Easy To Learn Guitar Songs Part III

Easy To Learn Guitar Songs Part III

Part I
Part II
Welcome Back!

I have been inspired to write yet another list containing songs that new guitarists can play. (Pianists could benefit from these too!) The blog has exploded with readers that are eager to learn some great songs.

As I said in the previous posts, the songs listed are listed specifically for new guitarists. I know from experience, it's hard to find songs to learn. The songs are all capo- free, and contain no barre chords. If you are still learning your chords, it might be helpful to check out this chord chart.

I'd also like to mention that if anyone sees something that should be added, feel free to let me know!

#1. The Beatles- She Loves You

Chords

• Tip: When G6 comes up, I just used a G Major.

#2. The Beatles- Love Me Do- SUPER EASY!!

Chords



#3. The Fray- How To Save A Life

Chords



Tip: If you are confused with the D/F# chord, it's called a slash chord. To avoid any confusion, my suggestion is to play it with a D(major). If you would like to look into more about slash chords, click here for a lesson.

#4. The Rolling Stones- Sympathy For The Devil

Chords



#5. Animals- House Of The Rising Sun- (Well known for being a great beginner song, but I find it a little tricky because you have to strum each string individually.

Chords

There you go! I hope you have a great time learning and exploring these songs. I would love to hear your success story!

Will Music Lessons Work Out?

Subscribe in a reader

Happy Saturday!

Are you taking music lessons with a paid teacher? Are you thinking about it? Are you thinking about enrolling your child? If so, you should really take a look at whom you chose to instruct you.

For nearly 10 years, I faithfully went to my music classes. It all started when I was around 4. My parents purchased me a little toy keyboard. In no time, I was playing full songs. So what any parent would do, they became excited and immeadietly enrolled in me into a music class. I was pretty small, but I remember the first day. I was put with a teacher named Diana. She was a great, kind, caring young woman.

I was working with her until age 12 when she suddenly disappeared. The music store where I went was owned by an older man who himself is a great musician. I was soon ripped out of my comfort zone, and had to be taught by the owner. Lou. Not that he was mean, or bad, but he was way less humorous and kind. Diana and I would have conversations about things that didn't even relate to music, but it all changed. When I would walk into Lou's classroom, he was unwilling to engage in any conversation besides music. Point is, I started losing interest in lessons.

My 12 year old mind had better things to do than listen to an ol' fella talk for an hour. It was hard to understand him a lot, which made me just cease my learning. My father became upset with me because I told him I didn't want to go back. I did anyway, and eventually took classes at my public schools. After I turned 16, I went back to Lou's for another couple of lessons. It was never the same since Diana left.

So now that I'm done blabbering, I want to explain the whole reason for this post. There are some questions that you need to ask yourself before enrolling.

• Is the establishment ran by friendly people?

That's the whole starting point. If the staff or owners are rude, unwilling to cooperate, demanding with scheduling times, ect. that means the teacher you are working with will not be as friendly as you like.

• Are they willing to let you meet your teacher before you sign up?

I think this should be a requirement. It would be a waste to be stuck with someone who clashes with you, or your child. When you are looking for qualities, you have every right to ask. How many students does this teacher work with? What are they educated in? Are they willing to be patient? (Unfortunately, That's actually a very common problem.)

• Are they overcharging?

It all comes down to the package. Are you getting ripped? Anything around $25 dollars an hour is the average. Some start as low as $5 or 6 bucks an hour- while giving you the same amount of information and skill.

• Would they lend you an instrument? (Piano is an exception :)

A lot of music schools are full of rental instruments. Let's say you wanted to learn the flute. You go enroll in lessons and they sell you a brand new flute (which probably bit you on the wallet). You go to flute lessons for 3 weeks and decide it isn't your thing. What are you going to do now? You could sell the flute for a small profit, probably only half of what you paid for it.

If you have a rental, it's usually not a problem to give it back to the store for other students. If you do decide to buy before you learn, try a used instrument first. Sometimes they might now look the best, but they work great. Some even work better with wear.

• Are they reliable?

Do they carry a lesson plan notebook, or some other means of organization? Will they actually show up on time? Does the teacher take great pride in keeping their lessons and students organized?

• Is there someone working who is specifically there to work with children?
  

This is important for two reasons. If you want to enroll your child in a class, it's pretty obvious that the teacher needs to have a great deal of patience and a love for children. It's VERY important for you to make sure your child is comfortable around this person, and you feel same leaving them in the teacher's care. (Most classes discourage parents from sitting with the child because it causes a distraction. Nothing personal to the parents!)

The teacher should have the same kind of personality as the child's school teacher. They should not overload the child with practice work, but at the same time have an strong appreciation for a job well done.

One more thing I would like to stress is to make sure that you or your child is willing to take on the challenges. Don't force yourself to do something you don't want to do, but at the same time don't give up. It may seem stressful at first, but trust me- it pays off big time in the end.

Easy To Learn Guitar Songs Part II

New here?

More Easy Guitar Songs

As I began playing guitar, I was unable to find many sites that list easy guitar songs. I had a heck of a time! With the success of part I, I decided to post another list of songs that are both great songs- and easy to play. If you know any songs that you think should be here, please don't hesitate to let me know!

Like part I, the songs listed range from beginner to slightly advanced. No capo is necessary. Also,

If you are still learning your chords, check out this chart.

Melissa Etheridge- Come To My Window-

Chords



Melissa Etheridge- Similar Features

Chords

Link to song

Aerosmith- Crazy-

Chords



The Kinks- Lola-

Chords



Don Mclean- American Pie (A little more advanced)

Chords



Van Morrison- Brown Eyed Girl (Super easy!)

Chords

Link to song (Sorry about this dilemma- can't find a video for this.)

Once again, there you have it! Enjoy playing. Stay tuned for part III!

Easy To Learn Guitar Songs Part I

This is a brand new site all about overcoming the challenges of being a new musician.

Subscribe to Surviving Musician-hood?

I found it hard finding some songs to learn on the guitar. After hours of searching, I found some pretty great songs that are surprisingly easy to play. No capos nor bar chords are used in any of these songs.

Check out part II

#1. Eric Clapton- Wonderful Tonight

Chords



#2. Colbie Caillat- Bubbly

Chords



#3. Pink Floyd- Wish You Were Here

Chords



#4. Janis Joplin- Me and Bobby Mcgee

Chords



#5. Metallica- Nothing Else Matters

Chords



#6. Matchbox Twenty- If You're Gone

Chords



#7. CCR- Suzie Q (A Little Fast, so be prepared!)

Chords




Well there you have it. Have fun!

A Warning To All Guitarists

Tonight something was brought to my attention that may effect you. If you use the web to find tabs, you are at risk of losing that privilege. As I type this, the Music Publishers' Association aka the MPA is trying to shut tablature sites down. It has threatened the sites claiming that they will be charged with copyright infringement. They have already succeeded in shutting some sites completely down. The sites are NOT breaking any laws! There are no known countries of the world that have a law banning guitar tabs on the Internet.

As a matter of fact, if they do succeed then they will be putting a stop to the explosion of new guitarists in the world. In the years since tabs became available on the Internet, the number of new guitarists have grown dramatically. People who can't afford lessons rely on the sites to learn. Think of the kids!

It's unfair to ban people from learning ANYTHING let alone music. The consequences of this could be devastating. All site would be forced to remove ALL free tabs, even if they are voluntarily posted and don't exist ANYWHERE else. We CAN'T let this little corporation bully us into letting them win. You have every right to learn any song you wish. We all do! That's why tabs are there! There is a new organization on the fight to save free music education. It's called MuSato. You can join the site, and be one of the many who will be fighting this monster. Please pass the word on to any musician you know.

Also, check out wikipedia's article about saving the music.

Finding Fame On The Net

Musicians have a slight advantage over musicians of yesteryear. The Internet is here and there are tons of sites out there to promote your music. The downside is that there are also tons of other musicians on the web who are trying just as hard to be noticed. It can be difficult to become noticed, unless you find a unique way to stand out. Here's some tips on getting started!

musicSUBMIT- According to the site:

Music SUBMIT submits your music to genre-specific radio stations, online music magazines, online music directories, blogs, podcasts, indie record labels, and other electronic music media.

I found this site to be extremely useful. You instantly receive reviews on your music, and you can easily make a lot of fans! It's a great place to meet people with a lot in common with you.

Taxi- Since it's probably impossible for you to pick up and hit the road to LA, the next best thing is a place that will do the work for you. The company offers a full year membership, and within the year promises to help any musician become a signed musician. It works with record companies like A&M, Arista, Atlantic, BMG, Capitol, Columbia, DreamWorks, EMI, Epic, Geffen, Island/Def Jam, Jive, and even more.

How does it work? According to the site, they communicate and work through the record companies. When the record companies are looking for a certain type of music or musician, they search through Taxi.

Is it a scam? Well, I haven't used the site yet, but I have found a great article explaining. A snippet of the page states:

TAXI has been featured on ABC, CBS, NBC, and virtually ALL of the Top magazines read by musicians.

Create A Blog

If you haven't already, start a band blog. Find yourself a great hosting service such as Blogger or Wordpress. Keep a log of your progress with your songwriting. When you are finished with the song, post it!

A strong word of advice as well: If you are just starting out, it would be helpful for you to give your visitors free samples of your songs. Don't give them all away, just a few of the best. That way, it will be available for people to put on their winamp lists, IPODs, and they could even burn CDs. Imagine having your song bringing someone's party to life!

To take things a step further, you can purchase a domain for your music. If you aren't familiar with having a blog, don't sweat. It's way easier then you think! Once you get your blog up and running, set up a MyBlogLog profile. It's a great site for any blogger. Your blog views will dramatically increase. You WILL make new fans. Your blog will have it's own community, and you can get to know your readers and fans.

Social Networking
Facebook and Myspace are obviously extremely popular. If you're on the internet already then you should already know what the sites are and how they're used. You probably even have your own profiles already. Well, if you happen to have a lot of friends on the sites then you will have a fan base waiting! On Myspace, you can create a band page. You are able to upload music available for download or just to listen. If you want, others can even use your song on their profile.

Something I must say though, is to take caution when posting to these sites.

Forums
Though I don't much care for forums, I can say they are another great tool for making new fans, and friends.

There are a lot of forums out there, so be careful upon choosing. Here are a few that have good reviews:

Sputnikmusic
Songstuff
Harmony Central

In closing, I just want to say good luck with your online fame! Most of all, have a blast my songbirds!

Bringing Your Song To Life With Drums

Though not as prominent in this song, the hat plays a vital roll. In the beginning, listen to the light drumming. The hat is rhythmically repeating and brings excitement to the singing.

The Snare
The snare is the butter, the kick is the bread. It is common in every type of song, and it is always unique. Sometimes it's the only drum used in a song. It could be used as a solo in a song, it could be used to coordinate with the kick. Think back to highschool basketball games. The matching band always used their snare drums to create their own song.

It usually happens once or twice to every 8 beats. The snare will usually be the main tool for bringing excitement and fun to a song. Check out the fun this guy is having:



A song that emphisizes it's snare:

Janis Joplin - Move Over (1969) - kewego

Keywords: janis joplin move over

Video from cerealspiller

I've put together a short video showing myself putting the mentioned percussion together to create a dance song. If you have any questions, feel free to ask!



As always, remember to have fun writing your music.