Easy but cool songs for beginners needed?

deefstes

Anything by Nickelback should be dirt easy to learn. In fact, as we all know, all of their songs are identical so if they've learned one song they can play the rest. ?

lindsmuse

I battled teaching kids so much I don't teach them anymore - they're wasting their mom's money. The way I'm feeling now is perhaps they should go into formal structured training - in a group - perhaps where they compete. Sounds brittle but ...The ones I got that learnt EVERYTHING I taught them were the ones who had the parents hammering them at home. Negative. I advertise for 14 and up - so far I just have a couple of women in their 20's 30's and they are so nice to teach.

However, for what it's worth, I would hand the responsibility of 'Which song would you like to learn' over to the pupil. Get them to search for it. Even bring it on an mp3 so you know they've committed to it. Find it (Google) in your spare time and quickly work it out for next lesson. Maybe that would work.

The most success I ever had with a youngster (not my own son) - was teach them, using the correct fingering, to play theme tunes from Games and Movie themes that they are familiar with. It is music, after all and a stepping stone. He got such a sense of achievement at 'making music with a guitar'. I could've developed that into reading Tabs, or notation - but he wasn't that way inclined and he quickly developed to playing riffs really nicely.

Good luck!

deefstes

lindsmuse wrote:so far I just have a couple of women in their 20's 30's and they are so nice to teach.

I bet they are ?

singemonkey

deefstes wrote:
lindsmuse wrote:so far I just have a couple of women in their 20's 30's and they are so nice to teach.
I bet they are ?

I don't know what kind of guitar lessons you've attended. But apparently they don't turn into naked pillow-fights as often as you might think.

deefstes

singemonkey wrote:
deefstes wrote:
lindsmuse wrote:so far I just have a couple of women in their 20's 30's and they are so nice to teach.
I bet they are ?
I don't know what kind of guitar lessons you've attended. But apparently they don't turn into naked pillow-fights as often as you might think.

Shucks, I did it wrong then. That must explain why I suck at guitar :-[

Bob-Dubery

DaFiz wrote: Teach the youngster a "new" song by a "new" artist... not some old ditty from the last century :-\

http://www.guitartutee.com/j/jason-mraz-j/jason-mraz-summer-breeze/

I hate to be the one that breaks it to you, but that IS a song from the last century.

Recorded by Seals & Crofts (IIRC Jim Seals wrote it) and also by the Isley Brothers.

deefstes

X-rated Bob wrote:
DaFiz wrote: Teach the youngster a "new" song by a "new" artist... not some old ditty from the last century :-\

http://www.guitartutee.com/j/jason-mraz-j/jason-mraz-summer-breeze/
I hate to be the one that breaks it to you, but that IS a song from the last century.

Recorded by Seals & Crofts (IIRC Jim Seals wrote it) and also by the Isley Brothers.

LOL! Some other great new songs you could consider:
Behind Blue Eyes - Limp Bizkit
American Pie - Madonna
Sweet Child o' Mine - Sheryl Crow
I Love Rock 'n Roll - Britney Spears
Billie Jean - Chris Cornell

IceCreamMan

singemonkey wrote:
deefstes wrote:
lindsmuse wrote:so far I just have a couple of women in their 20's 30's and they are so nice to teach.
I bet they are ?
I don't know what kind of guitar lessons you've attended. But apparently they don't turn into naked pillow-fights as often as you might think.

there goes my carreer aspirations then

UncleGoatLips

If those covers are around now and kids know them then they'll do fine.

lindsmuse

IceCreamMan wrote:
singemonkey wrote:
deefstes wrote:
lindsmuse wrote:so far I just have a couple of women in their 20's 30's and they are so nice to teach.
I bet they are ?
I don't know what kind of guitar lessons you've attended. But apparently they don't turn into naked pillow-fights as often as you might think.
there goes my carreer aspirations then

I'm speechless...

chilliepot

Yes I had that same experience when my daughter picked up the guitar. I mean we all remember camp songs but these kids dont know them. Eventually she latched onto Kumbaya and Clementine and that seems to work for her.Maybe the trick is to go back to the really old traditional songs rather than the blowing in the wind type that had apeal in 'that' era. I reckon these are really just for excercises. To get used to the 3-chord structure.

DaFiz

X-rated Bob wrote:
DaFiz wrote: Teach the youngster a "new" song by a "new" artist... not some old ditty from the last century :-\

http://www.guitartutee.com/j/jason-mraz-j/jason-mraz-summer-breeze/
I hate to be the one that breaks it to you, but that IS a song from the last century.

LOL ? I know it very well. I had to break the news to some younger clan, who still insisted on telling me I was being absurd. ???

George-Engelbrecht

UncleGoatLips wrote: Hey.

I've been teaching guitar for a while now and i've noticed how kids perspectives and knowledge of music changes with the times. Kids at beginner level don't know the tunes I teach them, the ye olde "house of the rising sun", "Knocking on heavens door, No woman no cry, Blowin in the wind etc.

Recently I have been adding some Black Eyed peas and stuff. Could anyone recommend some tunes to teach that kids nowadays would know?

Remember, i'm talking uber beginners, easy chords, strumming patterns etc. Beyond the basic levels I have no problem keeping them occupied for years regarding theory, technique and stuff, it's just for the beginning, to keep the interested I like to teach them stuff to play that they would like from the get go.

For my students, the ones that start from scratch, I teach a simple melody like Ode to Joy and also get them into reading tabs from the very first lessons using this very simple melody.

I have over 30 students and 60% or more have been here longer than 2 years so I guess it works ?

George-Engelbrecht

UncleGoatLips wrote: Hey.

I've been teaching guitar for a while now and i've noticed how kids perspectives and knowledge of music changes with the times. Kids at beginner level don't know the tunes I teach them, the ye olde "house of the rising sun", "Knocking on heavens door, No woman no cry, Blowin in the wind etc.

Recently I have been adding some Black Eyed peas and stuff. Could anyone recommend some tunes to teach that kids nowadays would know?

Remember, i'm talking uber beginners, easy chords, strumming patterns etc. Beyond the basic levels I have no problem keeping them occupied for years regarding theory, technique and stuff, it's just for the beginning, to keep the interested I like to teach them stuff to play that they would like from the get go.

Epoch

I'm a beginner and some of the songs I found easy were

Deep Purple - Smoke On The Water (riff)
Foster The People - Pumped Up Kicks (has an easy riff, chords aren't hard)
Greenday - Boulevard Of Broken Dreams
James Blunt - You're Beautiful
Nirvana - Come As You Are(easy riff)
Evanescence - My Immortal (acoustic)
Happy Birthday (lol kinda cool when you're learning it for the first time)
Outkast - Hey Ya
The White Stripes - Seven Nation Army
Good Charlotte - We believe
Maroon 5 - She Will Be Loved

And after a few weeks you could teach them
Metallica - Nothing Else Matters
Led Zeppelin - Stairway To Heaven (Intro)
Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit
John Butler Trio - One Way Road
James Morrison - Broken Strings
The Fray - How To Save A Life

Those are just some songs I enjoyed learning :?

deefstes

Derek wrote: Nirvana - Come As You Are(easy riff)

Strange that. It is a very easy riff but to this day I can't play the riff and sing the song at the same time. As soon as I start singing, my riff collapses.

Derek wrote: Led Zeppelin - Stairway To Heaven (Intro)

Nooooo!!!! Please don't teach them that! ?

Squonk

deefstes wrote: Led Zeppelin - Stairway To Heaven (Intro)

Nooooo!!!! Please don't teach them that! ?
[/quote]

Rather teach them Jimmy Pages solo on "The Song Remains The Same" version of Stairway ?

But thinking about it, it's not a bad piece of music to teach someone.
I think when you are a noob even learning "Postman Pat" is pretty killer stuff. When I was learning, the very first song was Lobo's "I'd love you to want me", I couldn't stand the song, but there was a sense of achievement when I had it down.

George-Engelbrecht

deefstes wrote:
Derek wrote: Nirvana - Come As You Are(easy riff)
Strange that. It is a very easy riff but to this day I can't play the riff and sing the song at the same time. As soon as I start singing, my riff collapses.

I also have found it very difficult on occasions to sing whilst playing real off beat or complex rhythms with the guitar...I guess it needs also to be practiced, separately and together.

Norman86

Squonk wrote: Lobo's "I'd love you to want me"

Forgot about that song... its nice, i like it...
Goes googling...... ?

Seventhson

Slayer-I hate you
Judas priest-breaking the law
Metallica seek and destroy

those where the songs I played with in four months of playing guitar.