How many songs can you play? (and how many years have you been playing)

[skitoolong]

I am a slave to my songbook (iPad)

I have a very challenging time memorizing songs, so maybe 20 or so like that.

In the iPad maybe a couple hundred I can play fine. 6 years.

[CASD57]

I've got a song book from when I was in a country band and one from a Rock band...
But now...about 12 songs I'm working on and looking for more..(Newer stuff)
But get get a couple of Beer's in me and I can do hundreds lol

Garth Brooks got me interested in singing and playing guitar... 23 years

[Photojeep]

I have about a dozen or so that I can play cold. I don't gig so memorizing isn't something I'm worried about. I play at my church and find no one minds if I'm playing from printed music. I am comfortable enough that I can keep a song going if I've "lost my place" but memorizing doesn't come easy to me.

I've been playing about 47 years. Sometimes I'm very happy with what I'm playing/learning but then there are times when it seems I've only played about 2 years and simply repeated them for 40+ years...

PJ

[hotroad]

Fingerstyle has to so so hard to learn a new song. I can pick one up and make it ready for performance in an hour...not bragging, just giving credit to those of you who do fingerstyle. I am a rhythm player who does some flatpicking. I have no interest in the time, patience and ability it takes to learn fingerstyle. But I sure do love listening to Tommy Emmanuel.

[Greg Ballantyne]

I can count the years, but I can't count the songs......

[Steve DeRosa]

Somewhere between 600-700 songs (54 years) - about 100 I could pull out on short notice, 300-400 I could bring back up to snuff in a week or so...

[Charmed Life Picks]

Up until a few years ago, not that many by memory. But now, since I've been going on stage more, most likely more than a hundred (100).

I do a lot of originals these days, and occasionally I'll bring a "cheat sheet" onstage with me to help me when my brain goes haywire, but more often than not I'll wing it and see if I can remember all of my own words.

Interesting Thread,
Scott

[jaybones]

Been playing since 1989, and I figure I can get through about 40 or 50 songs. Probably could do a total of at least 100 with crib sheets and maybe another 60 or 80 poorly with the crib sheets (not perfectly, but I could fake it pretty well).

[flaggerphil]

These days, about 25 or so I can play on demand, and a bunch more I can do with the music (chords) in front of me. Back in the stone age, when I was in bands, a lot more.

If I sit down and try really hard, sometimes I can bring back a song I knew 50 years but forgot over the decades.

Sometimes...

[LSemmens]

Without music, or a chart? None! My music book, which has been under development for 30 years, has nearly every song that I have ever played in it. That runs to 500 pages with two or three songs per page. That said, I only ever play in Church. God and I are going to have a looooong chat when I kick the bucket, I love music, just cannot "play by ear".

[Mr. Jelly]

I've changed direction. I am getting rid of songs that aren't compelling me to play them. It's kind of a "finding the real me" kind of thing. Face it many of us can play about anything we put our mind to. If we are expressing ourselves and not just playing music then what is it we are expressing?

[SFCRetired]

Originally Posted by Tico

I've been playing around 55 years and have no idea how many songs I know.
Maybe a hundred to three hundred.

But I will say one thing ...

Suddenly, randomly, I'll remember a song that I had not played for 50 years.
Every chord, riff, and lyric will be there.
Weird when it happens.

Blows my mind.
Music memory is a strange thing.

Happens to me as well. I'll be noodling around and the next thing I know I'll break off into a song I haven't played in years. Wow, where did that come from, I ask myself.

Just the other day I broke off into Guitars and Cadillacs, and two days ago I broke off into Ruby don't take your love to town. Haven't played either one of them in years.

I don't know how many songs I know. Sometimes I don't think I know very many. And then the other night I played non stop for 2 hours. I remember thinking I didn't realize I had this type of song list.

On and off I have been playing since 1984 or there abouts. I took 16 years off learning new things from 1997 to 2013 and played maybe on average every few months when my wife was gone, for something to do in her absence. I have since become more dedicated and play every day.

[mr. beaumont]

I've forgotten more than I know, probably.

My "book" has about 400. I probably have less than 100 at "ready to go performance level" at any time.


When I do 3 set solo gigs, I usually need about 45-50 tunes.

[pewtergod]

Have played very off-and-on since 1979. I know the year, because I was in a car accident, and couldn't do much else for a while. I've forgotten far more songs than I know, because I won't play them for years, and then I'll have to try to find them and relearn them. Am old enough now that I don't learn nearly as fast as I used to, and just don't have the energy I did 10 years ago. I try harder now. So, it evens out some. I probably can play a couple dozen straight through right now, but they may be different songs from day to day. One day I can't remember what chord a Neil Young song starts in, the next, the whole thing will just be there. Have spent a lot of time lately learning electric and relearning some scales and modes on the guitar. I have one electric and I'm not sure how many acoustics and acoustic-electrics.

[Orfeas]

Around 18-20. By memory around 10.