Learn 10 Songs

[marnold***]

In Paul Gilbert's column in Premier Guitar this month, he lists some songs he learned for his Italian clinic tour. In it he urges his readers to pick 10 songs and learn them. I really think that's what I need to do. Instructional stuff really isn't doing it for me now because I don't see a purpose. It seems like learning songs would be the best way for me to learn/apply/improve. The 10 songs need to be somewhat challenging, but not SO challenging that I'll give up--so no Yngwie stuff. I'm excluding cowboy-chords-only stuff. I also have to like the song, otherwise I'll lose motivation. I'm mostly thinking out loud here.

Songs I already know:
"Walk, Don't Run"--The Ventures
"In My Dreams"--Dokken (I still can't do that ultra-fast run at the end of the solo)
"Livin' After Midnight"--Judas Priest
and the latest addition (and an unexpected one for most, I would guess)
"From the Beginning"--ELP (I don't do the long solo at the end because I don't have non-prescription pharmaceuticals, someday I may learn George Lynch's version from Dokken's cover)

Songs I began but never finished learning:
"Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love"--Van Halen (mainly needs lots of polish, but I haven't played it in forever)
"Paranoid"--Black Sabbath
"Iron Man"--Black Sabbath
"Breakin' the Chains"--Dokken
"Purple Haze"--Jimi Hendrix (I mainly know the intro and verses)
"Life by the Drop"--SRV (need to learn the intro)
"Mary Had a Little Lamb"--SRV (never even started on the solos)
"Perfectly Good Guitar"--John Hiatt
"Crazy Train"--Ozzy (never started the solo, fills need LOTS of work)
"Movin'"--Howlin' Wolf (main riff only)

Songs I'd like to learn and could reasonable hope to learn:
"The Thrill Is Gone"--B.B. King
"I Got My Mojo Working"--Muddy Waters
"Tooth and Nail"--Dokken

Songs I'd like to learn, but I'd need to get my shred on (or buy a "talent" pedal):
"Scuttle Buttin'"--SRV (you could put a lot of SRV songs here)
"Fear of the Dark"--Iron Maiden (ditto)
"Mr. Scary"--George Lynch (also ditto)
"Song of Yesterday"--Black Country Communion
"Unchained"--Van Halen (I can hack my way through the main riff)
The aforementioned Yngwie stuff

Sometimes I wish I didn't like blues and shred greats. I'm sure there are other songs that just aren't coming to mind right now.

If you count the four I already know, it would make sense to start by learning the rest of the ones I started learning: "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love," "Paranoid," "Iron Man," "Breakin' the Chains," "Life by the Drop," "Perfectly Good Guitar." That'd give me ten total. I'll have to ponder it. Thoughts?

[Spudman***]

Learning 10 songs is a really good idea. You'll get some new chord changes added to the library along with some new licks. Just another great way to forward your playing.

[Eric***]

Hmm. I like that idea. Here are mine, in ascending order of completeness. Some of these may never actually happen.

"Some Might Say" - Oasis
"Don't Look Back in Anger" - Oasis
"Back in Black" - AC/DC
"Hysteria" - Def Leppard
"Aqualung" - Jethro Tull
"Stairway to Heaven" - Led Zeppelin
"Reelin' in the Years" - Steely Dan
"Sweet Child O Mine" - Guns 'N Roses
"Paranoid Android" - Radiohead
"Stash" - Phish

And yeah, I realize a lot of these are really, really cliched guitar pieces, but I think that just makes me want to know them more, if that makes any sense. Luckily for me, I don't like any shredders outside of Andy Timmons and Paul Gilbert, and I never really sweat playing their songs. Maybe some day.

[Glacies]

This is probably where I am in my guitar education as well - although I do need continual work on my scales.

However, this begs the question - how do you guys learn songs? I would assume that the majority of you are able to figure things out by ear. While I can grind through things by ear, I am not sure I could learn a whole song that way. I could and have figured out chord progressions although I've missed on some of the voicings. I know I'd never be able to string together a solo.

[Eric***]

This is probably where I am in my guitar education as well - although I do need continual work on my scales.

However, this begs the question - how do you guys learn songs? I would assume that the majority of you are able to figure things out by ear. While I can grind through things by ear, I am not sure I could learn a whole song that way. I could and have figured out chord progressions although I've missed on some of the voicings. I know I'd never be able to string together a solo.

I use tabs, guitar pro, I listen to the song, and will watch youtube -- basically whatever I can get my hands on.

[cebreez]

I use tabs, guitar pro, I listen to the song, and will watch youtube -- basically whatever I can get my hands on.

Me too! Although I usually try it by ear first. Years of sirens have made learning by ear difficult. Even when I have the tabs available I usually go out of my way not to play it exact note for note. To me unless you are the original performer of that tune then your just sterilizing the song. Even alot of the pros do a different looser version live.

[marnold***]

Mostly I've learned by tabs. I've also used Audacity to slow it down, but keep the pitch to learn a particularly fast passage. When I learned "From the Beginning" I ended up watching a lot of YouTube videos because there's some seriously weird chord voicings in there. It was easier to look at his hands. I've done that from time to time when I'm having a hard time figuring out an easy way to play a chord or lick.

[Pickngrin]

"Talent pedal" - I love it, Marnold. I'd love to get my hands (and foot) on one of those. I really like the idea of learning 10 songs to further one's playing. Over the past 2 years, I've definitely found that being more disciplined about learning tunes the whole way through (not just the fun parts) has helped me a lot, and is certainly much more conducive to collaborative playing situations. That said, with multiple life changes over the past 4 months (relocation, job change), I haven't been spending time learning songs and I think that your post is a good impetus for me to return to some focused practice. So, thanks. BTW, my approach to learning songs is eclectic, too - tabs (though some of the online tabs are just awfully inaccurate), ear, Youtube.

[Commodore 64***]

Fear of the Dark is on my list too. I'll try and get a vid of me practicing it, if you do the same. Maybe that will help us both, since I'm quite sure that you can't be any worse than I am. I'll be trying to learn parts of the Live In Donnington version.


UP THE FREAKIN' IRONS!

[marnold***]

Fear of the Dark is on my list too. I'll try and get a vid of me practicing it, if you do the same. Maybe that will help us both, since I'm quite sure that you can't be any worse than I am. I'll be trying to learn parts of the Live In Donnington version.

Actually that sounds like a pretty good idea, although I was looking more at the Rock in Rio version. They're probably pretty similar. Regardless, I like the live versions SO much better than the studio version. The live versions have an energy that the studio version just doesn't.

Hmmm. I really like that idea C64.

Update: I just bought this

[NWBasser]

Join a cover band and you'll have to learn songs. Lots of them too!

If you plan on playing with other musicians, it really helps to have a broad catalog of different tunes so that you can find (hopefully) some common musical grounds.

Like Eric, I use whatever resources I can find. Sometimes bass parts can be tough because it's hard to pick the bass out of a dense mix.

Here's something else to consider and maybe Spud can elaborate a bit more; for a working band situation, if you can get in the ballpark of the solo, then you generally don't really need to play it exact note-for-note. For the most part, an audience will never notice as long as the general melody is there. Different tunes will lend themselve to varying degrees of improvisation opportunities though. Some have a very strong melodic line that needs to be adhered to while others can be played pretty loosely.

Another thought is that that it may be a good idea to also understand what scales/modes/etc. are being employed in a particular solo and why the player chose them.

[Commodore 64***]

Update: I just bought this

Nice. I have a printout from UG tab that I got a couple years ago. It was way beyond me at the time. This will be a good opportunity to revisit it. I'll endeavor to get a video clip of me practicing some bits tonight.

[R_of_G]

"Stash" - Phish

You'll certainly learn where every D is on your fretboard when you start improvising over that one.

My current ten:

1. B*tch - The Rolling Stones (Learned it two weeks ago. Pretty much have it down)
2. Jessica - The Allman Brothers Band (Began learning it yesterday. Can play the bulk of it with tabs in front of me at about 1/2 speed)
3. Jockey Full of Bourbon - Tom Waits (Have known basics for years. Learning the fills riffs and working on playing solo at correct speed)
4. Rain Dogs - Tom Waits (Pretty much same as Jockey)
5. Sleepwalk - Santo & Johnny (I can play it pretty well with the tabs in front of me)
6. Walk Don't Run - The Ventures (Can play all component parts. Trying to put it all together cohesively)
7. Infinity Guitars - Sleigh Bells (With the tabs in front of me I can play the crap out of this one)
8. St. James Infirmary - Louis Armstrong (There's a cover by Allen Toussaint and Marc Ribot that helped me figure out the basic melody)
9. Cissy Strut - The Meters (Known this one for years. Working on teaching it to my bass player so we can play it together)
10. Sway - The Rolling Stones (My goal of learning all of Sticky Fingers presses on. Three down [B*tch, Dead Flowers, Brown Sugar] Seven to go.

[progrmr]

This is probably where I am in my guitar education as well - although I do need continual work on my scales.

However, this begs the question - how do you guys learn songs? I would assume that the majority of you are able to figure things out by ear. While I can grind through things by ear, I am not sure I could learn a whole song that way. I could and have figured out chord progressions although I've missed on some of the voicings. I know I'd never be able to string together a solo.

If I'm looking for a specific genre (blues, surf, etc) I buy all the Hal Leonard Play-A-Long books I can find For stuff I like that is.

Otherwise I buy books of albums or collections of songs transcribed.

I'm back on a guitar kick after a few months on bass and I just bought a collection of old Kiss songs - 26 in a single book. They're notated well and have tab, covering the rhythm/fills/solos.

Also recently purchased Metallica Death Magnetic book but I'm finding Hetfield and the gang are waaaay ahead of me lol

I can't think 10 songs ahead though - I'm working on Cold Gin for now

[rkwrenn]

Cool idea. Here are 10 that I have been working on these last few days.

* Good Lovin Gone Bad (Bad Company)
* Alright Now (Free)
* Enjoy The Silence (Depeche Mode)
* Wake Me When September Ends (Green Day)
* Main Instrumental Theme from 'Midnight Cowboy'
* Main Instrumental Theme from 'Our Man Flint'
* Kryptonite (3 Doors Down)
* Amber (311)
* If I Fell (The Beatles)
* Wish You Were Here (Incubus)

Great seeing what others are doing. Nice ideas for new stuff to check out.

Cheers

[Eric***]

* Enjoy The Silence (Depeche Mode)

How in the world are you going to learn a song on guitar if the song and band doesn't involve a single guitar???

Kidding, of course. I like that song a lot, and I think it's kind of an interesting idea to learn non-guitar songs on the guitar.

[rkwrenn]

How in the world are you going to learn a song on guitar if the song and band doesn't involve a single guitar???

Kidding, of course. I like that song a lot, and I think it's kind of an interesting idea to learn non-guitar songs on the guitar.

It's still just chords and notes. Actually, there is plenty to do in this song. Playing along with the bass lines is a start. Fitting in tastefully is the challenge.

Another fun thing to do it sit in front of the TV and play along with any music that happens. Tune to a different radio station and fit in with whatever gets played.

Cheers

[NWBasser]

It's still just chords and notes. Actually, there is plenty to do in this song. Playing along with the bass lines is a start. Fitting in tastefully is the challenge.

Another fun thing to do it sit in front of the TV and play along with any music that happens. Tune to a different radio station and fit in with whatever gets played.

Cheers

This is a great idea. I read a lesson from a bass player who suggested watching TV and inventing bass lines to fit what was happening on the screen. I think a nature program with a cheetah attack could lead to a great bass line.

[R_of_G]

I read a lesson from a bass player who suggested watching TV and inventing bass lines to fit what was happening on the screen. I think a nature program with a cheetah attack could lead to a great bass line.

I tend to watch sports with the volume off (mostly because of the annoyance factor of modern announcers). It's a fun exercise to try to score the game with a guitar, or at least come up with some crazy riff when Blake Griffin goes all Blake Griffin on someone.