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Easy Guitar Song?
Rhino
TheRhinLOLRegistered User regular
TheRhinLOLRegistered User regular
What's a good easy guitar song that I can play with just the index and middle finger on my left hand? It's a long story, but my ring and pinkie were severely damaged years ago and they don't have enough dexterity or strength to be useful for guitar playing.
I know tab and used to play bass a long time before the accident. My girlfriend really loves the guitar, so I'd like to learn a simple song for her, something slow and/or romantic with easy fingering... um. Easy "Chording".
I understand most songs will require more than two fingers, it just needs to be simple enough that I can "fake it". She isn't going to be super critically of my playing if I miss a note or two in some chord. Thanks.
I know tab and used to play bass a long time before the accident. My girlfriend really loves the guitar, so I'd like to learn a simple song for her, something slow and/or romantic with easy fingering... um. Easy "Chording".
I understand most songs will require more than two fingers, it just needs to be simple enough that I can "fake it". She isn't going to be super critically of my playing if I miss a note or two in some chord. Thanks.
Rhino on
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Posts
Chords: eb--x--0---x-----x--x---- Bb--x--0---x-----3--x---- Gb--0--0---0-----2--2---- Db--0--2---2-----0--2---- Ab--2--2---3-----x--0---- Eb--3--x---x-----x--x---- G Em C D Am D/F# (just play D)eb--3--0---0-----2--0----2 Bb--3--0---1-----3--1----3 Gb--0--0---0-----2--2----2 Db--0--2---2-----0--2----0 Ab--2--2---3-----x--0----0 Eb--3--x---x-----x--x----2 G Em C D Am D/F# Fig. 1 eb---------------------------------| Bb--0-----0---------0-----0--------| Gb----0-----0---0-----0-----0---0--| Db---------------------------------| Ab-3----3-----3----5-----5----5----| Eb---------------------------------| Fig. 2 eb---------------------------------| Bb--0-----0---------0-----0--------| Gb----0-----0---0-----0-----0---0--| Db---------------------------------| Ab-7----7-----7----9----9----9-----| Eb---------------------------------| G Em G Em C G D C G D C G D G Fig. 1 x2 (before vox) Fig. 1 Fig. 1 Time is never time at all Fig. 1 Fig. 2 You can never ever leave without leaving a piece of youth. Fig. 1 Fig. 1 And our lives are forever changed, Fig. 1 Fig. 2 We will never be the same; The more you change the less you feel. Fig. 1 Fig.1 Fig.1 G D Em Believe, believe in me, believe (believe) Am C G D Em That life can change, that you're not stuck in vain Am C G D C G D We're not the same, we're different toniiiiiiiiiiiIIIight. C G D Em C Tonight, tonight, so bright C G D C G D G Tonight, tonight G Em G And you know you're never sure Em But sure you're sure you could be right If you held yourself up to the light G Em And the embers never fade in your city by the lake The place where you were born. Fig. 1 Fig.1 Fig.1 G D Em Believe, believe in me, believe (believe) Am C G D Em In the resolute urgency of now Am C G D C G D And if you believe there's not a chance toniiiiiiiiiiiIIIight. C G D Em C Tonight, tonight, so bright C G D G D Em Tonight, tonight. Am C G D Em We'll crucify the insincere tonight (tonight) Am C G D Em We'll make things right, we'll feel it all tonight (tonight) Am C G D Em We'll find a way to offer up the night (tonight) Am C G D Em The indescribable moments of your life (tonight) Am C G D Em The impossible is possible tonight (tonight) Am C Fig. 1 Believe in me as I believe in you.... tonight. Fig. 1 Fig.1 G D/F# Em Tonight tonight, tonight, tonight.So for instance E5 is 020000, A5 is 002000
You could probably play a fair amount of Nirvana stuff with that if you're just doing the chords, and some other stuff would work reasonably with that.
Have you given any thought to learning Left-handed guitar? Two fingers and a thump are more than what's required to hold a pick...
edit: beated
And by thump I mean thumb
E minor before: 022000 | After: 000000
A minor before: X02210 | After: 555555
Need major chords? Most songs do. Just press your middle finger down on the G string, like so:
F major before: X33211 | After: 111211
A major before: X02220 | After: 555655
Piece of cake. It's not going to impress any guitar snobs, but your lady won't notice the difference, and you can play a billion songs with just plain vanilla major and minor barre chords.
You could pretty much play Dream by Priscilla Ahn quite easily
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEg9bCX83RU
Although she uses full chord shapes she only picks the base note and the third and the second string. I'm pretty sure the chords are (capo 2nd fret)
C, F note on the bass string, Am, F barre chord, X2 - Verse
C, Em, F, C, G, F - Chorus (last F it's 6th, 3rd, 2nd then 6th, 3rd, 1st etc)
and other bits are just C, G, C, F I think.
As for the fingering positions I think you could do the following - I don't have my guitar with me at the mo but I can check in a minute.
0
1
0
0
3
x
F Note
0
0
0
0
0
1
Am
0
1
2
0
0
x
F Barre
1
1
2
1
1
1
Em
0
0
0
0
0
0
G
0
3
0
0
0
3
The only hard chord to play there would be the G, you can either drop the finger on the second string, or wrap your thumb around to play the bass note.
Wicked Game - Chris Isaak
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fufMB8UdQA&feature=related
(Can't find the actual song so here's a live version)
You can pretty much play Wicked Game with two fingers quite easily.
The chords are Bm A then E all the way through (E for two measures)
Now, you could pretty much just play them as
x
x
4
4
x
x
A - Just bar the first finger, should be easy.
x
2
2
2
0
x
E
0
0
1
2
x
x
The opening rif is (something like)
The fills at the end after the E chord are just (something like)
It's a really super simple song to play, just brush the chords lightly once and then play a little fill at the end.
So, my solution would be swap the strings around and play a righty as a lefty, and if you decide you really want to play well, buy a lefty and re-learn.
For paintings in progress, check out canvas and paints
"The power of the weirdness compels me."
Not totally true, Jimi Hendrix played lefty of a right handed guitar- he just re-strung the strings (and maybe flipped around the pickups)
Also, if you have an standard style acoustic, the only real difference will be where the pickguard is (and you can buy a new pick guard and place it where you actually want it.
[G]-6
4
2
9
[D]-4
2
0
7
7
[A]-4
2
0
7
4
[D]-4
2
0
7
4
As for picking, pop punk bands like Blink 182 and The Alkaline Trio have riffs that are easy to play. Try out Adam's Song by Blink 182.
Its true of acoustics - I play acoustic, not electric guitar.
For paintings in progress, check out canvas and paints
"The power of the weirdness compels me."
I'm still not sure what the difference is- I play both, and, aside from some acoustics having a "scoop" for easier access to higher frets (which... for acoustic guitars is usually unnecessary to have anyway) I don't th ink there would be any difference which switching the strings. The only semi problem would come because of the pick guard...
I'd imagine you'd probably have problems with the nut, the top e in the bottom E grove is too lose, and the bottom E in the top e just wouldn't fit.
And then you have the problem of intonation as you now have strings with completely different tensions under them, you'd probably need a new bridge with most guitars.
This, basically. Let's take a close look at an acoustic guitar's bridge:
You'll notice a couple of things: first, the bridge itself (the ivory-colored bit) is at a slight angle when compared to the tailpiece (the wood bit), and second, the bridge tapers slightly in size under the high strings. The dimensions of the bridge have to be precise to fractions of an inch to ensure correct intonation. Additionally, a poorly adjusted (or backwards) bridge can cause string height issues, which can lead to rattling, buzzing, and poor action.
Now, on electrics, R to L conversion is a lot more viable, because the bridge is adjustable; you can just adjust the string lengths and heights and have a playable instrument. The nut still has to be reversed (or replaced), though, which is an expensive trip to the luthier. There's also the problem of the cutaway being on the wrong side, the knobs scratching against your wrist...
But for the OP, who probably already has a guitar and just wants to play it with his working fingers, I swear to god open E minor tuning is the way to go.
So, I'd say go to your guitar store, ask them to inspect the acoustic, and see if it is one with symetrical bracings and go from there. It should be much cheaper than getting an entirely new guitar for left handed playing.
So, it isn't as easy/viable as i figured it would be, but still plausible
edit: wait, mis read that, the bridge could be a bit more difficult than I thought... the tail piece being the most worry some imo.
And, i'm not sure the nut needs a trip to a luther- of the 4 guitars I have, the nut has been just glued in (one fell out after a few years which I was changing strings, which is how I noticed that...
so... in other words, this might be a more troublesome solution than I previously imagined lol. If your braces are symmetrical, it my be atleast worth trying as a low cost (but imperfect) solution until you feel like you want to go out and buy a left handed guitar.
It isn't as easy as just popping it out and turning it around, the cuts in the nut are slanted so that the string angles down toward the neck. A new nut would have to be carved, and that's definitely something that should be left to a qualified tech.
(I'm not trying to be a dick, so I hope I'm not coming across as condescending, it's just that guitars are not easy things to work on.)
No, i didn't mean to imply you would use the same nut. I get Carvin mags from which you can order nuts that fit all sizes of guitars (they have the length of the nut as a variable so you should be able to find one that suits your guitar's needs) and they're usually precarved and run about 4-5 bucks if i remember, probably more if you order from a store. Which is why i mentioned ordering parts at your guitar store.
And don't worry about sounding condescending- its hard not to (which I think you did a good job avoiding) when you're explaining what you know
edit: just to be clear, I'm not trying to say this is a solution that will last him forever, you guys have made it clear that there are a number of problems with this idea. It should, however, save him quite a few bucks until he decides to go all in on a true lefty acoustic, assuming everything goes properly.
0
0
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2
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0
0
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3
2
0
0
0
0
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2
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0
0
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4
5
0
And that's it. Em C G D, with the right strumming pattern. Give it a listen; it's very haunting. The strums are like this
Down (up) down up (down) up
where the bracketed ones are strums you don't actually hit the strings, just move your hand. On the first two downs, hit the bottom strings mostly; on the first upstrum, make sure you hit the high open B and the strings below it, for the most part. On the last upstrum, hit the open G string. That's how you get the right sound, on every chord.
It's easy, it's beautiful, it's haunting, and it's about mothers accepting that their sons are going to leave and possibly be hurt in the world they must live in. Can't fail.
They sound very close, but aren't quite what he plays.
(Studo no kapo)
(live with a kapo on the 2 fret)
079000
035000
350000 (with an optional (5) on the D string)
057000 (with an optional (7) on theG string)
and 022000 during the chorus inplace of 079000
still easily playable with 2 fingers
0
2
2
0
0
0
2
0
0
2
0
0
Those two chords repeated for the entire song.
You can listen for the strum pattern. It's like doing jumping jacks with your index and middle finger
naknaknaknaknak
they aren't the "real" chords, but they're the ones you can play with the two fingers he has available. It sounds almost identical.
You can play the version I posted with two fingers as well since you don't need the optional notes to get the gist of the song
edit: and in case you were saying that my chords were the wrong ones, they're video's on youtube of him playing exactly what I posted
An easy one is the A major shape (X X 2 2 2 X) where you can just barre 3 strings with your index finger and move that around. Note that this won't produce a perfectly correct result but if you don't like any of the songs people suggested here, you can pretty much turn your own choice of song into something that's playable with 1 easy shape.
If it sounds too bland, another thing you can do to make different parts sound distinct is fiddle around with your strumming pattern. Down strums and up strums sound different as you probably already know, so try doing some parts with only up strums for example.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCaT2b1v5ng