I’ve been playing the guitar since I was about 8, which means about 26 years (Holy Crap, I’m getting old!)
Now, I’m nowhere as good as I should be for that length of time, but I like to think I can hold my own. Mind you, for the past 10 years, probably, I’ve been playing exclusively acoustic – stuff like Blue Rodeo, Matchbox 20, Three Doors Down, stuff like that. (and I’m bad for putting the guitar down and not picking it back up for up to a year sometimes)
I also play one-off’s, like Drops of Jupiter by Train, Breakfast At Tiffany’s by Deep Blue Something (need someone to sing either lead or harmony on that one, I’ll do the other), Everybody by Stabilo, stuff that translates well into acoustic with no accompaniment.
At the moment, I’m learning a couple of tunes, including Never Too Late, by Three Days Grace, and Fiddler’ Green by The Tragically Hip.
I’m just wondering if you guys might have some suggestions on stuff that would work well acoustically, in that general genre, and isn’t too technical or obscure musically (the chords that John Mayer would use in his acoustic stuff pops into mind there.)
Just so’s ya know, it’s just for my personal entertainment, as I don’t really have an appropriate venue like I used to back home, when I used to go to open-mike jams a few years ago.
Two big open mic songs are Oasis- Sally Can Wait and Radiohead- Karma Police. Elliot Smith stuff isn’t too hard to play. I’m in to Cat Stevens right now; his songs are great and generally simple.
If you’re trying to challenge yourself, try some classical pieces, like The Chaconne for guitar.
Or Mason Williams’ Classical Gas (The artist isn’t Williams, but it isn’t bad.) It’s for acoustic guitar, not classical, so the fingering won’t be so unfamilar.
Good luck.
Willy Porter has a lot of fans who are guitar enthusiasts (www.willyporter.com) and some nice credentials. I think he’s putting tabs (no idea what those are) for some songs on his website.
His first album is my favorite, there are YouTube clips of him performing “Moonbeam”.
Satellite Guy: I’m new around here and I’ve never met you, so please forgive me if I’m about to tell you things you already know.
You should know about www.chordie.com . This is a site where amateur players submit their transcriptions of songs. One of the handy features is a transpose button, so that if a song is in a key that has too many unfamiliar chords, or spends too much time on barre chords, you can change it to an easier key for the guitar. Once it’s in an easier key for the guitar, you can capo so that it’s in the easiest key to play, and the easiest key to sing. Like most free stuff on the interweb, it has an accuracy of around 75%. But, hey, it’s a start.
The trick is to be working on stuff that’s just outside your current grasp, but within your reach - that way, you keep improving. Too hard is frustrating, too easy is dull. Consider hooking up with a teacher, if only because it makes it much easier to have someone else’s opinion about what is a good level of piece for you to work on, and why.
Also, if you consider that most stuff you’ll be doing live with one guitar and one voice is already an ‘arrangement’, you can free yourself up from the obligation to slavishly imitate the original artist. The recording is usually assembled from the best takes from a set of sessions after rehearsals with a group of musicians plus some extra players who may be brought in to over-dub, and who never actually played with the band. Of course, they’re going to sound very different. So - make what’s different about your version highly personal and individual, so that it doesn’t get compared to the recording.
And have a blast playing whatever comes to mind. Hope this helps.
The Oasis song is Don’t Look Back In Anger, which is a decent song, but not really my style, although I used to play Wonderwall for a little bit.
I also used to play Karma Police.
Le Ministre de l’au-delà, When I was refering to difficult chords like John Mayer, they’re not just basic chords in odd keys – check out St. Patrick’s Day, including the tabs (assuming they’re correct) for uber-obscure chords. That having been said, I appreciate your helpful tips, as well as everyone’s suggestions.
I saw Mason Williams perform Classical Gas on Smothers Brothers back in the 80’s, and remember trying to learn it then; I thought it kicked ass, but a bit too complicated for me as well as pretty well needing an orchestra behind you to do it justice.
At this point in my life, I’m more into relatively simple stuff that can translates well to being played at a party, without being the stereotypical “Here For a Good Time” type stuff, that everyone and his dog plays at every party that’s ever been.
