1.) I'll hear a song that I love that sounds like it's probably simple to play - not always true.
2.) I'll Google the song name and the word 'chords'.
3.) I'll keep clicking on links to chord sites until I find a relatively simple version - ie: chords I know.
4.) I take a 3x5 index card and write down the chord progression in black marker.
5.) I'll listen to the song over and over again, usually at work on headphones, to 'internalize' the song.
6.) I play it over and over on guitar until I've got it memorized.
I left out that I need to get the vocalists (wife) buy-in that she can/wants to sing it. We often pick songs out together.
Also part of that is that I'll capo it around to find a key she's comfortable in.
I don't try to play it exactly like the original artist. I play a simplified version to start and then sometimes go back and learn more intricate parts, usually intros.
Another thing I eventually do is to find a You Tube acoustic cover version I like. I then use that to come up with a temp since I practice with a metronome.
I write the tempo and the capo position on the note cards and the running set list on the computer.
I like 3, 4, or 5 chord songs because they can be learned in a day. Just learned Margaritaville in about an hour. That kind of thing.
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