What songs are you learning right now?

I was just curious as to what songs you are tryng to learn right now?
I have a bit of a mixed bag going ono right now...I have very eclctic taste and can go from Jazz to Metal is one day..lolol


The beatles Norwgian wood im playing and have all the chords and single notes but having a hard time isolating the single notes when strumming a chord...

Pink Floyd Wish you were here ( finally learned all the parts...just smoothing the edges now...can even sing it while I play which was always very hard for me )

Metallica Sad but true

I seem to negelect the other songs I was working on when I start learning a new one. So I end up with this stack of tabs....
but in my stack that I have to pick up again is Tom Petty into the Great Wide Open...Misty ( jazz )....AC/DC Back in Black..wow I cant even remember them all....

Im home today so I am going to bnust out the stack and play

To be honest with you, none. For some reason I have no interest in learning others music. If I were ever to play in a band and get on stage, I'd want to play all original music.

Having said that though, I would be interested in learning others music solely for the purpose of learning more about music and composing songs. Blending chords and riffs together and possible musical ideas.

At this point, I am only playing parts of songs and mostly the openings.
- Crazy Train - only the opening and very slow at that. Good for stretching
- Iron Man - Starts with a 2-string power chord that moves for fret 3 to 11. Much easier after it changes to single string.
- No Rain, Blind Melon - some pinky-hammering
- Wonderful Tonight - just the picking/bending part.
- Beat it - more stretching
- A very simple version of the Star Spangled Banner which has been more challenging that I expected.

I need to pick an entire song and go for it but my chords and strumming accuracy isn't there yet.

tw more songs I love...I forgot wonderwall by oasis and
everlong by the foo fighters....easy fingering power chords but the pace and rhythem is fast and hard to maintain
those are two that keep getting moved to that stack I have....gotta stop that

I have not attempted to compose a song.....
add that to the list of things to do and focus on

Originally Posted by: Itsmesilly
I have not attempted to compose a song.....
add that to the list of things to do and focus on

Well... neither have I. I have some riffs that I play with, add too, take away from and link together, but.. I've never really sat down with pen and paper and try to lay something down and put a lot of thought into it.

My main song that I am learning is 'Gypsy Road' by Cinderella.
The biggest problem I have is getting the 'sound' through my pedal.
I have a zoom G7 and have modifed the marshall 'bluesbreaker' patch. Its close-ish but I am still not happy with it

Originally Posted by: RickBlackerTo be honest with you, none. For some reason I have no interest in learning others music. If I were ever to play in a band and get on stage, I'd want to play all original music.

Having said that though, I would be interested in learning others music solely for the purpose of learning more about music and composing songs. Blending chords and riffs together and possible musical ideas.

Hi Rick and all -

Rick, I am a songwriter and composer myself, and love the idea of original music. When I teach guitar and composing in the 'real world', I do encourage students to learn others' songs just as a way of expanding their horizons.

I completely agree with you: even if it's just as an "exercise", learning other people's songs that you like can give you some great insights into song structure, chord options, techniques you might not otherwise be grappling with.

-Lisa

Hi Lisa, agreed, that's why I would take the time to learn them.

I liken learning songs of others as akin to being an apprentice for a trade. Many guitar players I've known learn how to play a little. Understood barre chords and then declared themselves songwriters. Bad songwriters too. It's easy to say that you only write your own stuff, specifically if you're not good at it. It's actually very hard to learn the song of another person because it requires a specific sense of discipline.

To the apprentice example, would you want a carpenter to tell you when building your house that he/she decided not to apprentice with the skill because they had their own ideas? I'm sure, no.

Learning songs broadens your horizon to different ways to structure riffs, learn a wide variety of licks and about song structure. I think it builds up a toolbox of useful skills.

Without all that, songs will likely be an uninteresting mash of verse/chorus/verse/bridge/chorus/outro. No dynamic.

Jeff, you and Lisa both have very good points, definitely having me rethink my thoughts on this.

I want to know how can we find out the notes from the song? What is the trick? I can play using notes but its really difficult for me to know the notes played in the song? please tell me how can I master it? is there any special exercise to do it? :)

I don't know if I could adequately answer the question: "Why would you want to imitate someone elses work?" until the answer came to me in a book.

"Experiencing yourself out of context, divorced from your usual point of view. skews your perspective-it's like hearing your voice on an answering machine. Its almost like meeting a stranger; or discovering a talent you never knew you had. The first time I plucked a melody out on a guitar well enough that it sounded like the original was a bit like that. ..."

This is quoted from the book "Slash" that I just started reading(I hope the quote is OK). That describes the feeling I get each time I get a riff to sound as it should.

edit:
I am only on Chapter 3 so I can't really recommend, yet that anybody else go and buy it. I bought it because the deconstruction successful bands has always interested me. And, you gotta admit Slash seems like a pretty interesting character.

I'm working on a song that's driving me nuts. It starts out in 4/4 timing, then switches to 3/4, 5/4, 6/4, 7/4 and in one part the drums are playing 3/4 while the guitar is playing 4/4.
To top it off, it's fast as hell and skips all over the place.
I've been trying to put it together for a lesson for almost a year now and still can't play it all the way through without messing it up.

Fingerpicking "Dust in the Wind" and "Landslide" by Fleetwood Mac

Lead break in BTO's Not Fragile ...and translating the keyboard break in Trooper's Pretty Lady (it's sounding really nice as a lead break). But I keep getting distracted with GT's Jam tracks. It's so fun to just play with no preconceptions of what it should sound like. :)

Originally Posted by: RazboLead break in BTO's Not Fragile ...and translating the keyboard break in Trooper's Pretty Lady (it's sounding really nice as a lead break). But I keep getting distracted with GT's Jam tracks. It's so fun to just play with no preconceptions of what it should sound like. :)

On a Canadian Classic Rock kick? ;) Throw in Kim Mitchell 'Go for Soda'...such a cool tune.

Originally Posted by: JeffS65On a Canadian Classic Rock kick? ;) Throw in Kim Mitchell 'Go for Soda'...such a cool tune.

Hehe I'm 45 & Canadian, what can I say? :) The parts just fit. That wasn't deliberate by the way; just songs from my youth. I think maybe picking up the guitar again is my reaction to midlife crisis or something. ...Since I can't afford a Corvette.

Hello all. Admittedly, I'm fairly new to guitar still, been playing none stop since october 08, but I only know 2 songs fully so far.
(and they're easy, being Third Eye Blind - Jumper & Nirvana - About A Girl Unplugged)
I'm trying to introduce myself as slowly as possible, to "master" bit by bit techniques and then move on, but having the time of my life at the same time.

A small addition to the sub topic in this thread "Why would you learn another musicians' work?":

All the comments so far have been totally agreeable, but I would like to add that it also depends on the reason for picking up the guitar in the first place. Some people may have as much fun as doing covers as well as writing their own...

But whatever way you look at it, especially if your "teaching yourself" or GT tutorials and the like, following musical examples will dramatically improve learning curves. You also have alot of time to perfect techniques and patterns and then you can move on.

The first 2 song's I've learned were to really compliment existing knowledge of chords from tutorials and GT, and to look closely at strumming patterns and chord changes.

Anyhow.. the song I'm learning now is Creed - One Last Breath, to get used to hammer ons, pull offs and to get my picking hand in synch. 3 days, its going well, its a big curve for me, but deffinatly recomended.

Originally Posted by: Necpock
All the comments so far have been totally agreeable, but I would like to add that it also depends on the reason for picking up the guitar in the first place. Some people may have as much fun as doing covers as well as writing their own...

Great point! It's about enjoying the playing.

I hear ya there...
In the end I just like to be able to play some nice sounding chords with a nice sounding / feeling rhythem..... and enjoy what you are doing and hearing

I think its one thing to be able to read music or tab and recreate a song...but its another to just make something happen from inside with what you have learned

with a balance of both I think skills develop more.....
learn from others....take it to your own place..ya know?
but we all have our places...
which is why there are so many awesome lead guitarists..rhythem guitarists etc