Best songs to play on acoustic guitar

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I'm sitting at home bored right now and wanting to learn some new songs, but my brain is frozen for songs.

Something like the interlude in Master Of Puppets

or things like "These Days" by Nico/Jackson Browne, "Landslide" by Fleetwood Mac, "Alone Again Or" by Love (which is a fucking bitch, btw), etc etc

All acoustic guitar players, what are some songs you find enjoyable to learn and play?

― James Morris (HorrayJames), Monday, 11 July 2005 23:33 (twenty years ago)

http://www.911tabs.com/link/?1597214

― Michael Costello (MichaelCostello1), Monday, 11 July 2005 23:52 (twenty years ago)

Fun and easy: Springsteen: Atlantic City

Fun and intermediate: Needle And The Damage Done, Blackbird

Fun and Hard: Never Going Back Again: Fleetwood Mac

Fun and You've Got To Be Fucking Kidding Me: It's To Ring Some Changes--Richard Thompson

― kornrulez6969 (TCBeing), Monday, 11 July 2005 23:53 (twenty years ago)

Is There Anybody Out There - Pink Floyd
Julia - Beatles
Back to the Old House - the Smiths

― kickitcricket (kickitcricket), Tuesday, 12 July 2005 00:01 (twenty years ago)

http://www.azchords.com/b/byrds-tabs-4945.html

Intermediate but fun!

― Cunga (Cunga), Tuesday, 12 July 2005 00:14 (twenty years ago)

i like to play Panic because of the B -->F# bit.

― Jimmy Mod Is Sick of Being The Best At Everything (ModJ), Tuesday, 12 July 2005 00:17 (twenty years ago)

Feel Like Makin' Love!

― rogermexico (rogermexico), Tuesday, 12 July 2005 00:18 (twenty years ago)

Pink Floyd - "Pigs on the Wing"
Iron and Wine - pretty much anything cuz it's all simple, circular riffs
OTM "Never Going Back Again" -- but really freaking hard

― PB, Tuesday, 12 July 2005 00:43 (twenty years ago)

Kitchens of Distinction's "Hammer" sounds gorgeous in the acoustic version they did, almost Oriental in a sense, very lush and colourful to me. I'm not usually fond of songs with just acoustic guitar.

― Ian Riese-Moraine: that obscure object of desire. (Eastern Mantra), Tuesday, 12 July 2005 01:15 (twenty years ago)

Classical Gas

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Tuesday, 12 July 2005 01:16 (twenty years ago)

Wellllllll, while I'm working at guitar center, I tend to play Needle and the Damage Done a lot on accoustic... the Interlude to Master gets a lot of play, so 2 people got it dead on... I always try to break out with weird random songs done accoustically that you wouldn't expect, it gets customers' attention... I.e. an appregiated Number of the Beast, etc..

― Bryan Moore (Bryan Moore), Tuesday, 12 July 2005 01:40 (twenty years ago)

My roommate likes to play "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" on his acoustic.

― My name is Kenny (My name is Kenny), Tuesday, 12 July 2005 01:42 (twenty years ago)

Make sure you learn Bob Marley's "Redemption Song," especially if you're going to be moving into the dorm soon. You want to be THAT guy.

― bitchin!, Tuesday, 12 July 2005 01:56 (twenty years ago)

Landslide. I love playing that acoutsic.
And I do a folked out version of Comfortably Numb, which is another fave on acoustic for me.
Also Malibu, by Hole, which is beautiful song if you strip it down to its chords and work on it a little, some finger picking, well Ned's heard it, ask him, it's not as bizarre as it sounds.
More faves on acoustic: Joey by Concrete Blonde and Waterfall by TLC, which is actually quite bluesy.
Oh, just don't get me going on this, I'll be here all night.

― Orbit (Orbit), Tuesday, 12 July 2005 02:02 (twenty years ago)

'Dee' by Randy Rhoads off of Tribute.

― On the bass, 57 7th, he wrote this (calstars), Tuesday, 12 July 2005 02:05 (twenty years ago)

'Rain Song' if you can be bothered with the alternate tuning.

― On the bass, 57 7th, he wrote this (calstars), Tuesday, 12 July 2005 02:06 (twenty years ago)

"corcovado" is the best fun to play http://www.e-chords.com/cifra/idmusica/20602.htm

― zappi (joni), Tuesday, 12 July 2005 02:14 (twenty years ago)

Back in college, one of my roommates' favorite things to do was transpose Christmas carols into minor keys and play/sing them like dirges. (/unhelpful)

― Rock Hardy (Rock Hardy), Tuesday, 12 July 2005 02:16 (twenty years ago)

I love hearing that! I take really heavy songs and make the into Joan Baez epics.

― Orbit (Orbit), Tuesday, 12 July 2005 02:35 (twenty years ago)

Neil Young -- Tell Me Why -- good in that it's fairly easy to get the chord changes but a bit harder to get down all the bass-notes and picking nuances.

― Hurting (Hurting), Tuesday, 12 July 2005 02:46 (twenty years ago)

w/capo: "Have You Forgotten?" by Red House Painters

― Curt1s St3ph3ns, Tuesday, 12 July 2005 02:48 (twenty years ago)

I take really heavy songs and make the into Joan Baez epics

Orbit OTM. Let me do ya Priest's "Highway" sometime.

― rogermexico (rogermexico), Tuesday, 12 July 2005 04:01 (twenty years ago)

wish you were here

― kyle (akmonday), Tuesday, 12 July 2005 04:07 (twenty years ago)

John Fahey: "The Yellow Princess"
It takes some practice, but it's not nearly as difficult as it sounds!
(BTW, that tab isn't quite right.)

― Ernest P. (ernestp), Tuesday, 12 July 2005 05:20 (twenty years ago)

Learn some bluegrass fiddle tunes (transposed for the six string, obviously). Your guitar playing will be exponentially better for it, and they have some very pretty melodies.

― Big Loud Mountain Ape (Big Loud Mountain Ape), Tuesday, 12 July 2005 13:14 (twenty years ago)

Pick some other cuts from "forever changes".

― Pashmina (Pashmina), Tuesday, 12 July 2005 13:16 (twenty years ago)

We Dance

― Jimmy Mod Is Sick of Being The Best At Everything (ModJ), Tuesday, 12 July 2005 13:27 (twenty years ago)

Father To A Sister Of Thought

― kornrulez6969 (TCBeing), Tuesday, 12 July 2005 13:29 (twenty years ago)

Most pavement songs, really...

― Jimmy Mod Is Sick of Being The Best At Everything (ModJ), Tuesday, 12 July 2005 13:30 (twenty years ago)

Disco Inferno - "Love Stepping Out"

― Mr. Snrub (Mr. Snrub), Tuesday, 12 July 2005 14:46 (twenty years ago)

Have you seen the acoustic version of Cherub Rock that the Pumpkins did on Viewphoria? Really nice and really fun to play.

― Viz (Viz), Tuesday, 12 July 2005 15:13 (twenty years ago)

"BAck to the old house" seconded.
also "sweet virginia" by the stones, "you've got to hide your love away" beatles... "fiesta" r-kelly !

― AleXTC (AleXTC), Tuesday, 12 July 2005 15:23 (twenty years ago)

alone again or is easier if you play caleixco's version.

― Lupton Pitman (Chris V), Tuesday, 12 July 2005 16:00 (twenty years ago)

don't fear the reaper
your love
iron and wine (anything really)
ventura highway

― Lupton Pitman (Chris V), Tuesday, 12 July 2005 16:02 (twenty years ago)

"Transilvanian Hunger" works very well played in half time on acoustic guiter.

― Siegbran (eofor), Tuesday, 12 July 2005 18:23 (twenty years ago)

i just learned Love's "Old man" and its ridiculously good fun to play on guitar.

― AaronK (AaronK), Tuesday, 12 July 2005 19:03 (twenty years ago)

Jantsch: Blackwater Side
Page: Bron-Yr-Aur
Chilton covering LWainwrightIII: Motel Blues

― gygax! (gygax!), Tuesday, 12 July 2005 19:09 (twenty years ago)

Degradation of Tapes by Merzbow
I don't know how to be your friend by Redd Kross

― Michael Burble, Tuesday, 12 July 2005 19:12 (twenty years ago)

"I Kill Everything I Fuck"

― Mr. Snrub (Mr. Snrub), Tuesday, 12 July 2005 19:15 (twenty years ago)

Any Dave Matthews is great. He is an acuostic master.

― Ben Cox, Saturday, 16 July 2005 05:08 (twenty years ago)

"Like a Virgin," at least until the second verse when everyone realizes they don't know the words.

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Saturday, 16 July 2005 09:19 (twenty years ago)

also, the dashboard confessionals.

― irrigation can save your people (irrigation can save your peopl), Saturday, 16 July 2005 19:24 (twenty years ago)

For novices: the complete works of Leo Kottke.

― Steve Gertz (sgertz), Saturday, 16 July 2005 23:32 (twenty years ago)

I like playing Beat Happening songs on acoustic - Dreamy, Bad Seeds Run Down The Stairs etc

― Colonel Poo (Colonel Poo), Saturday, 16 July 2005 23:41 (twenty years ago)

nine months pass...

Led Zeppelin - over the hills and far away
The Who - behind blue eyes

― BW, Tuesday, 25 April 2006 18:35 (nineteen years ago)

I like to slowly strum the chords of 'I was made for loving you.' Very nice they are too.

― dr lulu (dr lulu), Tuesday, 25 April 2006 18:49 (nineteen years ago)

two weeks pass...

sublime-no woman no cry
sublime-boss dj
knokcing on heavens door-bob dylan

― Curt.taylor, Friday, 12 May 2006 11:06 (nineteen years ago)

I would add to the mentions for tracks from Forever Changes. Not necessarily hard to play but fun and it'll give you appreciation for how many different sections those songs had where the chords just change completely.

Also Back To The Old House is a current fave. Blackbird is my old dependable though.

― mms (mms), Friday, 12 May 2006 11:43 (nineteen years ago)

i think i may have already said forever changes upthread, but i'll say it again to second mms. what a fun fun fun album to play. it never sits still!

― AaronK (AaronK), Friday, 12 May 2006 12:12 (nineteen years ago)

Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
The Beatles - Blackbird
The Beatles - Two of Us
The Beatles - Hey Jude
The Beatles - Let it Be
The Beatles - Yesterday
Led Zeppelin - Stairway to Heaven
David Bowie - Space Oddity

Almost anything by The Decemberists or Belle and Sebastian or Elliott Smith.

― Steve Goldberg (Steve Goldberg), Friday, 12 May 2006 12:35 (nineteen years ago)

Strumming along to Forever Changes is wonderful fun indeed but I'm so hopeless - I think "Daily Planet", "A House Is Not A Motel", "Between Clark And Hilldale" and "Live And Let Live" are the only ones I can play in full. And even those are kinda shaky.

― Myonga Von Butterfingers (Myonga Von Bontee), Friday, 12 May 2006 15:52 (nineteen years ago)

Look What They've Done To My Song, Ma by Melanie Safka

I haven't played this one in years, but I think I'll take it up again.
Pretty sure I played it in C, but my voice isn't what it used to be and it should be an easy switch to G.

I've been playing Jacskon Browne's These Days for at least twenty years. Strangely, I never heard the original until a few months ago. It's not much different than the Tom Rush version that I went by.

All of a sudden I find myself wishing that I hadn't dumped my 12 string. Most of America's tunes sounded great on it.

― jim wentworth (wench), Friday, 12 May 2006 16:58 (nineteen years ago)

That must have been quite a guitar.

― dr lulu (dr lulu), Saturday, 13 May 2006 08:49 (nineteen years ago)

"I Need a Sign" by Badly Drawn Boy

― Mr. Snrub (Mr. Snrub), Saturday, 13 May 2006 23:26 (nineteen years ago)

cut them hedges - static apology
weird white feelin'in's - the frontiers
nipples - brotzmann sextet
rollin' flurries - james "lights out" toney
your balls feel empty _mike epps on demand
roast beef sandwich - the tender rolls
fondle this - steak dinner

― mono tony, Sunday, 14 May 2006 02:21 (nineteen years ago)

JOHNNY CASH - FOLSOM PRISON BLUES
BOB DYLAN - KNOCKIN' ON HEAVEN'S DOOR
THE WHO - SUBSTITUTE
ROLLING STONES - STREET FIGHTING MAN
BEATLES - IN MY LIFE (picking sounds great)
PINK FLOYD - WISH YOU WERE HERE
NEIL YOUNG - HEART OF GOLD
BOB MARLEY - REDEMPTION SONG
CCR - LODI
EAGLES - HOTEL CALIFORNIA
CAT STEVENS - WILD WORLD
RAMONES - I WANT YOU AROUND
CLASH - GROOVY TIMES
STEVIE RAY VAUGHN - PRIDE AND JOY
METALLICA - NOTHING ELSE MATTERS

― John Hodder, Sunday, 14 May 2006 07:55 (nineteen years ago)

Under the Milky Way by The Church. Gotta love that FMaj7. Also, it's an instructive and fun exercise to capo at the fifth fret and use alternative voicings to play it in the same key.

― Palomino (Palomino), Sunday, 14 May 2006 09:32 (nineteen years ago)

Lots of early Talking Heads songs
Psycho Killer
Thank You For Sending Me an Angel
The Big Country

― Jaundice Jackson, Sunday, 14 May 2006 13:38 (nineteen years ago)

one year passes...

revive!

i just found this thread, and i *love* a bunch of the suggestions already made -- any others that come to mind?

― stephen, Friday, 27 July 2007 18:04 (eighteen years ago)

Every single Elliott Smith song, but Angeles and Southern Belle are the best.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQ1be4yOdqo <-- Southern Belle

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKaHFNUB3hQ <-- Angeles

― MRZBW, Friday, 27 July 2007 18:20 (eighteen years ago)

I'm just learning to play, and I'm a complete hack. having said that:

Fingerpicked intro to ''Dust In The Wind,'' by Kansas
''Maggie May,'' by Rod Stewart
''Fake Headlines,'' by The New Pornographers
''I Will Survive,'' the Cake version
''New Slang,'' by The Shins

Plus lots of classical stuff, which is what my guitar teacher is (properly) steering me towards.

― Daniel, Esq., Friday, 27 July 2007 18:37 (eighteen years ago)

MORE THAN WORDS IS ALL I EVER NEEDED YOU TO PLAY

― ledge, Saturday, 28 July 2007 09:30 (eighteen years ago)

Contrary to what one might expect, a lot of early (Evol, Sister, DN, Goo) Sonic Youth songs can be nicely approximated on a normally tuned acoustic guitar. Thrill and amaze your friends.

That said, The Feelies' "The Good Earth" is every budding acoustic guitarist's friend.

― dlp9001, Saturday, 28 July 2007 19:38 (eighteen years ago)

Chicks dig Every Rose Has It's Thorn (sic).

― Matt Armstrong, Saturday, 28 July 2007 19:40 (eighteen years ago)

A Case of You by Joni Mitchell, definitely. My boyfriend plays it and I adore him; definite chick magnet. ;)

― Finefinemusic, Saturday, 28 July 2007 21:29 (eighteen years ago)

Lots of R.E.M., but since we were just talking about it on another thread recently -- "Driver 8". It's not too hard even by my fairly inept standards, and it's gorgeous.

― Lostandfound, Saturday, 28 July 2007 23:20 (eighteen years ago)

five years pass...

I'm going to a 40th birthday party this weekend where a guitar will be passed around so am learning a few fun popular songs not mentioned upthread:
A-ha - Hunting High And Low (lush chord changes although "tearing myself to pieces" bit is maybe not for beginners)
Depeche Mode - Shake The Disease (if you heard them do the piano version, you'll know how good this song sounds in a 'stripped back' form)
Foo Fighters - Everlong (don't usually listen to them but they're popular and there's a nice acoustic version with pleasingly unusual verse chords (in drop-D) - quite easy to play, too)

Hey - last time someone posted to this thread, YouTube either didn't exist or was in its infancy. That's a game changer for anyone learning how to play songs on the guitar.

Any more (new) suggestions?

― Supposed Former ILM Lurker (WeWantMiles), Tuesday, 8 January 2013 16:27 (thirteen years ago)

I was at a house party of mid-20s performance-arty folks not long ago and Weezer seemed to bring the house down.

― sandwich shortage (Eazy), Tuesday, 8 January 2013 16:35 (thirteen years ago)

"Question" by the Moody Blues, because you have to tune to open C. (C-G-C-G-C-E from low to high.)

― Gollum: "Hot, Ready and Smeagol!" (Phil D.), Tuesday, 8 January 2013 16:37 (thirteen years ago)

Madonna's "Express Yourself" is a lot of fun if you work out the three chords and slow it down a bit.

― sandwich shortage (Eazy), Tuesday, 8 January 2013 16:47 (thirteen years ago)

I was at a house party of mid-20s performance-arty folks not long ago and Weezer seemed to bring the house down.
― sandwich shortage (Eazy), Tuesday, January 8, 2013 11:35 AM (58 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Dude, the year 2000 was a long time ago.

― said the brohaim to the cochise (how's life), Tuesday, 8 January 2013 17:34 (thirteen years ago)

I know, taphat's why I was surprised that this party was last year with folks who were 8 when those songs came out.

― sandwich shortage (Eazy), Tuesday, 8 January 2013 17:37 (thirteen years ago)

...and then they put on Stop Making Sense for the dance part of the party.

― sandwich shortage (Eazy), Tuesday, 8 January 2013 17:37 (thirteen years ago)

"Free Falling" by Tom Petty

― Emperor Cos Dashit (Adam Bruneau), Tuesday, 8 January 2013 17:42 (thirteen years ago)

'Back Of A Car' by Big Star is fun to play on acoustic.

http://youtu.be/RRkEexWSZDU

― MaresNest, Tuesday, 8 January 2013 17:44 (thirteen years ago)

Anything open tuned is fun- DADF#AD is a good one, just keep on thumbing the low D octave with your thumb and play around on the high strings, you'll discover a lot of good folk/blues licks in there.

Like open G, too- DGDBGD, great fun for slide playing. Open C, as outlined above, is good for a lot of Fahey. Sunflower River Blues is a doozy.

Open tunings rule because you really can't play any *wrong* notes, which encourages exploration. I found my guitar playing skills improve greatly once I got out of the box of just strumming on chords in standard. Open tunings are a bit of a dive into the unknown in a lot of ways, where conventional wisdom doesn't necessarily play out. I think this is why a lot of the old players as well as the Takoma folks had such idiosyncratic/personal styles.

― global tetrahedron, Tuesday, 8 January 2013 17:53 (thirteen years ago)

^^ As opposed to thumbing the low D with something other than your thumb....

― global tetrahedron, Tuesday, 8 January 2013 18:00 (thirteen years ago)

four years pass...

i've started teaching myself tunes at night as a hobby. so far i've got

Wonderwall
These Boots Are Made For Walkin'
Take Me Home, Country Road

any requests?

― flopson, Thursday, 9 March 2017 22:37 (eight years ago)

Some intermediate fingerpicking fun:
Back to the Old House - the Smiths (already mentioned above, but gets a +1 from me)
I Will Follow You Into The Dark - Death Cab for Cutie
Windy and Warm - Chet Atkins

― enochroot, Friday, 10 March 2017 15:14 (eight years ago)

Greensleeves sounds difficult but is very easy and fun to play.

― dance cum rituals (Moka), Friday, 10 March 2017 15:46 (eight years ago)

Neil Young - Will to Love

― AdamVania (Adam Bruneau), Friday, 10 March 2017 22:39 (eight years ago)

Ah I was going to post and ready the thread to find out I had already contributed 12y ago !
Anyway, someone said "rain song" and having learnt it in the meantime, it IS a pure pleasure to play.
Also some smiths like "some girls are bigger".

― AlXTC from Paris, Friday, 10 March 2017 22:58 (eight years ago)

^^yes, "bigmouth" too

― a but (brimstead), Friday, 10 March 2017 23:35 (eight years ago)

Floyd - "wish you were here"

― a but (brimstead), Friday, 10 March 2017 23:36 (eight years ago)

'Friggin in the Riggin'

― Coolio Iglesias (Turrican), Friday, 10 March 2017 23:42 (eight years ago)

wooooooooooooaooo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9A8KcASayk

― Philip Nunez, Saturday, 11 March 2017 00:56 (eight years ago)

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