Here is the challenge, they need to be well known and suitable for all age groups, not too difficult to play and for those present to know most of the words to be able to sing along, at least with the chorus.
Suggestions please.
Michael
PS should be interesting to see how many keep occurring.
Great topic, but you meant 10, right? It’s hard to even stop at 10, but here goes - they’re mostly suitable for all ages - and hopefully they’re not all too dated!
Take it Easy
Brown Eyed Girl
Take Me Home Country Roads
Let it Be
Last Kiss
Me and Bobby McGee
Knocking On Heaven’s Door
Have You Ever Seen The Rain
Margaritaville
Hit Me With Your Best Shot (Justin’s got a great Grade 3 lesson on it, and it’s easily playable on acoustic)
I would suggest “depositing” chord progressions in your locker so that you can play an unlimited number of songs, and start your ear training journey by understanding intervals in music. Once you nail down the progressions that make up modern music, you can play just about anything (and at some point by ear). From there you can develop the chops to stylize them in a way that suits you.
Rather than list out these progressions one by one for you, give this piano related lesson a spin:
A lot of the great campfire songs are represented.
From what I can see, you are from UK!? - I have lived in UK for some months now and then and visited many times. - It is so wonderful to hear so many people who know the lyrics all the way through a song and so many songs. - Here in Denmark it’s really awful. People know the first line or three and then there is silence. Also people from US are like those from UK, though which songs they pick is slightly different and often more into western style. — I don’t have enough living experience from UK, so will not suggest any. You have it in you, you know such things much better. I follow along and watch, as I find it an interesting topic.
I totally agree with this, Clint, and I think pretty much all of the songs suggested so far have a pretty standard chord progression (apart from a couple of bridges) - that’s what makes them great campfire / sing-along songs! I think it’s nice to have some readily available songs to suggest when you find yourself with guitar in hand at a campfire. The really nice thing about those typical chord progressions is you can easily change the key to suit your own vocal range.
Clint @CT
No looked at the video yet but you make a good point. I am sure some guitarist even they have not rehearsed a particularly song request can think sort of know how it goes if I use this progression I can get by, I am sure Justin could do that. The situation is not an exam as long as your fellow campfires sing along even if the chords not strictly correct I don’t think it matters as long as everybody has a good time
I could be wrong but popular
music is very biased to lyrics in the English language.
Of course in the uk you are less likely to be sitting around a campfire in December but this is not the case in the southern hemisphere so I expect some Christmas songs may make an appearance.
Nah, keep going!
Leave the harder ones till later when everyone -including you- has had plenty of falling down water.
Like you say, it won’t matter if you play the wrong chords when they’re all singing along merrily.
Simplify! Consider one down strum per beat on songs that aren’t yet under your fingers. Sometimes trying to match the song exactly, strumming patterns and such, can throw us off.
WW has been suggested around at least one fire pit/campfire session that I was involved with. It’s hard to tell if it was jokingly suggested or dead serious. I just say I don’t know that one.