Ideas greatly appreciated!

ShredderMaximus · #1 01-25-2011, 02:21 AM

Well first of thought I'd tell you guys this isn't exactly bass related, but sorta is since I'm actually a bassist. Now for my question, I recently had a major karma payoff I guess and found a brand new Jackson JS-20 guitar out by the dumpster of my apartment complex (shwiiing!) and have been enjoying playing it and recording a bunch of cool metal covers that I always wanted to do on my laptop. But the other day, while visiting my mom who is getting married in june, she asked me if I could play some songs at the wedding on guitar... but gave me no idea on what she would like, so I was wondering if anyone had any good ideas for songs to play at a wedding? I can't really think of anything but I have 6 months to practice and really want to find something really nice. I've written 1 song already but some nice covers that people would know would be awesome. Any help is greatly appreciated since this is very important for me and this isn't exactly my "forte" (guitar or softer type music), so thanks again in advance!

Plays_For_Dog · #2 01-25-2011, 02:39 AM

"Everything Ends" by Slipknot...

Sorry I can't provide constructive suggestions. Maybe ask her? Or dig through her music collection and pick something.

lenosgood · #3 01-25-2011, 02:44 AM

Jailhouse Rock...

ShredderMaximus · #4 01-25-2011, 03:12 AM

ha ha, great suggestions so far, but maybe a little more optimistic?

Phalex · #5 01-25-2011, 06:33 AM

Have I told you lately....... (Van Morrison)

JTE · #6 01-25-2011, 08:09 AM

"Here, There, And Everywhere" by The Beatles (but don't overlook Emmylou Harris' great version which I like better than The Fab's).

"The Wedding Song" by Paul Stookey

"First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" by Roberta Flack

"Give Me Love" by Angela Strehli

Let It Rain" by Eric Clapton

"Can't Help Falling In Love" Elvis

"Maybe I'm Amazed" Paul McCartney

"At Last" Etta James

"I Want You To Want Me" Cheap Trick

"Whole Lotta Love" John Paul Jones, Bonzo, and two annoying guys...

Well, maybe those last two aren't quite right, but maybe...

John

JTE · #7 01-25-2011, 08:10 AM

Only thing is, can you play at a wedding with a pointy guitar?

John

plangentmusic · #8 01-25-2011, 08:14 AM

Her favorite song? Something you can sing?

Can't go wrong with "I Can't Help Falling In Love." Simple, everyone likes it and it's appropriate.

lbwdog · #9 01-25-2011, 08:23 AM

Can you sing too?

Well, back in the romantic days of my first (of three) wedding, before I became so freakin' cynical, I had "You And I" by Stevie Wonder (Talking Book album). It really is a beautiful song with great sentiment, but hard as hell to sing!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOW2UfvWWAE

ShredderMaximus · #10 01-25-2011, 10:36 AM

Wow! thanks alot guys, lots of good material for me to go over here, but to answer the other question, no I cannot sing for the life of me, instrumentals only. And to JTE, even though it has a pointy headstock, my moms seen it herself and said she thought it was quite "pretty," it has a gorgeous transparent red finish, though no locking nut or anything and if I as much as look at the tremolo bar funny its tuning goes kaplooey

... but you can't beat free!

jlane72t · #11 01-25-2011, 11:02 AM

Not in any way to denegrate your playing....but....you may want to consider passing on this gig.

Maybe you're an awesome guitarist, I don't know. Maybe your mom will be thrilled to have her son perform at her wedding because...that's what love is about. I love to hear my daughter sing.

But ALSO keep in the back of your mind that a wedding is a really high-profile gig where a (probably sizeable) audience is looking at you and expecting a certain caliber of playing...and solo guitar at a wedding vs pulling a Jackson guitar out of a dumpster and recording some metal covers in your bedroom are very different experiences.

Again, what do I know, maybe you're Yngwie. I'm just saying, before you commit and folks are expecting to see you....think about how you will handle it if the situation goes badly.

Pilgrim · #12 01-25-2011, 11:02 AM

Why don't you ask here what she wants to hear? She may not have said, but that doesn't mean you can't ask.

ShredderMaximus · #13 01-25-2011, 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jlane72t

Not in any way to denegrate your playing....but....you may want to consider passing on this gig.

Maybe you're an awesome guitarist, I don't know. Maybe your mom will be thrilled to have her son perform at her wedding because...that's what love is about. I love to hear my daughter sing.

But ALSO keep in the back of your mind that a wedding is a really high-profile gig where a (probably sizeable) audience is looking at you and expecting a certain caliber of playing...and solo guitar at a wedding vs pulling a Jackson guitar out of a dumpster and recording some metal covers in your bedroom are very different experiences.

Again, what do I know, maybe you're Yngwie. I'm just saying, before you commit and folks are expecting to see you....think about how you will handle it if the situation goes badly.

I've considered this, but to clarify, I'm not exactly going to be the playing the music for the entire show, (as they are getting a professional DJ) only a simple song or two tops as a present for my mom, and also I've only ever tooled around with guitar here and there just a little bit, but I've been playing bass for around 6 years now and have actually been surprising myself at how quickly I've been picking up guitar, especially for having to learn how to correctly use a pick and all. Definitely no Yngwie Malmsteen (never thought I'd see that name on these forums) but I also have 6 months to get a song or 2 down, which I think should be do-able.

Quote:

pulling a Jackson guitar out of a dumpster

just to clarify, guitar was sitting in a box in front of the dumpster, I guess some people find dumpster diving to be a rewarding hobby, but I'd rather not... Thanks again for the input guys/gals! Like title says all input is greatly appreciated!

JTE · #14 01-25-2011, 11:34 AM

OK, no vocals, so it's gotta be something where the melody is instantly recognizable. Do you know anything about rudimentary chord melody? At it's basic you work out the melody on the first two strings (preferably the first string) and then put the chord under it. If so, that can be very cool. But even if it's just playing the melody without any hip arrangement, that can be very workable for a son to play for his mother at the wedding.

You've got about four months to prepare so ask Mom what she'd like, and see what you can work out.

John

ShredderMaximus · #15 01-25-2011, 01:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JTE

OK, no vocals, so it's gotta be something where the melody is instantly recognizable. Do you know anything about rudimentary chord melody? At it's basic you work out the melody on the first two strings (preferably the first string) and then put the chord under it. If so, that can be very cool. But even if it's just playing the melody without any hip arrangement, that can be very workable for a son to play for his mother at the wedding.

You've got about four months to prepare so ask Mom what she'd like, and see what you can work out.

John

Indeed I do, one thing I've always enjoyed playing with, especially since I have a guitar now, is experimenting with different harmonies/melodies and such (I say especially with guitar since you can do more before you have a giant muddy mess) and though I play metal I draw alot of inspiration from classical and whatnot. And also I'm not trying to wow anyone with my musical abilities, just trying to find something really nice and classy to play. The one song I wrote is just mainly major style arpeggios and pedal tone style riffs at 70 bpm, nothing shredder in the least. The one thing I know I really have to work on that I have sorta been trying to avoid so far are fretting chords, I have enough musical knowledge to piece them together, but actually play them and transitioning smoothly is by far the hardest part for me, I guess I just have to build the muscle memory which I'm sure just takes time. Thanks for the great reinforcing reply, I am fairly confident that I can pull something at least fairly decent off.

Stingray89 · #16 01-25-2011, 04:07 PM

Fields of Gold-Sting
You don't have to remember the words, just mumble them like he does and say fields of gold during the chorus.

MatticusMania · #17 01-25-2011, 05:11 PM

Find out your Mother & her Fiance's favorite song, or their first dance song, and play that.

Had you been playing at my upcoming wedding you could have grabbed a friend and played Santo & Johnny's 'Sleepwalk' together.

ShredderMaximus · #18 01-25-2011, 05:21 PM

I tried again to ask my mom for a clue and again she told me to pick something, AARRGH. Was checkin out fields of gold then remembered that she has specifically said how much she hates Sting, so i guess thats out, even though I was getting some cool ideas for it, oh well. Actually got some time now to go over some of the other songs you guys have mentioned, hopefully I can find the right one...

ShredderMaximus · #19 01-25-2011, 05:26 PM

BTW Matticus, is your avatar some kind of demented Rocko? I used to love that show as a kid, I remember when it first came out and they would re-run that first episode with the crazy giant vacuum over and over again, and I watched it everytime, they don't make cartoons like they used to anymore. haha, I still catch myself saying "THAT WAS A HOOT!" every now and then

blues.bass · #20 01-25-2011, 05:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShredderMaximus

Was checkin out fields of gold then remembered that she has specifically said how much she hates Sting

Do it. Tell your Mom that its the Eva Cassidy version... which is way better than Stings IMHO.