To quote Mr. Dylan “There’s too much confusion I can’t get no relief…”
I’m pretty sure the answer to my question is going to be - Just don’t do that, Learn one way!!!
Invariably, I will see a lesson for a song I like (typically, YouTube).
Then, I will watch lessons for that song by the 5 or 6 very good instructors that I follow (including Justin, of course to see how they play or teach it.
Sometimes I like the way one teacher teaches/plays a song, but maybe not another song.
So, I end up with liking one instructor’s intro, but liking somebody else’s strumming pattern or somebody else uses different keys/chords etc.
And, I end up just confused as to how I want to learn and play the song.
These are, usually, upper-level beginner songs.
One example would be - You Ain’t Going Nowhere by Bob Dylan (a super easy chord progression, but with a lot of different ways to play it - I know about using different patterns for the verses/chorus so it’s not redundant and boring sounding)
But, there’s just too many choices haha
Simple D DU UDU
Boom chucka on the 1
Boom chucka on the 1 and 3 DDU DDU
Using walk-ups
Arpeggio the + 4 + with the high 3 strings (EBG)
I need to find some way to stop my ceaseless searching when learning a song
Sounds pretty similar to my rabbit hole experiences
I find that some teachers are more suited to their own particular genres, all have their own teaching style.
Justin will be painstakingly accurate
Carl Brown may just go with the flow
Paul Davids could add a flowing melody
Marty will focus on a particular experience level…
Some songs are just hard to find and any version is welcome!
I tend to base my renditions on the version I like most (or quickly realise I’m not ready for so will go with another) but may steal elements from others - usually when a section gets too tough.
Ultimately, when I have the technical aspects learnt, I switch over to practicing “my way”. Just makes songs easier to remember using your own chord shapes, strumming patterns etc.
Whoever you watch will likely teach you something new, throw them all in the pot…
Hi Andrew you might want to check out Rick Beato. he has a new video out which suggests learning songs is by listening and transcribing and nothing else. The way it has always been done pre YouTube. Good luck with however you do it, but ears are the best in MHO.
I’m a beginner so I look for the easiest version that sounds authentic. Sometimes if a lesson is too easy then you could play it along to the original but if it’s just a few chords with a really basic strumming pattern then you’ll get bored of it really soon.
If I hear something in another version that I like then I might add that later but I concentrate on one version at a time.
I don’t care if I’m playing note for note with the original, I want something that is fun to play and is similar enough to the original that only a real pedant would call out. There’s such a thing as “good enough” so don’t allow guitar playing to become a form of torture
I like to start by listening to the original multiple times… thinking “mindfully” about what I like most about the song & what parts I want to change…
I always start with a very basic strumming pattern & slow it down to learn the song structure but keeping the end goal in mind…
After I can play the very basic version through to the end by heart, I start to speed it up & singing along.
Once I have a “rough cut” version, it’s time to add embellishments or personalize “my song”!
One thing to note: this is all for a rhythm guitar. I don’t have the chops yet for soloing.
My 2 $…
Many songs I do, I do go look at various videos on said song.
I also check out the tabs for the song if I can find them.
Then,
Since I play by myself, I figure it’s up to me to come up with something that ‘I’ think sounds good. I may use bits and pieces of what I’ve observed or read in tabs. Then I put it all together, which may take me much time and experimentation.
After weeks or months, I have a song I can play. Granted it may be played how I think it sounds and I likely never get any song to be perfect as to the original song done by it’s composer. Hopefully, it sounds enough like the original that folks that listen to me can at least recognize the song…
Mal and Tod have made some good suggestions. Listen to the song you want to learn, find out why you like it and how you want to play it. Then try and figure out yourself by ear as much as you can. That won’t be easy at first but use the various tutorials to help you piece it all together what you could not figure out yourself. Over time you’ll get better at the “finding it out by yourself”. Invaluable skill when you want to play a song for which there is no tutorial around, no live version of the original artist playing the song, and only some obscure covers.
…and when you’ve found it please share it as I need it as well!
Listening to the original recording and work out your own arrangement might be a good idea, not the easiest path but a very rewarding one.
I once noticed different teachers using different patterns for the same song and they were all fine and I thought “well, my pattern will be fine as well as long as it sounds and feels good!”
“It’s only right that you should play the way you feel it.” –Stevie Nicks
Scroll through the member recordings and most of the time players are putting their own spin on their tracks. Lessons and original recordings are just suggestions. Seems odd to view multiple/new/different approaches to a song as confusing or a rabbit hole. All of these things go into your personal musical blender on your way to finding your own voice on the instrument.
I can relate somewhat to what you’re saying. The solos too are often played in different parts of the neck by different players.
The flipside is that its a great learning experience, that is transferable to other songs. Gives you lots of great ideas. I find that quite a few of my songs are a mixture of different arrangements, and my own ideas.
Remember too that many songs contain more than one guitar part, so there’s naturally going to be an amout of variation in arranging it for one guitar.
We’re actually pretty spoilt in this day and age to have such things at our fingertips; albeit with the occasional analysis paralysis.
You can separate your practice from your playing. In other words practice foundational skills like learning chord progressions, chord forms (triads, bar) scales, improvisation, etc, and then play songs that utilize those skills. Always playing by rote can be restrictive and has some limitations.
I know your post was lighthearted, however you have actually raised something quite interesting that goes deeper than just guitar. Part of my job involves looking at technology and the way it impacts society, particularly young people. Your post touches on the tension that exist between the benefits of technology and a potential downfall.
Every day we consume WAY more information than we ever have before and are switching our brains off less than ever. There is a lot of research into the impact this has on brain development and wellbeing. One of things that often comes up is that while the internet provides great opportunities to people (being able to learn guitar online) it can lead to people feeling overwhelmed by choice (having too many options).
Anyone who has read online reviews before purchasing something or has started googling medical symptoms before going to the doctor is probably aware of that feeling. This is the guitar version of that. 20 years ago, we all learnt through listening to recordings and one or two sources of truth (maybe a teacher and a tab/book), now we have the benefit of hundreds of different sources, but as you said in the original post, it is about finding that balance.
My advice FWIW (and that may be but a tuppence) pay close attention to Justin’s song lesson, then create create your own arrangement that fits your current skills and taste, then expand that arrangement as your skills advance. FWIW
That’s a really great point, I am regularly subject to what I like to call “Paralysis By Analysis”, when I am researching items as I find that there is soooo much information available sometimes that I just end up doing nothing
Fortunately this does not happen in my guitar journey, so back to the subject of the thread, as a beginner I tend to learn the basic song from JG if its available or if not somewhere else or just look up chords and listen to the song (it’s usually a song I know anyway) then play it in whatever style suits my level including any embellishments that again fit my level at the time.
Thank you for all the good answers. I can definitely play some songs. However, I’m still in a bit of a “deer in the headlights” funk, but I’m trying to make myself come out of it.
I’m well aware of some of my faults - not listening to the song, not having a printout of the song in front of me. I don’t really have a good listening environment setup. My music is on my laptop, so I am, thus, distracted by other things.
Plus, oh let me try this song, nah, maybe this song, ooh how about this one…
I need to write down a list of songs and stick to it.
And, I guess watch the instructional videos from my favorite teachers and find the one that “clicks” for me and my level.
Of course, the comments about listening and transcribing which I dread haha
One song, write down one song. Pick one that Justin teaches that’s at the appropriate level for you. Then learn it. When you have it reasonably down, pick another one and learn it. Play the first one regularly, so you don’t forget it. But learn one at a time.
You need to fix this. How can you possibly learn guitar if you’re not able to listen to music? Get music on your phone (a Spotify subscription tripled the amount of music that I listen to), so you’re not tied to your laptop.
It should be the guitar learning that distracts you from the other things, not the other way around!
