I Need A New Song To Learn On The Guitar.

mouthmeetsoap said:

But he said he's been playing for 3 and a half years. By the time I was at 3 and 1/2 years, I was touring the country in support of our bands original cd. You can be pretty damn good in 3 and a half years. My friend showed me what a power chord looked like and I had a song within two days. I picked up pinch-harmonics, bending, tapping, etc. all along the way. I'm no virtuoso, just learned different than the way you're supposed to learn...?



Do you know anybody that is unfamiliar with music? I'd say it's more like reading a bunch of books on a subject you dislike and then writing your own book about something you do like, only making it the way YOU want it.

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I've been playing 12 years and I was writing my own stuff 3 years in. My technical ability and diversity of style has expanded tremendously since those first songs I wrote, mostly because I continued to improve by covering songs. It's a hell of a lot easier to express yourself when you understand how to replicate a variety of sounds. I can't tell you the number of times I had something in my head for a song, but I could not play it because I either could not figure out how/what I should be playing or I did not have the physical chops to play it even if I could write it.

But why would you stop reading other peoples books just because you've written one of your own? Accomplished authors read other people's work, probably more than non writers do. Accomplished musicians play other people's songs also. It's not one or the other, they go hand in hand. You should continue to learn other peoples songs and techniques as well as establishing your own.

thanks, guys
I really appreciate the feedback

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lennon/McCartney#Working_partnership
The most successful songwriting duo of all time seemed to like the learning songs method.
If you're worried about being completely original though learning other peoples songs may not be the best bet.
Most completely original bands I've heard were complete shit though, or claimed to be original while using the same chords as everyone else with a fuckload of effects.

As for a song to learn, I always just learned the songs I myself liked to hear. What, have you run out of music you enjoy to learn?

i like over the hills and far away...led zeppelin