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  • trying my first song !

    Posted by Ryan_1cor13 on July 2, 2021 at 8:08 am

    73 days in a row (regardless of what the counter claims) and I’m starting to get things enough that a friend who has played 40 years convinced me to try and learn a song !

    My best guess is it will take me a couple weeks to get it down.

    working on Dust in the Wind and it uses so many of the things that TAC has been teaching … I still need a LOT more practice but still having a ball

    Guitargeezer-Jack replied 3 years, 7 months ago 8 Members · 9 Replies
  • 9 Replies
  • Loraine

    Member
    July 2, 2021 at 10:16 am

    Great win @Ryan_1cor13 Dust in the Wind is a fantastic song to learn!

    • Ryan_1cor13

      Member
      July 6, 2021 at 3:39 pm

      thanks !

      I’ve been practicing the intro for 4 days now. I think it may be a few weeks before I et there 😀

      but just 75 days ago I couldn’t play one chord or lick so … even if it takes longer I’ll keep at it and know it will get there eventually

  • Crabby

    Member
    July 6, 2021 at 8:11 pm

    I am working on dust in the wind myself. It is not a super complex song but it is not a beginners song either. If you like finger picking give it a go but I would say don’t get discouraged if it doesn’t come quickly.

    Don’t discount the value of learning some simpler songs too. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

  • Alisa

    Member
    July 7, 2021 at 5:01 am

    Great win! The first song is so exciting! I agree with @Crabby; if you start with a too tricky song, it can be frustrating and discouraging. I know because I did that, lol. After curbing my ego, I found some more straightforward songs to start with, and now I’m having fun learning a song in a day or two. I’d recommend that for fast(er) gratification 😁 Check out yesterday’s Acoustic Tuesday show; Tony showed how you could play Wheel Wagon in different styles: from beginner to advanced.

  • Cadgirl

    Member
    July 7, 2021 at 5:47 am

    @Ryan_1cor13 good luck with “Dust in the Wind”. This is a song that will help you learn Travis picking and get good at it (and travis picking is used in a lot of songs). After your fingers learn the pattern then you can work on speed. Hey! Today is goal day isn’t it? This would be a great 90 day goal.

  • Bill_Brown

    Member
    July 7, 2021 at 9:56 am

    Hi @Ryan_1cor13 , you got this man👍, it’s hard to learn and memorize music and words. It may take longer than you think, but slow and steady wins the race.

    Agree with @Crabby and @Alisa , discouragement could creep in and you may need to take a break. Learning simpler songs at that point isn’t a bad way to go, then come back to the other song. A nice easy song that I learned (when I was frustrated learning some Beatles tunes) is “Horse With No Name” – easy, 2 chords, just had to memorize the words.

    Best of luck

    • Crabby

      Member
      July 7, 2021 at 11:01 am

      Great recommendation by Bill. It is pretty simple but the strumming pattern will take a little effort. But it is lots of fun.

      Even if you can’t sing along with it, which I can’t, it still sounds like “A Horse With No Name”.

      Early on singing and playing at the same time can be tough. Now I can sing along with some songs but not with this one because the strumming pattern still takes a lot of focus.

      Skills you will learn

      How to do a strumming pattern that goes for two bars

      How to mute strings

      • This reply was modified 3 years, 7 months ago by  Crabby.
  • johnny67

    Member
    July 7, 2021 at 12:01 pm

    Great win! learning songs is so much fun

  • Guitargeezer-Jack

    Member
    July 7, 2021 at 3:39 pm

    @Ryan_1cor13 – Indeed, it is a fantastic & very doable early song to master. You are correct the song by Kansas is a good one to apply lessons learned in TAC. I have been working on it too as I am about where you are in my TAC journey. I have found the simplified version of “Hotel California” another one worth tackling. Play on Ryan!

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