Dylan Posted March 21, 2002 Share Posted March 21, 2002 I'm starting to teach guitar lessons to some young teenage kids and was hoping to pick some brains on good, easy songs to teach a beginner. So far, my first student is only interested in learning AC/DC tunes, but he's not quite there technically to play most of their songs, so I am hoping to get some other ideas of good starter tunes. I'm talking mostly open chords with very few changes. Any recommendations? We're not going to do Stairway yet, so don't mention it ! Ideally, the songs will be fairly new and rockin' so I can keep it interesting. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tedster Posted March 21, 2002 Share Posted March 21, 2002 "Enter Sandman" HAHAHAHAHA... NO-OOOOOOO!!!! Just kidding. No, seriously, I'd teach them (if it were me) a bunch of stuff using open chords that they can play along to on the radio. If they are rank beginners, tunes like "Had a Bad Day" by Fuel, "Then You Really Might Know What It's Like (to sing the blues)"...and things like that will get them changing their open chords. I feel (and perhaps this is me) that it's necessary to give beginners a good solid background in open chords. Too many start out with two note power chords, and then that's all they can play. I keep 'em in open chords until they can handle full barre chords. And, IMHO...don't let 'em drop D until they can do standard tuning. Others that they might know with simple open chord progressions that come to mind... That Eagle Eye Cherry tune.. Runaround (Blues Traveler) Mr. Jones (Counting Crows) A lot of Matchbox 20 stuff, some Train, Sister Hazel, stuff like that. OH YEAH..."You shook me all night long" is open chords, just G, C, D...so they can hit some AC/DC. Okay, so it's not metal. But, it'll get 'em playing open chords. "Cisco Kid, was a friend of mine" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Virtual Jim Posted March 21, 2002 Share Posted March 21, 2002 New songs: Nirvana - Polly Nirvana - Pennyroyal Tea Local H - Bound For the Floor Local H - Keep Your Girlfriend Away From Me Queens of the Stone Age - Feel Good Hit of the Summer Collective Soul - Gel Alice In Chains - Angry Chair Old songs: Sex Pistols - Anarchy In the UK The Cars - Moving In Stereo The Kinks - You Really Got Me (not the VH version) The Kinks - I Need You The Yardbirds - Train Kept A Rollin' (w/o the solos) Led Zeppelin - How Many More Times (you'd have to dumb it down a bit for certain parts, but it'd work; plus it'd be a great teaching tool for feal) Really easy AC/DC songs: Highway To Hell Big Balls It's A Long Way To the Top Give It Up/Satellite Blues (it's the same riff. surprising for AC/DC, don't you think?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollykin Posted March 21, 2002 Share Posted March 21, 2002 "Sweet Dreams", and "Coma White" by Marilyn Manson. Yeah, hes a loser, evil, etc... but kids like him (I do) But yeah - if theyre metalheads, they might enjoy that. "Money, Bitchez and Cheese!" http://www.playspoon.com/nollykin/files/voxline.gif "I never thought about it, and I never stopped to feel - But I didn't want you telling me just what to think was real. And as simple as it comes, I only wanted to express- ...But with expression comes regret - and I don't want you hating me." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chip McDonald Posted March 21, 2002 Share Posted March 21, 2002 Easiest/best first song: Eagles "Take it Easy" Newer songs: Santana "Light On" (or whatever that song is titled...) Greenday - "Time of Your Life" Guitar Lessons in Augusta Georgia: www.chipmcdonald.com Eccentric blog: https://chipmcdonaldblog.blogspot.com/ / "big ass windbag" - Bruce Swedien Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Posted March 21, 2002 Author Share Posted March 21, 2002 These are some great suggestions guys, thanks! I forget what songs were easy for me to learn when I started since it seems like it was so long ago , so it's good to have a refresher. I mostly play classic rock-style music, so everything I know is dated by today's standards. Thanks again and keep em coming . -Dylan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baronedo Posted March 21, 2002 Share Posted March 21, 2002 Try "Hey Joe" by Jimi Hendrix. All of the chords can be played in the open position for a beginner (Jimi played some chords open but moved to other inversions on the record while frequently interjecting chordal melody riffs throughout the song). The following chord progression is repeated for the entire song in a slow 4/4 rock beat : (each "|" equals a measure mark or "bar"): |: C G | D A | E | E :| You could teach this as a simple chord moving drill for starters and as they get more experienced, the students could build upon it with chordal melodies, riffs, etc. E Minor and E Major penatonic scales can be used to structure riffs in the song. Hendrix's tasty and memorable guitar solo in Hey Joe was played in E Minor Penatonic, structured around the 6th string Root Blues Box starting on the 12th fret. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Worthington Posted March 21, 2002 Share Posted March 21, 2002 "Paranoid" - Black Sabbath I taught this to beginner bass players; would be just as good for beginners learning barre chords. It's dead simple rhythmically, but good practice at playing steady eighth notes. And it's easy for them to learn the entire song. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tedster Posted March 22, 2002 Share Posted March 22, 2002 Hey, Dill, Just out of curiosity, what does this guy know already? Is he a total virgin player, or does he already know some open chords? "Cisco Kid, was a friend of mine" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gator Wing Posted March 22, 2002 Share Posted March 22, 2002 Old: Brown-eyed Girl by Van Morrison New (relatively): Crazy for this Girl by Evan and Jaron There are two theories about arguing with a woman. Neither one works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Virtual Jim Posted March 22, 2002 Share Posted March 22, 2002 Just make sure Paranoid is played correctly in the 12th position... unless the guitar's intonation sucks or the frets need redressing in which case the 7th position will probably sound better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiveMusic Posted March 27, 2002 Share Posted March 27, 2002 I ran across a reference to this book and thought of this thread. It's "Favorite Songs With 3 Chords" and it's sold by MusicDispatch.com. It's in their catalog that I received, which has HUNDREDS of instruction books listed. I can't vouch for that book, it looks like it has songs like many other instruction books. But, FWIW, there it is. But you can call 1-800-637-2852 and they'll probably send you a catalog. > > > [ Live! ] < < < Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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