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Extra-curricular activities

Find advice on the best extra curricular activities in secondary schools and primary schools here.

Original poster

Need an easy guitar tune

15 replies

TennisFan · 05/04/2011 20:09

for DS who is 11 and is beginner guitar player. Has been learning for a year and just started strumming if that's the right term.

He has been asked to play at the end of school leaving party in June.

Can anyone recommend a good tune which would go down well? He could sing along if necessary

Thx

OP posts:
posey · 05/04/2011 21:29

Do you know which chords he can play?
We have quite a lot of tunes here, with not too difficult chord changes, but they are mainly things like The Beatles and similar.
Let me know if I can help more.

ZZZenAgain · 06/04/2011 11:06

lollipop?

ZZZenAgain · 06/04/2011 11:06

I wouldn't have him sing along to that though. How about la bamba (without the riff)?

Original poster
TennisFan · 07/04/2011 09:21

sorry, for delay i have been trying to find out what chords he knows. He was trying to do 'Somewhere over the rainbow' but is finding it a bit hard.

Now he is looking at some Green Day tunes - i think he doesnt want to do something uncool!

OP posts:
Original poster
TennisFan · 07/04/2011 17:22

OK don't know for sure but he def knows these chords
A
A7
Em
E
E7
G

Is this enough for a tune or would he need more?

Thnx

OP posts:
TheVisitor · 07/04/2011 17:24

Oasis - Wonderwall. Dead easy. IIRC it's only 3 chords. Tell him to search for guitar tab, shows him where to put his fingers on the strings.

posey · 07/04/2011 17:27

That should be enough chords for something. If e can manage a D as well, there are loads in my books.
Dd is also a Green Day guitar player Grin She isn't here at the moment but I'll find out where she gets her tunes from (online somewhere) and get back to you.

TheVisitor · 07/04/2011 17:33

Boulevard of broken dreams is an easy one. Very similar chords to Wonderwall.

cat64 · 07/04/2011 17:45

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

posey · 07/04/2011 22:14

dd uses www.ultimate-guitar.com
There are loads and loads on there, with different chords etc.

Original poster
TennisFan · 08/04/2011 09:25

Thanks, I will direct him there and he can get practising. I assume it will be more fun than the stuff in his school lessons, which is a bit 'young'

OP posts:
foxinsocks · 08/04/2011 09:26

horse with no name

The easiest guitar tune ever and it sounds quite impressive. Think you only need 2 chords!

Original poster
TennisFan · 08/04/2011 15:48

Horse with no name?
off to search google and youtube

thanks

OP posts:
confidence · 15/04/2011 00:25

The chords you listed allow him to play I and IV, with or without sevenths, in E. There is a small number of retro soul numbers that can be played with just those - "It's Your Thing" by the Isley Brothers and "Ain't Too Proud To Beg" by the Temptations spring to mind. Also probably some James Brown if he's into that kind of thing. Depends whether E suits his voice though.

What he really needs is to expand these just one step further to the famous "three chord trick" of I, IV and V. Then the world is his oyster. He could do this either by learning B / B7, giving I IV and V in E:

E/E7 (I) - A/A7 (IV) - B/B7 (V)

or, since he also knows G, by learning D to give I IV and V in D:

D (I) - G (IV) - A/A7 (V)

and also in A:

A/A7 (I) - D (IV) - E/E7 (V)

Preferably both would give him a choice of keys and chord positions for different songs. There are literally hundreds of songs that can be played using these three chords - thousands if you include all the old 12-bar blues.

confidence · 15/04/2011 00:27

Just remembered re the James Brown thing. "Sex Machine" is all on E7 apart from the bridge which is A7.

You gotta have the mojo for it though...

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