Am I the only one that can't play any full songs and basically only plays leads over backing tracks or in a band situation?

I know I am going to catch flack for this, but oh well.

Yes, I have and still work a lot and have a ton of other hobbies that take up my time, but it is more I just don't want to be bothered learning any songs or anybody elses leads, it is not fun for me.

All I basically do is play leads over backing tracks or I just play random chords and throw riffs in between them.

I literally only know one or two songs anymore.

Even in my last few band situations, I would just sit back, let the rhythm guitar player play chords, let the singer sing, and my job was to just throw riffs in between vocal lines and maybe take a quick solo for a few bars. Kind of like Santana does.
Sometimes I would thow a chord in here or there, but just one strum for effect on top of the rhythm players strumming.

Maybe I should grab a book of 3 or 4 chords songs so at least I know how to play some songs?

Any others out there like me?

Flame suit on, fire away!

I have committed to learning one new song per week..
week 1 "What's Your Name" by Lynyrd Skynyrd
week 2 "Jail Break" by Thin Lizzy

If what you do is fun for you then there are no problems

I have a bunch of guitar tab books. I do try to learn compltete songs. Being a hobbyist guitar player, I am into just playing for relaxation and having some fun.

Oh, heck; that's a fine approach.

If I learn a song it's gone in 3 days, anyway, if I don't run thru it daily.

dc007 said:

If what you do is fun for you then there are no problems

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Thanks, just trying to see if I am not the only one.

Mr Hockey said:

I have a bunch of guitar tab books. I do try to learn compltete songs. Being a hobbyist guitar player, I am into just playing for relaxation and having some fun.

Click to expand...

Same here...
At least I can fool novices in to thinking I am a good guitar player, lol

DavGrape said:

Oh, heck; that's a fine approach.

If I learn a song it's gone in 3 days, anyway, if I don't run thru it daily.

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That is why I think I should learn some basic 3-4 chord songs.
I can do Hotel California (chords only, my riffs) and Tuesday's Gone (chords only, my riffs), I need to add a few more.
Actually, there are a bunch of Skynyrd songs I still remember the chords to by memory now that I think about it, again chords only, my riffs.

dc007 said:

If what you do is fun for you then there are no problems

Click to expand...

Unless you’re ruining someone else’s project for your own satisfaction lol.

In college I met people who only played alone. I didnt understand it then nor do i now, but that’s their perogative.

My preference has been writing and performing my own material since early on my journey.

Also i feel like this goes in off topic

If you want to learn songs, how do you do it? Trying to memorize an entire song at once? That can be difficult for some. And stand in the way of learning songs.

Songs, of course, have structure. Many people, like myself, make a song map. Find the patterns, excluding solos. Often there are only a half dozen, or fewer patterns. In the song map, how many times does each pattern occur adjacently. Learn the individual patterns one at a time. Going over and over it until you have it. Move on to the next one. Once you've learned the patterns, and how many times each pattern occurs, you have the song down. If you don't play the song for a while, you can go back to the song map and pick it up pretty quickly, normally. Solos can be note for note, or something you create that you can play, if the solo is too difficult.

Not sure if this is the type of advice you were looking for, but if it was, I hope it helps. Of course, it may have been plainly obvious to you. Sorry if it was.

I'm about the same way but probably even less skilled than you are. And that's OK. If playing AC/DC riffs makes me happy, them I'm happy. So what?

I practice as much as I want to. It's not enough to generally improve my playing, and that's an unfortunate fact, but I'm accepting the consequences of my own habits or lack thereof with eyes wide open.

I would also ask yourself if you're exploring all avenues within your lead playing?

Are you working in just the pentatonics? If so, are you moving through all 5 positions? Moving between Maj & min?

Are you playing the changes and are you aware of the notes/intervals you're hitting? Or is it just using common patterns that have proven to have safe landing spots.

Are you exploring the use of chord tones / arpeggios, double-stops, sliding sixths, octaves, etc. to spice things up?

Are you employing modes (depending on the chords presented in the song)?


I found that I was just falling into the rut of playing comfortable patterns that sounded fine but I had almost forgotten the theory behind them, the notes/intervals employed and why they worked. I started to slow down and push myself to relearn those things which not only improved lead exploration but then also made rhythm playing much more interesting since it illuminated the close relationship between the chords and great lead lines.

HowieJams said:

I would just sit back, let the rhythm guitar player play chords

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Maybe we should put a band together.
I’m a rhythm & riffs guy, 100%.

@TXOldRedRocker and @cmjohnson nailed it.

I’m more than happy to stand back by the drum kit, opposite of the bass player.
I’m perfectly at home in the engine room.

HowieJams said:

I know I am going to catch flack for this, but oh well.

Yes, I have and still work a lot and have a ton of other hobbies that take up my time, but it is more I just don't want to be bothered learning any songs or anybody elses leads, it is not fun for me.

All I basically do is play leads over backing tracks or I just play random chords and throw riffs in between them.

I literally only know one or two songs anymore.

Even in my last few band situations, I would just sit back, let the rhythm guitar player play chords, let the singer sing, and my job was to just throw riffs in between vocal lines and maybe take a quick solo for a few bars. Kind of like Santana does.
Sometimes I would thow a chord in here or there, but just one strum for effect on top of the rhythm players strumming.

Maybe I should grab a book of 3 or 4 chords songs so at least I know how to play some songs?

Any others out there like me?

Flame suit on, fire away!

Click to expand...

You're not alone. At age 83, I play today much in the manner that you describe. I keep my playing as simple as you do and it's great enjoyment for me. +-74 years ago music was quite a bit more complex than today's offerings. Those days I used chord method books or sheet music to identify what my ears were hearing and figured out how thiey would “layout” on the fingerboard.

I don't hear any modern songs that demand my attention nor the urge to sit down and learn any current music. One thing I'm doing now is playing using minor keys or chord progressions that move from minor to major and back again… It's great ear training and your soloing techniques will definatley benefit from it. I use Led Zeppelin's music where minor keys are concerned i.e. Immigrant Song, Archilles Last Stand are two examples. They are simple chord progression, so learning a few transpositions of those chords will also help develop your soloing technique and just may stimulate your imagination in new playing directions.

Just a few thoughts for anyone thinking that they are not advancing their playing.

Classicplayer

I get it. I'm busy with paid work and related creative practice, have a young family and live in a small house with neighbours that share walls. I absolutely love picking up the guitar and playing around unplugged at the end of the day, but that's rarely a great time to try learn something new. I've got to make time for that. To that end, I'm failing miserably!

Anyway, what I've been trying to do is learn things bit by bit. I subscribed to Sheet Music Direct and put together a playlist of sorts so I can learn parts as the mood takes me. It's cheaper than Netflix and much more enjoyable, especially when I suddenly realise I can actually do a convincing emulation of something I admire.

HowieJams said:

I know I am going to catch flack for this, but oh well.

Yes, I have and still work a lot and have a ton of other hobbies that take up my time, but it is more I just don't want to be bothered learning any songs or anybody elses leads, it is not fun for me.

All I basically do is play leads over backing tracks or I just play random chords and throw riffs in between them.

I literally only know one or two songs anymore.

Even in my last few band situations, I would just sit back, let the rhythm guitar player play chords, let the singer sing, and my job was to just throw riffs in between vocal lines and maybe take a quick solo for a few bars. Kind of like Santana does.
Sometimes I would thow a chord in here or there, but just one strum for effect on top of the rhythm players strumming.

Maybe I should grab a book of 3 or 4 chords songs so at least I know how to play some songs?

Any others out there like me?

Flame suit on, fire away!

Click to expand...

This was me for probably my first 15 years of playing. Not even joking. I only knew riffs, some licks, etc. But I never actually bothered to learn a single song from start to finish.

But then I decided to get serious and actually learn those songs I enjoy and then it was like a muscle that got stronger because it becomes easier and easier to learn new songs after

Hey man what ever gives you enjoyment on the instrument is what’s right. Everyone is a little different. Me I’ve always felt a little lacking but I wouldn’t change a thing after all these years. I don’t play covers. I don’t learn other peoples music. Of course I learned 35 yrs ago playing to zep, priest, nugent, but practically ever since then I create. I make my own ideas, record them, sometimes revisit but usually just create more. Probably have ideas numbering in the 2-3 thousand by know. It’s fun for me. There is no right way, just what you like. party on and bust those leads out.

I've owned and played guitars on and off since 1965 and there isn't a song I know completely. I still manage to enjoy playing. Sometimes I manage to come up with a pretty tasty chord progression. Tomorrow it's gone.

1st off, and it has been said before: "No gripes, no therapy!" (oops sry, I slid into job-speak there) - or, in someone else's words: "Whatever gets you through the night"...
I even dare say, there's many players out there, doing just their "noodling" - because, as it has been written here alreday, it is always nice to remain inside our "comfy zone".

However:

grazpiano said:

I would also ask yourself if you're exploring all avenues within your lead playing?

Are you working in just the pentatonics? If so, are you moving through all 5 positions? Moving between Maj & min?

Are you playing the changes and are you aware of the notes/intervals you're hitting? Or is it just using common patterns that have proven to have safe landing spots.

Are you exploring the use of chord tones / arpeggios, double-stops, sliding sixths, octaves, etc. to spice things up?

Are you employing modes (depending on the chords presented in the song)?

Click to expand...

All of this can -imho- only be achieved when knowing the underlying structure, ie. chords and progression(s). Without that knowledge, I can only fall back onto the "smallest common denominator", which almost always is the pentatonic - in so far, @grazpiano, I think you actually answered your own question. Alternatively, I could work out which notes "sound good" by ear... and since I didn't know the structure behind "sounds good" - I'd have to start experiementing over and over again with each different song (backihg track)... Honestly: I'd find that most frustrating...

To sum it up: Of course, it's possible to only play leads & "throw iin the odd chord" (but then: How would I know WHICH chords to throw in?!). That would work on the progressions I know only (like e.g. blues-patterns). On "new" progressions, be it Pop, Rock or Jazz - I would not know what to play, but my generic scales (pentatonic, in almost all cases).

That would be fine as long as I'm solo.

In a band situation, I could do what the OP mentions - sans the chords ('cause I wouldn't know which ones would fit!). I would not be able to "serve the song" (as I would't know what to do with a term like "the song"), unless I'd be willing to spend hours on end playing to my backing track, until I'd come up with something specific by accident.

During my time, when joining bands, I quite often heard: "You know why you got the job? Because all the others were only noodling around, and couldn't really contribute to our music!".
I never really understood what that sentence was supposed to mean... I do think that this thread, takes me a lot closer to understanding...

As long as you're playing and getting enjoyment out of it, there are no wrong approaches to guitar. It's not like Kevin Shirley is yelling at you from the control room in a $5K/day recording studio.

I’m just playing for fun myself. I’ve just spent most of the weekend playing bits and pieces and periods of rhythm. The way my brain works is to figure out the key, then the chord progression then the rhythm and then I’m tired of rhythm time and it’s off to the races.

Playing the whole song, start to finish, like it meant to be played it’s harder, physically and mentally…ain’t nobody got time for that. Sometimes the looper is fun, lay down your own rhythm and then play along. It’s all good.