First Song to learn....

reads11 · Post by **reads11** » Wed May 12, 2004 1:13 pm

Hey whats up? I'm obviously new here but i need help in chosing a song to learn. I have my first guitar lesson today and need to take something in to learn. Ive only been playing a month so what do you guys suggest me learning first, please no tim solos

just something easy haha. Thanks

hcole · Post by **hcole** » Wed May 12, 2004 1:34 pm

Here are some previous links to some threads that might be of interest to you. The first Dave song I learned was Lie In Our Graves. I recommend checking out the videos that Kanter has here on the website and also the vids that Ole and Bo did.

http://www.dmbtabs.com/boards/viewtopic ... first+song
http://www.dmbtabs.com/boards/viewtopic ... ng+learned
http://www.dmbtabs.com/boards/viewtopic ... siest+song
http://www.dmbtabs.com/boards/viewtopic ... siest+song
http://www.dmbtabs.com/boards/viewtopic ... siest+song
http://www.dmbtabs.com/boards/viewtopic ... siest+song

Link to Ole's vids.
http://www.dmbtabs.com/boards/viewtopic ... siest+song

ShawnRT · Post by **ShawnRT** » Wed May 12, 2004 1:42 pm

Start off with something that teaches you the basic open chord progressions like:

House of the Rising Sun (Timing might be a little tough on this one, but it was my first song a long time ago, so it's my first choice. Plus once you get better you can learn how to fingerpick it.)

All Along the Watchtower

Knockin on Heaven's Door

Hide Your Love Away- Beatles

etc.

Dont try and tackle anything too complex, just find a nice and easy open chord strummer that you are familiar with and enjoy listening to over and over and over and over again as you learn

The best thing you can do is to start by learning all of the open position chords and practice switching between them in every possible combination until you feel comfortable and fluid in the transitions. Make sure and get comfortable with playing with a metronome as soon as possible to strenghten your sense of timing.

For single note stuff practice by starting at the first fret, low E string and fretting:

E|--1--2--3--4

Use all four fingers of your fretting hand and slowly walk your way up the strings to the high E. Then try moving up the neck with the same 1,2,3,4 fingering pattern. Take things SLOWLY and make sure that you get a nice and clean note to ring out. Learning things slowly and correctly is much more important than being a fast, sloppy player. Many people start off by only learning how to fret with 2 or three fingers and this can lead to big problems down the road. Make your pinky finger a strong fretting finger!

Good luck with the guitar, it's a bitch in the beginning and very frustrating, but the rewards of sticking with it are well worth it!

Good luck!

c_tietze · Post by **c_tietze** » Wed May 12, 2004 1:49 pm

Burns said it all.

somedevil8 · Post by **somedevil8** » Wed May 12, 2004 6:07 pm

DONT DRINK THE WATER was one of my very first songs. No real big stretches.....pretty straightforward for me, but everyone's different. Good Luck and welcome!

Ranting Thespian · Post by **Ranting Thespian** » Wed May 12, 2004 8:23 pm

early dylan is good. My first songs were Blowing In the Wind, Mr. Tambourine Man, and Tombstone Blues.

somedevil36 · Post by **somedevil36** » Mon May 17, 2004 6:19 am

GOOD DAVE SONG IF INTERESTED FOR A BEGINNER SONG COULD BE, 1) ALWAYS, 2) SPOON, AND MAYBE REST STOP BY MATCHBOX 20..GOOD LUCK AND PLAY ON.

incubusdmb5 · Post by **incubusdmb5** » Mon May 17, 2004 10:54 am

i learned crash first. bit of a stretch but pretty simple.

the easiest by far is proudest monkey though.

Try Song that Jane Likes. Nice chord progression

Ranting Thespian · Post by **Ranting Thespian** » Mon May 17, 2004 11:58 pm

somedevil36 wrote:1) ALWAYS

um, do you mean #40?

somedevil8 · Post by **somedevil8** » Tue May 18, 2004 1:25 pm

digging a ditch is always a pretty easy one for me to play around with.

TOMAMI · Post by **TOMAMI** » Fri May 21, 2004 4:16 pm

HOTEL CALIFORNIA By the Eagles It has bar chords and open Chords and it is easier to follow the chord progression than most. (do not start with hide your love away.) The song is in three three timing and unless you are comfortable with fast chord changes this song will give you fits. However it is a good step two song.

Bill Efting · Post by **Bill Efting** » Thu May 27, 2004 6:15 pm

Learn a song that will teach you about the importance of theory and scales, something not too complex but enough to challenge you, not something so poppy as "Smells like Teen Spirit" or "Insert Name of Green Day song Here" In the future, here are some songs that I learned . Also, theory is the best "song" to learn first, scales, arpeggios, modes, chords, triads, things that will benefit you as a player in the long run, rather then just learning a song. Learning only songs will take away from your personal style and make you a slave to someone elses style.

But here are some song suggestions...I learned these in my first year

1. Tin Cup Chalice (Its a Jimmy Buffett song, lots of good chords here)
2. Nothing Else Matters (A Good introduction to arpeggiated chord shapes and fingerpicking)
3. Anything off of the "Alice in Chains unplugged" CD
4. Old Standards like Greensleeves, when you get more advanced.

The path is yours as a guitarist to choose, but I am simply giving you a good example of where I start my students.

-Bill

Ranting Thespian · Post by **Ranting Thespian** » Thu May 27, 2004 11:27 pm

get feewheeling bob dylan, it's just rythm guitars, vocals, and harmonica. Get some easy ones off of that, and with Dylan's voice, it's not hard to sing.