…well, not the whole song, but the riff. She recently decided she wanted to learn how to play guitar (after dickering between guitar and bass), and has gotten into metal (quite on her own. She’s into stuff I know little about. Her favorite is something called Otep). She said she has some kind of music project coming up in school where she’s supposed to bring an instrument and play something on it, so she told me she wanted me to teach her a simple song or riff she could demo. I played a few classic, simple riffs for her, and she chose “Smoke,” which is, coincidentally the first real riff I ever learned on the guitar.
She got it pretty quickly and is practicing it now (yeah. she’s up late. There’s no school tomorrow). I feel like I just passed a baton.
I just shot two different School of Rock shows today, the Black Sabbath show for the Chicago school and a Beatles show for the Evanston one. It’s a great program that seems to produce dedicated musicians. I don’t have a kid in the program, I just think they do a great job, and it is a lot better than the what kids of my generation had to put up with, having to play songs that they would never willingly listen to a la “Mel Bay” before they learned enough to figure out songs on their own.
I gave guitar lessons for years, and I always made sure I taught beginners something cool on the first day, rather than just teaching the open chords. There are a number of easy but cool riffs you can teach a raw beginner (“satisfaction” and “Whole Lotta Love” were two I used frequently) that are fun to play and that can hook them on the instrument.
DtC! My long lost friend, greetings! My little girl is 2 but I’m already prepping her for shredding in a few years. That’s got to be a great feeling seeing her play for the first time. Hell I sit in awe just watching mine peeling her own orange. Right now “we’re” learning I’m Yours and Snuff. Might I suggest a heavy dose of AC/DC? Relatively easy to learn yet still impressive. If you’re new to Otep I would suggest you check out Rise, Rebel, Resist! as a jumping off point. The message is right up your alley, even if the actual music isn’t. Warning, they make grrl power music sound like John Denver. And say hi to the family for me.
Nice to see you again, Duffer. Yes, AC/DC will definitely be on the agenda, and I’m going to try to learn some of her Otep stuff too. I have to tread lightly, though. I am her dad, which means that I am irrevocably uncool, no matter what, so I can’t force any music down her throat. I have to let her come to it on her own.
