What to play on guitar

December 26, 2018 4:19 PM

Thanks to you all I have been learning guitar since about April. I'm making progress and taking lessons. I'd love your ideas for songs to practice as an advanced beginner that are not by White Rock Dudes. Thanks!

If you google: "Intermediate guitar songs" or whatnot, you will get a wall of rock dude songs as suggestions. I do ask my teacher for suggestions and he has good ones! But his taste trends Americana/alt-country/classic blues it seems, which I totally dig, but would like a bit more variety in terms of genre and also to learn more songs by non-dudes, so I'd love your ideas for songs I can take on as an advanced beginner/low intermediate acoustic guitar player. I am trying a little basic finger picking and also trying to learn some different strum patterns.

- I am open to all genres, but your list of classic rock genre songs is very easy for me to find online
- I like classic soul and Motown better than classic rock
- I'd be interested to try some classical stuff or simple jazz
- I'd love to learn to play some hooks from hip hop classics!
- I would like to learn more songs written and performed by women
- I want to learn songs that give me opportunities to practice new chords or techniques

I don't need links to tabs or whatever (although that would be cool) just names of songs that would be learnable for someone at my level. I can research from there or ask my teacher to tab it for me.

Thanks!

posted by latkes to Education (12 answers total)

When I was taking guitar I played Sea of Love, All of Me, and It's All Right With Me.


You might be interested in Sister Rosetta Tharp, Joni Mitchell, and Dar Williams.

More ideas.

Sorry some of these are just ideas for performers and not specific songs, but if you're like me digging into artists that excite you will guide you to songs that you want to explore. Many songs have multiple interpretations from the virtuosic to the simple, so just because the stage performance version seems too advanced for the moment doesn't mean there's not a version out there that you can't tackle and find satisfying. I've had guitar teachers work with me to come up with playable arrangements of songs I really wanted to take on.
posted by bunderful at 4:36 PM on December 26, 2018 [3 favorites]

You game for something folky / filky / fantasy / pagan / American singer-songwriter / Sad LadyBoner Diaries? Check out S. J. Tucker.

Arrangements vary from ice cream chords to intermediate. She has an extensive discography, all of which you can listen to for free.

Here's a representative sample.
posted by sourcequench at 4:43 PM on December 26, 2018

Still very much alt country ish americana but very much not a man - Mia Dyson. She can play.
posted by deadwax at 5:10 PM on December 26, 2018

If you have any interest in alternate tunings, JoniMitchell.com has transcriptions and tuning guides for lots of her songs. Playing in open tunings in general is a great way to experiment with different sounds, and to stop your fingers from falling into the same old chord patterns out of habit.
posted by Daily Alice at 5:23 PM on December 26, 2018

Play songs you enjoy. You can find tabs for just about anything, at https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/ in particular. If you can't read tabs, now you get to learn.
posted by humboldt32 at 6:17 PM on December 26, 2018

Here is a pretty good transcription of Easy People, by The Neilds. They're a now-defunct band from Northhampton, MA fronted by two sisters. Lovely songs, lovely harmonies. Folky with a bit of rock.
posted by bondcliff at 7:08 PM on December 26, 2018 [1 favorite]

If you're going down the fingerpicking trail, you can't go wrong with Elizabeth Cotten!
posted by TheCoug at 7:54 PM on December 26, 2018

Galileo and Closer to Fine are pretty easy to play the chords of and beloved by many people of a certain age.

I'd be interested to try some classical stuff

Very much a dead white dude, but check out John Dowland. Lachrimae Pavane (Flow My Tears) is one of his best known pieces and you can find adaptations with various levels of difficulty online. It also has lyrics if you feel like singing along.

They're [The Nields] a now-defunct band from Northhampton, MA fronted by two sisters.

Not defunct! Just moribund. They played a few shows this past fall.
posted by Candleman at 8:10 PM on December 26, 2018 [2 favorites]

some good Youtube channels for old soul and funk and R&B guitar lessons:

Eric Blackmon (try this playlist)
mnaicck
Morrisman Smith
posted by thelonius at 9:41 PM on December 26, 2018 [1 favorite]

Was also going to suggest Indigo Girls -- they have harmonies that are fun to sing as well.
posted by fiercecupcake at 7:38 AM on December 27, 2018

There's a terrific - and I mean truly awesome - song by Beth Orton called "Stolen Car." For a beginning/intermediate guitarist, it offers several takeaways:

1) It's a straightforward 4-chord progression that will allow you to explore accent notes, hammer-ons and other must-have tools of a guitarist.
2) The lyrical cadence is a bit off-beat, and learning to sing and play it (use a capo if you need to) will train your voice and hands to work together.
3) You can experiment with play style in the song - ring out the choruses, for example, but arpeggiate the verses (or vice versa - have fun with it!)

There are other songs like this, but when you said "non dudes" I immediately thought of this song. Hope you like it.
posted by Thistledown at 9:57 AM on December 27, 2018 [2 favorites]

Claire Hamill hasn't gotten near the kind of audience she deserves in America, despite this classic. Which, because it doesn't quite tick all your boxes, I might not have mentioned if not for this instructional site.

Wendy Waldman did Gringo en Mexico (also covered by Maria Muldaur and others), which might suit.
posted by BWA at 10:17 AM on December 27, 2018