrics. Hard work to get the phrasing right though when singing ( I don't have Bryan's gravelly voice) but I love playing it.
5. "Baby It's You" The Beatles version. Great and easy to play R&B song but it needs backing vocals to enhance it for the Shall-la-la- la's and the You Cheat - Cheat bits.
6. "Behind Blue Eyes" The Who. Just love playing and singing this but the last but one verse I find hard to play as the tempo of the whole song changes from ballad to hard rock and those dreaded barre chords appear.
All the best,
Chris
The guitar is all right John but you'll never make a living out of it! (John Lennon's Aunt Mimi)
Hmmmm
Acoustic
1 - Probably Bruce Hornsby's "The Way It Is" - I play it slowed down and pick the strings individually in the intro to reproduce the piano effect - if you guys behave yourselves I might even put a recording online for a few days.
2 - "Time Of Your Life" or maybe "Man On The Moon." TOYL is a regular at parties, and I not only teach MOTM but have played it at open mics.
Classical
1 - "Soleares" (the name of a flamenco dance), by Joacqim Turina, from the Homage to Tarrega. It's fast, loud, lively, blatantly Spanish and I did it for my Grade 8. "Classical Gas" if I can do an encore.
2 - Tough decision. "Capricho Arabe" by Tarrega, "Clair de Lune" by Debussey, and the anonymous "Romanza" would certainly be the first three.
A :-)
"Be good at what you can do" - Fingerbanger"
I have always felt that it is better to do what is beautiful than what is 'right'" - Eliot Fisk
Wedding music and guitar lessons in Essex. Listen at: http://www.rollmopmusic.co.uk
there are a bunch of Rolling Stone, Neil Young That's pretty much same with me. I play, at varying degrees of skill, over 30 'Stones songs and over a dozen Young songs. I like You Got The Silver, but don't play it. I do play 4 other ones from that album. I love playing "Live With Me". Funny song. Old Man was a close runner up to the Play For Myself selection. I actually play it a lot more often than 'rising sun. I did finally get "Powder Finger" done decently. We talked about that one before.
"Horse With No Name" America. One of the earlier songs I learned. One of my favorite David Hodge lesson. Gave me a sense of 'hey, I can do this guitar thing' really early on. That was really helpful. Still though, I find it a challenge to sing and play that song for some reason. Probably because I just played it and did not sing to it for 3-4 years.
Roy
"I wonder if a composer ever intentionally composed a piece that was physically impossible to play and stuck it away to be found years later after his death, knowing it would forever drive perfectionist musicians crazy." - George Carlin
Hey Roy!
Ditto on that one "Horse With No Name" and David Hodge's lesson for exactly the same reasons as you. As for the singing I found it's good because you don't have to concentrate on your fretting much once you get the strum pattern going on the intro and then you can really apply yourself to the singing.
Chris
The guitar is all right John but you'll never make a living out of it! (John Lennon's Aunt Mimi)
my best song would probably be an instrumental version of elliott smith's waltz #2 where i do the melody and accompaniment together. my favorite song to play is when my improvising is going well... if i'm lucky, the second becomes the first.
Acoustic...
I love playing "I'm Only Sleeping" by the Beatles, I love the little bass run in it..
I know a little bit about a lot of things, but not a lot about anything...
Looking for people to jam with in Sydney Oz.......
My favorite song is whatever I happen to be playing to an appreciative audience. Once the music starts and the energy from the audience reaches the stage I'm in my bliss.
Notes
Bob "Notes" Norton
Owner, Norton Music http://www.nortonmusic.com Add-on Styles for Band-in-a-Box and Microsoft SongSmith
The Sophisticats http://www.s-cats.com >^. .^< >^. .^<
well, the song i feel i could play on my own and impress with is probably my new mr brightside solo guitar - but a lot of what i consider my best guitar bits require the band playing around me (albeit nothing i do is above intermediate level anyway).
The song which always gets the best reception though is "i bet you look good on the dancefloor". Nothing about it is hard to play but the pubs around here love it, and it never fails to get a request in the encore. i know this song isnt well known over the pond, so here it is http://www.abouttimeband.biz/html/dance_floor.html
by the way, this is a great thread :D
"I like to play that guitar. I have to stare at it while I'm playing it because I'm not very good at playing it."
Noel Gallagher (who took the words right out of my mouth)
