After years of mucking about and generally faking it, I finally sat down and learned the proper chords and words for Wichita Lineman – happy days! I’ve no idea why it took me so long to actually get it sorted. I have to sing it an octave below Glen Campbell, but hey ho…
So – has anyone learned any good songs recently? Something you just heard that caught your ear – or something that’s been grumbling away at you for years that just bubbled to the surface?
…and, for your delectation and delight…
I’d also recommend “By the time I get to Phoenix”. Wonderful chords & melody and you can give it full 60s pop croon.
Already on it! I was a fan of the Nick Cave / Bad Seeds version on their “Kicking Against the Pricks” album – I tend to sing it in that stylee – but yes: I need to learn the chords …
I’ve returned to the brilliant 1974 “Out of the Storm” album by Jack Bruce (with Jim Gordon, Jim Keltner and Steve Hunter) and couldn’t put it down until I’d learned “One”, a highly original tune with all sorts of unusual chord changes which somehow support a beautiful tune.
This is the original version: https://youtu.be/z5T6WEQHHuE?si=LU_f_ZrqB55pGlrA
And here’s a live version by a later lineup of the Bruce band: https://youtu.be/oMoxisWB9XE?si=vOjq2JPwHuFjGk1l
I’ve been learning to play ragtime guitar. I’ve always been up for some tricky finger picking but more Brit folk style, and ragtime is much more demanding with the constant interplay between the thumb and fingers. I’ve been using Richard Saslow’s definitive “The art of ragtime guitar” book. Immensely satisfying when you play a piece all the way through flub-free. I learned this one recently. Someone helpfully put the pieces on YouTube of course.
Yoiks! Bit ambitious for me!
This is the first one I learned. Try it – it’s tricky but dooable. Addictive!
This is where I get my excuses in early (arthritic fingers…): but I’ll give it a go!
Way above my level too. I doubt I’ll give it a go, I’m far too lackadaisical. Talking of ragtime, Twang, can you play this? (I think it counts as ragtime.) I’ll never be good enough to play it. That doesn’t bother me, I’m very content just strumming simple chords, but do I enjoy watching guitarists who can play things like this.
Doesn’t sound too bad. Thing is, there are certain patterns and tricks these tunes all tend to use so you start to recognise them. This is a promo vid for my Martin which has some lovely playing – check the little piece at about 2 minutes – great fun to play and not so hard to work out.
That looks kinda manageableish! I’ll give that a go. Ta.
PM for tips.
PG for Tips, shurely?
Mine are arthritic too so no excuse. Take it slowly a bar or two at a time.
Ragtime/ folk-blues picking is great fun, and surprisingly easy to get the basic feel for it. The tricky part is in persevering to play at a decent speed and without bum notes – and I don’t think I have the patience for that!
I love this one, as once you know the basic idea you can vamp on it (even if you never perfect it!) and to non-guitarists you sound like a whizz-kid. Candy Man Blues by Mississippi John Hurt:
How on earth can I possibly be expected to stretch my little finger over that far? Be serious.
Get a tiny guitar?
Learned Arnold Layne recently
All simple major chords but a fair few changes,
So it’s easy – if you can remember them
Great song. I also fancied learning some songs from Syd’s two albums, after seeing Robyn Hitchcock playing Dominoes. A bit rough round the edges, but none the worse for that – so was Syd!
Margaritaville by Jimmy Buffet.
Days Like This by Van Morrison
The Weight by Robbie Robertson
Back In The High Life Again by Steve Winwood
Lawyers, Guns and Money by Warren Zevon
These are the last lot I learned. It’s probably taken me from the beginning of the year to learn them properly and I am still not happy with Margaritaville, but I have only had a couple of weeks at it.
Aha! The Weight is also on my “to learn” list…
I just found a folder of songs I was planning to learn at some point. There’s no evidence I ever did so, and a couple of them seem a mite ambitious, but I might have another go.
I Married Her – Lyle Lovett
Love Hurts/Sleepless Nights – Everly Bros
Return of the Grievous Angel/She – Gram Parsons
Friend of the Devil – Dead
I Threw It All Away – BD
Meet Me on the Corner – Lindisfarne
I used to play Meet Me on the Corner, back when I was a folkie. Haven’t played it for years – I must see if I still remember it.
It’s a good one. Having attended enough open mics most people get the chords wrong.
From the same Dead album….Ripple! A friend of mine played it for me recently and it took me back to being a teenager again. It’s on my ever growing to-learn list.
Do you like the “Reckoning” live album? All acoustic – don’t know how it’s rated by proper Deadheads, but it sounds good to me.
Never heard (of) it. I’m not a deadhead. I have American Beauty and Workingman’s Dead and maybe another somewhere. I was a schoolboy when I first heard this. When my pal played Ripple, it took me back to that time. When I got rid of my LPs, I replaced most with CDs. Can’t remember if I had ever played either of them. Thanks anyway, I may look it up.
I posted the songs I like strumming on another thread* recently. I’ll add Echo Beach to that list. Easy chords sounds great.
*
Slightly different thread, Gary – I wanted to know what new songs and tunes people had sat down and learned from new recently, as opposed to “what’s your default when you pick up a guitar”.
Stop your complaining, most of my list there are fairly newly learnt. All in the last year or so. In fact, if anything, that list was on the wrong thread. It’s seanioio who should be complaining.
No songs on that list (plus added extra Echo Beach) that tempt you?
Tempt me to pick up and acoustic and strum along, you mean?
I guess, maybe, Marie’s the Name?
Recently, I’ve been putting my acoustic in drop D and bellowing along with A Love You Can’t Survive. Or putting it in DADGAD and bellowing along with Highway Blues…
“Marie’s the Name! Yes! Good choice.
“Recently, I’ve been putting my acoustic in drop D and…” Nope, you’ve lost me.
Recently learnt to play Willoughby’s Farm by Ralph McTell, which has a couple of tricksy hammer ons and pull offs in amongst the picking. If anyone has Transatlantic’s Contemporary Guitar Sampler album, it’s the first track on that. There’s a good lesson on YT.
Favourite alt tuning songs include
Spencer The Rover (DADGAD, capo anywhere from 2 to 5, striking the 5th and 6th strings firmly to provide that drone-like rhythm)
Fruit Tree (B#BDGBE capo 5) quite a few different shapes to learn but the verse is quite easy to play once you’ve mastered the intro
People’s Parties (DADF#AD) mostly strummed in Joni’s distinctive style
The Chain (DADGBD) – some tricksy bits in this too, a bit like the McTell.
Yes.
D’ja know that Part of the Union, by the Strawbs, was it?
Hang on a sec, I’m confuse. Is Dave Vaughan and thecheshirecat one and the same person? Cos if so, that’s a very fine voice you have. I used to have an Irish friend who could often be persuaded to stand up and sing songs like that on social occasions. I really like it when someone is confident enough to do that, no instruments.
It is indeed. I agree, fine singing.
Thanks Gary. It is an absolute joy to be able to find a song for any occasion and just deliver it there and then. I don’t need much persuasion!
I’m a member(sometimes host) of a Zoom music session which we stream live on Facebook every Monday night from 7.30 to 9.30pm. It’s been running a few years now since it started at the beginning of the pandemic. It’s based in Edinburgh really, but sometimes it’s very international, with folks from Uruguay and Germany turning up often. There’s usually 4 – 6 of us, sometimes more, but we generally get about 5 songs each. Some folks are superb, whilst others aren’t much more than beginners, so all welcome. If any of you are interested in showing off your talents, or even just want to watch, pm me for details. The sessions can all be found on Facebook. They’re either under Captain’s Bar or Captain’s Folk Music.
Yes. Kenny. Burrell’s ‘Chitlins Con Carne’
Barely able to get through a simple blues in E without fumbling I’ve decided I want to play a bit of jazz guitar. CCC is ,thankfully, quite an easy and bluesy riff which suits me down to the ground.
Mind, once it gets going and the soloing around C minor starts I’m comprehensively fucked. But then all I do I at that point is my Derek Bailey impression. 😁. Google him if you’re not familiar.
Excellent! Kenny Burrell!
Does the Derek Bailey impression sound like you mean it?
How did he know if he’d played a bad gig?
Arf! Avant garde a clue…
Ha!
I was going to say, he knew he played a bad gig when he got a round of applause.
For an Avant Garde musician/band of Derek Bailey’s ilk, the only bad gigs would be where nobody at all turned up.
Never seen him live, but I did buy his “Ballads” album…
I’m hopeless at learning songs – can barely get through my own! Over last year have developed carpal tunnel syndrome in my left hand which means my index finger and part of my middle finger are numb and restricts my playing. However I have one go to song which I use to try and get those pesky digits moving which is Steely Dans Dr Wu – I can now kind of stumble through it.