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Guitar chord forum - chordie → Acoustic → im stuck in a deep hole...kind of
hey ive been playing guitar for about five years now and ive hit a rut. not in my playing but ive ost intrest in all the songs in my song book (some 44 songs)
mainly beatles and other oldies. i need a few suggestions to help me along.
thnx alot
Hi
If youve lost interest it could be because they have become boring to play are you playing the original arrangements all the time and if so why not make your own arrangements and experiment with different chord structures and beats give it some originality regards Davejang
I'm dealing with the same thing. I've got a collection (printed) of about 250 songs and can play some better than others. Every time I turn the page of my songbook I feel uninspired.
I now get a buzz from messing around with my own structures and shapes to create some verses and chorus and if I'm feeling especially creative, I;lll note down some lyrics that I think up (I'm not a singer, though).
I have found I have gone back to listening to music more again and trying my own stuff on the guitar. If you like The Beatles then you already know what a great song sounds like. Try not to think it;s too hard, coz it should be fun.
Had a bad day at work, school or a dodgy weekend? Write a verse about it and stick some chords to to or a riff and see what happens. Mine sound like crap but it's fun tryin'......
<table border="0" align="center" width="90%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td class="SmallText"><b>sanguine wrote on Thu, 12 October 2006 22:36</b></td></tr><tr><td class="quote">
hey ive been playing guitar for about five years now and ive hit a rut. not in my playing but ive ost intrest in all the songs in my song book (some 44 songs)
mainly beatles and other oldies. i need a few suggestions to help me along.
thnx alot
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i havent read the opther two replies but iam sure they are good.
Why not go into other people public songbooks in chordie and see what others have in theirs then copy songs into your songbook.
I have a few song book with about 200 odd songs online in chordie, I also have 3 books printed out that go into clear sleaved pockets. Got about 150 songs in them.
But I still look for new ones all the time.
Ken
Two easy answers.
Get some new songs.
Write your own songs.
I gotta think the latter will give you more pleasure.
Hello sanguine - playing should be fun, but it is hard to find good/new/fun songs to play if you only listen to commercial pop radio - way too many stupid commercials, stupid tunes, and stupid deejays on 'regular' radio stations.
Chances are, you just haven't heard anything lately that really inspires you like you were when you first started to play - - but there is a cure for that!
If you live near a university, there is probably a campus radio station where they play 'better' music. They may also broadcast some excellent syndicated music programs that focus on music of merit.
One of the best syndicated music programs is "World Cafe with David Dye". The show spotlights new and emerging artists as well as some musicians that are more well known. The show is also syndicated on some Public Radio stations. Here is a link:
<a href="http://www.xpn.org/worldcafe.php" target="_blank">http://www.xpn.org/worldcafe.php</a>
Most college radio stations are also available via web-casts. I often hear great stuff that inspires me to want to learn a song on our local college station (WMSV Mississippi State University).
I also have some thick binders full of great old songs - much of it vintage stuff from the years of my youth. But there is some wonderful stuff that is more current . . . it's just stuff that you probably won't hear on 'regular' radio.
Hope this helps - another idea . . . meet some other folks who play and get together for fun. If you are a musical masturbator (only play with yourself), find some collaborators and have fun playing with each other.
singinig has never been a problem and chords are my thing not riffs or tabs. buuut i like what you said and i so like to make up my own songs....then i get frustrated i cant make up words...at all it just doesnr work. like ive got a tune stuck in my head but the words are just a backround hum meaningless sound do you understand?
hmmm interesting thing to say...the only problem is that i live in the middle of no where (nebraska) there arent any real good radio stations withg music i like (oldies mainly). the other thin is im new in town and unknown and largely disliked or 'tolerated' by my peers so that is not really a possibiblty at the moment but thnx any way
<table border="0" align="center" width="90%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td class="SmallText"><b>sanguine wrote on Sun, 15 October 2006 06:24</b></td></tr><tr><td class="quote">
hmmm interesting thing to say...the only problem is that i live in the middle of no where (nebraska) there arent any real good radio stations withg music i like (oldies mainly). the other thin is im new in town and unknown and largely disliked or 'tolerated' by my peers so that is not really a possibiblty at the moment but thnx any way
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You can get good radio on the internet, too.
KEXP in Seattle is a great station that is always playing new music. KGSR in Austin plays nothing but good music. They both have streaming feeds availble.
If you have your own melodies and chords - that is wonderful! Don't worry about the words too much. Save those tunes and chord changes on tape somehow . . . you will want them later.
Although song writing can be a very frustrating process, I am finding that my songs typically have a very simple lyrical starting point - - - it might be just a phrase or a couple of words, or it might be a line ot two that feels good to say.
For me, songs don't just spew forth fully formed - but once I have found that lyrical starting point, suddenly the song has direction and purpose.
<table border="0" align="center" width="90%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td class="SmallText"><b>James McCormick wrote on Sun, 15 October 2006 13:38</b></td></tr><tr><td class="quote">
Although song writing can be a very frustrating process, I am finding that my songs typically have a very simple lyrical starting point - - - it might be just a phrase or a couple of words, or it might be a line ot two that feels good to say.
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For me it's the exact opposite. It usually starts with a little bit of melody or chord progression. I'm not really good with lyrics, but once I figure out how I want it to sound, I can usually work something in that doesn't sound to contrived. But like you, once it starts, it all tends to come out at once. It might take me two days to get started, but only two hours to finish.
I've read some of the lyrics you put into the songwriter's contest, and enjoyed them a lot.
tushe. but hear this, my computer SUCKS it goes at about 1 mile an hour compared to 100 miles an hour other pcs seem to go. it seems that ill have to go other ideas to find inspiring music
Songwriting seems to be the general answer to getting bored....I read all the replies to your original message and that's what I got out of them. So the topic really now turns to songwriting: is it really that simple that those of us with little formal music education and knowledge can do it? I guess I've always been more a poet than a songwriter, and never thought of it as being a lyricist versus being a chord/melody guy. Now (after several years of teaching myself some guitar and a little theory -- circle of fifths, making a 7th and a minor chord, learning some basic blues and rock progressions -- do you folks think its time to marry the two and write a song??? Is there some trick to knowing where in a melody a certain chord would go well? Obviously stick to the key (at first), then there's the tried and true (but often boring) classic structures (Duke of Earl for example). Are there any further tricks other than "what sounds good?"
<table border="0" align="center" width="90%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td class="SmallText"><b>Baba30 wrote on Mon, 23 October 2006 03:02</b></td></tr><tr><td class="quote">
is it really that simple that those of us with little formal music education and knowledge can do it?
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Well yeah! You aren't putting together an opera just yet, and modern music is pretty basic.
Start with a 12 bar blues. Write some clever lyrics about how your baby don't love you no more, or your dog running off, or something. Because you're playing a blues, you don't have to write the music, as it's already been written for you.
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Are there any further tricks other than "what sounds good?"
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Start with well recognised musical forms. 12 and 16 bar blues. Three chord wonders are wonderful!
And practice a lot.
Guitar chord forum - chordie → Acoustic → im stuck in a deep hole...kind of
