When you learn a whole song instead of just the main riff or just the solo, it makes you more adept at changing from one “pattern” (chord progression, strumming, melody, etc) to another while keeping time. You won’t excercise this mental muscle just playing pieces of songs.
I suggest that you find a song(s) you really love and that isn’t too hard for your playing level and learn all the parts. You could decide to learn a solo guitar version of the song, or learn the rhythm parts, record them into a looper, then learn to play the solo and melody over the rhythm parts.
Bit late to this party, but I’d like to add that performing a song is a skill in itself that needs practicing.
If your goal is to be able to perform in front of others (and that isn’t always the case) then you need to be able to pick up the instrument and play once through the song … and here’s the hard part … without stopping if you make a small mistake. These days I have a section of my practice dedicated to performing - I have a bunch of songs and I go through some of them as a mini “set”, playing each song from start to finish once, without stopping then on to the next one. Sometimes I hit a wrong chord or forget a lyric, but I carry on as if I’m performing. Learning to ‘not stop’ is harder than it sounds, but being able to do it will massively increase your confidence playing in front of others as you know how to handle those situations.
I totally agree that playing with others will help but it’s a bit different. I play at two different jam groups, and you’re right, no one stops if you make a mistake, but I think the temptation here is to stop and wait to jump in again when you have your place, that’s a bit different - it’s a bit like playing to a backing track.
I think the skill of keeping the rhythm going if you hit a wrong chord, forget a verse, accidentally skip a chorus etc and keeping a solo performance flowing is a bit different.
Thanks again for all the really usefull feedback everyone, spent the last week doing my best to play songs all the way through but perhaps picked to many songs
Yep!–just got back from a vacation with old friends.
One brought his 1893 Martin. He played a bunch of songs we all grew up with in the sixties.
He was an adequate player, messed up a bunch of the lyrics, was 90% of the time on key, and kept playing no matter what he played or sang.
We all had a great time tapping our feet, reconnecting with our teen years, mumbling along to the mangled lyrics — all possible and enjoyable because he kept the rhythm going no matter the mistakes he made.
We were all smiling and laughing and having a great time.
So, if one of your goals is to help create a good, group time, then just keeping the rhythm going is a HUGE, and mandatory, part of the playing for others’ enjoyment…
This question and some others on songs had some great ideas. So I am more focused on songs now than before.
Ive not learned songs from Justin but I have got the technical ability and rhythm from Justin so I can learn songs from other sources. It’s a nice step forward. I use the dashboard and practice helper all the time now. I use the app to learn to play along and stay on the beat. It’s starting to fall together with songs.
I even have started working on Botany Bay along with my wife who plays the melody very well on her 50 year old recorder. It is actually started to sound pretty good together!
Thank you for your question and the community for getting me headed in a good direction on songs.
I don’t really “practice” any more, as in, like Justin prescibed in the beginning, 5 mins doing scales, or chord changes, or whatever. I am exclusively learning songs, I suspect I will go back to practicing things at some point. But right now I’m not happy with how few songs I know, and I am enjoying learning new songs with new challenges, and I’ve improved massively since doing this.
