To the guitar players

Ive decided im going to take advantage of the winter weather and be alittle more serious about bettering myself on guitar, I can manage chord progressions and some picking, but i was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for beginner/intermediate-ish songs to try to learn, im having a hard time finding stuff harder then most 3 chord country songs, but easier then the "to hard and turns you off to playing" metallica type songs. Any suggestions would be greatly appriciated, genre doesnt matter. Thanks!

Practice scales... get them memorized then work on speeding them up. you will find that knowing scales will make "hard" songs easier. Knowing as many scales as possible is the best way to get better at any instrument

Thank you! ill look them up, if i remember correctly, the major/minor pentatonic are the more commonly used scales correct?

it depends on what style of music you want to play but yes generally the scales you listed are used a lot.

you should try to pick up this book it has pretty much every scale in it and it is what I used to learn guitar and bass: The Guitar Grimoire® - Scales and Modes

Thanks bud, ill check it out!

I had lessons for years as a child, but I made the most progress on my own just trying to learn the way slash from guns n' roses (snakepit and velvet revolver as well) plays. aside from pearl jam, stevie ray vaughan and the perennial go-to classic rock bands, no one else has influenced me more as a player. if you can learn a few solos off of 'appetite for destruction' I don't care what genre of music you're interested in, you might well be the best musician in the room.

The first few songs I learned were "Wish You Were Here" by Pink Floyd, "Hey Hey My My" by Neil Young, and "Come as You Are" by Nirvana... don't bother with the solos yet, but the chord (and most single-note) progressions are all quite simple! Plus they're repetitive enough to master quickly, while being cool enough to impress your friends. ;)

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Originally Posted by wwmjkd

I had lessons for years as a child, but I made the most progress on my own just trying to learn the way slash from guns n' roses (snakepit and velvet revolver as well) plays. aside from pearl jam, stevie ray vaughan and the perennial go-to classic rock bands, no one else has influenced me more as a player. if you can learn a few solos off of 'appetite for destruction' I don't care what genre of music you're interested in, you might well be the best musician in the room.

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Hahaha, very nice, ill have to look up some of slash's stuff, Kirk Hammett is one of my personal favorites, hopefully someday i can play like him. until then I try to do some of his more simple stuff.

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Originally Posted by Lolo76

The first few songs I learned were "Wish You Were Here" by Pink Floyd, "Hey Hey My My" by Neil Young, and "Come as You Are" by Nirvana... don't bother with the solos yet, but the chord (and most single-note) progressions are all quite simple! Plus they're repetitive enough to master quickly, while being cool enough to impress your friends. ;)

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Thank you! you listed some very good songs (better yet ones I hadn't thought of) Ill have to check them out.

I use Ultimate-guitar.com for tabs, you all know of any other good sites??

The very first song I learned on guitar was Enter Sandman by Metallica. I think I was 15. Except for the solo it's a very easy song for a beginner to learn if you like metal.

Stay away from anything Van Halen until you get better. Don't even think about Dragonforce.

i did attempt enter sandman at one point and it was fairly easy, but ill take your advice and stay away cause im easily discouraged :oops: lol

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Originally Posted by BFT12890

i did attempt enter sandman at one point and it was fairly easy, but ill take your advice and stay away cause im easily discouraged :oops: lol

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One of the first things you'll start to realize is that you listen to guitar music differently. You'll be able to tell how many guitars are actually playing. And in time, you can tell what effect settings are used.

For example, I used to think "Nothing Else Matters" was two acoustic guitars. But really it's just one. Learning to play that was one of my greatest accomplishments in my youth.

Sadly, the passion I once had is lost. I just don't have to time or the desire to make the time needed to continue to learn and play. I only ever made for a good rhythm guitar. Solo's were never my forte.

Best of luck to you in your endeavor.

I know what you mean, I listen to all music differently since I started playing. I also feel the desire being lost, im hoping to take lessons again soon to hopefully rekindle it. :rolleyes: until then I guess the best musical instrument ill play is the radio :rofl:

But thank you, who knows you may pick it up again sometime. I heard stories of people stopping twenty years then picking it back up. So who knows :gj:

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Originally Posted by BFT12890

I know what you mean, I listen to all music differently since I started playing. I also feel the desire being lost, im hoping to take lessons again soon to hopefully rekindle it. :rolleyes: until then I guess the best musical instrument ill play is the radio :rofl:

But thank you, who knows you may pick it up again sometime. I heard stories of people stopping twenty years then picking it back up. So who knows :gj:

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It's been about a decade now since I've seriously played. And every time I get the itch I am reminded that my pickup is broken and I don't have the money to get it fixed.

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Originally Posted by MasonC2K

It's been about a decade now since I've seriously played. And every time I get the itch I am reminded that my pickup is broken and I don't have the money to get it fixed.

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I gotcha, that can surely be a hinderence, I guess im "lucky" because I prefer acoustic anyways. To each their own I guess.

P.S. christmas is coming.... :P

If you like Metallica give "For Whom the Bell Tolls" a try. The little repeating part before the first verse is only 6 notes played over and over at a steady pace and isn't too hard.

Just start at a slower speed until it feels like your fingers just play it without thinking. Then speed up a little at a time.

The hardest Metallica (or most bands) solo to learn is your first one. Once you learn 1-2 from someone the others tend to come easier.

Thanks ill give it a try! i do find myself trying to jump into it full speed at first...:oops:

id suggest learn your pentatonic and major/minor scales then practice them all in tempo to a metronome. once you learn the scales and start to understand them well you will notice how a song will revolve around them with everything from chords to the solos. it makes solos really easy once you know the key, youll recognize the scales its played over and it will make new things seem familiar.

also biggest thing from my perspective, learn theory. theory for guitar isn't the easiest to learn and not the most fun thing to work on but it helps you out so much in the long run.

last thing, despite how difficult a song might look, if you like it and are dedicated to learn it, unless you feel your the type to get easily discouraged, pick up the song anyway, slow it down and learn it. when i was learning (especially to solo) being able to draw from songs that i truly loved even when i could only play them slowly was rewarding

good luck!

im a bass player but wish you were here was the first song i learned also, really any Floyd is good stuff to know and David Gilmore's style/restraint would be a valuable tool in your arsenal:)

White Stripes. I made a failed attempt at learning guitar, but had fun trying to play their songs.

Don't laugh but the theme to M*A*S*H was also one of the songs I remember trying to play. It's a cool song and I managed to learn how to play it enough that you could actually tell what I was trying to play! :D

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Originally Posted by ajpolicastro

id suggest learn your pentatonic and major/minor scales then practice them all in tempo to a metronome. once you learn the scales and start to understand them well you will notice how a song will revolve around them with everything from chords to the solos. it makes solos really easy once you know the key, youll recognize the scales its played over and it will make new things seem familiar.

also biggest thing from my perspective, learn theory. theory for guitar isn't the easiest to learn and not the most fun thing to work on but it helps you out so much in the long run.

last thing, despite how difficult a song might look, if you like it and are dedicated to learn it, unless you feel your the type to get easily discouraged, pick up the song anyway, slow it down and learn it. when i was learning (especially to solo) being able to draw from songs that i truly loved even when i could only play them slowly was rewarding

good luck!

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Wow! thank you!

I didnt realize scales were that crucial, I will have to look into learning them more seriously. I tried teaching myself theory one time, yea that didnt go to well. Ill have to suck it up and try harder to understand it. and My goal is to some day be able to play multiple songs through without having to stop and read the tabs again, guess the best way to learn that is repetition?

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Originally Posted by Thom Noble

im a bass player but wish you were here was the first song i learned also, really any Floyd is good stuff to know and David Gilmore's style/restraint would be a valuable tool in your arsenal:)

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Good call, cant go wrong with pink floyd, and listening to it, it really doesnt seem all that complicated (well, some of it) as far as as style (Alot of people will probably laugh at me for this) but john mayer is pretty unique in his own way too.

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Originally Posted by sho220

White Stripes. I made a failed attempt at learning guitar, but had fun trying to play their songs.

Don't laugh but the theme to M*A*S*H was also one of the songs I remember trying to play. It's a cool song and I managed to learn how to play it enough that you could actually tell what I was trying to play! :D

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Haha good stuff, and thats what matters! as long as you can play something and impress at least one person, what more do you need? :P

One last thing, playing guitar (or any instrument really) makes you appreciate how it's used in different ways.

For instance, I absolutely loathe country music. But I have great respect for some of the better guitarists of the genre and can actually stomach some songs for the sake of listening to some of the guitar parts. Roy Clark and Ricky Skaggs are just amazing.

And, ironic as this may sound, despite being a Christian, I can't stand to listen to most Christian music. But Phil Keaggy is a living legend on guitar.

so make sure you keep an open ear as you learn.

Great suggestions everybody!

The one recommendation I have for people that want to improve by learning others songs is to focus on the music that inspires you. So what if Joe Schmoe guitarist is the best ever, if you can't stand how he/she plays don't bother. If your favorite musician plays the same four chords over and over again, learn that. If you use this mentality to start out with you will be more willing to continue from the satisfaction of learning what you enjoy.

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Originally Posted by MasonC2K

One last thing, playing guitar (or any instrument really) makes you appreciate how it's used in different ways.

For instance, I absolutely loathe country music. But I have great respect for some of the better guitarists of the genre and can actually stomach some songs for the sake of listening to some of the guitar parts. Roy Clark and Ricky Skaggs are just amazing.

And, ironic as this may sound, despite being a Christian, I can't stand to listen to most Christian music. But Phil Keaggy is a living legend on guitar.

so make sure you keep an open ear as you learn.

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I know exactly what you mean, and I respect what your saying because its very true. No matter where you look, there is talent EVERYWHERE. I try to be as open minded as I can about every genre. I personally am a big fan of country and thats where I started my playing (Main reason being I enjoy it, second reason I can play three chords and play half of the songs out there :P)

I honestly dont listen to country (Im not bashing or putting down, or plain trying to start a dispute) But lyrically it is not for me, and not something I can relate to (A big factor for me in my music choice) But givin that you have thrown some names out, im going to search them and see what they are all about.

Since we are on the subject, one of the best guitarists in country music today is keith urban, without a doubt. If your interested, here is a video of him doing a solo bit. its interesting and slightly different then some other solo variations.

Keith Urban - Rollercoaster

If you get a spare minute check it out, you wont be dissapointed. thanks for your advice and input!

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Originally Posted by eel588

Great suggestions everybody!

The one recommendation I have for people that want to improve by learning others songs is to focus on the music that inspires you. So what if Joe Schmoe guitarist is the best ever, if you can't stand how he/she plays don't bother. If your favorite musician plays the same four chords over and over again, learn that. If you use this mentality to start out with you will be more willing to continue from the satisfaction of learning what you enjoy.

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Very good advice, as i said above, I personally enjoy mainly country, and also southern rock, rock, metal ect. (I can also respect all other genres for the musical components, but those listed are my main interests) so they are usually what I try to stick with in my playing (plus im not well rounded and knowledgable in the genres not listed)

Regaurdless Im the same way, I like playing songs that I enjoy listening to and all, if I cant vibe with the song, there is no point in trying to play, because I most likely (unless for some reason its fun) wont enjoy it.