What are you learning to play right now?
 

Just the idea of picking out a song, plan a day when you know you have some time to sit down and work out how to play it is something i really enjoy.
I usually get a couple of hours extra in the weekends and i think thats the highlight of the week.

It would be fun to what song you’re trying to learn right know why that song was on the ”list” from a playing perspective.

What are you trying to get down right now?

I guess i can kick off.
Im planing on taking on ”Heart of life” by John Mayer today.
Mainly because it’s a guitar driven song with that percussiv technique and also when seeing him play it on a video yesterday i couldn’t really figure out how he was using his fingers.

Something simpler from me.... Carolina in my mind- probably my favorite James Taylor composition for over 50 years and I've never been able to do it justice finger style. It's getting there:D

Acoustic version of: Viva la Vida Chris Martin
Everlong Dave Grohl
Mandolin Wind. Rod Stewart w/ Ronnie Wood
Overkill Colin Hayes

I think I’ll take a stab at “7-14” by Andy McKee today. Well at least get started anyway.

A couple of things right now. John Hurt’s Trouble I’ve Had All My Days and a song I just discovered yesterday by Eric Bibb called Shingle by Shingle.

Geez. That’s a handfull.


Well this turned out to be more tricky then expected.
A couple of hours in and i would say that the chord parts is in place. That was no biggie but getting that finger technique in order to both geting the percusiv sound for the tempo AND making the right string ring out clear is killing me right now.

Not only getting the precision but also to get enough volume on that string when hitting hit with the upper side of your nail to make it stand out.

Working up a fingerstyle arrangement of Piano Man. It's been a bit of a challenge, but it's coming together nicely I think.

A Julian Lennon song called “On The Phone”.

I'm going to learn a Scott Joplin tune. I'm choosing "Sunflower Slow Drag" mostly because it's not "The Entertainer" or "Maple Leaf Rag".

I get email updates from one of my favorite youtube teachers "shut up and play"
he just rolled out the Simon and Garfunkle version of Anji
I've messed with it before so - not starting from scratch
this tune sounds so cool!

Come Dancing by the Kinks. I heard it while shopping in the supermarket. Which is cool , because in the song, the Pally is where the supermarket used to stand. I always liked that song. Anyways, I went through the process I normally do. I went online and purchased the sheet music. From that I wrote out the melody in guitar tab in order to get the vocal down. The chords are easily available on the ultimate guitar app, but I've learned to never assume that because I know how a song sounds , and I have the chords, that I'm actually singing the melody. I always get the sheet music, but even then I take it with a grain of salt because sometimes the sheet music can be wrong. I have my arrangement down now. I can't wait to perform it at an open mike someday, if open mikes should ever happen again.

Hardly new... I’m working up a chord-melody arrangement of “The Shadow Of Your Smile”. Always thought it was a pretty tune.

Since I'm primarily strumming...and finding songs I can sing to (singing is also new to me)...

I discovered that "Those Were the Days" is within my ability.

I'm working on "Marble Hall" a 19 century piece written by William Balfe. Along with that I am still polishing up "An Daingean", by William Coulter even though I recently posted it in "Show and Tell" here. I plan on doing a slide show for it and I will be able to smooth it out quite a bit more. In addition to those two I'm re-learning "Citi Na gCummen" by William Coulter and "Si Beag, Si Mor" arranged by Stephen Wake.

I'm trying to stay in DADGAD (and DGDGBD for Marble Hall) for a while until I get these few finished up. There's a lot of music that I have in Orkney tuning also that I'd like to get back to.

I'm working on finding the note needed (of different chords) when going from cross picking to flat picking when accompanying myself. When it's done correctly it works and when it's not done correctly it is awkward.

That and "June Apple". That F in the middle of a song in the key of G just bugs me.

Would love to hear that arrangement, it is a pretty tune. My mom used to play the Tony Bennet version, and I actually heard a nice take by George Benson on Spotify awhile ago.

I’m working on ‘Midnight Special’ as part of the Fretboard Five course with David Hamburger, and thanks to a similarity in key and mood, also working on a new fingerstyle arrangement of an old favorite, Jackson Brown’s ‘These Days.’

Working on Stephen Wake's arrangement of Cairn Water.

I just started learning a fingerstyle arrangement of Ashoken Farewell, by Gtrfinger who generously provided the tabs.

Frustration is growth IMO. Don’t give up! What helps me is to think about how rewarding it will feel when you hear yourself playing something so complex. Power through it!

Money - Pink Floyd

Never got past the first opening riff before.
Watched "The Making of Dark Side of the Moon". (Amazon, Hulu, Peacock, ?)
Didn't know a single acoustic guitar could make it sound so good...

Thanks for the push!
Well it’s done now but that was way harder then i was prepared for.
But you’re right - the feeling afterwards is great and it’s always an amazing feeling to be able to add a new technique to the tool box.
Now i’ll try to find something new for next weekend.

A quiet little song, sans pyrotechnics: "Couldn't Be Better" by the Ozark Mountain Daredevils.

"Wishlist" by Pearl Jam. Actually I'm just learning the lyrics (committing to memory). The tune itself is dead simple - I had that under my fingers after one listen.

I'm working on Villa-Lobos' etude number 1, Austurias, and lastly, I'm slowly working on polishing all learned materials. I'm also working on improving my right hand which I think is an ongoing process for everyone whether you're a beginner or advanced player.

I'm working on my new song (fourth one I've written, and first one where I'm finger-picking and singing at the same time).

I need to get to where I can play/sing it without having the lyrics to look at.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZLKwB-qiPs

My entire repertoire from James Taylor to Styx and everything in between. I took the last while off from playing and it's surprising how " rusty" one can get. So I'm slowly putting the polish back on about 30 songs before I learn any new ones. The most recent new song I learned was "Hotel California". I'm no Don Felder but it turned out pretty good.

Hope everyone is enjoying a day off jamming.

Right now I’m learning ‘Oh me’ by the meat puppets / Nirvana unplugged version. It’s a pretty simple song but really fun to play and I like the sliding. Now I’m trying to make it sound good ; )

I’ve also been playing ‘Rape me’ Solo acoustic version- another example of cobain greatness in my opinion. The song itself is really easy, just 4 power chords, but the way he sings it and strays off tempo make for a magical tune that I can’t do justice just yet. Very fun to play and sing though.

And for finger picking ive been learning Wonderful Tonight by Eric c and Who by Fire by Leonard Cohen. Who by fire is one of my favoritas. The live in London performance with Javier mas on that 12 string is inteeense. Rock on

Don’t clam up on my account folks. I promise my energy is not contagious you just carry on

Just found this so i’ll guess todays song will be Purple rain.
This is one heck of a cover.

Working on Freight Train. Its a bit of a stretch (;-)) for these old fingers...