"Easy" songs that ... aren't quite as easy as you thought!

[Phil M]

You know, the ones that sound like you could play them in your sleep--until you actually sit down with it.

I agreed to learn the song Down by 311 for a jam/audition. I hadn't heard the song in awhile but I remember it being a 3 or 4 power chord song. No leads, no crazy single note lines. Sure, give me that one and 7 or 8 others!

Well the song is simple and just consists of a few power chords and riffs. That isn't the trouble. It's the mixing up of the order of the parts and all the starts, stops and stutters. There is also some kind of weird timing on the little breakdown that occurs in the middle of the song and the end. Oh, and those two instances aren't identical either and end at different points in the sequence. I am going to botch that one for sure...maybe I'm too much of a perfectionist but I was expecting a 2 minute learning curve.

What are yours?

[wootbetogod]

I'd have to say "Through the Fire and Flames" by DragonForce sounded much easier. I was thinking. . .meh, I'll give this five or six minutes. Man, was I surprised when 10 minutes had gone by and I was just wrapping up. Shew!

Seriously though, for some reason I had trouble getting the ending of Knights of Cydonia by Muse. It's not technically difficult by any means, but my fingers and picking hand just didn't want to get together on the rhythm of the "no one's going to take me alive" part.

[Zero G]

I always thought the rhythm parts on Eric Johnson's 'Manhattan' were pretty simple/easy, until I tried to learn it. It's a great workout for the left hand, but it is tricky transitioning between some of the chords.

[Lance]

I always thought the rhythm parts on Eric Johnson's 'Manhattan' were pretty simple/easy, until I tried to learn it. It's a great workout for the left hand, but it is tricky transitioning between some of the chords.


Aaaah, but the REALLY tricky thing is figuring out where you throw the slide, so you can find it again later, LOL!!! Sorry, could not resist.

For me it has been Ed DeGenaro's Ave D. I didn't think it would be THAT difficult, but after bashing my head against it for about 3 weeks now, I still ain't got it.

[Phil M]

LOL, EJ and Ed Degenaro?! OK, my example was sh(tty compared to those ... and my issues probably came more from having to cram more songs in than I had time for.

Anyway, we tried out a couple of singers and my parts and timing were fine for that.

[cram]

LOL, EJ and Ed Degenaro?! OK, my example was sh(tty compared to those ... and my issues probably came more from having to cram more songs in than I had time for.

Anyway, we tried out a couple of singers and my parts and timing were fine for that.

Really though... cram is not a word.

Most songs are easy to flub through for me. It's the subtle stuff in even the most simple tunes that I find myself working hard to employ.

[aroman]

"Oh Wel"l by Fleetwood Mac.

[vinceh]

"Cause we ended as Lovers" by Jeff Beck.

[Phil M]

Really though... cram is not a word.

LOL! That one took me a minute ... then I saw your user handle.

Most songs are easy to flub through for me. It's the subtle stuff in even the most simple tunes that I find myself working hard to employ.

Exactly. That's what I run into when I'm given 5-10 new songs to learn in a week.

[Stacatto]

Lynyrd Skynyrd stuff is great for beginners to work at, though plenty of work!

[nls21]

blues in general. i sort of blew past it in my youth. i learned the pentatonic scale and i thought that was it. but now going back and appreciating the difficultly and playing it correctly

[GBStratman]

"Oh Wel"l by Fleetwood Mac.

Agree. Also Possum Kingdom by the Toadies. Dead simple chords, but took me a while to figure out that it alternates between 7/4 and 8/4 measures.

[Phil M]

Agree. Also Possum Kingdom by the Toadies. Dead simple chords, but took me a while to figure out that it alternates between 7/4 and 8/4 measures.

Yeah, you really have to keep your head in the game. It gets a little boring and after awhile you may wonder, "Wait, do I do it once or twice on this one?"

It took me awhile to get the chord sequence in that middle/bridge part too. In fact, I think I've forgotten it again. ;)

[JB Eckl]

Anything from Led Zeppelin II. That stuff doesn't sound hard to play, but try getting it to sound like the record and it gets a bit involved.

[cram]

LOL! That one took me a minute ... then I saw your user handle.


Exactly. That's what I run into when I'm given 5-10 new songs to learn in a week.

back at you man! :)
It's actually my name backwards.

[Aj_rocker]

any think paul jackson jr.

[try as i might]

Right now, I am trying to work through Power of Soul by Hendrix. I am amazed by how many little/substantial rythmic changes go through that entire song.

#2: Trying to get thr Revernd down. Everytime I play him, I think, "oh yeah, I nailed it." Than I play his song again and I think, "Wow... no I don't. What was that little change he did there?"

#3: Albert King. Just wow. It is soooo hard for me to get his sound. I saw Buddy Guy live and he did this thing where he copies other players' sounds and then plays off them. He NAILED Albert's sound. I watched it... I watched him do it... and I still can't get it.

[monstermike]

The Beatles.

[iamstooky]

John Mayer's "Slow Dancing in a Burning Room" was somewhat difficult at first. Sounded simple enough. The more you listen to the live and studio record, the more you begin to notice that your tone is all wrong along with the mutes.

SRV's Lenny was also a lot harder than i thought it would be. It got really difficult for me to lean my arm on the trem bar while picking at the same time. not exactly sure why.