What to play solo at family gatherings?

General Music Discussion
#21

I haven’t heard his version and can’t seem to find it. Is there a link you can share?

#22

EC has a melodic instrumental as well…seems like he took the chords to ‘Tears in Heaven’ and created a short instrumental with a latin flair.

1 Like
#23

EVH - little guitars intro…yum.

#24

To be honest, I often gracefully decline. I spend most of my time working on original material anyway so my repertoire of covers is limited. If people insist however, I might pull out some Metallica ballad intros or one or two of my own if I think I can pull it off on an acoustic.

1 Like
#25

I wish there was one but this was a live performance in an undergraduate guitar course at the time. He has some stuff on YouTube but it’s mostly, if not all, classical stuff. I remember my lessons with him fondly. A good teacher and a good guy.

#26

Super interesting thread !

Extreme was mentioned before and I think “Hole Hearted” really fits what you are looking for. Really dynamic song, full of cool licks and it sounds amazing even if you play it alone with an acoustic.

1 Like
#27

Yeah, I mentioned More Than Words, but Hole Hearted is more fun, though less recognized. That and Tragic Comic are two of my favorites.

On the theme of “less recognized”, there’s a painful section in the movie “The Squid and the Whale” where Jesse Eisenberg’s character, eager to impress his emotionally distant father (played by Jeff Daniels), allows his dad to believe that a song he plays for him is original, when it’s actually “Hey You” by Pink Floyd. Things get more awkward when he plays it at a talent show, introducing it as an original and winning $100 before getting called out.

2 Likes
#28

I would also recommend Dust in the wind by Kansas. It’s a pretty song.

2 Likes
#29

This is another approach, find a very memorable song’s chord progression and improv with it. This is what I do 90% of the time on acoustic.

2 Likes
#30

Someone already mentioned Andrew York’s Sunburst, which is one of my absolute favourites, but is a) classical, and b) double drop D, and REALLY relies on those Ds ringing out in tune. Not so good if someone’s just passed you a guitar in standard tuning. If you can bear the classical then I’d recommend another fantastic composition of his: Marley’s Ghost. Check it out on YouTube. That one’s in standard tuning so more possible to ‘just play’.

If you’re looking to avoid the classical, and especially if you come from a metal background, I’d recommend you check out Rodrigo y Gabriella. Rodrigo’s lines sound great on their own (mostly, but much better with Gabriella’s parts behind them), so if you like them I’d start with their self-titled album. The opener, Tamacun, sounds awesome without backing, and that album contains a great cover of Stairway to Heaven that will be recognisable without being as cliche as the original. It also has a cover of Metallica’s Orion, which is also awesome, but you may agree with me that it’s more dependent on the duo, not so good for solo. They’ve got a ton of albums, so maybe explore that?

2 Likes
#31

First time hearing about that duo, Tamacun is fantastic!

#32

I would say learn a few well known songs. If it’s original material people can often blank out unless it’s really a style/genre they are into. I had this exact problem before of people hearing that you play guitar and wanting you to play something. If you play something they’ve never heard you may not get much reaction and you will be wishing you didn’t bother as you’ll think you might of played bad or something.

With something they’ve heard, let’s say christmas songs for example, they will recognise it, and it should give them a smile. Even if no vocals.

1 Like
#33

Nuno’s ‘Midnight Express’ is instrumenal, acoustic and pretty fierce.

https://youtu.be/TTpyRCNbqy8

1 Like
#34

What about Silver Wheels by Heart/Ann Wilson?

The E6 chord in it is 076604… a chord voicing I had never come across! I remember John Williams once remarking the joy he felt at discovering a new chord, I had that sensation with this!

#35

This is true. I appreciate the thought and I’ll most likely mix in something familiar too.

But I’m fortunate and grateful in that my family is super respectful and a bit curious about musical performances. There will be zero messing around or disrespecting the performer. They’re focused and actively watching and listening until the end. Nobody’s chatting around in the back or letting themselves seem bored etc. That may be a bit of a Finnish trait too, but I’m not taking it for granted. It’s still kinda special imo.

On the flipside, they never sing along. I guess because they fear they’ll make it sound bad, haha.

Man this is intense. Acoustic goals material. Thanks, will be attempting.

#36

You could “kill two birds with one stone” and play some acoustic songs written by metal bands. I would suggest three excellent examples:

As a bonus 1:

Bonus 2:

  • Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody (arranged by Edgar Cruz) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVVskiLf5ug . I’m not sure if it meets your requirements, but believe me, everybody knows that song and will be impressed as hell.
2 Likes
#37

I can’t stress how important it is that you learn how to sing. Even terribly you will immediately quadruple your value as a musician. You won’t be Whitney Houston but you can entertain at parties.

#38

You’re not wrong. That’s the usual solution, that’s what troubadour-type solo performers do instead of trying to come up with a whole repertoire of guitar instrumentals. I know how to sing well enough to get by occasionally. I’ve sung backing vocals for several years. It’s not “stellar interpretation” by any means, but it definitely would add more than a little value.

But this thread is about guitar instrumentals. I wanna find and learn those. That’s what I’ve been having trouble finding, so I made this thread to ask you guys.

And on that note, thanks a lot for all these suggestions people! Really appreciate it. There’s a ton already, keep em coming!

#39

@Rumi These are great, I liked Desolate Ways and Spojrzenie a lot! Definitely going into the playlist.

Tristram is such an iconic track, it’s got a ton of nostalgia for me. It’s dark and beautiful, basically right up my alley, but imo it really needs somebody to play the flute parts. Maybe I’ll one day just make a really good backing track for it with all the instruments and effects, just to be able to get in the Diablo mood on an acoustic.

#40

Always wanted to learn that, you know - I loved that game as a kid (and still occasionaly pick up III for a season, and am looking forward to the release of 4). I’m not sure how it’d sound solo without that huge reverb, but I just want to learn it for my own sake.

1 Like