Do You Like Playing Along To Songs

Session 5

Session 5

Ambassador of Strings & Wings
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I learn songs i want to play, get the music for them, and download them into my MP3 player and i play along with band, I play some of them every day. I have quite a few on there, so i have to play everyday to keep up on them. Its great for keeping time, some songs i will just play rhythm ,some lead, then some lead and rhythm. Just depends on my mood that day.
 
Thatbastarddon said:
Nope. I don’t like to play along. I prefer glancing at some tab, while listening. Then I go at it on my own.
Nothing “wrong” with playing along…just not my thing…
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Same, I don’t do much tab. Not playing along much either. I used to just try to learn for instance, UFO “Let it Roll” it has some of my favorite solos. Playing to the best of my recall.

I have several books. I always thought it would be cool to learn a whole album but that never happened.
I do have some good tab books. Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Rush. The Zeppelin I bought came with a DVD. I don’t recall ever playing it. lol
 
ibmorjamn said:
Same, I don’t do much tab. Not playing along much either. I used to just try to learn for instance, UFO “Let it Roll” it has some of my favorite solos. Playing to the best of my recall.

I have several books. I always thought it would be cool to learn a whole album but that never happened.
I do have some good tab books. Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Rush. The Zeppelin I bought came with a DVD. I don’t recall ever playing it. lol
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I like chordal notation a lot, but I don’t do books much anymore. One of the things that drew me to using a tablet(iPad) a lot was an app called Songsterr…I guess it’s a website too.
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I just search for whatever, and go to it. Now it will play the tab along with a YouTube accompaniment if available/desired. Super cool learning tool. IMHO
 
My wife and I play at open mics. We play along to get the feel of the song, phrasing, dynamics, etc. Then my wife who is the lead singer arranges our version for her voice. After that playing along messes with my timing.
 
I also pull up tabs. Usually just to get an idea of chords and notes. Somewhere to start. And I’ll stream the song or play off a CD. But generally don’t play along at the same time.

And then I do my own thing that’s somewhat close enough to the song people know what I’m trying to play.

Couple songs I’m working on right now I have done a short hand kind of thing where I’ve taken notepad and written down the chords. Pretty sure no one else would be able to figure out my short hand, but it helps keeps me focused.
 
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I used to play along with songs when I was first learning and I learned a lot by doing that. It's a good thing to do I think, especially when you're first starting out. I should probably get back into it, but I just don't have the energy any more. I pretty much do what @Thatbastarddon said in post # 2.
 
GrooVey said:
Absolutely I play along with the song. With some chord diagram too. Everyday. Eventually the chords and the song go away. But the chords stay handy on Songbook for refreshing the memory as time goes by.

@GuitArchaeologist turned me on to Songbook Pro a while back.
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May have to check that out. Guessing it’s an app on your phone?
 
Yes, have so many originals, no need to play anything else. Took the other road long time ago. Been in original bands since day 1. Strangely, started spouting out words at a practice long time ago and have been the lyric writer ever since. pretty crazy over the years. there is lyrics from one end of this house to the other. Have so much music to play along we did that it is fun to see if you remember it all & can play to it.

Original band 1) Punkish
2) Alternative
3) Alternative/metal
4) heavy heavy
5) downtuned (gets old quick)
6) BFT ,whatever we can get away with at the events, got to read the room at times & when there is no good response or obviously booked into wrong event, always defer to heavy as possible for maximum enjoyment-on our end :bash::bash:
 
I do like it at least once a week.

I do this thing where I put on a stream and have no idea what songs/bands are going to be played, so I use it as an exercise to see how quickly I can figure the song out and how close I can come to matching the general tone and phrasing by the end of the tune. It's especially helpful when there are a lot of songs I have never heard before, so I do this a lot with current Alt and Indie rock (still has to be guitar music after all). I do find that it keeps me sharp and gets me out of my head a bit as I don't have time to think about what key things are in or where they are going, just gotta naturally get there quick without thinking, and I really like to try to anticipate where they will go with the bridge once I get the basic sequences down. If there is a solo in the song I will often improvise one, which is another nice exercise in itself.

I don't play along with music that I know unless it just happens to come up in the stream, and even then I will usually skip a song I know.
 
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I stared reading music at age 4 moving 0n to the seventy's my guitar teacher would layout 5 charts and send me in the studio
my wife wouldn't allow me to be in a band after we broke up been in bands ever since I look at music as a sport
now i spend my time writing new songs i played in the clubs over forty years I like to get up at seven AM not go to bed at seven AM
 
I usually don’t play along. I’ll listen, look at some tab, and work on what I can make of it. Practicing with the band every Wednesday makes for getting something put together that works as the song. If there is a long solo I’ll work on the signature riff parts and then just make sh#t up. :rolf:
 
gball said:
I do like it at least once a week.

I do this thing where I put on a stream and have no idea what songs/bands are going to be played, so I use it as an exercise to see how quickly I can figure the song out and how close I can come to matching the general tone and phrasing by the end of the tune. It's especially helpful when there are a lot of songs I have never heard before, so I do this a lot with current Alt and Indie rock (still has to be guitar music after all). I do find that it keeps me sharp and gets me out of my head a bit as I don't have time to thing about what key things are in or where they are going, just gotta naturally get there quick without thinking, and I really like to try to anticipate where they will go with the bridge once I get the basic sequences down. If there is a solo in the song I will often improvise one, which is another nice exercise in itself.

I don't play along with music that I know unless it just happens to come up in the stream, and even then I will usually skip a song I know.
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I also do this. Great ear training. After I try to play along by ear I lookup the chords to see how close I was.
 
iblive said:
May have to check that out. Guessing it’s an app on your phone?
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Or computer, or tablet. Type in the song title and choose from tabs on UG or eChord. It save the tabs on Songbook. And from there you can edit the tab anyway you wish.
 
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