Favorite songs to play

[Warmart]

Maybe it's just me, and sometimes being my own worse enemy? Maybe it's a mild rut, or being almost 57, or just poor choices - but I am struggling really badly with finding fun songs to learn. Most of you know I'm just a hack, this time around I'm approaching five years of continuous learning and I'm constantly getting "better", in my way at least. The other 2 or 3 attempts were squelched out by a combination of life tugging from multiple directions and a stupid belief that I just didn't "have it". Over that, at least.

I guess it can be a curse to not be in a band that's forced to learn Seether or similar songs , but here's the latest example: I have wanted to play Fairies Wear Boots for a few years, but that sliding/finger-plucking rhythm part in the intro was a huge barrier. I now get past that (although I'm convinced you need 8's to really get it to sound great), and past all the rhythm up to the first real solo AND I conquer that solo - and it was all a blast. From that point, the song is just misery to play, repetitive as hell and the next solo is just total 'meh', I can't stand it. Can't tell you how many times I run into similar things.

No psychoanalyzing is needed, I have pushed through enough parts of songs, and maybe I'll do the same with Fairies.

What I'm really interested in knowing are some of y'all's favorite go-to songs, that are fun and generally remain fun. I've mostly played 80's metal (bored to death playing Metallica - I "almost" can see why they switched their formula with the Black Album - almost ). Also learned a few Mastodon songs off of Leviathan but the rest fell into boredom mode. Tried some early 80's Def Leppard, Dokken, etc - boring. The last thing I learned that I just love to pieces would be Dio's Holy Diver solo, it's pure joy to play.

I did search and didn't see a similar thread - but will delete this if one exists.

 

[duzie]

Playing with yourself without the interactions of others can be a hindrance

 

[Warmart]

Playing with yourself without the interactions of others can be a hindrance

Yeah, I know you've been up "here" (North GA) - playing with myself is preferable to the alternatives . Although I secretly believe there is an upper-50's guitar slinging shaved head software developer that lives half a mile from me that has similar tastes - that I've yet to find!

 

[Stone]

Well Dave Improvements is always a good thing i strive with that everyday
For me the Fun is always learning songs that I love, I think for me its the challenge that i enjoy, so I make a list lol
and I try to follow it as best I can sometimes i might change up a song or two and the order as well but

 

[Stone]

Playing with yourself

Uhhh really Cheech ??

 

[metropolis_4]

When I want to just kick back and have fun one of my favorites is still old Iron Maiden.

One thing I think is fun when I feel in a rut is to learn something new outside your wheelhouse. If you’ve been spending so much time playing ‘80s metal try learning some jazz standards, or maybe some country songs, or funk. Explore a bit beyond your normal boundaries

 

[la szum]

Plateaus are the creatives worst nightmare come to life. You can slog and slog and slog,
and there is no further ascent in sight, nor cliff to throw yourself off of.

I am all about the grind, though, man. Just power through the "Meh." There really is
no other way. It's like hitting the wall in a Marathon. You want to not only quit. You also
want to die.

The wort thing is giving up, or becoming so frustrated you don't want to keep putting
one finger in front of the other. It'll pass. It always does. And then you'll be super stoked
and on fire to learn something new because you have that fuel and motivation from seeing
yourself power through a period of the Blahs and were rewarded.

As for songs I love to play? I don't play any songs at home. Ever! Ok maybe I'll run through
a new tune the Band wants to play 30 minutes before practice.

I get enough time with those songs under my fingers that when I am home I want to do
something completely different. For me, that means writing and working on my own stuff.

Do you write riffs, Dave. Ever just jam? Maybe put on some backing tracks and start with
some attempts at improvising. Being a creative type of person maybe learning other people's
songs and licks is what you are tired of, and not exactly playing guitar.

Just a few thoughts.

 

[la szum]

Well Dave Improvements is always a good thing i strive with that everyday
For me the Fun is always learning songs that I love, I think for me its the challenge that i enjoy, so I make a list lol
and I try to follow it as best I can sometimes i might change up a song or two and the order as well but

View attachment 20675

Impressive, Mike! Looking forward to your Bowel Movement Spreadsheet reveal someday.

 

[TSJMajesty]

I'd have to think for a sec about why certain songs are fun to play...

For some, it has to be about the tone. (Warning- Dream Theater alert, of course!)

This is in the context of just playing at home. Fun songs to gig is entirely different, but I don't think that's what you're asking.

I love the entire intro and main riff of this, but when I hear this part, ME playing it, it gives me chills:


Same thing with this one, including on into the bridge:


And this one, from this point on to the end is SO fun to play:


And in all 3, the Axe III gives fantastic tones.
(None of these videos are mine, btw)

 

[TSJMajesty]

And then there's the satisfaction of learning these 2 clean parts, and hearing how they sound with the right effects. Gives me chills!




Both were pretty challenging in the fingerings- getting my fingers onto each string correctly, without damping out any adjacent strings. Tricky, but again so satisfying to nail it!

So it comes down to something that's a bit of a challenge to learn, that also sounds awesome when played with the right tones & effects. I love it!

 

[TSJMajesty]

And I always had a lot of fun playing these in a band- I Ran, My Sharona, Time, Inside Out, All The Small Things, stuff like that.

 

[Achilles]

Last cover band I was in back east was probably 1996 and they were really good.

We did a bunch of classic rockers that were a blast to play - they had another guitarist so we went for stuff
like Allright Now, Radar Love, Alive/PJ, 38 Special (I don't care if you hate Southern Rock, those guys wrote
some KILLER dual guitar songs!)

My #1 fave was Still Got The Blues by Gary Moore. The other guitarist let me have it so I practiced like crazy
to get all of Gary's nuances and fire. Nailing that song from beginning to end was always a great feeling!

 

[Stone]

And I always had a lot of fun playing these in a band- I Ran, My Sharona, Time, Inside Out, All The Small Things, stuff like that.

Yeah I love My Sharona i might put it on my list
And like you I also love songs that have great Toanz, part of immersing myself in whatever song I'm learning is the creation of the Tone on my FM9, while some find tweaking a chore and many dislike it, I'm the opposite I love tweaking Toanz

 

[TSJMajesty]

Yeah I love My Sharona i might put it on my list
And like you I also love songs that have great Toanz, part of immersing myself in whatever song I'm learning is the creation of the Tone on my FM9, while some find tweaking a chore and many dislike it, I'm the opposite I love tweaking Toanz

Well, with all the DT shit I love to try to play, that Petrucci Rig preset is a damn good starting point! Not to mention Cooper's & Leon's videos basically holding your hand and showing you how to do it!

#noexcuses

 

[TSJMajesty]

Yeah I love My Sharona i might put it on my list

That solo is a muthafucka!!

 

[Stone]

That solo is a muthafucka!!

yup and tone matching as well

 

[la szum]

When I want to just kick back and have fun one of my favorites is still old Iron Maiden.

One thing I think is fun when I feel in a rut is to learn something new outside your wheelhouse. If you’ve been spending so much time playing ‘80s metal try learning some jazz standards, or maybe some country songs, or funk. Explore a bit beyond your normal boundaries

Good advice. It works for me. But I have genre ADHD and seem inclined to bounce around.

I wonder if someone has genre OCD, then they derive pleasure from zoning in one single
thing and are actually bored by diversity.

 

[TSJMajesty]

yup and tone matching as well

I've seen videos where he's playing a Marshall in one, then a Vox AC30 in another.

One thing's for sure, it's cleaner that one might think.

 

[TSJMajesty]

I wonder if someone has genre OCD then they derive pleasure from zoning in one single
thing and are actually bored by diversity.

Did someone call my name?

 

[Stone]

I've seen videos where he's playing a Marshall in one, then a Vox AC30 in another.

One thing's for sure, it's cleaner that one might think.

True and I find a lot of songs that I thought had a lot of gain actually dont have that much gain
IE:" VH1 is quite low in Gain