• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join freeLog in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Have you ever played a song for a girl/guy?

Something like the Small Faces, Stay With Me? <<<{sarcasm font}

Now if you knew here very well AND had the right song, maybe probably. Otherwise, NO, Danger, Danger Will Robinson!!!

On the other hand, on our guitarist's anniversary we learned / played I Won't Give Up by Jason Mraz for his wife; she uh, really really really liked it. Oh, and we nailed it, too! But we knew it was their song.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DrThumpenstein
Years ago, my 6 or 7 year old niece spent the better part of a summer afternoon with me, and after she tired of Dr. Who VHS tapes, she asked me to play the guitar. We/she somehow decided we'd write songs together, so following her as best I could, that's what we did. She came up with a sad little-girl lament about a deceased cat, one Fudgitz, and something titled "If You Pick Your Nose It Will Bleed", among others. It was hilarious. I don't know who entertained who more, just that it was fun.

I know that story wasn't in keeping with the spirit of the thread, but technically, it was playing a song for a girl, and I like to tell it.

More to the point, yes, it's worked for me, but never if staged. And almost never if I was playing anything else other than what she/they wanted to hear. If I'm interested in a woman, and I happen to be playing music, I've already been expressing my feelings in all kinds of other ways, some of which I'm aware. Music is a great focal point for that sort of interaction. Just don't smash your guitar at the end.

Tom
 
  • Like
Reactions: VoodooJazz
As an example.



Keyboard player in my band. He had asked me out once, I told him I was shy about dating guys I worked with. A couple weeks later he comes into rehearsal with this song that he wanted me to sing. He'd never suggested a song for me prior to that and I didn't know what to make of it. It wasn't a hit, it wasn't particularly my style, we could have done the song but I couldn't figure out why he thought that particular song, out of all the songs he might have suggested, was the one to bring in. It seemed creepy.

Later on I caught that guy staking out my property, parked in his van just down the road from where I lived. It had become clear by then that he had an unhealthy obsession with me.

My suggestion again is to just be honest. It's way better than some of the alternatives she might imagine. Unless, of course, you're like 100% sure she's into you too.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: pcake and equill
As an example.



Keyboard player in my band. He had asked me out once, I told him I was shy about dating guys I worked with. A couple weeks later he comes into rehearsal with this song that he wanted me to sing. He'd never suggested a song for me prior to that and I didn't know what to make of it. It wasn't a hit, it wasn't particularly my style, we could have done the song but I couldn't figure out why he thought that particular song, out of all the songs he might have suggested, was the one to bring in. It seemed creepy.

Later on I caught that guy staking out my property, parked in his van just down the road from where I lived. It had become clear by then that he had an unhealthy obsession with me.


Wow. Yeah creepy, but bullet dodged. That song was a hit, back in 1964, by the Searchers(written by Jackie DeShannon)but covered often...

The thing is, it’s about mopey, unrequited love; technically, he should have been singing it to you(in theory)...weird enough, but the fact that he wanted to hear it from you is a whole new level of wrong. Was there a restraining order involved?
 
Wow. Yeah creepy, but bullet dodged. That song was a hit, back in 1964, by the Searchers(written by Jackie DeShannon)but covered often...

The thing is, it’s about mopey, unrequited love; technically, he should have been singing it to you(in theory)...weird enough, but the fact that he wanted to hear it from you is a whole new level of wrong. Was there a restraining order involved?

No, we just maintained an uneasy truce for as long as it was tenable. He was a very talented player and I didn't feel like it made sense to bring it to the attention of the other band members. In our professional space everything seemed like it was ok.

Eventually I did tire of the tension and I left the band after about three years. He never knew I caught him stalking me; I saw his van, which was unmistakeable, but I never confronted him about it.

There were also other weird things happening that were probably done by him, like phone hangups and weird answering machine messages back in the days before you knew who was on the other end, but I will never know for sure.
 
As someone who was a young girl long ago, I never liked it much when guys made me guess about their thoughts or feelings. If a guy played a song for me, I would wonder if it had some sort of meaning, or maybe he just thought I would like the song. It never made me feel closer to him, just made me wonder if he liked me but didn't want to tell me that. And that was a thought that made me uncomfortable.

So my advice is this. If you like this girl, just tell her.
Perfect.
 
No, we just maintained an uneasy truce for as long as it was tenable. He was a very talented player and I didn't feel like it made sense to bring it to the attention of the other band members. In our professional space everything seemed like it was ok.

Eventually I did tire of the tension and I left the band after about three years. He never knew I caught him stalking me; I saw his van, which was unmistakeable, but I never confronted him about it.

There were also other weird things happening that were probably done by him, like phone hangups and weird answering machine messages back in the days before you knew who was on the other end, but I will never know for sure.
Yikes! Don't wanna be that guy! I have to tread lightly then.
 
  • Like
Reactions: LBS-bass
Yikes! Don't wanna be that guy! I have to tread lightly then.
Yeah, much of this depends on how much you really think she cares for you. If you're not at all sure, it's better to be more cautious. The funny thing about this situation is that, while I was shy initially about wanting to date that guy, I did like him. I just wasn't sure it was the best idea to date someone I was working with.

But of course once all the creepy stuff happened, I didn't want to be with him at all.
 
I'm planning on playing Darkness by sweet trip for this girl online and want to record it and upload it on youtube. You know? getting that you know what? Joking aside, have any of you guys/gals ever played a song for someone you like? If so, any advice for a 26 year old trying to pickup a girl? Assuming you guys are a lot older than me; you must have more wisdom in this kind of situation.

Here's the song


I'm 22 and I've played many songs for many girls. My advice- play something on guitar. That works better. Especially if it's along the lines of "Hey There Delilah" or "Wonderwall" lol.

All jokes aside, go for it. As long as you're confident in what you do most people will think it's cool. If she's a girl worth chasing she'll know bass is the coolest instrument out there! :thumbsup:
 
Back in the late 80’s, I got my first (Cassette) Portastudio. I wrote and recorded an instrumental song for my girlfriend. We were in our late 20’s. She really dug it.

I can write instrumentals, romantic and otherwise.
Songs with lyrics? Not on your life.

Fortunately, she understood that.
 
One risk is that she'll misinterpret the song.

I knew a guy who was trying to patch up a turbulent relationship, and played Rod Stewart's "You're in my heart" to her. A recording, that is; his singing was even worse than mine.
She didn't focus on the title and chorus, but the lyric, "there have been many affairs, many times I thought to leave."