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GMC Forum _ Absolute Beginners _ What Is The First Song You Ever Learned On Guitar?
Posted by: Bear Rose Sep 17 2010, 10:31 PM
When I was first starting out playing guitar, my guitar teacher taught me lots of fingerpicking, which I was not very interested at the time, but I am very thankful for that skill now!
She taught me acoustic songs like, "Puff the Magic Dragon", "Mr. Bojangles", and "Blackbird" by the Beatles.
Technically those were some of the first songs I learned, but I don't really claim them as my first song.
I remember after about 3 years of never practicing and not being any good at all, I got a guitar instructional video showing Classic Rock riffs. Most of them were way too hard, but the one that I really got a hold of was "Smoke on the Water" by Deep Purple. I imagine that was a lot of players' first song. I was able to pick up on how to play that one and it really boosted my confidence. After that, I would find another riff from the video that I could do, and so on and so on.
But, "Smoke on the Water" is the song I claim as the first one I could really play.
What about everyone else? What was your first song?
Posted by: ZakkWylde Sep 17 2010, 10:34 PM
For Whom the Bell tolls by Metallica
Posted by: Mudbone Sep 17 2010, 10:51 PM
Puff the Magic Dragon eh? Actually thats what I was doing at a friends house when I learned my first song - the intro to "Fade to Black" by Metallica 
Posted by: Sollesnes Sep 17 2010, 11:01 PM
I think the first song I tried learning was Gandalfs Return by Blind Guardian. First full song I learnt I think was Dimmu Borgir - Antikrist, Old Version 
But maybye I never finished it... if so, my first full song was probably Jani Liimatainens Young Guitar demo
Posted by: Fran Sep 18 2010, 12:28 AM
Singing and strumming a few chords to play Springsteen's "I'm going down" and "Downbound Train"
Posted by: Azzaboi Sep 18 2010, 02:08 AM
The first full song I learnt was 'Hell Bells by AC\DC' from beginning to end with solo and got the timing, effects, nailed down it all. Still play and love it. I started out enjoying that due to a silly but nice guitar trick to create the bell tone at the beginning of the song, lol!
I like fast metal/rock but blues rock I tend to enjoy chilling out to and sounds sweet on my Gibson.
Posted by: thefireball Sep 18 2010, 05:08 AM
Canon Rock
The reason I started guitar. 
Posted by: MickeM Sep 18 2010, 10:31 AM
Got a big surprise coming here, Smoke on the water
Posted by: Gitarrero Sep 18 2010, 11:55 AM
I admit: Rhinestone Cowboy! I was eleven and my dad had just taught me the basic chords, so I was strumming along to this for days. Same with Sweet Home Alabama, I was just strumming the chords. The first full song I could play from start to finish was the german classic "Zu spät" (too late) by one of the most popular german fun punk / rock bands "Die Ärzte". Pick up a guitar, start to play that song in Germany, and everybody will sing along...
Posted by: tonymiro Sep 18 2010, 12:09 PM
First two I was shown how to play: Free 'Wishing Well' and Iggy Pop/Stoogies "The Passenger'.
First two solos I learned (by slowing down the vinyl records): The Only Ones 'Another Girl Another Planet' and Blue Oyster Cult 'Don't Fear the Reaper'.
First full song (by slowing down the record): Pat Metheny 'Phase Dance'.
Posted by: Fran Sep 18 2010, 01:23 PM
I love that song
Posted by: Bogdan Radovic Sep 18 2010, 01:50 PM
First songs I learned on guitar was definitely solo part for And I Love Her by the Beatles and next I went to learn some chords for Love Me Do by the same artist.
Posted by: Jasonius Sep 19 2010, 01:27 AM
Chord strumming "Lyin Eyes" by the Eagles. I might have done "Puff the Magic Dragon" too.
Posted by: slash48 Sep 19 2010, 01:48 AM
Sweet Home Alabama. I was just playing the chords but I still got a kick out of it.
Posted by: Azzaboi Sep 19 2010, 01:53 AM
@ Puff the Magic Dragon - you do know that's a song about kids doing drugs right? Puff the Magic Dragon refers to smoking pot and the innocences of childhood is lose through doing so. Still a kewl song but yeah.
Posted by: Jasonius Sep 19 2010, 02:02 AM
So that's what happened to me! 
Posted by: JamesT Sep 19 2010, 02:26 AM
Stairway to Heaven.
Spent way too much time learning every note of it.
Then it was more Zep, cause it was the first book I got with actual tabs in it...
Babe I'm gonna Leave You.
Good Times Bad Times
Black Dog
Heartbreaker
Livin Loving Maid
Immigrant Song
Whole Lotta Love
Over the Hills and Far Away
Let's just say, that the Mighty Zep had sort of an influence on me. 
Posted by: BedroomBozo Oct 2 2010, 08:26 AM
The first song I TRIED to play was Fade to Black by Metallica, but it was too damn hard and I got mad and pretty much put away the guitar for a year. Then I picked it back up to learn "Sweater Song" by Weezer... I was so jazzed that I was able to play a song I heard on the radio. Let's see.... then I learned the opening riffs to Enter Sandman soon after, and the first song me and a friend played together properly was Nirvana's version of "Man Who Sold the World", which was a big deal for us, that was back in like 1995. After that I learned Buddy Holly by Weezer, Heart Shaped Box by Nirvana, Pure Massacre by Silverchair (remember those guys? 
)a bunch of Metallica riffs (finally got Fade to Black lol)..... and the rest is history....
Posted by: Bear Rose Oct 20 2010, 06:01 PM
)a bunch of Metallica riffs (finally got Fade to Black lol)..... and the rest is history....I know exactly what you mean. It seems like you're overwhelmed because it feels like every song you try is way too hard for you, but then you have that moment where you find a song that you really like and you find out that you can play it. That is one of the greatest motivations I've ever experienced in my guitar playing!
Posted by: NoSkill Oct 20 2010, 07:34 PM
First go 'round, when I was 8 or so? The Yellow Rose of Texas, or The Big Rock Candy Mountain.
Second go 'round when I was 18? Neil Young, Heart of Gold.
Posted by: superize Oct 20 2010, 09:21 PM
Some of the songs i first tried to play was
Lordi- Hard rock Helleluja
Axel Rudi Pell- Carousel
The Poodles- Night of Passion
Posted by: Karl-ss Oct 20 2010, 11:20 PM
This might seem silly. But the first song I learnt on guitar was the song "Babykiller" by the band Devourment.
Posted by: Todd Simpson Oct 21 2010, 02:01 AM
When I first started playing I learned the cheese classic "Rock You Like Hurricane". I kind of cringe when I hear it being butchered in a guitar shop these days as I know I played it even worse when I started out.
Todd
Posted by: Daniel Robinson Oct 21 2010, 08:26 AM
Hrm,
That was a long time ago...let me see if my memory can dig that far back.
I guess the first real song i learned all the way thru was Heading out to the highway by Judas Priest.
Daniel
Posted by: purple hayes Oct 21 2010, 02:47 PM
The first cover I ever performed was You've Got Another Thing Comin'.
Posted by: LasseHenriksen Oct 21 2010, 04:17 PM
Black Sabbath - Ironman
and ac/dc TNT and Thunderstruck
Posted by: Nielzsz Nov 11 2010, 10:49 AM
I think my first accoustic songs were Clocks by coldplay and Californication by RHCP.
And yes, the first song i learned on my electric guitar was... Smoke on the water 
And raining blood by slayer. Ofcourse not that fast haha.
Posted by: MonkeyDAthos Nov 11 2010, 01:37 PM
wish you were here - pink floyd
and
shook me all night long AC/DC
Posted by: JkB Nov 11 2010, 02:50 PM
I first picked up my father's classical guitar to try and play stariway to heaven intro but that was way too hard. Then i moved to "Come as you are" by Nirvana and i think that was thie first riff i could actually play. I was also trying to play fade to black and One by metallica but these one were a bit harder.
I also remember working my fingerpicking with "babe i'm gonna leave you" by led zep and "forbidden games" first because i could not use a pick as the time
Posted by: Bogdan Radovic Nov 12 2010, 01:41 PM
Hey guys check out the latest video and topic on the GMC FB page (regarding this discussion) :
http://www.facebook.com/guitarmasterclass
Posted by: loundzilla Mar 15 2011, 09:30 PM
The first song i learnt to play from start to finish was "The Kid's Aren't Alright" by The Offspring....
I've now gone on to learn (to name afew):
Metallica: Fade to black, Nothing Else matters, Sad but true, for whom the bell tolls
Megadeath: Tornado of souls
And some other random part of songs
Posted by: JamesT Mar 16 2011, 03:00 AM
Stairway
Posted by: Bear Rose Apr 4 2011, 09:34 PM
Always a great choice! Wasn't my first song, but it was certainly one that I learned early on.
Posted by: bill95 May 11 2011, 07:15 PM
Knockin' on heaven's door , i learned it after 3 weeks i grabbed the axe or so
Posted by: nikeman64 Jul 20 2011, 06:29 PM
Yep, ... Knockin' On Heaven's door --- GNR version. I still love to play it , after 20 years.
Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Jul 20 2011, 07:29 PM
I remember starting with the main riffs of these songs:
Smoke on the water - Deep Purple
Dead Horse - Guns and Roses
Satisfaction - Rolling Stones
Come as you are - Nirvana
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