Songs I have down pat!

[AcousticAl]

dsmarion wrote:

Ok, tell me, how often so you play with others? I think doing it A LOT more will do WONDERS for your confidence in being productive.

Also you don't necessarily have to play songs you know "in your sleeep" with a group to still have a ball doing it. I think that actually makes you a better player because it takes you out of your comfort zone and gets you used to dealing with it in a productive way.

Don't get me wrong, I do understand what you mean - but there are at least two sides to all of this and I think you may not be seeing the other side. Just a hunch. I would bet you learned a little along the way in your group gathering besides the realization that you felt unprepared for it. You did have fun right?

Scott

Of course I had fun at the jam.. This post isn't going how I thought it would.
I was just looking for a fun way to keep track of songs for the next jam session I might be involved with.. And to say that playing with others is beneficial- as it takes you (me) out of your (my) comfort zone. I do plan on playing with others a lot more in 2012. Wheels are already in motion for that.

[dsmarion]

Ok sorry for taking this post to a different place. I did get the humor at the first post (I laughed so loud I scared the hell out of my cat who was sitting next to me). But still I consider you to be one of the best players around here (I remember Daryl telling you that too - several times I think). So I chimed in a bit more than I should have. Sorry about that

As you were...

Scott

[BigBear]

AcousticAl wrote:

Hey TG.

As you may have read from the latest TG jam session we had in Ottawa- I had a bit of an eye-opener about how few songs I had in my bag o' tricks! I'm talking songs that I could play in my sleep.. not mess up and have to start over.. you know what I'm sayin.

Anyway- I figured I'd keep a list of songs here in this thread that I know COLD! Start to finish! This won't update and pop to the top of the forum everytime I add a song.. I'll just edit this post. But I think it will motivate me to get more songs under my belt for future jams. You can check back here if you're curious as to how I'm doing. Or if you've seen me upload a song over the past 2 years and wonder if I still know it (I probably don't).

One of my new year's resolutions is to go back through my binders of songs and play! See which ones need a lot of work vs. a little. Singing included- so nothing is a given.
As I get them down- I'll update this list. Probably a goofy idea- but I hope to make big improvements in 2012- and I need all the help/ideas I can get!

So here goes the list....

1)

Or how about songs you know perfectly in your living room but completely disappear when you try to play them with friends? :unsure:

[lueders]

Al, I too enjoyed your humor on this. I understand what you are trying to say...& I would venture a guess that we can "All" relate to you on this. From Vanessa to Jeff (Crocket) to Mike(Snipe) to Mark to whoever else has whooed us with his or her skill (The two guys who have chimed in thus far [Scott & Daryl} are also quite solid and...and they can relate, also) I CERTAINLY
agree with Scott bout your abilities & versatility. You have so many quality posts to support that fact! (And yes, I realize
you are not fishing for compliments...that doesn't seem to be your style at all.)

I hate to split hairs and take this thing even further from your intentions. But, jeez man. I'm with Scott, again.
There's a lot of ways to look at this sort of thing...(b.t.w. forget about perfect would ya? Its overrated and quite rare. lol!)

First of all, I don't equate the ability to kick out the most cover tunes as necessarily the best gauge of guitar proficiency. I just
don't think about it like that, I guess? I mostly see learning these tunes as a means to an end. (However, I feel like By God if I work at something hard enough and long enough I'll conquer the S.O.B.) Neil calls them lesson's techniques disguised as songs. I think it is more about the overall, journey anyway. I am not trying to give ya a bunch overly philosophical liberal hooey...but ya know it is something to think about.

Secondly...How many 2 or 3 chord strummers or simple travis picked songs can you play, remember, and kick out anytime you
want to? A lot right? Not everyone can do that? beginners most likely can't. So I guess I disagree with your tally. It is just that
those songs are not satisfying or challenging enough for your skill set and you are forgetting all that you do know...or more
importantly... are able to figure out.

Third, it's not skill thing. It's a memory thing. How many times did the Beatles play their songs? What did they do all day but play
their stinking songs? You work for a living... cut yourself some slack, dude.

Fourth, not all songs, arrangements, & performances are created equal, anyway. How may T.G. posts do remember of people playing the WHOLE song? (especially 6-9s...or
even 5s for that matter) Not too many. You are someone who usually attempts or at least takes a helluva stab at the complete song...the solos, interludes, etc. etc.. Plus you sing with it which adds another layer of difficulty. I might add you generally attempt a wide range and a lot of fairly demanding songs. I am simply saying you push yourself more than most. In some cases you might be comparing apple & oranges.


I'm sorry for shooting my virtual mouth off on this matter Al. But you're a cool dude, I like ya, and I just thought that maybe I'd play devil's advocate...


EDIT : best of luck with this project...You are inspirational just like Michele said. And I do agree that this is a great idea and probably we all should devote ourselves too at some point. Again sorry about the long winded post before...just thought I would throw in another perspective. Self deprecating humor aside, it just seemed like maybe you were down yourself.
Peace!

[neverfoundthetime]

I laughed out loud too Al. I know exactly what you mean. I sat down to remedy that a couple of years ago which produced my song book. Then I did a double check to see if I really could play them all start to finish. I ended up at a 85% success rate, so that was good but not perfect. And I'm still able to forget a chord change the start of a verse at any moment even in a song I know really well, as you saw with Tuesday Afternoon. I think this is the next natural step in your development. Your picking is already outstanding and your singing is just great on so many of the songs you've done. Looking forward to that list growing!

[suziko]

I remember, about a year ago, the subject of repertoires came up in the Forum, and I remember saying that I didn't know if I even had 3 songs in my repertoire. That is to say, songs that I could play without looking at a chord sheet. Inspired by several TGers (I remember in particular talking with Chris about his songbook), I started working on my own repertoire of songs that I could play for people without needing to look at a chord sheet or tab. At this point, it's not extensive, but I certainly have more than 3 songs on it. Like Cori said, it's really just a matter of practice and memorization. I don't like to look at a chord sheet when I film something for TG, so I do memorize the chord progression or fingerpicking pattern for any song that I record. But other songs it's always easiest to just look at the chord sheet. If I practice, though, it doesn't take all that long to memorize the progression.

I admit that most of my playing is pretty simple. I don't play any fancy intros yet, or solos. But that hasn't been a priority of mine yet. For you, Al, I think it wouldn't take all that much effort for you to quickly add many songs that are fairly complicated to that list. I look forward to seeing what you add to it! In fact, I might just have to make up a new list of my own. Thanks for the inspiration!

Suzi

[wammer]

AcousticAl wrote:

dsmarion wrote:

Ok, tell me, how often so you play with others? I think doing it A LOT more will do WONDERS for your confidence in being productive.

Also you don't necessarily have to play songs you know "in your sleeep" with a group to still have a ball doing it. I think that actually makes you a better player because it takes you out of your comfort zone and gets you used to dealing with it in a productive way.

Don't get me wrong, I do understand what you mean - but there are at least two sides to all of this and I think you may not be seeing the other side. Just a hunch. I would bet you learned a little along the way in your group gathering besides the realization that you felt unprepared for it. You did have fun right?

Scott

Of course I had fun at the jam.. This post isn't going how I thought it would.
I was just looking for a fun way to keep track of songs for the next jam session I might be involved with.. And to say that playing with others is beneficial- as it takes you (me) out of your (my) comfort zone. I do plan on playing with others a lot more in 2012. Wheels are already in motion for that.

Wheels are already in motion for that can i come ppppppleeeez :dry:

[AndyT]

Ok, I get where your coming from. And my list was the same when I first read this earlier. So, Today I sat down and tried to play some stuff when my book was no where near me.
I can put 2 3/4 songs on the list. LOL

1. Lord I lift Your Name On High
2. Empty Garden
3. Southern Cross (75%)

I was surprised I could do this many.

Ooops... Already have to add another one.
A simple version of Ode To Joy.

So... 4.

[michelew]

Al,

You're a sweet funny man and SO inspirational. By the way, I'm hoping that I'm still on the top of the reservation list for your album. Sure, you might have to knock the rust off some of those songs and freshen them up before you record them proper-like , but I've seen what you're capable of and LOVE your work.

You inspire me EVERY time you post a video and now you're doing it again. I love your humor and attitude in this thread. I can SO relate and need to do EXACTLY the same thing. It is discouraging when you've worked to get something to recording point and then you try it a few months later and it seems to have evaporated. I guess it's all going back and keeping it alive in your longer-term memory so you don't forget it when it gets kicked out of your short term memory by the songs you're focussing on now. I'm sure Vanessa, Chris, Scott, Neil and others in the know would say that you just have to play them hundreds of times and have fun, play them hundreds of times til you make them your own.

Great thread. Great idea. I'm sure your list will grow steadily now that you've committed yourself in a public way. And I'm sure there is also a long list that just needs the chord and lyric sheet too as others have said.

Good luck with your journey. You're an inspiration.

Michele

[willem]

Al,can't wait for seeing your list grow 'cos you so inspire me really,,looking forwards to your(yours) next jam/meeting..enjoying in advance..

Willem