In a different style of thread from the "favorite song to kill", I figured I'd go in the other direction, and ask what is your favorite song (songs) that you can totally nail, 100%, dead-on, note-for-note....

Suzie Q - Creedence Clearwater Revival. --- I love this old tune! Crank up the reverb and cut loose!

Roll On Down The Highway - BTO. --- This is a real easy song that anyone can play.
You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet - BTO. --- Ditto.
Takin' Care of Business - BTO. --- Ditto.

Before You Accuse Me - Eric Clapton (on one of his many 'greatest hits' type of CD's). --- I can match both Robert Cray and EC on this tune, that was done by a bunch of artists.

Edit... I should add (regarding the CCR tune I mentioned above) - I can pretty much nail every CCR tune that they did. I just picked 'Suzie Q' because it's a fun tune to quickly run through with a kicked up reverb tone. I can also nail pretty much every BTO tune that they did too (with the exception of "Lookin' Out For #1" - I have never figured out some of those jazz melodies that Randy Bachman played).

Star Spangled Banner-Woodstock Version.Although I've only been able to nail almost every nuance of the feedback a handful of times it gave me goose bumps when I could hear the feedback come in just the right key,especially after the "Taps"part where the note just resonates with the feedback coming an octave higher.I also have been able to nail Voodoo Child(slight return) a handful of times to my satisfaction.Jimi's licks are extremely difficult to nail but with enough trial and error his tone can be achieved with a large amount of perseverance.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

"In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed"....the Allman Brothers Band....I've been to her grave in Macon Ga.,where Dickey Betts wrote the melody...

I used to play a lot of metal stuff (well, kinda still playing metal) and can play some songs from Death like Crystal Mountain, Misanthrope. And quite a few other songs by metal bands but not the full 100%

Last year I mostly played rock and mostly write my own songs. But I love to play the song Pawn Shoppe Heart by the Von Bondies that I finally nailed. First song i've fully learned by ear! Proud of it hehe. Awesome Garage rock!

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I have a hard time learing songs dead on but I wish I could

Even when I try to play a song dead on I usually throw in some junk that shouldn't be there .

But if I really try I like to play Aqualung by Jethro Tull note-for-note (which, for me is hard to do without making mistakes).

yeah i nailed star spangled banner once ( slight return tho)

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Musos can be a pain!!!

But if you have 15,000 they will give you free Fenders

greenday-holiday (that beginning progression just blows my mind)
i also like to nail killing in the name of by ratm and something to live for by pennywise

Some songs you can't be sloppy with and have to nail because the riffs are so well known that a wrong note jumps out. this is really the case with surf tunes...Apache, Walk Don't Run, Hawaii Five O, etc. I can do them in my sleep.

I also like Suzie Q. Played it for 40 years or so and have my own solo version.....do the rhythm and lead. I'll play the main riff down on the 7th fret so I can switch easily with the 'CCR chord' and power chord progression.

On the classical guitar i can nail tunes but get tired of some of them. I hate 'Classical Gas'. I must have spent half of my teenage years learning the damn thing. Same with Bach's 'Jesus, Joy of Man's Desire' or however it's called in English. After I had a few years under my belt I could improvise the classics but those first years of learning songs 'note per note' were drudgery..

Then there's the reverse. I'll get a few songs wrong almost every time... like 'Hotel California'...I can fake it OK but my fingers just won't nail that sucker.

Edited...easiest artist for me to to nail is Santana. My fingers just want to go to where they do. There is an incredible natural flow and cohesion in his music

I do a whole lot of improv, but the two songs that come to mind are Kansas' "Carry on My Wayward Son" and The Black Crowes "Hard to Handle"

The solo parts in both songs just seem right... I don't like to really change it up with them

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(former user jimbo612)

I have never, ever learned a song note-for-note.

It's not that I can't, I just choose not to do so. If I wanted to hear (for example) ZZ Top's "LaGrange", I have at least twelve different recorded versions* of that song done by the Boyzz themselves I can listen to...I don't need to try to play what has already been played.

BTW, they don't play it just as it was recorded every time, either.

I get very bored very quickly when a person plays a song or songs perfectly, note-for-note, as written or recorded.

So when I learn another person's song (famous or not), I learn the basic structure (chord progressions, rhythm, "feel" of the song) and then go off on my little tangents. Generally, the audience either (1) doesn't realize it's any different, because they're not musicians or (2) don't care, because it sounds good and real and I can put real emotion into it, instead of worrying that "Oh, no, that's not how __________ played that lick!"


*I've got a lot of bootlegged ZZ Top stuff

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Screamin' Armadillos
Texas Roadhouse Music
Guitar/Slide Guitar/Harp/Vocals

+1...I find it boring to rehash the same song the same way a thousand times. I try to put my own flavor to the cover songs I play.

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+2, I like to give my own spin too.

THough, I like teasing the opening to Wanted Dead or Alive, and faking people out

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I concurr completely, usually I throw in the most recognizable parts or riffs somewhere in the tune but after that I like to make it my interpretation, or a group interpretation. One of my favourite pastimes is to change the genre of recognizable "hits" for example like taking Whole Lotta Love or Stairway to Heaven and doing them Reggae or Ska style like Dred Zepplin. Hot, Blue and Righteous really works well as a reggae tune!!!

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Common sense and a sense of humor are the same thing, moving at different speeds. A sense of humor is just common sense, dancin'

Neat!

Are we talking the Fillmore East version? I certainly haven't learnt that whole thing note for note, but I could think of no better training for an electric guitar player than to do so. So long as they concentrate on the feel as well as the mere notes.

Respect.



That is very cool. Did you take a photo? I'd love to see what that famous spot actually looks like.

Cheers - C

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