Guitar songs to learn?

[Itisnotlogical]

I've had my electric Fender Starcaster guitar for about 6 months now, and I have to confess I only know all of 4 songs for it. And they're not even popular ones. I'm still a beginner, and I know I should be taking this in baby frets, but I'm starting to get bored playing Lilium and Mr. Jones all the time. The problem is, most songs that I like are largely written for other instruments and/or far and away too complex for my skill level.

Can anybody recommend something that's fun and interesting to play on the guitar?

 

[Bill Morris]

A great song that's surprisingly easy to play if you know how is Norwegian Wood. This shows how. Notice that he's got it capoed on the second fret, which puts it in the recorded key.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6W0XsDAxzM&feature=related

 

[Australis]

12 bar blues.

That'll introduce you to a lot of other songs.

 

[iBender]

in Standard E:
Metallica - One (Studio)
- Enter Sandman (Studio)
- For Whom the Bell Tolls (Studio)
N.E.R.D - Lapdance
Aerosmith - Cryin'
Kansas - Carry On Wayward Son
Pink Floyd - Money
Alien Ant Farm - Smooth Criminal
Slash - By the Sword
- Back from Cali
Nirvana - Smells Like A Teen Spirit
Led Zeppelin - Stairway to Heaven
-Whole Lotta Love
Bob Marley - No Woman No Cry
-Redemption Song (ect...)

in Eb:
Guns N' Roses - Welcome to the Jungle
(Anything by Guns N' Roses, November Rain, Estranged, Sweet Child O' Mine, Paradise City, Live & Let Die, Down on the Farm....)
Jimi Hendrix - Hey Joe
-Voodoo Child
-Machine Gun
Ozzy Osbourne - Walk on Water
Metallica - One (Live)
- Enter Sandman (Live)
- For Whom the Bell Tolls (Live)
System of a Down - B.Y.O.B (Ect...)

in Drop D:
Rage Against the Machine - Killing in the Name
Nickleback - How You Remind Me
Republica - Ready To Go
Papa Roach - Between Angels & Insects
Velvet Revolver - Slither (Ect...)

in Drop Db/C#
Linkin Park - In the End (Ect... for that album, I guess.)

in Drop C:
System of a Down - Chop Suey!
System of a Down - Aerials
System of a Down - Toxicity (Ect... For their Toxicity Album.)

My PERSONAL, don't have to but couldn't hurt if you did, 'advice'; From me is:

Tune your guitar to Eb (or D# as your tuner might display)
So that's:
Eb/D#
Bb/A#
Gb/F#
Db/C#
Ab/G#
Eb/D#

and learn/play some Guns N' Roses.

Do that, and in Eb/D#... play 'the' low 'sounding' Eb/D# string, frets 3 & 5 (Where G and A would be in standard, but since it's flat, you're playing Gb/F# and Ab/G#

Try just those two frets, on that string (as a good starting point), and you'd be playing this:

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaDdCnAPJIs[/yt]

(This'll be a lot more useful, if you can look and play, see what Slash is playing, then copy.)

There are loads of songs you can learn in a bunch of tunings, just find a song you like, and it should come together easier once you begin to play it because your brain already knows what to look out for in terms of, how the song goes/feels.

 

[CaptainStoner]

I've had my electric Fender Starcaster guitar for about 6 months now, and I have to confess I only know all of 4 songs for it. And they're not even popular ones. I'm still a beginner, and I know I should be taking this in baby frets, but I'm starting to get bored playing Lilium and Mr. Jones all the time. The problem is, most songs that I like are largely written for other instruments and/or far and away too complex for my skill level.

Can anybody recommend something that's fun and interesting to play on the guitar?

What the hell is a Starcaster?
Anyway, most any printed guitar/voice/piano books are greatly simplified, all first-position chords. So get a few books of artists you like and learn that way.
If it's piano music and it's in a flat key, use a capo and learn to transpose the chords.

 

[iBender]

We all have Capos, it's called our Index Fingers! (Being half serious there.)

 

[ITL]

What the hell is a Starcaster?

Fender semi-acoustic.

 

[Itisnotlogical]

^^

Is a semi-acoustic the same as an acoustic-electric? It makes a LITTLE sound when it's not plugged in, but you can't hear it if you just go into the other room. It has a solid body either way.

 

[CaptainStoner]

We all have Capos, it's called our Index Fingers! (Being half serious there.)

True enough, and some keys like Cm or B or F# have things going for them you don't get with the capo. But if it's something like Paul Simon's America, in Eb, I'll play it the way he did.

^^

Is a semi-acoustic the same as an acoustic-electric? It makes a LITTLE sound when it's not plugged in, but you can't hear it if you just go into the other room. It has a solid body either way.

Actually no, an acoustic-electric is any kind of normal acoustic guitar with a pickup installed, wheras a semi-acoustic is an electric instrument with a resonating chamber which colors the amplified sound.
But I wonder if your guitar is a "real" Starcaster, which would be a sweet vintage guitar, or one of the completely acceptable beginner guitars they've recently made with the Starcaster name.
Interesting guitar I wasn't aware of:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fender_Starcaster

 

[ITL]

^ Ah! I wasn't aware of the newer one.

 

[iBender]

We all have Capos, it's called our Index Fingers! (Being half serious there.)

... I'll play it the way he did.

Touché.

 

[Star Wolf]

Assuming you don't jam with anyone then pick a song you like, listen to a recording of it and attempt to play along. These days if it was a hit someone has giving you a head start by posting chord sheets and tabs on free internet sites.

By to complex, do you mean a signature lick, riff or lead line is above your skill level or when attempting to play chords it doesn't have any convenient open strings?

 

[Pingfah]

Personally I would say that however much time you are spending learning other people's songs, split it in half and spend half that time learning to play the instrument instead.

Do your scales, learn chord structures independently of learning songs, then your scope for learning other peope's music will be vastly broadened much more quickly.

Assuming you are not already doing that of course.

 

[Davros]

Can anybody recommend something that's fun and interesting to play on the guitar?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twgwDQrP1ok
Frank Zappa Apostrophe

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gyp8Us-ixkk
Malaguena Salarosa by Chingon

 

[iBender]

I'm actually going to go out on a limb and say Don't Speak by No Doubt is in Standard E on the Guitar, (Either that or Eb)... I should know this, I'll figure it out soon though.

 

[marillion]

Rush is the standard that all aspiring guitarists should go by.. (IMHO, of course)..

Red Barchetta is a fun song with lots of cool hooks and harmonics..

And then, if you're really ambitious, there is this... Sigh..

La Villa Strangiato

 

[Pingfah]

And then, if you're really ambitious, there is this... Sigh..

La Villa Strangiato

I was watching that thinking, hey this looks pretty easy! Until it got to about 3.50.

 

[ITL]

^ Apparently Billy Corgan taught himself to play the whole thing - and it took him ages.

 

[iBender]

N.E.R.D - Lapdance

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cyh32i1rJLU[/yt]

This song, in standard E, low E string frets:

1 - Open - 1 - 1 - 2 - 2 - 3
1 - Open - 1 - 1 - 2 - 2 - 3
1 - Open - 1 - 1 - 2 - 2 - 3
Open - Open - Open - Open - Open - Open (and repeat)

Is soo easy, I figure my cat would be able to play it.

(It'll help if you know/heard of the song too.)

 

[stoneroses]

Go here: http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/