I either use here, a YT video or Songsterr for TABs, for the rhythm it’s usually shown and/or there’s a playback feature on Songsterr.
Also you will pick it up by listening to a performance of what you’re playing - don’t use live performances, they’re very rarely the same as album or singles.
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Thanks for the feedback. My next goal before getting too much further in the journey is going back and learning very simple versions of songs with just the chords I know so far. Going to get that under my and make sure everything else is solid then jump back into the power chord things.
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Hi Josh, welcome. Good you were able to officially start you guitar learning.
Just don’t quit, follow the lessons, keep practicing regularly and you’ll get far better and surprise them even more.
There are two parts to it, how the actual song was played and recorded, and managing expectations.
If you’re playing a song that was recorded with only one guitar, then at some point your skills can replicate how the original player was playing leaving aside factors like guitar quality and timbre for acoustic guitars and tone and effects for electric guitars and amplified acoustic guitars.
If you’re playing a song that was recorded by a band (or with session musicians) then you have at least two options: one is playing the guitar part you want to play along a backing track with the other instruments and voices (or playing with a band). The other is playing a version for guitar only and some songs are friendlier than others for that. For some you could need very advanced skills to obtain something that sounds like the song.
Is good to have in mind that the original recording of many songs can have more instruments (including guitars) that players due to overdubbing and mix.
About sounding like the original, the other day I was reading about Willie Nelson and he plays only one guitar, “trigger” as he call it, and keep using the same amplifier he started with. The guitar has an additional hole made by Willie Nelson strumming and requires regular maintenance and repairs so it doesn’t disintegrate. The amplifier is kept alive with spare parts salvaged from the same model amplifiers. You could say that someone can’t play a Willie Nelson song like the original without that gear. He even says that once “trigger” and his amplifier retire he will follow suit.
In the same line of thought, today I watched a video of a Beatle’s tribute band and to sound like The Beatles they use a12 person ensemble, a rock quartet, a strings quartet and a brass quartet.
Although it can be a valid goal to sound like the original, it’s also valid to play a version of it that is at reach of the skills, number of players, and gear that is currently available for you.
I am also understanding that you would like to get a very detailed step by step guide of how to play certain songs (without having gone through some basics first). The more you learn through the lessons the more you can get from all the resources available out there. I had a songbook for a while and only after starting the lessons I was able to fully understand the tabs and figure out how to play some of the songs.
About managing expectations. If you play a song in a way that match you current skills you can feel proud of being able to do it and get inspired to look for ways to develop it. if you want to instantly play a song in a way that is above you current skills you may be hitting a wall, get instant frustration and quit. Giving it a try once in a while to play something above your skills without necessarily expecting to nail it right away can be part of your learning process.
Have fun.
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I am doing my best trying to just keep grinding the hard stuff even when it isn’t seeming to be getting any better.
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