govendl3
Hi there
This does not deal with any thing in particular just something I thought I would open to you guys(and girls)
On sunday 28 Jun it will be exactly 2 years since I started this guitar hobbie. One of the most satisfying thing I eva started.
just months ago I started actually singing(if you can call it that ;D )
Anyway at a family function that we had the guitsr came out and a drum set and all the old folk started singing and dancin right. So they asked me to play as well. thing is almost every song I played they didnt know and the ones they requested I didnt know. I mean I am not really into CCR etc. Should I know make the effort to learn things that others want to hear or just stick to what I like.
My uncle who was also there was having a blast playing what was requested and everyone was just going crazy. So i just tried to follow his lead and play along and too be honest nothing more than a 3-4 chord sequence....... mostly G - C - D
Should I learn these songs or just stick at what I am connected to
I mean can you imagine playing comfortably numb at a birthday, not gonna go down well.
PS I played my own rendition od Little Wing ( that brought the jaws down)
[deleted]
I played at an old folk's home and trust me, not very much satisfied them. If you don't share the moments they had with the songs then it's not going to be authentic. We made new moments though and we had fun eventualy.
That being said, nothing beats diversity.
Manfred-Klose
Most of those songs is based on the 3chord structure(I IV V), so basically you just need to learn to switch between the keys.
It wont take up to much time to learn, and you'll start noticeing patterns between songs.
You could start with CCR(bad moon rising,midnight special,etc..), maby even try some smokie and traditional folk songs(When the saints come marching in......etc.)
Start making a list of popular songs and try it out now and then.
Hope this helps.
CDee
Well first you probably need to ask yourself, "We're you having a blast? Do you enjoy it when the family does this?"
My family is almost the same, my dad and uncle used to have a band back in the day. I used to plead with them to play us some songs and stuff. I love it, I just enjoy it, when they told me to play with them I'd try but some of the "Boeremusiek" "CCR" "Beatles" tunes I just couldn't play. So. I tried to steer clear of playing with them for the first 3-4 years. Now, having more experience and being a somewhat better player than what I used to be, I can jam with them easily and it is great fun. You have to make the most of such times, you'll miss it when it's gone. But +1 to you for trying to play! (They're family, they have to like it! ? )
aubs1
My mom used to play the accordion! She used to sing and play songs from the 40's- and early 50's, as well as sing and play in church when the organist was not available!
So when I started playing my first 2-3 chords, she would "guide" me as we "jammed" Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby (her favourite) and Engelbert Humperdink. What I found out a few years later when i could tune a guitar properly, she did not mind if I played the wrong chords or even if my guitar was not in tune......so at family gatherings she would make me the "star", I would play guitar and sing, she would play the accordion and harmonize, and even though she did not really play the Beatles, she pretended and would do a Bing Crosby version of a Beatles song, it used to be lotsa fun, until I started with Jimi Hendrix, and she thought I went coo-coo........ ?
The point.......I enjoyed playing for family and they sing along......they never put pressure or judge you and no matter what crap you play, they think you're the cats whiskers!!!! So you don't have to LIKE it, just ENJOY it, and if that's too difficult, then just FAKE it... ? hahahaha
brazmonki
CDee wrote
Well first you probably need to ask yourself, "We're you having a blast? Do you enjoy it when the family does this?"
My family is almost the same, my dad and uncle used to have a band back in the day. I used to plead with them to play us some songs and stuff. I love it, I just enjoy it, when they told me to play with them I'd try but some of the "Boeremusiek" "CCR" "Beatles" tunes I just couldn't play. So. I tried to steer clear of playing with them for the first 3-4 years. Now, having more experience and being a somewhat better player than what I used to be, I can jam with them easily and it is great fun. You have to make the most of such times, you'll miss it when it's gone. But +1 to you for trying to play! (They're family, they have to like it! ? )
haha!
these are my roots man! ?
my old man has a old ibanez 12 string acoustic and he use to jam all these "Boeremusiek" tunes at parties, family gatherings etc. Boeremusiek is quite easy to play since you They played these tunes all the time.
It's quite easy to follow along when playing guitar. if you know the tune's structure and what key to play in you will be fine. a difficult instrument to play though is the concertina. tried that once at a family meeting and could not jam a thing. blood hard instrument to play!
Neps
When I just started playing guit I'd take my dad's LP's and try and figure out what the hell is going on.. Then I moved on to stuff I liked, but after about 4 years I came back to his stuff again, quite fun songs to play at parties.. It's now a known fact that if theres a party, and theres a guitar and I'm there, I'll play a few tunes..
Nothing goes down as well as some old classics and that 'I wont walk 500 miles' song, when your mates have had a 'few' :goodtimes: But always fun to be able to play a few songs that people do know.
govendl3
Thanks for all the advice
Seems like I will take the time to learn some of the good ol stuff
Thanks for sharing you stories as well
SpeedStar
Personally, I'm not really into the classic scene, unless were talking really classic (Bach, Choppin etc). Anyway, I think you should ask yourself what do you love more about playing, pleasing your audience, or finally mastering your favourite tune? Sometimes your lucky enough that both of the two will be the same. For me though guitar is a personal thing and I'll only play what I like ?. To express this point, I really loved anime and video games, before I played guitar, so 90% of the songs I know are video game covers or anime themes, or the songs are japanesse. :?, yes there are circles who listen to that stuff.
So I'm not going to get widespread recognition here, but when I learn my stuff I'm having the time of my life. People tell me you gotta listen to ACDC, Led Zep, Chilli peppers or whatever. I have and I generally find no connection to it, I guess cause I didn't live through that era's so I can't apprecite it. I'm not going to force myself to like, listen or learn something "classic" that is supposed to make you seem more of a music conniseur.
One day (when I'm famous 8) as a super fast and melodic guitarist) I'll take great plessure in openly advertising my ignorance of "guitar legends" (Hendricks? who the heck is that?)
So in short I say go with what makes you happy. :'(
Wizard
Music and memories are stored together.
I love old stuff because of times it brings back.
I could never see the point of the music my parents used to love.
Bob-Dubery
Wizard wrote
Music and memories are stored together.
I love old stuff because of times it brings back.
I could never see the point of the music my parents used to love.
It bought their old times back.
AlanRatcliffe
My mother introduced me to Bach, Tchaikovsky, Chet Atkins, The Shadows and Django Reinhardt (amongst many others), for which I am eternally grateful. She also made me more than familiar with all the rock 'n roll from the '50s and '60s and a fair bit of country music. So when I found myself in an army dance band a few years later, forced to play country and boeremusiek, I had a passing knowledge of all the popular stuff we had to play and (as Aubs said), as I knew the I-IV-V "formula" I could easily fake the rest (although I was eventually thrown out: "Ja, meneer Ratcliffe - want jy wil mos rock en roll speel, ne?").
Music is music and IMO, you should experience everything you can get your hands on, from "crabcore" (LOL) to the various forms of classical - even if it's only in passing - so you can recognise it or it's influence when you hear it. When you listen to "other" music, try and be open minded and listen out for what makes the music attractive to others. You'll be surprised - the more you learn, the more you will find similarities between what you love and other music.
Completely denying any other music style (especially historical) is silly. Chances are it's a big part of the music you love, but without you knowing it - because you keep yourself purposely ignorant of those styles. So ultimately, you're denying yourself a deeper and better understanding of your own music.
I love artists like Zappa and Bumblefoot because I get to hear all kinds of music that I'm familiar with, but don't necessarily listen to, all put together and blended in completely unusual and original ways and presented in a format that I can easily enjoy. In some way I enjoy the music more because I can recognise a lot of the musical references these artists throw in for fun or for effect.
Now... anyone wanna talk about the influence of Gregorian monkish chant on metal?
Bob-Dubery
govendl3 wrote
Anyway at a family function that we had the guitsr came out and a drum set and all the old folk started singing and dancin right. So they asked me to play as well. thing is almost every song I played they didnt know and the ones they requested I didnt know. I mean I am not really into CCR etc. Should I know make the effort to learn things that others want to hear or just stick to what I like.
My uncle who was also there was having a blast playing what was requested and everyone was just going crazy. So i just tried to follow his lead and play along and too be honest nothing more than a 3-4 chord sequence....... mostly G - C - D
Should I learn these songs or just stick at what I am connected to
I mean can you imagine playing comfortably numb at a birthday, not gonna go down well.
I have similar issues. I got told to bring a guitar when invited to various homes. Nobody wants to hear me do any of the songs I've actually been practicing, they want what they want for whatever reason they want it. There are players who are good enough to try the old "whistle it and I'll pick it up" trick, but I'm not one of them.
I must confess that I don't know the answer to this. One thing that helps for me is to remind myself it's just a braai and we're all vrot and it's just a sing-along. My little conceit is to sing songs that mean something to me when I sing them. I have to feel something in the song. OK... that's me and my occasional solo performances. But I'll put that on hold at a piss-up.
But then you've got to be able to play whatever is in demand or something that will go down. Sometimes it's enough to rely on a vague knowledge of the tune and rely on everybody else knowing the lyrics. This doesn't always work, sometimes they know the chorus and nothing else. Busking a thing like You Picked A Fine Time To Leave Me Lucille isn't that hard, and as long as you keep the beat you'll get away with a bum chord or two.
A while back I had two musical friends, both good players with their own material, at our house for my birthday. Everybody saw the guitars and expected a fine old sing-song. What they got was some moody instrumental pieces - which is what said friends play. The "crowd" didn't protest, they didn't even holler for "Jolene" or whatever else they wanted after the first couple of numbers. Just talked right through everything.
One way of dealing with it is to have something fairly strong lyrically, preferably miserable and with no catchy chorus in your repertoire. They insist you play a song. You play THAT song. They'll clap politely and then ask if anybody wants more drinks.
SpeedStar
My bro came back from Thailand recently. He met a violinist who played on the street corner. If you told the violinist which country you came from he would play a tune from you're country. My bro said he was from SA and low and behold the guy "serenaded" him with Die Stem ?. Apparently this guy never failed to give you a tune from you're country.
Anyway back to the topic, I find nothing wrong with people who suggest I listen to the classic rock stuff, just don't think of me as any less of a guitarist if I choose not to.
DonovanB
SpeedStar wrote
Anyway back to the topic, I find nothing wrong with people who suggest I listen to the classic rock stuff, just don't think of me as any less of a guitarist if I choose not to.
I'm not sure who started the idea that to be really good you have to be good at everything. Like, Gearge Benson is a great Jazz guitarist, but he is a rotten Metal guitarist.
Bob-Dubery
DonovanB wrote
SpeedStar wrote
Anyway back to the topic, I find nothing wrong with people who suggest I listen to the classic rock stuff, just don't think of me as any less of a guitarist if I choose not to.
I'm not sure who started the idea that to be really good you have to be good at everything. Like, Gearge Benson is a great Jazz guitarist, but he is a rotten Metal guitarist.
I think that you can specialise in what you chose to play, but still listen beyond that.
I have a DVD at home of Martin Carthy, one of the old masters of the British acoustic folk music scene, playing and talking in a studio. Carthy plays mostly olde englishe songs about the baron having his way with the weaver's daughter and the decapitations and disembowelments that result. He sometimes plays more contemporary stuff (you should hear him do Heartbreak Hotel) but always interpreted and arranged so that it fits in with the rest of his repertoire.
OK... so you have the picture now. At one point in an interview he says "God! The Sex Pistols were fantastic!" And he's genuine, and he has no problem with doing what he does but listening to punk.
AlanRatcliffe
SpeedStar wrote
Apparently this guy never failed to give you a tune from you're country.
I'd tell him I was from the Vatican, just to be difficult.
I find nothing wrong with people who suggest I listen to the classic rock stuff, just don't think of me as any less of a guitarist if I choose not to.
You can be a helluva guitarist without knowing any other style of music - I'm just saying that looking back and at least being familiar with the older/other music can probably help you be an even better one.
Bob-Dubery
Alan Ratcliffe wrote
You can be a helluva guitarist without knowing any other style of music - I'm just saying that looking back and at least being familiar with the older/other music can probably help you be an even better one.
And help you to avoid cliches. Richard Thompson is often praised by critics for being one of the most original and cliche-free guitarists. He has said in interviews that part of the reason for that is that he doesn't listen only to guitar players. He gets a lot of his musical ideas from pianists and bagpipe players (seriously). He takes those things that catch his ear and figures out how to transfer them to guitar and incorporate them into what he's already doing.
SpeedStar
Quote Alan:
You can be a helluva guitarist without knowing any other style of music - I'm just saying that looking back and at least being familiar with the older/other music can probably help you be an even better one.
I agree with you 100%, it certainly can make you better. Everyone in this forum seems to have an open mind about things as opposed to some of the people I've met - which are the ones I'm bitching about ?
The other day I wanted to try out a strat at Paul Bothners, there was an oldish guy playing in the booth, so I waited. The guy was very generic old school rock run of the mill, but I decided to compliment his playing (just to be polite). He told me he was working on a christian Rock album. He asked me if I knew <insert famous musician here> I shook my head, he then asked me if I knew <insert famous guitarist here> again I replied I didn't. He then looked at me scoffed and said "Ha! Well what would you know?" and continued playing. I found this attitude fairly rude and common. When this prick was finally done fumbling around I decided to wish him luck with his album (Mommy always taught me to be polite ?). The guy didn't even acknowledge the gesture and walked off. What a complete "BELL-END"!
The guy immediatly thought I was beneath him (if thats even possible ?) without hearing me play a single note. Thank goodness we don't have any of those in this forum... I hope.
To Bob
I love that idea, alot of my inspiration for guitar comes from classic piano concertos (Which are impossible to play on one guitar thanks to the huge intervals) but I take inspiration from that for lead. Funk, jazz even ska for rhythm.
DonovanB
Alan Ratcliffe wrote
I'd tell him I was from the Vatican, just to be difficult.
ag no, there are hundreds of Catholic hymns and songs to sing. In Latin as well.
