McDuff Posted June 24, 2010 Share Posted June 24, 2010 It's nice somedays to just take it easy on the guitar and play some easy songs. Sometimes it is easy to get hung up on the millions of things I can't play on the guitar but I just took a break and enjoyed some simple G, C, G songs. I guess what I'm saying is it's nice out, take an easy day here soon. Also I hadn't said anything in awhile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nodehopper Posted June 25, 2010 Share Posted June 25, 2010 It's nice somedays to just take it easy on the guitar and play some easy songs. Sometimes it is easy to get hung up on the millions of things I can't play on the guitar but I just took a break and enjoyed some simple G' date=' C, G songs. I guess what I'm saying is it's nice out, take an easy day here soon. Also I hadn't said anything in awhile. [/quote'] I totally agree... I have found that sometimes it is a great thing to take a break from the technically challenging songs and find a couple very easy songs that you can sit back relax and enjoy playing.... I am guilty of tending toward songs that are too difficult or challenging for my current level of playing. Recently I have looked to learn a couple that are very simple and I can close my eyes and play ...since they are not very difficult I can concentrate on flow, rhythm, expression and feeling. The unexpected part of this exercise is these easy songs can be a lot of fun to play...and play around with (improvise a little). It is a great stress reliever from either a stressful day at work or a technically challenging practice session. I think in the long run these easy songs will build confidence, help me learn to 'gloss' over mistakes and bring more musicality to my playing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksdaddy Posted June 25, 2010 Share Posted June 25, 2010 I think I went too far in that direction. For the past couple years I've played acoustic almost exclusively, and I mean plucking lighly on the couch while watching tv with my wife. It just sounds so good, so therapeutic to feel the neck, smell, the wood, strumming first position chords..... it was great. A couple nights ago I had the house to myself so I plugged in the Telecaster to the old Ampeg amp in the living room. Nah, let's go all out. I went and dug out the big old Peavey Classic with 2-12s and turned the reverb up to ten (the knob wouldn't go any higher, although I tried). For the next hour it was nothing but Walk Dont Run, Pipeline, Lonely Girl, Wipe Out, Surfer Joe, Perfidia, and maybe even a little Peter Gunn. Wow, did I suck. All the stuff I used to be able to rip out and dazzle myself with was dry, rusty, creaky and downright sad. I've been vigorously pursuing it since. The fingers on my left hand feel much more limber and less arthritic-like. God, I wish I had an old beat up Jaguar right now. And about six reverb tanks in series. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted June 25, 2010 Share Posted June 25, 2010 The bottom of the stairs in this 100+ year old, 3 story house has a magic sound that I can't explain. I'll sit, or stand there sometimes and play my J45. Minor chords sound esp sweet...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rambler Posted June 25, 2010 Share Posted June 25, 2010 Miss. John Hurt goes down real easy. That roll on Stacker Lee is a good "default" lick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissouriPicker Posted June 25, 2010 Share Posted June 25, 2010 You make a real good point. A good song is a good song. How many chords or how fancy is irrelevant. I would guess that most of the songs that are automatically recognized after one hears the into for a few seconds are 3-4-5 chords, and typically basic chords. Ian Tyson, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Judy Coilins, Gordon Lightfoot, etc.....All pretty much 3-4 chords and a cloud of dust kind of songwriters. Del Shannon's "Runaway" is five chords. All open chords and a great guitar solo that is easy to play and is three chords. CCR the same. ......There's a joke....goes something like this....... What's the difference between a country guitarist and a jazz guitarist? The country guitarist plays three chords for 3000 people and the jazz guitarist plays 300 chords for himself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honky Dog Posted June 25, 2010 Share Posted June 25, 2010 I like easy songs. If it weren't for easy songs I'd have no songs at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honky Dog Posted June 25, 2010 Share Posted June 25, 2010 You make a real good point. A good song is a good song. How many chords or how fancy is irrelevant. I would guess that most of the songs that are automatically recognized after one hears the into for a few seconds are 3-4-5 chords' date=' and typically basic chords. Ian Tyson, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Judy Coilins, Gordon Lightfoot, etc.....All pretty much 3-4 chords and a cloud of dust kind of songwriters. Del Shannon's "Runaway" is five chords. All open chords and a great guitar solo that is easy to play and is three chords. CCR the same. ......There's a joke....goes something like this....... What's the difference between a country guitarist and a jazz guitarist? The country guitarist plays three chords for 3000 people and the jazz guitarist plays 300 chords for himself.[/quote'] +1 Good joke, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taylor Player Posted June 25, 2010 Share Posted June 25, 2010 No matter how much I work on difficult fingerstyle tunes in Standard, DADGAD, Open G, Drop D etc....... I keep getting asked if I know any Willie Nelson songs by my friends and relatives! Actually, I love playing some of the old standards and what I have actually done is taken several of the songs I used to only play on an electric guitar and convert them to my own little "unplugged" versions on acoustic. It works great at the deck parties and such I typically "perform" at. Nothing better than an acoustic version of Mustang Sally or Honky Tonk Woman to get a party started...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockinrebel Posted June 25, 2010 Share Posted June 25, 2010 I like easy songs. If it weren't for easy songs I'd have no songs at all. That's what I'm talkin' 'bout. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyearspickn Posted June 26, 2010 Share Posted June 26, 2010 Bad, Bad Leroy Brown ; Carmelita ; Dear One ; Fine Time to Leave Me Lucille ; Cheating Heart ; Otto Wood the Bandit ; House of the Rising Sun ; John Henry.... I really can't enjoy complicated songs unless someone else is playing them. And even then, rarely as much as when I'm doing something simple like Danny Boy or Blue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buc McMaster Posted June 26, 2010 Share Posted June 26, 2010 Three chords and a cloud of dust! The story of rock n' roll and country music. While I admire talented players, I tend to appreciate the song - lyrics, melody and how it fits together - much more than I do fancy fingerwork. fortyearspickn: Carmelita - such a fine lament from a tortured soul. Great song. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drathbun Posted June 26, 2010 Share Posted June 26, 2010 DGA Twist and Shout (oh yeah.. it ends on D9). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted June 26, 2010 Share Posted June 26, 2010 Tons of 3 and 4 chord gems from the 60s and they all sound great on an acoustic. Sometimes I get on a roll and go for a couple hours or more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daryl M Posted June 29, 2010 Share Posted June 29, 2010 Simplicity is complex. The ability to take just a few chords and convey to the listener the emotions you feel...well...that's Rock and Roll! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanvillRob Posted June 29, 2010 Share Posted June 29, 2010 Simplicity is complex. The ability to take just a few chords and convey to the listener the emotions you feel...well...that's Rock and Roll! I find the I gravitate towards certain songs and tend to play them all in "my style". My "book" has several hundreds of songs in it, (I mostly use it for a crutch with the words), but most things end up sounding like.....well, sounding like me. There are songs I do that aren't "easy" but since they fit my style, they're what I play. "For What It's Worth" is simply a song that "fits" me. Another is "I Want To Be Seduced". Neither is especially easy, but they are "easy" for me. Totally different songs, but somehow "fit" how I play guitar. I won't say a DIM cord is "comfortable" for me, (I have to think about each one I play), but if they "fit" the song, they sound right and are therefore "easy", (i.e. "Till There Was You"). I've also found the key I play songs in is a moving target..... since I can't hit the notes I used to hit, I have to "re-learn" songs in lower keys. About a year ago I had to do Roy Orbison's "Cryin' " at a funeral. I had a friend join me 'cause I knew she could hit some of the high notes I could no longer reach! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted June 29, 2010 Share Posted June 29, 2010 It sure is alot easier to get folks to join in when you launch into the Wilbury's "Handle With Care" as oppoosed to something like Kid Bailey's "Mississippi River Groan." And "96 Tears" sounds great on an old Gibson mandolin. I love playing two or three chord songs and I love playing around the nut. What I cannot seem to do is strum all the way through a tune. For whatever reason I just I cant make my way through a tune without rolling the bass, doing a little frailing, or punching up a wild staccoto single string runs here and there. These kinds of things have become so ingrained in my playing I do not even realize I am doing it. I also cannot, at least from what I have been told, play anything the same way twice which can drive folks I play with a bit nuts at times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted June 29, 2010 Share Posted June 29, 2010 No matter how much I work on difficult fingerstyle tunes in Standard' date=' DADGAD, Open G, Drop D etc....... I keep getting asked if I know any Willie Nelson songs by my friends and relatives! Actually, I love playing some of the old standards and what I have actually done is taken several of the songs I used to only play on an electric guitar and convert them to my own little "unplugged" versions on acoustic. It works great at the deck parties and such I typically "perform" at. Nothing better than an acoustic version of Mustang Sally or Honky Tonk Woman to get a party started...... [/quote'] Could be worse - they could be asking for John Denver tunes. I don't play HTW on acoustic but will break into "Brown Sugar" and "Gimme Shelter" (which works real well when you have a flddler on board to play the lead guitar part). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onewilyfool Posted June 29, 2010 Share Posted June 29, 2010 Here is a little ditty that I like to play. I play it in Em, I think Elton plays it in Gm. I just play it in two chords moving the A7 form up the neck for a little fun. But basically a two chord song. Note chords are not in the right place, I can't edit them, but I got it on Chordie.com. Nice for finger picking. Here is a nice version: Love Song Elton John Em7 The words I have to say A7 May well be simple but they're true, Em7 Until you give your love, A7 There's nothing more that we can do. Em7 A7 Love is the opening door Em7 A7 A6 A7 A6 Love is what we came here for Em7 A7 A6 A7 A6 No one could off er you more Em7 A7 Do you know what I mean? Em7 A7 Have your eyes really seen? You say it's very hard To leave behind the life we knew, But there's no other way And now it's really up to you Love is the key we must turn. Truth us the flame we must burn. Freedom the les son we must learn. Do you know what I mean? Have your eyes really seen? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dove Histronic Posted June 29, 2010 Share Posted June 29, 2010 Been playing 32 years and reached the point of wanting to semi-palm mute everything and throw in a few bluesy hillbilly runs... Rode the Dollywood Mystery Mine roller coaster with the coal mining theme, so of course lately I've been singing "16 Tons" If it was good enough for Johnny Cash, it's good enough for me... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rambler Posted June 30, 2010 Share Posted June 30, 2010 '"most of the songs that are automatically recognized after one hears the into for a few seconds are 3-4-5 chords" Well, there's some great standards with more complex structures. But no matter how thick the chords, a songs needs a memorable melody, riff or hook. So its not just a case of simple, but simple with a twist. Without the twist, there's nothing's there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanvillRob Posted June 30, 2010 Share Posted June 30, 2010 Rode the Dollywood Mystery Mine roller coaster with the coal mining theme' date=' so of course lately I've been singing "16 Tons" If it was good enough for Johnny Cash, it's good enough for me... [/quote'] I would have sworn 16 Tons was Tennessee Ernie Ford. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honky Dog Posted June 30, 2010 Share Posted June 30, 2010 I would have sworn 16 Tons was Tennessee Ernie Ford. Well' date=' bless your pea-pickin' heart! Tennessee Ernie had a huge hit with it in the 50s, but Merle Travis first recorded the song in the 40s. Travis claimed to have written the song, though another person, forget his name, claimed he wrote a song and 16 Tons was copied from it. Anyway, I grew up in coal mining country (most men in my family were coal miners, and I've done it myself) and any recording of this song was big there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanvillRob Posted June 30, 2010 Share Posted June 30, 2010 Well' date=' bless your pea-pickin' heart! [biggrin'] Tennessee Ernie had a huge hit with it in the 50s, but Merle Travis first recorded the song in the 40s. Travis claimed to have written the song, though another person, forget his name, claimed he wrote a song and 16 Tons was copied from it. Anyway, I grew up in coal mining country (most men in my family were coal miners, and I've done it myself) and any recording of this song was big there. I never heard Travis' version... heard Ford's version quite often when I was a kid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honky Dog Posted June 30, 2010 Share Posted June 30, 2010 I never heard Travis' version... heard Ford's version quite often when I was a kid. The one I heard mostly, too. Ford's version was a mega hit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.