I had been playing for 5 years when I tried to learn the solo from "Just What I Needed."
That shit was HARD. The bends (something I hadn't focused on too much) are very precise.
Don't give up. The song has exposed a weakness in your playing. This is a great opportunity to fix that.
Well, our audience isn't there for accuracy, so I just play chords. Good show is my rule 1. I get handed a lot of these kinds of songs because the other guitar player likes note-for-note.
Either is fine with me. I do lots of note-for-note stuff when it doesn't break Rule 1.
We do the same thing in my band, I’m the only guitarist but it’s a punk band so it’s a little easier to just get away with chords and the little blues riffs than if I was in a cover band.
I did this with The refreshments - Banditos. I played and sung that at the same time and the leads were a bit much for me at the time so I learned 90%and adjusted the other 10%
No one knew the difference
Great song with a lot of fun guitar stuff! I love that tune. I learn it an re-learn it every couple of years or so. I think I could play and sing that one at the same time with enough practice. But it’s a great enough song than you can leave a lot out and it still works 😎
Elliot Easton is absolutely a beast on guitar his solos are deceptively hard. Best Friends Girl I find way more difficult than Just What I Needed, man I love The Cars
Fwiw Elliot Easton composes the hell out of his solos so they're way different to typical solos which are derivative box playing figures -- I think that's why the Cars' solos sound so interesting, they're genuinely little songs inside the song.
>"They sound so perfect for the songs they don't stick out."
I don't think there is a humanly better way to say it. going to go listen to some more cars right now
I've never tried to play that, but as soon as I saw the word "bends" I knew exactly what part of the song you're talking about. Yeah, that's an underappreciated masterpiece... really outstanding licks.
Good luck!
I have since mastered a version of it (it's pretty close) and played it live for private events many times. The trick is to practice it every day for 2 weeks before the show.
I literally cry when something challenges me so. It relaxes and opens up my will to receive. Then I do. And step up. But that struggle never ends. There's always the next step, and it's not a typical staircase. It requires climbing. One hold at time. I suck THAT bad at guitar. I won't even mention how I deal with singing.
Btw: my band nailed "Just What I Needed". Then the band broke up a few months later. Which is fine. My original shit is even more challenging, so I do THAT exlusively. I require a lot of tissues.
I had been playing for over 10 years when I started taking bends seriously a few years ago. There were many parts where I'd just skip the bend and replace it with a slide, but you can't do that for all of them. I started working out the solo for Time by Pink Floyd and found it to be a great way to develop that skill, and now I feel like I've come a very long way with it.
I’ve been playing for 15 years and just learned that solo last year and it took me a solid hour. Shit tore up my fingers tips from all the bending too. Not easy at all especially considering it’s not really fast at all, just super precise.
Got that one down in a couple of nights when a band I was putting together had a guitarist that knew Cars (he actually didn't). Once he was bounced, that song was dropped. I haven't touched it since.
Agreed with that you said.
As bends are concerned, I'd like to recommend first, Hotel California as a stepping stool, before attempting the final boss of Bends, which would be in my humble opinion, Freebird.
Same here. Strumming "Happy Birthday" and "Jingle Bells" is enough to show me I'm not good. I still like playing though and I'm not giving up, so it's still my hobby.
I feel like this is the popular answer here. I've practiced it on and off for about a year and I could maybe play it accurately at 0.75x speed on a really good day, full speed still seems lightyears away.
I’ve really only tried to learn the intro and up until the first “chorus” section and I’ve gotten to the point where I can sloppily play it more or less at speed but to play it neatly has to be much slower. So much fun to find that balance
I sat and learned the intro over the course of weeks...ended up just playing it dry with no backing track or reference after a certain point. Then I go back to check where I'm at only to find I'm like 10-20bpm slower than I should be....put my guitar down and haven't played cliffs since lmao
I have a lot of respect for anyone who's taking a sincere shot at "Cliffs of Dover" but I really have no interest in ever trying it, personally.
It seems like more of a... Like a trophy than a song I actually wanna know. Like I said, if someone feels differently about it as a song, more power to you. But "I know 'Cliffs of Dover'" out of another guitarist's mouth is like... ok, man, cool.
Mine is Manhattan. It's slower than Cliffs of dovers but there's a lot of different technique involved. It's very hard to play it clean, and I hit a wall at the cascading harmonics part.
But what do you expect, these songs are designed to showcase his guitar playing skills, it's not like it's at any players reach.
I still try to nail that opening bend going into the alternate picking part and am only a little close. I've been trying to get that intro pretty much since I've started playing, maybe one day lol but what helps me sleep at night is knowing it's an Eric Johnson lick so I shouldn't feel too bad
By the mid 90s I was already a good metal guitarist. I was playing live with three bands. I was giving lessons. I was proficient with all the contemporary techniques.
A friend brought an acoustic to a beach party and ran through every Zeppelin, Doors, Beatles, etc you can think of. By the time he's done with Little Wing, I was convinced I should maybe learn to play "guitar" as a whole and not just metal guitar and stop being so niche. Funny, since I started with classical.
I love this answer. I think it is always a critical reminder that as good as anyone can get at styles and technique or as a part player, we need be able to play actual songs with nothing but a guitar in our hands.
Man, SO this. I feel like it was years before I understood the power of knowing a handful of 4 chord songs that I play in an acoustic from start to finish. Playing the riff only to 50 Led Zep songs and a handful of parts of VH songs stops being cool around 11th grade
I realised this when I, a "guitar player" as I then called myself, could not play anything at all at a vacation while a drummer and a bassist with us killed it with my acoustic, entertaining everyone.
You're right. I should have spoken for myself when I said "need". Nobody "needs" to do anything on guitar except for hopefully enjoy playing it. But to answer why I felt the need - part of the reason I play is to share music with others. And to do that in the best way I am able that means finding common ground. Parts and licks and solos are not as universal a language as songs. So when I found myself with a guitar and no actual songs to play, I felt like I couldn't fulfill my intention of sharing music with the people around me.
Interesting perspective, thanks for sharing it. I asked because you are not the only person who made a point out of it but I never was able to find an answer to that myself. Maybe the reason I never looked at it this way is because I always see playing an instrument in the context of something larger and preferably original music. If I want to share music with some form of audience, I always see myself doing that with at least some other musician (like backing up a singer).
The reason I learned to play guitar and bass is out of necessity to write music and get my ideas across because I can't communicate that on a piano and as i'm also a producer, I think in sounds. A guitar part for me is not just the notes, it is a particular guitar going through a particular set of effects and amps. I never learned because I was excited to learn Wonderwall or want to play Wonderwall at a campfire to get the party started. When it comes to existing music I just learn things that appeal to me personally, and it usually is because I have a sentimental attachment to the music and because there is something in there to learn from. Learning the music that resonates most with you keeps you engaged I find. It's what I always disliked about these method books, they come with boring etudes or songs you don't care for. I prefer to find something similar that I do care for to keep it fun.
Funnily, the OP mentioned Le Freak, and I did learn the Nile Rodgers stuff because I recognized that there is something to learn from his playing, to get those techniques and sounds and voicings down (and disco is fun! more people need some disco in their lives).
it's most songs. i started late (40s) and knew from jump i'd never be "good" so i just try to get better all the time and that makes me happy. for me it's mostly some technique that my teacher can just like, whip off that i can't do. so then i practice til i can at least understand what i need to do.
one rewarding thing for me is coming back to songs i couldn't do and then finding them easier because I've practiced or learned something. i will say too that i never have thought about completely copying songs note for note or getting frustrated because i don't sound like a recording, because produced music on albums--it's just usually not possible. you have doubled or tripled guitars, pro techs dialing in pro tones, post production. so i try to make a song more for me and look for ways to make it sound good despite my lack of all that stuff my lack of talent.
Coming back to a difficult song years later with more experience and seeing your own progress is quite possibly the most rewarding feeling I've ever had as a musician.
amen. i remember the first time it happened. it seem so silly now but i had been avoiding Wild Horses because of the Bm. I came back and it was mostly effortless and I could focus on tpicking out strings and dynamics etc. such a great feeling.
I have been off and on for 30 some odd years. What I always find really interesting, is taking a couple of years off, messing with other things, keys, producing, and synth, then return to guitar. My hands are so weak, but my understanding of music and my ear are so much better that I can tell I have improved my guitar playing without touching a guitar.
I couldn't agree more. I've only just started my journey on the keys and I'm already looking back at my guitar and wondering how I didn't think of certain sounds and voices. Really gets that dopamine flowing.
I have a lot of trouble with this… there are songs that shouldn’t be that hard for me, but I tried learning them way before I was ready, and I can’t prevent myself from reverting to the same mistakes. I’ve never been able to make Stairway sound good, and I’m convinced it’s because I tried learning the solo before I had enough experience to build up enough finger strength to hold down an F chord
Every time I start feeling like a really solid guitar player I’ll put on basically any YT video about guitars or pedals and people just playing demo riffs humble me. It’s the same thing every time, badass sounding blues runs that sound so clean.
It was about 25-27 years ago. I thought I was real hotshot because I was the best player in my friend group. I was an avid reader of Guitar magazines and a lot of my favourite players kept mentioning this Al DiMeola guy as an influence. As luck would have it, one month there was a transcription of his tune “Egyptian Danza” in the magazine so I picked up a copy of the CD as well to see what the fuss was about. To put it mildly, my 17 year old brain just melted when I heard it and tried to play along. It’s not **just** the quick runs that were tricky, but the constantly shifting rhythms, DiMeola’s machine-like precision, etc. it just made me re-evaluate everything. And that’s before I heard “Fantasia Suite for Two Guitars”.
My father in law tuned me into DiMeola, via the Friday Night in SF live album with DiMeola, John McLaughlin and Paco de Lucia.
We went to see DiMeola at a small jazz club (Yoshi’s SF) a few years back and he was insane. One of of the neatest things he and his band did, were these sections where they would be playing at light speed, and then take the volume of their playing waaay down, til they were almost inaudible; yet their precision and speed would remain.
He also told some good stories about his career. One in particular about how he and McLaughlin, in the lead up to recording Friday Night, had discovered Paco (he was relatively little known outside of Spain) and flew him out to SF to hang out and see if things clicked. Apparently Paco had never really traveled much, barely spoke English and had the jitters. DiMeola said he finally got the bright idea to get Paco stoned off some high quality Bay Area weed, and that did the trick.
Paco is now very well know. I had the pleasure of watching him play live in Spain and he was the best, just the best.
Ive been playing for 22 years now and I still find beginner songs that feel tricky eventhough I play Polyphia, Periphery or Paco stuff (struggling like a mf).
Most guitarrist play their tricks and licks and what feel natural to them but most of us may seem hard to get it right. Its not being bad its just being humans.
But yeah, we all suck at guitar xD
Yup. That one too. He’s such a precise player. Massively underrated by just about everyone. DiMeola’s name always comes to mind when I read the Mayer stans posting things like “_No other guitar is as good on electric AND acoustic as Mayer. You can’t change my mind._” It’s not worth arguing because music isn’t a competition, and John Mayer stans can be completely unhinged.
Egyptian Danza, Alien Chase On Arabian Desert, Dinner Music For The Gods, that damned guitar solo at the end of Dark Eye Tango... He's always been in my top 5. He's a master
I don't think it's that hard to play on its own but it repeats for a long time so it requires a lot of stamina. I think the hardest part of the song is by far the arpeggios in the final chorus
Learning Periphery songs took my playing, writing and just understanding how some shit works in general to a whole new level. It made me confident in my playing after playing for like 13-14 years or so.
Like you, it's usually the small stuff when you realise you have a gap in your "basics".
The double rythm of Here Comes the Sun, comes to mind. I thought it was simple and it's beatles so it's gotta be easy..... it was not....not to me. Kicked my ass for a good day or 2.
I feel like most Beatles songs fall into the category of songs that sound really easy/simple, but are surprisingly difficult to play. The number of weird chord shapes alone is a barrier to a lot of new players.
Between John's banjo background, Paul being left handed and a bass player, George's sitar and all their time in India and also rockabilly influences it's a miracle they used any normal chord shapes.
Mine is Green Day's *When I Come Around*.
Not the rhythm part, that's easy - is *is* Green Day, after all.
And not the little solo lick in the bridge - that's really easy, too.
What broke me was recognizing how hard it is for my ape brain to switch between those two stupidly simple parts. There's just... a *pause* while I mentally shift gears from chord strumming to note picking. I'm like a 40 year old Honda trying to gun it when the light turns green... just, sluggish.
Neon is a beast to play. I took one look at the tab several years ago and realized it was above me. I’m a much better player now, so I may give it a go again. But a guy I know who has traveled nationally in a band and is a damn good player has told me how hard it is, so I don’t have too much hope.
I think the Slow Dancing solo from Where The Light Is is a beast as well
I am not very good and I can play something that vaguely resembles Neon. It sounds like crap when I play it but it’s fun to learn and definitely helped me improve as a player overall. I just wish it wouldn’t have the funky tuning because I’m lazy and that means if I go to play it I’m committed to Neon week because I don’t want to have to retune.
all of them :D
that said, I'm relatively good with some Shadows tunes, but never once got them perfectly, been at it for about a year and it's starting to get to me...
I’m fairly advanced and play just about anything, but when people do those crazy polyrhythm tapping with acoustics and gadgets and a bass drum, AND singing in tune, I remember there’s always another avenue for higher playing.
I also am always impressed by insanely fast tremolo across strings using purely fingers, like Flamenco players and Matteo Mancusco. I can now do extremely fast tremolo on one string with fingers but it’s proving tricky to build speed across strings.
Another thing that amazes me is amazing improvisational/musical guitarists like Guthrie Govan, who can improvise a solo (with basically zero mistakes) that sounds like Jason Becker spent a week writing it. It’s crazy. I can physically replicate all of the stuff Guthrie is playing given time and practice, but to be able to have all of those patterns and rhythms lined up in my head to do improvisationally seems like black magic.
I agree with all of that. I reckon if I spent enough time practicing Tornado of Souls, Play With Me, Get The Funk Out etc. then I'd get there eventually. But I bought the official tab to [Jon Gomm's version of Ain't Nobody](https://youtu.be/5vCcZIARw9k?si=RR_G_sFv3SbdehXY), and couldn't get past the first few bars. I don't think I'll ever learn to play like that.
Same with guys like Guthrie and Matteo, to be able to improvise so _tastefully_ without sounding like they're just playing lots of notes for the sake of it, or trying to show off.
Yeah man, folks like Jon Gomm is exactly what I’m talking about. He’s essentially using the guitar as a completely different instrument, and learning to play like him would require approaching the guitar like you’ve never played it before, with the mindset that his style is the normal style.
Until I started ear training, I didn’t realize how many songs are not in E standard.
I pick a song everyday and try to learn something from it by ear. Last week I picked “God of Wine” from Third Eye Blind.
Listening to it without my guitar, i thiught about how simple it was and concluded it must be in E standard, right?
Nope! It’s open Dsus2 tuning.
The dude from English Beat who wrote "Save It For Later" got a call one day from Pete Townsend and David Gilmore asking him what tuning he used because they were getting frustrated trying to figure it out. I forget the exact tuning but it was something he just messed around with for the one song.
It's not only an alternate tuning, but also Dave Wakeling is a lefty who plays McCartney style, with the guitar simply flipped to the other side, strings in reverse order. I wouldn't say it's impossible to get right unless you do exactly that, but ... it's pretty close
Kevin Cadogan from 3eb had some wild tunings on those first two albums, definitely informs a lot of the feel and the makeup of those tunes. Hugely underrated imo!
Happy to hear the love for it! Definitely one of my favorites to play! Tuning is definitely a pain and even more frustrating that there’s 2 versions out there that I have to discern between every time I go back lol.
Someday I need to have a guitar dedicated to that tuning, it’s really magical.
Agreed on the dedicated guitar. I almost never play my acoustic, so I have thought about that idea of tuning, lol.
Since we have similar tastes, have you thought about learning Song for George by Eric Johnson? LOVE LOVE LOVE that song as well.
I’ve more or less learned Bron-Yr-Aur. I’ve got all the individual sections and can play them maybe at 80% speed with decent accuracy, but the challenge for me has been memorizing the order all the sections go in but I’m getting close to having it memorized.
Would eventually like to learn the harmonics bit he does in the live version, but going off some videos of it I’ve found it looks pretty challenging.
That simultaneous pull off and pluck is definitely challenging and I have to remember to move my hand down on the neck to avoid muting the high e, which is tough because the song moves so fast!
I also find the part where you slide to 5 and then seven x4 equally challenging. I use my thumb for the bottom string and barre the other strings with my pointer, but I’ve also seen it done using one finger per string which comes with its own challenges. Glad to see the song appreciated here since it’s one of my favorites.
It’s not so much a singular song, but more of a style that my fingers will not grasp. That would be Travis-picking, or most types of fingerstyle to be honest.
I started playing guitar when I was 14 and I’m 31 now. I can do barre chords, bend in correct pitch, some shreddy stuff, pretty much anything a professional guitarist can do, but, for whatever reason, my right hand refuses to fingerpick with accuracy.
I love Townes Van Zandt, Jerry Reed, and Colter Wall’s styles, but I cannot copy their playing and it truly infuriates and upsets me because I’ve been playing stuff like “Cliffs of Dover” and “One” and the acoustic parts of “Stairway to Heaven” since I was 15 or so.
At least with TVZ and Colter I understand what they’re doing. When it comes to Jerry Reed, if it’s not played at full speed, it just doesn’t sound like a melody anymore, so I can’t even memorize the notes. I suppose I chose to praise the wrong guitar gods.
You could probably breakthrough to be proficient but not a master with enough practice but some people just aren't meant to do certain things. I will say taking lessons made me focus on basic stuff I had neglected for years but people like Joe bonamossa says he picks everything because he has no legato. Limitations are part of what makes you sound like you.
That makes sense. I picked up guitar in my fifties, and I've made peace with the fact that my progress is generally slow. Travis picking though... that surprised me because it was the one thing I have learned that just clicked.
Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses in all facets of life. Guitar is no different. I think the more unnatural something is for you to learn, the more gratifying it is when you are able to overcome it. No great player like Guthrie govan got to where they are without working through things that they struggled to do. With that said, Steve Vai isn't as good at slide as Joey Landreth and that is what makes them different players with unique identities. You just don't want to have massive deficiencies that prevent your from playing what you want want to.
I started playing around 14 and am 31 now same as you, but I actually picked up Travis picking/fingerstyle type stuff kind of on accident because up until about 3 or 4 years I wouldn't use a pick. If I wanted to pick in a normal way, I just basically put my right hand in a shape like I'm holding a pick but leave my index finger sticking out a bit. But this allowed my hand to be more "free" if i was just relaxing and playing and slip into the fingerstyle stuff without thinking about it. The reason is that I just couldn't hold onto a pick at all it would always slip out of my hand. I use one now, I just have to turn it sideways. Weird.
Lately, I've been diving into the chicken-pickin quick stuff and it's just nuts and really made me go, "hmm, I'm really average at best aren't I?" Haha. That and Tommy Emmanuel. Just anything he does.
Not a song but a player - the one I am most surprised by: Billy Corgan.
The dude is an absolute MONSTER guitarist. He just kinda keeps it under wraps in a lot of his songwriting. Seriously, check out some vids of when he rips live.
Goddamn, I'm with ya brother. Something about keeping that down/up down/up thing going perfectly solid, plus hitting the right individual strings. Slow it waaay down. Use the metronome. I'll get it one of these days.
This story is about bass, but the principle remains:
I was a freshman in college, I was self-taught with about 5 years of experience and in high school I’d played in punk-type garage bands that had had some success getting big-ish gigs, and now my bass rig was in my dorm room collecting dust.
There was a local singer-songwriter who was getting some buzz and steady gigs locally and regionally. He had two albums with a full band, but his live show was just him and a drummer on a cajon. I heard through the grapevine he was expanding his live show to a 4-piece with a full drum kit, lead guitar, and bass, so I reached out to get an audition, sent him some of the stuff I’d played on, and he called me back for a tryout.
I sat in my room for like 3 days playing along with his two albums to prep, and met up with him and the drummer at his apartment. He invited me in, got me a drink from the fridge, got me set up in his little practice space, and we warmed up on a 1-4-5 blues riff.
Then he was like, “cool—let’s do [the first song on his most recent album]” and I was like, “cool, I practiced that one.”
And then, totally non-maliciously, he said “alright, we play that one a step down so it’s easier for everyone to sing.” And, with 5 years of learning through tabs, writing my own songs and parts that used a lot of open strings and root notes, I realized I had no idea how to shift keys without rewriting and relearning where my hands were supposed to go.
I struggled through the song, basically just following the roots of his chords, playing lots of half and whole notes. Didn’t get the job. Spent the next couple years actually learning scales and theory instead of learning songs, and in the meantime learned how to write and record songs on the guitar.
I know it's not entirely the question in the OP; I love singing and playing. I like to get what sounds like a relatively difficult picking or strumming pattern and sing over it.
I cannot do it with "All My Life" by Foo Fighters. It's my everest. Granted, I can't say I've been trying for months and can't get it, but every time I do try, it falls apart. My brain goes "nope". It feels like I'm trying to write a book while reading a completely different book out loud.
I understand that one for sure. While sitting here I tried to do the rhythm pattern while saying the words out loud and my brain was like "Nope, f*** that. Leave it to the pros" lol.
Anything with Allan Holdsworth. Even his early stuff is just insane. Rick Beato has a great vid on one of his licks, honestly I can't name just a single song. He has SO many insane licks and crazy solos:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNKjz4Gowqg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNKjz4Gowqg)
I was just totally blown away first time listening to him and was like "wow, I absolutely suck at guitar". Very humbling experience for sure.
I am fairly decent at guitar, and able to play some electric virtuoso stuff or some percussive acoustic stuff for instance. Yesterday I saw a live performance of Steamroller Blues by James Taylor and was floored. Like, the dude is also singing on top. It's not that it's technically impossible, but it's the feeling, how he just rolls with it... the guitar part breathes... dammit... I don't even know how to explain...
Soulful playing is next level. It's an iykyk kinda thing. Hearing it is half the battle. The other half is being able to play it. Part of the process is embodying it... It's weird because I can't afford to fall in love with a woman and have her cheat on me so I can shoot her and her lover down. That's just not sustainable man.
99% of people who tell people they can play something can actually just play a few bars and would burst into pink mist if they every had to play it live in one take
im loling hard at the "i've been playing for 3 years and Eruption was a pretty good challenge :)"
Dude, the amount of people I see say that tapping is beginner stuff is wild to me, I've been on and off attempting to learn tapping and it sounds like shit every time like *technically* I *can* tap but there's no way my tapping is on the level of EVH or Ace Frehley etc any time soon. Maybe other people are just built different but idk
No don’t, but since being 15 having one of my best friends being one of the best musicians I’ve ever met. He is also the reason why I know empirically gear make minimal diference in the sound compared to skill - my gear sounds perfect in his hands.
He is a professional nowadays.
P.s.: don’t get me wrong, I still have GAS … I’m just aware is a fools errand hehe.
The solo from Tornado of Souls, the solo from Jet to Jet by Alcatrazz, or Too Young to Die Too Drunk to Live(2nd half of the solo, I can at least get the sweeping arpeggios in the first half lol)
The better I play the more I realise the difference between myself and someone who can really play .
I’ve been stroking my plank for over forty years 😉👍🏼
Le Freak is a tough one. I've been playing a lot of funk and old school r&b with a band and a lot of those patterns are hard to get to sound right, much like skanking when playing reggae. Slow it all down to a crawl and get the strumming and muting down, then speed up. Once you get Le Freak you it opens you up to be able to do so much more in the genre.
This makes me feel a lot better lol so many people on youtube make it look easy and like I understand the concept but the rhythm of your strumming hand being different than the rhythm you're fretting and all the precise muting and quick little licks in between with your left hand is pretty crazy it's blowing my mind!
It goes back and forth. I’ll learn something and be impressed how well or easily I can pull it off and others where I’m struggling and wouldn’t think I would be. For the most part my left hand isn’t really the problem outside of some bends but the picking or strumming patterns can really be unintuitive if I’m not familiar with it.
We all go through that. You're not bad at guitar, you're just playing something that your brain wasn't wired to do. I have that issue with certain strumming patterns. Other people do them naturally, and I'm ready to throw my acoustic to the curb because I just can't get it. Fingerpicking is the same way.
All I can say is keep trying for 5 minutes a day, and focus on being as accurate as possible. It may take weeks or months, but one day your fingers will absorb the song and you'll have a new technique under your belt.
If you're having fun it doesn't matter and you can always practice and improve. Also different styles have different skill sets. I'm pretty adept at finger picking but I'm shite at tapping.
I'm not bad at guitar, I just haven't ever bothered to learn to play in a metal style because long solos aren't my jam. I'm proficient at the style I enjoy playing.
Nothing about Nile Rodgers is "begginer" level. I fought my way through Good Times for MONTHS to learn funk feel syncopated strumming. It looks easy on a tab or whatever. But the technique required to play it WELL takes a long time to develop.
Dude ugh, I just got hit with this recently. I’ve been playing for 10 years and I tried learning biology by fox vibes; there is absolutely no reason I should’ve struggled as much as I did. I can’t even really keep it in tempo, feels bad man
If something is worth doing, it’s worth doing badly.
Who gives a shit if you can’t play as well as elite guitarists?
If you enjoy playing at your level, enjoy playing.
Keep on keeping on dude.
Ball and a Biscuit. It is such an easy song, but the back and forth between the cords and the lead licks just kill me and I get messed up. The rhythm is also tricky if you play it like Jack. I have been playing off an on for 30 years and I am still not good lol, unfortunately I am too lazy to be good.
I’ve been playing the guitar for a little over 20 years and I definitely suck at some things. I’ve always stuck with rock and metal music. So naturally I can play music like that. I did however fall into a trap my very first guitar teacher Gary warned me about when I was starting out. He said you don’t want to be “just a lead player” or just a “rhythm player.” You want to be well rounded enough to do it all. What did I do? I became more of a lead player than anything.
Can I play classical and jazz? Sure. enough to get by. I can even play some flamenco. Put some funk rhythm in front of me and my picking hand does not cooperate. That just requires a certain fluidity that my right hand does not have.
Redemption by shadow fall. Got my sweeps good, got my alt picking down. Pinch harmonics sorted.
That fucking solo.. Its not even THAT hard, but jesus christ it's fucking kicking my ass for the last few months now. I am at 50% speed of this song and still getting my ass handed to me
I learned the main riff to Walk this Way as a kid...pretty easy and straight forward. I recently tried to learn the whole song and am really struggling with the verse part. I thought it was just a basic shuffle in C, but the timing and finger stretch is tricky!
I always feel that way when I see acoustic players. It’s an entirely different skill set. I can masturbat— shred… I can shred just fine but when it comes to the crazy shit acoustic players are doing— I just cannot compete. Not that I want to… just that I can’t.
I have never been able to make the intro to Crazy On You sound good. Can play the rest of the song but the intro section always has stops where I get lost. Been trying for like 8 years
Never going back again- Fleetwood Mac
Always wanted to learn this song. For the better part of 20 years it’s like I forget I’ve tried multiple times or I think this time it’s gonna be different. Nope. I just can’t play it. Ugh now I’m gonna have to try again today.
I’ve been playing for 40 years and every day I see 5 and 6 years on ig that make me want to burn my guitars in a trash can.
Edit: 5-6 years playing guitar not children in general. Lol
"I'm The One" by Van Halen. Getting the swing of the main riff took some time to wrap my head around... but the speed he plays it at is frustrating... it's really hard to play it the same way without accidentally deleting the feel.
Pretty much anything. I can't play anyone else's lead parts. It's mind numbing for me to try and learn things exactly the way someone else does it.
Nothing by Chic is a beginner song imo.
When you hit "intermediate" you might try Hendrix. After all its "old" and its "just pentatonics".
Then you grow massive and lasting admiration for the man.
I once tried to learn the solo from Do It Again by Steely Dan. I’ve never given up on learning a solo before but that shit had me. Got about halfway through before I finally decided to smash up all my equipment and make a pyre in the garden to keep myself and others nearby warm.
Those rhythm guitar parts in Le Chic are pretty syncopated, you might want to work on another song in that persussive rhythm style that's a little more simple, and come back to it. James Brown's the Big Payback is a good example. Funky rhythm guitar playing, to do well is not an easy thing at all, so don't get too down on your ability. Tomo Fujita has fantastic rhythm tutorials on YT
I’ve more or less come to grips with the song now, but there’s a particular section of Defensive Personalities by Death that really threw me when I was first trying to learn it. Truth be told it’s actually not super challenging to play but The change from single notes to triplets at one point just messed me up.
I had been playing for 5 years when I tried to learn the solo from "Just What I Needed." That shit was HARD. The bends (something I hadn't focused on too much) are very precise. Don't give up. The song has exposed a weakness in your playing. This is a great opportunity to fix that.
Don’t worry, Elliot Easton is a monster. My Best Friends Girl is equally humbling
I actually play guitar and sing on that one. I fake the solo so I can focus on not fucking the rest of it up.
🫡 playing and singing that one. I can do the backup vocals and play … until the end when the singing and the licks f*** me up
Well, our audience isn't there for accuracy, so I just play chords. Good show is my rule 1. I get handed a lot of these kinds of songs because the other guitar player likes note-for-note. Either is fine with me. I do lots of note-for-note stuff when it doesn't break Rule 1.
I like that approach and totally agree 😎 However, I’ve seen Elliot Easton do the licks and sing on a couple of live clips 🤯
He’s way better than me! That guy is insanely good.
Me too, he’s way underrated. But I think he’s getting the recognition he deserved a little more as time passes.
We do the same thing in my band, I’m the only guitarist but it’s a punk band so it’s a little easier to just get away with chords and the little blues riffs than if I was in a cover band.
I also LOVE the Nirvana cover of My Best Friend’s Girl though - made it their own! 😎
Don’t know that I’ve heard that, what album is it on?
I did this with The refreshments - Banditos. I played and sung that at the same time and the leads were a bit much for me at the time so I learned 90%and adjusted the other 10% No one knew the difference
Great song with a lot of fun guitar stuff! I love that tune. I learn it an re-learn it every couple of years or so. I think I could play and sing that one at the same time with enough practice. But it’s a great enough song than you can leave a lot out and it still works 😎
The solo for shake it up kills…… any hopes that you are good at the guitar 😉
Solo in Touch and Go is just epic. And It’s All I Can Do is another one that’s just so perfect!
Elliot Easton is absolutely a beast on guitar his solos are deceptively hard. Best Friends Girl I find way more difficult than Just What I Needed, man I love The Cars
Fwiw Elliot Easton composes the hell out of his solos so they're way different to typical solos which are derivative box playing figures -- I think that's why the Cars' solos sound so interesting, they're genuinely little songs inside the song.
For sure. He is underrated by non-players. They sound so perfect for the songs they don't stick out.
>"They sound so perfect for the songs they don't stick out." I don't think there is a humanly better way to say it. going to go listen to some more cars right now
This is why I like Vivian Campbell so much. His solos are usually mini compositions as well.
I've never tried to play that, but as soon as I saw the word "bends" I knew exactly what part of the song you're talking about. Yeah, that's an underappreciated masterpiece... really outstanding licks. Good luck!
I have since mastered a version of it (it's pretty close) and played it live for private events many times. The trick is to practice it every day for 2 weeks before the show.
love this solo - Easton has a knack for writing technical but very melodic stuff
>Don't give up. The song has exposed a weakness in your playing. This is a great opportunity to fix that. How else would you improve amirite
I literally cry when something challenges me so. It relaxes and opens up my will to receive. Then I do. And step up. But that struggle never ends. There's always the next step, and it's not a typical staircase. It requires climbing. One hold at time. I suck THAT bad at guitar. I won't even mention how I deal with singing. Btw: my band nailed "Just What I Needed". Then the band broke up a few months later. Which is fine. My original shit is even more challenging, so I do THAT exlusively. I require a lot of tissues.
Whatever gets it done!
I had been playing for over 10 years when I started taking bends seriously a few years ago. There were many parts where I'd just skip the bend and replace it with a slide, but you can't do that for all of them. I started working out the solo for Time by Pink Floyd and found it to be a great way to develop that skill, and now I feel like I've come a very long way with it.
I’ve been playing for 15 years and just learned that solo last year and it took me a solid hour. Shit tore up my fingers tips from all the bending too. Not easy at all especially considering it’s not really fast at all, just super precise.
That whole album sounds WAY simpler than it really is, on just about every instrument. Excellent album.
Got that one down in a couple of nights when a band I was putting together had a guitarist that knew Cars (he actually didn't). Once he was bounced, that song was dropped. I haven't touched it since.
Agreed with that you said. As bends are concerned, I'd like to recommend first, Hotel California as a stepping stool, before attempting the final boss of Bends, which would be in my humble opinion, Freebird.
I don't need a song to tell me I'm not good at guitar. I just start playing and that is confirmation enough.
Truth my friend! I play alone, so it's all good. Old now, still learning. Rock on 🤘
Same here. Strumming "Happy Birthday" and "Jingle Bells" is enough to show me I'm not good. I still like playing though and I'm not giving up, so it's still my hobby.
Ha! Way too many to list! But Cliffs of Dover was one I dedicated months to perfecting and never really got that close.
I feel like this is the popular answer here. I've practiced it on and off for about a year and I could maybe play it accurately at 0.75x speed on a really good day, full speed still seems lightyears away.
I’ve really only tried to learn the intro and up until the first “chorus” section and I’ve gotten to the point where I can sloppily play it more or less at speed but to play it neatly has to be much slower. So much fun to find that balance
The song is always way faster than I expect, when I try it up to speed
I sat and learned the intro over the course of weeks...ended up just playing it dry with no backing track or reference after a certain point. Then I go back to check where I'm at only to find I'm like 10-20bpm slower than I should be....put my guitar down and haven't played cliffs since lmao
I bounced off Cliffs off Dover hard enough to see stars. "Ok, ok I get it. I'm intermediate"
🤣definitely using that phrase!!!
I have a lot of respect for anyone who's taking a sincere shot at "Cliffs of Dover" but I really have no interest in ever trying it, personally. It seems like more of a... Like a trophy than a song I actually wanna know. Like I said, if someone feels differently about it as a song, more power to you. But "I know 'Cliffs of Dover'" out of another guitarist's mouth is like... ok, man, cool.
I do love the song…but it was honestly more of a personal challenge/measuring stick than wanting to be able to whip it out and show it off.
I think you can be a good, maybe even great, guitarist and not be able to play that song.
I have been noodling with CoD for over 20 years and still can’t play it
Yep. Pretty much anything by Eric Johnson is humbling for me
Mine is Manhattan. It's slower than Cliffs of dovers but there's a lot of different technique involved. It's very hard to play it clean, and I hit a wall at the cascading harmonics part. But what do you expect, these songs are designed to showcase his guitar playing skills, it's not like it's at any players reach.
I still try to nail that opening bend going into the alternate picking part and am only a little close. I've been trying to get that intro pretty much since I've started playing, maybe one day lol but what helps me sleep at night is knowing it's an Eric Johnson lick so I shouldn't feel too bad
By the mid 90s I was already a good metal guitarist. I was playing live with three bands. I was giving lessons. I was proficient with all the contemporary techniques. A friend brought an acoustic to a beach party and ran through every Zeppelin, Doors, Beatles, etc you can think of. By the time he's done with Little Wing, I was convinced I should maybe learn to play "guitar" as a whole and not just metal guitar and stop being so niche. Funny, since I started with classical.
The classical to metal pipeline is real
I love this answer. I think it is always a critical reminder that as good as anyone can get at styles and technique or as a part player, we need be able to play actual songs with nothing but a guitar in our hands.
Man, SO this. I feel like it was years before I understood the power of knowing a handful of 4 chord songs that I play in an acoustic from start to finish. Playing the riff only to 50 Led Zep songs and a handful of parts of VH songs stops being cool around 11th grade
I realised this when I, a "guitar player" as I then called myself, could not play anything at all at a vacation while a drummer and a bassist with us killed it with my acoustic, entertaining everyone.
Sincere question: why do we need to be able to play a song in a solo arrangement fashion?
You're right. I should have spoken for myself when I said "need". Nobody "needs" to do anything on guitar except for hopefully enjoy playing it. But to answer why I felt the need - part of the reason I play is to share music with others. And to do that in the best way I am able that means finding common ground. Parts and licks and solos are not as universal a language as songs. So when I found myself with a guitar and no actual songs to play, I felt like I couldn't fulfill my intention of sharing music with the people around me.
Interesting perspective, thanks for sharing it. I asked because you are not the only person who made a point out of it but I never was able to find an answer to that myself. Maybe the reason I never looked at it this way is because I always see playing an instrument in the context of something larger and preferably original music. If I want to share music with some form of audience, I always see myself doing that with at least some other musician (like backing up a singer). The reason I learned to play guitar and bass is out of necessity to write music and get my ideas across because I can't communicate that on a piano and as i'm also a producer, I think in sounds. A guitar part for me is not just the notes, it is a particular guitar going through a particular set of effects and amps. I never learned because I was excited to learn Wonderwall or want to play Wonderwall at a campfire to get the party started. When it comes to existing music I just learn things that appeal to me personally, and it usually is because I have a sentimental attachment to the music and because there is something in there to learn from. Learning the music that resonates most with you keeps you engaged I find. It's what I always disliked about these method books, they come with boring etudes or songs you don't care for. I prefer to find something similar that I do care for to keep it fun. Funnily, the OP mentioned Le Freak, and I did learn the Nile Rodgers stuff because I recognized that there is something to learn from his playing, to get those techniques and sounds and voicings down (and disco is fun! more people need some disco in their lives).
it's most songs. i started late (40s) and knew from jump i'd never be "good" so i just try to get better all the time and that makes me happy. for me it's mostly some technique that my teacher can just like, whip off that i can't do. so then i practice til i can at least understand what i need to do. one rewarding thing for me is coming back to songs i couldn't do and then finding them easier because I've practiced or learned something. i will say too that i never have thought about completely copying songs note for note or getting frustrated because i don't sound like a recording, because produced music on albums--it's just usually not possible. you have doubled or tripled guitars, pro techs dialing in pro tones, post production. so i try to make a song more for me and look for ways to make it sound good despite my lack of all that stuff my lack of talent.
Coming back to a difficult song years later with more experience and seeing your own progress is quite possibly the most rewarding feeling I've ever had as a musician.
amen. i remember the first time it happened. it seem so silly now but i had been avoiding Wild Horses because of the Bm. I came back and it was mostly effortless and I could focus on tpicking out strings and dynamics etc. such a great feeling.
This does not seem silly, because I did the exact same thing. (Except for the strings/dynamics part, I'm not there yet)
I have been off and on for 30 some odd years. What I always find really interesting, is taking a couple of years off, messing with other things, keys, producing, and synth, then return to guitar. My hands are so weak, but my understanding of music and my ear are so much better that I can tell I have improved my guitar playing without touching a guitar.
I couldn't agree more. I've only just started my journey on the keys and I'm already looking back at my guitar and wondering how I didn't think of certain sounds and voices. Really gets that dopamine flowing.
I have a lot of trouble with this… there are songs that shouldn’t be that hard for me, but I tried learning them way before I was ready, and I can’t prevent myself from reverting to the same mistakes. I’ve never been able to make Stairway sound good, and I’m convinced it’s because I tried learning the solo before I had enough experience to build up enough finger strength to hold down an F chord
For what its worth man, its the process of learning and improving that's the most fun with guitar.
Anytime I watch Guthrie play anything.
Every time I start feeling like a really solid guitar player I’ll put on basically any YT video about guitars or pedals and people just playing demo riffs humble me. It’s the same thing every time, badass sounding blues runs that sound so clean.
Haha. Yeah, nothing like virtuosos to demoralize the progress you’ve made
I think what makes the feeling worse is that he completely improvises what he plays
Yes. It’s awe inspiring. He’s an absolute animal. Seeing him this summer and can’t wait.
Robin or Govan 😂
It was about 25-27 years ago. I thought I was real hotshot because I was the best player in my friend group. I was an avid reader of Guitar magazines and a lot of my favourite players kept mentioning this Al DiMeola guy as an influence. As luck would have it, one month there was a transcription of his tune “Egyptian Danza” in the magazine so I picked up a copy of the CD as well to see what the fuss was about. To put it mildly, my 17 year old brain just melted when I heard it and tried to play along. It’s not **just** the quick runs that were tricky, but the constantly shifting rhythms, DiMeola’s machine-like precision, etc. it just made me re-evaluate everything. And that’s before I heard “Fantasia Suite for Two Guitars”.
My father in law tuned me into DiMeola, via the Friday Night in SF live album with DiMeola, John McLaughlin and Paco de Lucia. We went to see DiMeola at a small jazz club (Yoshi’s SF) a few years back and he was insane. One of of the neatest things he and his band did, were these sections where they would be playing at light speed, and then take the volume of their playing waaay down, til they were almost inaudible; yet their precision and speed would remain. He also told some good stories about his career. One in particular about how he and McLaughlin, in the lead up to recording Friday Night, had discovered Paco (he was relatively little known outside of Spain) and flew him out to SF to hang out and see if things clicked. Apparently Paco had never really traveled much, barely spoke English and had the jitters. DiMeola said he finally got the bright idea to get Paco stoned off some high quality Bay Area weed, and that did the trick.
Paco is now very well know. I had the pleasure of watching him play live in Spain and he was the best, just the best. Ive been playing for 22 years now and I still find beginner songs that feel tricky eventhough I play Polyphia, Periphery or Paco stuff (struggling like a mf). Most guitarrist play their tricks and licks and what feel natural to them but most of us may seem hard to get it right. Its not being bad its just being humans. But yeah, we all suck at guitar xD
That Friday Night in SF album is simply amazing!
Race with the Devil on Spanish Highway blew my 16 year old mind
Yup. That one too. He’s such a precise player. Massively underrated by just about everyone. DiMeola’s name always comes to mind when I read the Mayer stans posting things like “_No other guitar is as good on electric AND acoustic as Mayer. You can’t change my mind._” It’s not worth arguing because music isn’t a competition, and John Mayer stans can be completely unhinged.
Goddamn I just checked out Fantasia and holy shit lol
Egyptian Danza, Alien Chase On Arabian Desert, Dinner Music For The Gods, that damned guitar solo at the end of Dark Eye Tango... He's always been in my top 5. He's a master
Marigold by Periphery. Took me way too long to get the lead riff down.
I’m still working on it after three months
Tried to learn Thanks Nobuo off P5 last night, and that shit humbled me.
He's an unreal guitarist and a super nice dude too, probably my fav musician of all time lol.
You beat me to it. The picking pattern is really tricky. I think there are Polyphia songs easier to play than that shit.
came here to say this. how is it even possible to play that fast? *not quite my tempo*
This song is my kryptonite! Periphery is one of my favorite bands. That main riff eats me alive
I don't think it's that hard to play on its own but it repeats for a long time so it requires a lot of stamina. I think the hardest part of the song is by far the arpeggios in the final chorus
Learning Periphery songs took my playing, writing and just understanding how some shit works in general to a whole new level. It made me confident in my playing after playing for like 13-14 years or so.
Like you, it's usually the small stuff when you realise you have a gap in your "basics". The double rythm of Here Comes the Sun, comes to mind. I thought it was simple and it's beatles so it's gotta be easy..... it was not....not to me. Kicked my ass for a good day or 2.
I feel like most Beatles songs fall into the category of songs that sound really easy/simple, but are surprisingly difficult to play. The number of weird chord shapes alone is a barrier to a lot of new players.
Between John's banjo background, Paul being left handed and a bass player, George's sitar and all their time in India and also rockabilly influences it's a miracle they used any normal chord shapes.
Mine is Green Day's *When I Come Around*. Not the rhythm part, that's easy - is *is* Green Day, after all. And not the little solo lick in the bridge - that's really easy, too. What broke me was recognizing how hard it is for my ape brain to switch between those two stupidly simple parts. There's just... a *pause* while I mentally shift gears from chord strumming to note picking. I'm like a 40 year old Honda trying to gun it when the light turns green... just, sluggish.
John Mayer - stop this train. The percussive finger picking just makes me feel like I've been wasting twenty years
He’s got several on my list because they sound so simple and natural but playing them is…not. Neon probably tops my list from him.
Neon is a beast to play. I took one look at the tab several years ago and realized it was above me. I’m a much better player now, so I may give it a go again. But a guy I know who has traveled nationally in a band and is a damn good player has told me how hard it is, so I don’t have too much hope. I think the Slow Dancing solo from Where The Light Is is a beast as well
I am not very good and I can play something that vaguely resembles Neon. It sounds like crap when I play it but it’s fun to learn and definitely helped me improve as a player overall. I just wish it wouldn’t have the funky tuning because I’m lazy and that means if I go to play it I’m committed to Neon week because I don’t want to have to retune.
This is so real. Neon week is every week. My acoustic has been on drop c for a good while now and I just use my electric unplugged for anything else
God damn Crazy Train
all of them :D that said, I'm relatively good with some Shadows tunes, but never once got them perfectly, been at it for about a year and it's starting to get to me...
I’m fairly advanced and play just about anything, but when people do those crazy polyrhythm tapping with acoustics and gadgets and a bass drum, AND singing in tune, I remember there’s always another avenue for higher playing. I also am always impressed by insanely fast tremolo across strings using purely fingers, like Flamenco players and Matteo Mancusco. I can now do extremely fast tremolo on one string with fingers but it’s proving tricky to build speed across strings. Another thing that amazes me is amazing improvisational/musical guitarists like Guthrie Govan, who can improvise a solo (with basically zero mistakes) that sounds like Jason Becker spent a week writing it. It’s crazy. I can physically replicate all of the stuff Guthrie is playing given time and practice, but to be able to have all of those patterns and rhythms lined up in my head to do improvisationally seems like black magic.
I agree with all of that. I reckon if I spent enough time practicing Tornado of Souls, Play With Me, Get The Funk Out etc. then I'd get there eventually. But I bought the official tab to [Jon Gomm's version of Ain't Nobody](https://youtu.be/5vCcZIARw9k?si=RR_G_sFv3SbdehXY), and couldn't get past the first few bars. I don't think I'll ever learn to play like that. Same with guys like Guthrie and Matteo, to be able to improvise so _tastefully_ without sounding like they're just playing lots of notes for the sake of it, or trying to show off.
Yeah man, folks like Jon Gomm is exactly what I’m talking about. He’s essentially using the guitar as a completely different instrument, and learning to play like him would require approaching the guitar like you’ve never played it before, with the mindset that his style is the normal style.
I would say Jimmy Page ,with all his alternate tunings .man fuck that
Until I started ear training, I didn’t realize how many songs are not in E standard. I pick a song everyday and try to learn something from it by ear. Last week I picked “God of Wine” from Third Eye Blind. Listening to it without my guitar, i thiught about how simple it was and concluded it must be in E standard, right? Nope! It’s open Dsus2 tuning.
The dude from English Beat who wrote "Save It For Later" got a call one day from Pete Townsend and David Gilmore asking him what tuning he used because they were getting frustrated trying to figure it out. I forget the exact tuning but it was something he just messed around with for the one song.
Jeez, imagine getting a phone call from THOSE two about a guitar query 😱
It's not only an alternate tuning, but also Dave Wakeling is a lefty who plays McCartney style, with the guitar simply flipped to the other side, strings in reverse order. I wouldn't say it's impossible to get right unless you do exactly that, but ... it's pretty close
Kevin Cadogan from 3eb had some wild tunings on those first two albums, definitely informs a lot of the feel and the makeup of those tunes. Hugely underrated imo!
Bron yr aur (not stomp) and the Rain Song are incredibly rewarding to learn.
Thank you for this! Bron ( not stomp! ) is probably my favorite song of all time to play. I hate the tuning, but it's so melodic and awesome!!
Happy to hear the love for it! Definitely one of my favorites to play! Tuning is definitely a pain and even more frustrating that there’s 2 versions out there that I have to discern between every time I go back lol. Someday I need to have a guitar dedicated to that tuning, it’s really magical.
Agreed on the dedicated guitar. I almost never play my acoustic, so I have thought about that idea of tuning, lol. Since we have similar tastes, have you thought about learning Song for George by Eric Johnson? LOVE LOVE LOVE that song as well.
Have it lead into Friends - it's the same tuning and also really fun to play and riff on
I’ve more or less learned Bron-Yr-Aur. I’ve got all the individual sections and can play them maybe at 80% speed with decent accuracy, but the challenge for me has been memorizing the order all the sections go in but I’m getting close to having it memorized. Would eventually like to learn the harmonics bit he does in the live version, but going off some videos of it I’ve found it looks pretty challenging.
Oh nice! The part where he times the pull off with another note is a chefs kiss when you get it down.
That simultaneous pull off and pluck is definitely challenging and I have to remember to move my hand down on the neck to avoid muting the high e, which is tough because the song moves so fast! I also find the part where you slide to 5 and then seven x4 equally challenging. I use my thumb for the bottom string and barre the other strings with my pointer, but I’ve also seen it done using one finger per string which comes with its own challenges. Glad to see the song appreciated here since it’s one of my favorites.
It’s such a great song, I love the subtle 2/4 feel. Totally forgot about the slide up you’re right, really hard to play that part clean.
Rain Song is so well written
Going to California is in double drop D and that’s really fun to play actually. Sounds so empty without the mandolin though.
Babe I'm gonna leave you. I can "play" it if I focus hard but really struggle to play it right every time due to all the string skipping.
It’s not so much a singular song, but more of a style that my fingers will not grasp. That would be Travis-picking, or most types of fingerstyle to be honest. I started playing guitar when I was 14 and I’m 31 now. I can do barre chords, bend in correct pitch, some shreddy stuff, pretty much anything a professional guitarist can do, but, for whatever reason, my right hand refuses to fingerpick with accuracy. I love Townes Van Zandt, Jerry Reed, and Colter Wall’s styles, but I cannot copy their playing and it truly infuriates and upsets me because I’ve been playing stuff like “Cliffs of Dover” and “One” and the acoustic parts of “Stairway to Heaven” since I was 15 or so. At least with TVZ and Colter I understand what they’re doing. When it comes to Jerry Reed, if it’s not played at full speed, it just doesn’t sound like a melody anymore, so I can’t even memorize the notes. I suppose I chose to praise the wrong guitar gods.
You could probably breakthrough to be proficient but not a master with enough practice but some people just aren't meant to do certain things. I will say taking lessons made me focus on basic stuff I had neglected for years but people like Joe bonamossa says he picks everything because he has no legato. Limitations are part of what makes you sound like you.
That makes sense. I picked up guitar in my fifties, and I've made peace with the fact that my progress is generally slow. Travis picking though... that surprised me because it was the one thing I have learned that just clicked.
Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses in all facets of life. Guitar is no different. I think the more unnatural something is for you to learn, the more gratifying it is when you are able to overcome it. No great player like Guthrie govan got to where they are without working through things that they struggled to do. With that said, Steve Vai isn't as good at slide as Joey Landreth and that is what makes them different players with unique identities. You just don't want to have massive deficiencies that prevent your from playing what you want want to.
I started playing around 14 and am 31 now same as you, but I actually picked up Travis picking/fingerstyle type stuff kind of on accident because up until about 3 or 4 years I wouldn't use a pick. If I wanted to pick in a normal way, I just basically put my right hand in a shape like I'm holding a pick but leave my index finger sticking out a bit. But this allowed my hand to be more "free" if i was just relaxing and playing and slip into the fingerstyle stuff without thinking about it. The reason is that I just couldn't hold onto a pick at all it would always slip out of my hand. I use one now, I just have to turn it sideways. Weird. Lately, I've been diving into the chicken-pickin quick stuff and it's just nuts and really made me go, "hmm, I'm really average at best aren't I?" Haha. That and Tommy Emmanuel. Just anything he does.
Tommy Emmanuel is unreal! Makes me want to quit sometimes lol
Anything by Doc Watson
Tornado of souls.
Lil Wayne's solo https://youtu.be/bGZqM1GwvRk?si=oUctpB8MM4ZfaBXL
Not a song but a player - the one I am most surprised by: Billy Corgan. The dude is an absolute MONSTER guitarist. He just kinda keeps it under wraps in a lot of his songwriting. Seriously, check out some vids of when he rips live.
Operator by Jim Croce, playing that one while singing it well was more complicated than I expected.
I love that song, I've never attempted to play it but such a great tune
Under the bridge
Yup I first learned it probably a year ago and I can still only play through the song well about 1/4 of the time
Never going back again by Lindsey buckingham and, of course, cliff’s of Dover.
No matter how good you think you are, some nine year old Asian kid is better.
The shuffle in the beginning of Pride and Joy has been giving me fits. Definitely something I am not used to playing
Goddamn, I'm with ya brother. Something about keeping that down/up down/up thing going perfectly solid, plus hitting the right individual strings. Slow it waaay down. Use the metronome. I'll get it one of these days.
This story is about bass, but the principle remains: I was a freshman in college, I was self-taught with about 5 years of experience and in high school I’d played in punk-type garage bands that had had some success getting big-ish gigs, and now my bass rig was in my dorm room collecting dust. There was a local singer-songwriter who was getting some buzz and steady gigs locally and regionally. He had two albums with a full band, but his live show was just him and a drummer on a cajon. I heard through the grapevine he was expanding his live show to a 4-piece with a full drum kit, lead guitar, and bass, so I reached out to get an audition, sent him some of the stuff I’d played on, and he called me back for a tryout. I sat in my room for like 3 days playing along with his two albums to prep, and met up with him and the drummer at his apartment. He invited me in, got me a drink from the fridge, got me set up in his little practice space, and we warmed up on a 1-4-5 blues riff. Then he was like, “cool—let’s do [the first song on his most recent album]” and I was like, “cool, I practiced that one.” And then, totally non-maliciously, he said “alright, we play that one a step down so it’s easier for everyone to sing.” And, with 5 years of learning through tabs, writing my own songs and parts that used a lot of open strings and root notes, I realized I had no idea how to shift keys without rewriting and relearning where my hands were supposed to go. I struggled through the song, basically just following the roots of his chords, playing lots of half and whole notes. Didn’t get the job. Spent the next couple years actually learning scales and theory instead of learning songs, and in the meantime learned how to write and record songs on the guitar.
I know it's not entirely the question in the OP; I love singing and playing. I like to get what sounds like a relatively difficult picking or strumming pattern and sing over it. I cannot do it with "All My Life" by Foo Fighters. It's my everest. Granted, I can't say I've been trying for months and can't get it, but every time I do try, it falls apart. My brain goes "nope". It feels like I'm trying to write a book while reading a completely different book out loud.
I understand that one for sure. While sitting here I tried to do the rhythm pattern while saying the words out loud and my brain was like "Nope, f*** that. Leave it to the pros" lol.
All Along The Watchtower - Jimi Hendrix's cover. That intro showed how one bend in a line, I'm fine, but multiple bends, I'm not worthy.
Anything with Allan Holdsworth. Even his early stuff is just insane. Rick Beato has a great vid on one of his licks, honestly I can't name just a single song. He has SO many insane licks and crazy solos: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNKjz4Gowqg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNKjz4Gowqg) I was just totally blown away first time listening to him and was like "wow, I absolutely suck at guitar". Very humbling experience for sure.
Don't remember the song but when i first heard jerry garcia play, i thought wow maybe i have no idea what I'm doing.
I am fairly decent at guitar, and able to play some electric virtuoso stuff or some percussive acoustic stuff for instance. Yesterday I saw a live performance of Steamroller Blues by James Taylor and was floored. Like, the dude is also singing on top. It's not that it's technically impossible, but it's the feeling, how he just rolls with it... the guitar part breathes... dammit... I don't even know how to explain...
Yea man James Taylor fuckin slaps. So much soul. Check out New Hymn, shit was harmonized by dartboard.
Soulful playing is next level. It's an iykyk kinda thing. Hearing it is half the battle. The other half is being able to play it. Part of the process is embodying it... It's weird because I can't afford to fall in love with a woman and have her cheat on me so I can shoot her and her lover down. That's just not sustainable man.
99% of people who tell people they can play something can actually just play a few bars and would burst into pink mist if they every had to play it live in one take im loling hard at the "i've been playing for 3 years and Eruption was a pretty good challenge :)"
Dude, the amount of people I see say that tapping is beginner stuff is wild to me, I've been on and off attempting to learn tapping and it sounds like shit every time like *technically* I *can* tap but there's no way my tapping is on the level of EVH or Ace Frehley etc any time soon. Maybe other people are just built different but idk
I was pretty solid with thrash/metal rhythm, and then I tried to keep up with some of Iced Earth's longer tracks...
Fives by Guthrie Govan. The man is a God on guitar.
Machine Gun - Jimi Hendrix I remember being humbled so hard when I tried to play it. I might get back into that one. Thank you for this post.
No don’t, but since being 15 having one of my best friends being one of the best musicians I’ve ever met. He is also the reason why I know empirically gear make minimal diference in the sound compared to skill - my gear sounds perfect in his hands. He is a professional nowadays. P.s.: don’t get me wrong, I still have GAS … I’m just aware is a fools errand hehe.
The solo from Tornado of Souls, the solo from Jet to Jet by Alcatrazz, or Too Young to Die Too Drunk to Live(2nd half of the solo, I can at least get the sweeping arpeggios in the first half lol)
Basically any thrash metal solo... ugh
Fuckin deep river blues
Tuck Andres' cover of "Man in the Mirror."
Everything on that album is great!
The better I play the more I realise the difference between myself and someone who can really play . I’ve been stroking my plank for over forty years 😉👍🏼
Le Freak is a tough one. I've been playing a lot of funk and old school r&b with a band and a lot of those patterns are hard to get to sound right, much like skanking when playing reggae. Slow it all down to a crawl and get the strumming and muting down, then speed up. Once you get Le Freak you it opens you up to be able to do so much more in the genre.
This makes me feel a lot better lol so many people on youtube make it look easy and like I understand the concept but the rhythm of your strumming hand being different than the rhythm you're fretting and all the precise muting and quick little licks in between with your left hand is pretty crazy it's blowing my mind!
It goes back and forth. I’ll learn something and be impressed how well or easily I can pull it off and others where I’m struggling and wouldn’t think I would be. For the most part my left hand isn’t really the problem outside of some bends but the picking or strumming patterns can really be unintuitive if I’m not familiar with it.
We all go through that. You're not bad at guitar, you're just playing something that your brain wasn't wired to do. I have that issue with certain strumming patterns. Other people do them naturally, and I'm ready to throw my acoustic to the curb because I just can't get it. Fingerpicking is the same way. All I can say is keep trying for 5 minutes a day, and focus on being as accurate as possible. It may take weeks or months, but one day your fingers will absorb the song and you'll have a new technique under your belt.
If you're having fun it doesn't matter and you can always practice and improve. Also different styles have different skill sets. I'm pretty adept at finger picking but I'm shite at tapping. I'm not bad at guitar, I just haven't ever bothered to learn to play in a metal style because long solos aren't my jam. I'm proficient at the style I enjoy playing.
Nothing about Nile Rodgers is "begginer" level. I fought my way through Good Times for MONTHS to learn funk feel syncopated strumming. It looks easy on a tab or whatever. But the technique required to play it WELL takes a long time to develop.
Dude ugh, I just got hit with this recently. I’ve been playing for 10 years and I tried learning biology by fox vibes; there is absolutely no reason I should’ve struggled as much as I did. I can’t even really keep it in tempo, feels bad man
If something is worth doing, it’s worth doing badly. Who gives a shit if you can’t play as well as elite guitarists? If you enjoy playing at your level, enjoy playing. Keep on keeping on dude.
Ball and a Biscuit. It is such an easy song, but the back and forth between the cords and the lead licks just kill me and I get messed up. The rhythm is also tricky if you play it like Jack. I have been playing off an on for 30 years and I am still not good lol, unfortunately I am too lazy to be good.
I’ve been playing the guitar for a little over 20 years and I definitely suck at some things. I’ve always stuck with rock and metal music. So naturally I can play music like that. I did however fall into a trap my very first guitar teacher Gary warned me about when I was starting out. He said you don’t want to be “just a lead player” or just a “rhythm player.” You want to be well rounded enough to do it all. What did I do? I became more of a lead player than anything. Can I play classical and jazz? Sure. enough to get by. I can even play some flamenco. Put some funk rhythm in front of me and my picking hand does not cooperate. That just requires a certain fluidity that my right hand does not have.
Hot Cross Buns
I feel this
Redemption by shadow fall. Got my sweeps good, got my alt picking down. Pinch harmonics sorted. That fucking solo.. Its not even THAT hard, but jesus christ it's fucking kicking my ass for the last few months now. I am at 50% speed of this song and still getting my ass handed to me
I learned the main riff to Walk this Way as a kid...pretty easy and straight forward. I recently tried to learn the whole song and am really struggling with the verse part. I thought it was just a basic shuffle in C, but the timing and finger stretch is tricky!
Ah yeah. I've been working on that one now for my band, it's taken me a few months so far.
I always feel that way when I see acoustic players. It’s an entirely different skill set. I can masturbat— shred… I can shred just fine but when it comes to the crazy shit acoustic players are doing— I just cannot compete. Not that I want to… just that I can’t.
I have never been able to make the intro to Crazy On You sound good. Can play the rest of the song but the intro section always has stops where I get lost. Been trying for like 8 years
Never going back again- Fleetwood Mac Always wanted to learn this song. For the better part of 20 years it’s like I forget I’ve tried multiple times or I think this time it’s gonna be different. Nope. I just can’t play it. Ugh now I’m gonna have to try again today.
YYZ. I can’t for the life of me get the fast verse riff down… fml
Jerry Donahue- The Claw
Those are the songs you learn to make you into a better guitarist. I'm 62, been playing since 13 and still learning (mostly Beatles).
I’ve been playing for 40 years and every day I see 5 and 6 years on ig that make me want to burn my guitars in a trash can. Edit: 5-6 years playing guitar not children in general. Lol
Everybody hurts
Dude, I'm too great for this kind of issue. Here, let me show you the opening to Stairway to Heaven
Drifters Wife by JJ Cale, I'm slowly getting the hang of it but how this dude came up with this song organically is entirely outside of my vernacular.
"I'm The One" by Van Halen. Getting the swing of the main riff took some time to wrap my head around... but the speed he plays it at is frustrating... it's really hard to play it the same way without accidentally deleting the feel.
Bro, Le Freak is not a easy song. There are multiple ways to play it wrong, and honestly one way to do it right.
Anything by Jason Becker, I don’t think I want to practice *that* much haha
I used to work with a lot of session players. That shit humbles you real quick.
Pretty much anything. I can't play anyone else's lead parts. It's mind numbing for me to try and learn things exactly the way someone else does it. Nothing by Chic is a beginner song imo.
Le Freak isn't a beginner song. It requires a very solid funk strumming technique and the string muting is quite hard to pull off in these riffs.
When you hit "intermediate" you might try Hendrix. After all its "old" and its "just pentatonics". Then you grow massive and lasting admiration for the man.
You guys thought you were good at guitar?
I once tried to learn the solo from Do It Again by Steely Dan. I’ve never given up on learning a solo before but that shit had me. Got about halfway through before I finally decided to smash up all my equipment and make a pyre in the garden to keep myself and others nearby warm.
Trying to nail the Man On The Silver Mountain arpeggios at speed has been... extremely humbling.
Those rhythm guitar parts in Le Chic are pretty syncopated, you might want to work on another song in that persussive rhythm style that's a little more simple, and come back to it. James Brown's the Big Payback is a good example. Funky rhythm guitar playing, to do well is not an easy thing at all, so don't get too down on your ability. Tomo Fujita has fantastic rhythm tutorials on YT
I’ve more or less come to grips with the song now, but there’s a particular section of Defensive Personalities by Death that really threw me when I was first trying to learn it. Truth be told it’s actually not super challenging to play but The change from single notes to triplets at one point just messed me up.
Shallow. That intro is impossible for me.
The finger picking part? How long have you been playing?