So, guitar.
So. Maybe I should find some things to blog about.
I got a secondhand guitar last year. For free, no less. (During one episode of Feel The Func, Mike was digging through his old audio equipment and ran across a guitar he couldn't otherwise get rid of.) So I've been trying to learn how to play.
It's taken me about 6 months to actually play chords well enough. I've given up on the picking or single-note playing for the moment because I can barely get both hands cooperating on the simple stuff. (The simple stuff being anything with 4/4 time that doesn't abruptly change chords mid-measure.) Which is fine, because I'm not really looking to be a guitar god or go electric anytime soon.
The sad thing is, I've got a pretty good stack of songbooks in the corner of my room, and I tend to use sites like Ultimate Guitar and Chordie to look up other songs. (One thing I've learned is that, even if you hate a particular band or genre or music, you have to respect the amount of experience and effort that goes into creating that music.)
I can actually play a few "easy guitar" versions of songs now:
"Don't Think Twice It's Alright" and "Girl From the North Country," by Bob Dylan. There's a few more out of the Bob Dylan songbook I think I might be able to work out, but I'm not quite there yet. I can also sort of play the version of "Born in Time" listed on Ultimate Guitar, but I've only heard the alternate version off Tell-Tale Signs.
"Hazy Shade of Winter" and "The Only Living Boy in New York" by Simon and Garfunkel. Again, there's a few more songs I know I can do the chords for, like "The Boxer" and "Scarborough Fair," but I haven't been able to figure out the rhythm. My problem is mainly that I try to match my strumming to the lyrics (one beat per syllable) because I seem to have a head for lyrics. That, and I have the real versions in my head, which don't sound anything like the easy guitar versions.
"Oh My God" by Jars of Clay. It's got a strong rhythm part that's easy to pick up, although there are some nuances I can't pull off consistently. (I think if I'm going to learn to play any recent rock songs, it's going to be songs with a strong rhythm track.) I can also fingerpick the simple and repetitive rhythms for "Headphones" and "Shipwrecked."
"The Hero of Canton" from Firefly. And something that sounds vaguely like Jonathan Coulton's "Re: Your Brains." Vaguely. And without the bridge.
So, anyway, that's where I am, and I'm kind of amazed I got this far. I remember trying to learn guitar from my dad when I was a kid, which I think consisted of me picking a song in a songbook, learning two chords, and then realizing that it's hard as hell to actually string them together. Yes, I'm
That said, I'm running low on new songs I actually have a shot at playing. Anyone have any suggestions for good song books? I'd really prefer something in the vein of classic rock/folk. And does anyone know which Jonathan Coulton songs wouldn't be too hard for a noob to pick up?
Also, considering that @nathanblevins and @tma have tried to harass @jhckr into teaching them to be "rawk stars," perhaps we should plan a guitar tweetup?
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Other easy chord songs - Rolling Stones "You Can't Always Get What You Want" (this is actually my 'learned to play the F barre chord' song). F, C and sometimes D.
Jimi Hendrix "Hey Joe" easy pattern and speed, with none of those nasty chords (like the fore mentioned F).
Riff songs (songs that helped me learn more than chords) - Eric Clapton "Wonderful Tonight" - easy to go from riff to chords during singing.
Bon Jovi - "Wanted Dead or Alive" Okay, maybe not an easy one, but one of the first I learned so it can't be that hard. Good riff / chord sections.
Keep up the singing while playing - I started out that way, then focused on just the playing and when I tried to sing at the same time I screwed up. Took a good deal of practice to learn to do both after that. Better to get in the habit the first time.
G3?
I'll check up on those. I think "Wanted Dead or Alive" is actually an example in the Rock Band Guitar Method book (yes, I bought it, despite the sneaking suspicion it was a gimmick).
I remember looking up "Wonderful Tonight" in the book you let me borrow, and tried playing the first few measures, but it honestly didn't sound anything like the song when I played it.
Then again, I've found that it's good to periodically flip back through your song books, because I suddenly find out I can play songs that seemed incredibly hard before. I actually flipped back through my Bob Dylan songbook after writing this on Saturday and picked up a few more.
I generally try to sing while playing. At least, most of the Bob Dylan and Simon and Garfunkel songs I know off the top of my head, and the lyrics generally match up with the measures of the music.
G3
Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, and Eric Johnson - three guitarists only other guitarists listen to (minus the occasional breakout hit). If you wanted to check them out I'd start with Surfing with the Alien, Alien Love Secrets, and Ah Via Musicom (one album from each).
Tabs
http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/tabs/m/mark_knopfler/border_reiver_crd.htm
http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/tabs/m/mark_knopfler/so_far_from_the_clyde_crd.htm
I really enjoy Mark Knopfler's latest album (Get Lucky) so that's part of it. But I'm really amazed at how good these chords are and how much they have the same feel as the original (even if they're--I suspect--simpler than the real thing). They're fairly easy to play and I think the guy who tabbed them used the capo well. (A lot of tabs you see on the internet that use a capo feel like they're trying to account for alternate tunings or weird chords or chords they can't quite identify.)
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