First song you learned that wowed you?

[Glennwillow]

I think the first song I learned to play that was really a challenge and still is today was Noel (Paul) Stookey's "A'Soalin". Like Paul Stookey, a person needs to learn to play the bass part and treble part together while also singing the song.

I was still in high school when I figured this out, so I would guess I was about 17 years old.

- Glenn

[Ed66]

For me it's probably Little Martha. I made a pass at it after playing for about a year and knew so little that I found a tab that only had one of the guitar parts. I didn't realize it was 2 guitars and couldn't understand why it didn't sound right. I dropped it for a year until I found a Mark Hanson version (recommended on AGF) that put it all into one. It was relatively quick after that and I still play it every couple weeks just to keep it from getting rusty.

[cedartop52]

In 1966 I was just learning to play a few chords on a borrowed Stella guitar. The novelty song Winchester Cathedral was popular (go figure!) and I made up a finger stye version to play for my grandmother. She was amused and I was amazed that my fingers could cooperate to make a recognizable tune.

[LyleGorch]

Twinkle twinkle little star.

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by Glennwillow

…"A'Soalin"

Hey Glenn
That was fun, and brings back a lot of memories (I have several post-Peter Paul & Mary Stookey albums).

[saxonblue]

About 1971/72 when I was 8 or 9 my sister who was about 15 at the time showed me a few basic chords & then how to play House of the Rising Sun on her nylon string. Turning those chords into a song no matter how bad it sounded was a pivotal moment. The motivation was there. Usual old chestnuts like Smoke on the Water, Stairway to Heaven etc. followed from there.

[jaymarsch]

When I re-discovered guitar in my early fifties I started to learn some fingerstyle guitar. I had a teacher who suggested that I push myself out of variations of the Travis pick. With her help I learned Sandwood Down to Kyle by John Renbourn. It was absolutely magical when I got to the point where I could sing and play it all the way through. Such a beautiful song and John's arrangement is really wonderful. It is like that one great golf shot that keeps you coming back again and again to re-create that satisfying feeling.

Best,
Jayne

[rwmct]

Originally Posted by Riverwolf

Wish You Were Here.
Learned a simple version early on and it was a real confidence booster.

Same here. Because it was the first thing I learned that was really recognizable. It was so cool to play that riff and have it sound more or less "right."

[Riverwolf]

Originally Posted by Riverwolf

Wish You Were Here.
Learned a simple version early on and it was a real confidence booster

Originally Posted by rwmct

Same here. Because it was the first thing I learned that was really recognizable. It was so cool to play that riff and have it sound more or less "right."

It was years...heck maybe last year (?) When I finally learned the intro solo.
I can play it note for note but somehow it still sounds more or less "wrong"

When I was a teenager pretty much anything I was able to get down and play through with my friend Andrew and then later our band.

In modern times once I started fingerpicking it was first full tune I learned in that raggy blues style, Big Bill Broonzy's Saturday Night Rub.

[_zedagive]

Martin Tallstrom's "He's not Heavy, He's my Brother". Never thought i could play such a nice piece. Took a while to learn, but gave me the confidence I could learn some more advance pieces. Now working the guitar solo that Lindsey Buckingham plays in "Landslide". I also learned his live version of "Go Insane" that I play almost every time I pick up my guitar.

[alnico5]

Maybe wowed is the wrong adverb and Suntan of Swing might not be the first, but maybe my greatest.

[Frostie]

Learned to pick Travis-style by needle-dropping the intro to Baez’s “There But For Fortune.” Revelatory, for me.

[Golffishny]

A while ago, Steel Guitar Rag.

[HodgdonExtreme]

Probably the first tune that I impressed myself with was either Landslide or perhaps "I will follow you into the dark" - both were early-on after I stopped using a pick all the time, and fingerstyle really helped turn a light bulb for me.

Originally Posted by Riverwolf

It was years...heck maybe last year (?) When I finally learned the intro solo.
I can play it note for note but somehow it still sounds more or less "wrong"

Well, David Gilmour is TOUGH act to follow. I've played that tune thousands (tens of thousands??) of times and it sounds good - but NOT like David plays it...