Open Question Number One

[tesla]

As is usually the way of these things, having announced that I won't be reading LJ for a bit I find myself in desperate need of your opinions:

What songs shall I learn to play/sing for purposes of music partying? What would you like to sing along to? (Please don't throw rotten tomatoes at your monitors; it won't do anyone any good.)

Comments

[pied-piper70.livejournal.com]

It's been said already, but really, you need to decide what you want to learn play...Sure, there's the "know your audience" factor, but aside from that, pick a song that you like and then learn it...

I know it's not as easy as that, so pick a song that might be easier to learn, chord-wise...

Also, and this is most important, find a song that will fit into your vocal range and will work with your vocal timbre...This is more difficult and it took me awhile to figure out: I'm never going to sing like Joe Cocker or Tom Waits until I'm at least eighty years old...And as much as I LOVE to play r&b/soul, my voice doesn't fit much of that genre either...So in the meantime, I find song that fit my voice: Neil Finn/Crowded House songs work...So does Squeeze, Beatles, Robyn Hitchcock, most Brit pop stuff...

So the challenge is finding styles that fit what you can sing...and also play at the same time...

Also, don't be hard on yourself with memorizing lyrics...I completely suck at it: it usually takes me five years to get song lyrics right unless I really really really work at it...Your mileage may vary but don't worry about it in any case...

[madtruk.livejournal.com]

Dude, you can Joe Cockerize (well, that bit of wordsmithing goes back to the think tank) your voice by smoking a few cigs and drinking half a bottle of whiskey (any type). At the least, you'll _feel_ like Joe, and that's just as important, I think.

hehe