Beginner song questions

[musicman1951]

There aren't any rules for how many songs to work on at a time.

I started almost 60 years ago and I don't remember what I had for lunch a couple of days ago, but I remember going through a few Mel Bay books and spending a fair amount of time daily on technique: mainly switching between two chords and trying to eliminate the lag time while I convinced my fingers they could contort into those shapes.

If you're only working on songs it's going to take a lot longer to get command of a basket full of chords, but you'll still get there eventually.

One song a day is fine if you have a brain that can concentrate on one song for an hour or two. I sure don't. In the long run it doesn't matter, each song will require as much time as it requires. Most people are probably better off with 15 minutes (or so) of concentrated practice and then moving to the next song.

But whatever makes you happy works fine. It's not a race (unless you booked a gig in 6 months). Practice in a way that provides some progress (music is a marathon, not a sprint) without sucking the joy from your playing sessions. It's never a bad idea to end with something you play well.

Good luck.

[JERZEY]

Originally Posted by jacknicholson

I started learning to play about six months ago. I can play a few songs now, not well but kind of recognizable.
My questions are:
1. In your first few months as a beginner, how many songs did you work on at one time?
2. I heard someone say you should only work on one song and focus on completing that one song before attempting another. What are your thoughts on this?
3. What songs did you learn in your first few months as a beginner?

I worked on multiple songs very shortly after learning the cords to Can't You See. Including the intro and verse to Dust in the Wind. I knew I wanted to learn both strumming and picking. Still working on both.

Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there.

Working on one song for to long can really kill a song. Working on songs you really like as a newbie can do the same thing. Do what you enjoy and just keep doing it. It will all work out.

Dust in the wind is a good warm up.

Go get an Ultimate Guitar sub and use the player. You can slow the songs way down and use the metronome. Timing is half the battle. Playing digital tabs in players is a great way to polish your playing.

[rwmct]

That intro to Can't You See still eludes me. I need to take another shot at it. I was definitely not playing things like that six months in.

I always alternate between working on acoustic and working on electric. And I usually have something new and something older that I can revisit. I find that I forget how to play songs if I don't work on them periodically.

One thing I always recommend to beginners is download from Youtube one of the many good lessons to Wish You Were Here and learn that. That iconic line is easy enough that most people after a bit of time can make it sound recognizable. And the Chords are basic so you can do the line and strum the chords and sound good.

[Riverwolf]

1- two or three at a time, seven years later and still the same

2- nonsense, boring...

3- knocking on heavens door, wish you were here, early on I was introduced to Carter style and learned easy versions of You are my sunshine and Roll in my sweet baby's arms.

[Earl49]

Jack, I understand the allure of going for more intermediate songs, but as the old saying goes..... you gotta walk before you can run. We all want to play songs and licks that our friends recognize. That is how we can show them that we can "play guitar". For now, choose a few three and four chord songs that you like (there are so many) and work with those for a while. Your goal is build a vocabulary of chord grips that you can grab instinctively and smoothly, and then add to your chord library. There is no harm if your reach exceeds your grasp, but the more you work on fundamental skills the easier it will be to advance.

As an example, most people know "Let It Be" and "Wagon Wheel". These songs *can* use the exact same chords - G, D, Em, C - and I often use them as an illustration of how a single chord progression can cover many common songs. There is also the 50's chord progression that was used for so many songs back then that it became a cliche. In the key of C, that progression is C, Am, F, G. For the key of G, it becomes G, Em, C, D. Sound familiar?

If you send me an email, I can respond with a PDF booklet I assembled to teach a week long beginner guitar course at a camp years ago. My email is: ********

[jacknicholson]

Hi Earl49, not sure where to find your email so I'll send you mine.
Thanks for your reply and I'm looking forward to seeing your beginner guitar course. I have been doing justinguitar.com beginner courses. I in the second part now. Also doing his theory course. Thanks again, Jack

[jacknicholson]

I will look at the Ultimate Guitar subscription. When I Google it there are a lot of results with people trying to cancel their subscriptions. Not sure if that is a red flag or not but I am going to read their blog and see what other info I can find. Maybe I'll find some reviews.
Thanks,

[Earl49]

Email sent, Jack. Enjoy! I'm not formally trained in music so I think of this as guerilla warfare music theory and an approach to guitar "not inhibited by classical academic training".

[AgentKooper]

1. In your first few months as a beginner, how many songs did you work on at one time?

I can't really remember. I do remember starting a bunch and abandoning them when I couldn't make them sound much like the originals.

2. I heard someone say you should only work on one song and focus on completing that one song before attempting another. What are your thoughts on this?

I would say if you can keep making progress on multiple songs, go for it. But keep in mind that if you're always moving on to the next song before really learning the last one, you may find yourself knowing the intro to a bunch of songs, but not really be able to play them.

3. What songs did you learn in your first few months as a beginner?

The first songs that I learned that I could make sound close to the originals were:

California Stars, by Wilco
Wagon Wheel, by Old Crow Medicine Show
In the Aeroplane over the Sea, by Neutral Milk Hotel
The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, by Gordon Lightfoot

All of them are 3-4 easy chords, and once you get the changes smooth, they can sound pretty good. I was probably working on them all at once. The chords were basic, so not hard to remember. The challenge was getting fast with the chord changes, and there's a lot of overlap in the chords among those songs, so practicing one would help with the others too.

Once I got them down, I had to learn to sing and play them at the same time, which was a whole other challenge!

[DukeX]

Originally Posted by jacknicholson

…
1. In your first few months as a beginner, how many songs did you work on at one time?
2. I heard someone say you should only work on one song and focus on completing that one song before attempting another. What are your thoughts on this?
3. What songs did you learn in your first few months as a beginner?..

1= 3-4
2= That someone is wrong
3 = House of the Rising Sun, Heart of Gold, Dust in the Wind...can't remember the rest

[wguitar]

Who'll Stop the Rain (CCR) is a nice, slow moving song with basic chords and "relaxed" chord changes. "Brown Eyed Girl" is another good one for practicing chord changes.

Have FUN!

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by jacknicholson

I started learning to play about six months ago. I can play a few songs now, not well but kind of recognizable.
My questions are:
1. In your first few months as a beginner, how many songs did you work on at one time?
2. I heard someone say you should only work on one song and focus on completing that one song before attempting another. What are your thoughts on this?
3. What songs did you learn in your first few months as a beginner?

...I knew I wanted to learn both strumming and picking. Still working on both...

In order:

1. Whatever was in the Mel Bay book for the previous 3-4 lessons;
2. I had no problem keeping a couple irons in the fire at one time - YMMV;
3. See #1;

Once I had sufficient technical and note-reading skills - about 6 months along - I was able to either purchase commercial music sheets for the tunes I wanted to learn, or buy the newsprint song-lyric magazines the news-stands carried in the early-60's and figure out/transcribe the melody and chords by ear; for that reason alone I can't recommend a solid background in traditional note-reading/theory strongly enough - "tab" doesn't cut it here IME - and if you don't already own a copy I'd suggest the complete Mel Bay system (available in a single spiral-bound volume) to help you make the connection between the printed page and what's going on under your fingers, as well as develop your single-note/chording skills in a systematic manner...

[The Bard Rocks]

I bought a book of folk songs (which is what I wanted to play) and played through them all when I started. I am not saying this is the best way to do it, but since I was learning in a vacuum, it's what i did.

I have often thought that learning one perfectly before going to the next would be a good idea. And as soon as I admit that, I think, "But I wouldn't enjoy doing it that way". You also have to do what you enjoy.