So, I've been playing for just under 2 months, so I don't expect to become Flea anytime soon, but I was wondering if there were any songs that were good to practice to help improve general skill. I'm a beginner, so they should be fairly simple, but challenging enough to help me improve. It's a plus if they sound cool. Any help is appreciated.
My idea of easy is Happy Birthday, Some Where Over the Rainbow, Mary Had a Little Lamb, but I'm sure that is not what you have in mind. Let Google find some sheet music on something
you will enjoy learning.
The best songs to practice IMO are the ones you already can whistle the melody to. Songs you already know and like. Call up some sheet music on one of your favorites. Only takes a few minutes looking at the sheet music to tell if you can play that song. If not call up another. Sheet music, yep, learn how to play from sheet music. Tabs IMO don't tell you enough to be of help; see if you can function with standard notation or fake chord sheet music. I have never had a band director give me standard notation sheet music its all fake chord. Kinda important you learn how to play from fake chord. Fake chord - you are given the chord name and the lyrics and you fake it from there... Forces you to compose your own bass lines. Ed Friedland's book Building Walking Bass Lines is worth your time.
Google these key words; Chords, "name of the song". That will normally pull up fake chord sheet music on the song. Armed with the chords call up someone playing the song -- Video, "name of the song". See what you can do with this.
Invalid Link Removed Take it easy chords and lyrics. Notice how the song starts off with the G chord and each verse ends with the G chord. When this happens you can bet the farm the sheet music for this song is in the key of G. Is that important to know? May not be right now with only 2 months under your belt, but, yes its always a good idea to know what key you are to play the song in.
Google The Eagles playing Take it easy. When they stop singing and start jamming how are you going to know when the chord changes come? I pound tonic roots and stay out of their way. Laying down a beat with the drummer and let them have the stage. When they go back to the lyrics I then go back to the chord progression. After you've played the song as many times as they have you'll be able to jam the chord progression along with them.
Print off the chord chart that has the lyrics. Have this in front of you as you listen to the video. Recite the lyrics as you listen to the song, pay attention to the chord change word; what syllable did the change come on? Yes, you want to nail the chord change. I make all kinds of notes in the margins of the sheet music to help with the flow. Listen to the song with the sheet music in hand
several times to get a feel for the rhythm. Then go pick up your instrument.
Right at first be happy with just
Roots and play those roots to the kick drum's groove. Can't hear the kick drum? Your ear is not yet trained to zero in on the kick, will have to work on that. Listen beyond all the other stuff and zero in on the kick drum - that is going to take some practice - when listening to music concentrate on identifying the kick's pattern, it'll come you just have to work at it. What the kick drum is doing is how you should play your bass line notes for this song. The kick drum is the bare bone rhythm you should lock in with. When the guys talk about locking with the groove this is what they are speaking about.
Read this several times and let it sink in. Take this "music burger" in little bites, enough to satisfy your hunger, but, not so much at one time that it makes you sick. Enough here to keep you busy for several months....
Have fun. Ask specific questions someone will answer.
