we need stairway to heaven

[anarchyboy]

yo u cant play guitar if u cant play stairway to heaven lets :D hear it!!!

[fuzzball297]

Oh my god, how do you not know how to play stairway? It's the easiest song, and just because you can't play it doesn't mean you should bump the rest of the song requests back. Songs people don't know. Nobody wants to learn stairway to heaven on this site.

[hrblocked]

hey fuzz, don't criticize please. I happen to be a beginner and wouldn't mind learning this song or any song for that matter to better my playing abilities.

[fuzzball297]

sorry it's just frustrating because I can't stand rock. I play acoustic and it's rare to find some people who actually appreciate real guitar playing. I mean don't get me wrong, the guitar is good it's just easy.

[Quadcam79]

first of all, the song has been requested in about 5 different threads already, do a search.
Second, just because people cant play a certain song doesn't mean they cant play guitar.

i remember seeing a sign posted at a local guitar shop that said "feel free to test our guitars but PLEASE no stairway, crazy train or freebird. If any of the band members would like to come in and play their songs for us, by all means we'd love to hear it!, otherwise, we don't want to hear it" :D

[fuzzball297]

Haha, yes. I've seen those. It's in wayne's world, too.

[disobedience]

I'm curious what you mean by "sorry it's just frustrating because I can't stand rock. I play acoustic and it's rare to find some people who actually appreciate real guitar playing. I mean don't get me wrong, the guitar is good it's just easy."

Please post a video of what you classify as "Real Guitar Playing"
Thanks :D

[fuzzball297]

I'm curious what you mean by "sorry it's just frustrating because I can't stand rock. I play acoustic and it's rare to find some people who actually appreciate real guitar playing. I mean don't get me wrong, the guitar is good it's just easy."

Please post a video of what you classify as "Real Guitar Playing"
Thanks :D I'm not saying that I'm a real guitarist, but I am saying that electric guitar is too easy to play and that it's just not the same effort needed to play acoustic. I dunno really. Just my opinion.

[disobedience]

Fair nuff :D

That's the great thing about guitar....everyone gets something different from it!
Rock ON !!

[hrblocked]

a guitar is a guitar whether it's an electric or acoustic, both are equally difficult to play. You can play the same chords on an electric as you can an acoustic. A good chunk of songs released today consist of only a handful of chords. I've seen some amazing guitarists on both electric and guitars. Are you saying that Jimi Hendrix sucks because he plays electric?? Or that Kenny Chesney or some other country or acoustic guitar player is better then some of the guitar gods out there? I understand what you're trying to say, but there's really no difference between acoustic and electric as far as what's more complicated or what can be used to play more intriquite pieces of music.

[fuzzball297]

a guitar is a guitar whether it's an electric or acoustic, both are equally difficult to play. You can play the same chords on an electric as you can an acoustic. A good chunk of songs released today consist of only a handful of chords. I've seen some amazing guitarists on both electric and guitars. Are you saying that Jimi Hendrix sucks because he plays electric?? Or that Kenny Chesney or some other country or acoustic guitar player is better then some of the guitar gods out there? I understand what you're trying to say, but there's really no difference between acoustic and electric as far as what's more complicated or what can be used to play more intriquite pieces of music.
Ok, I might not be that experienced at guitar yet, but from what I understand from playing, #1 you don't get callisus from playing electric, and #2 you don't need to be good to sound good (you can just play random notes or chords and sound good) If you've played acoustic and electric, you'd notice the difference. And just so you know, I'm not a country person either and I don't think Kenny Chesney is that good, except for that one song "Summertime".

[Quadcam79]

Ok, I might not be that experienced at guitar yet, but from what I understand from playing, #1 you don't get callisus from playing electric, and #2 you don't need to be good to sound good (you can just play random notes or chords and sound good) If you've played acoustic and electric, you'd notice the difference.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrjwaqZfjIY

[fuzzball297]

You do need to push harder on the strings on acoustic. And don't just tell me that I'm wrong. Prove to me that I am so I can learn something.

[Quadcam79]

I never said you didnt need to press down harder on an acoustic, you do. I'm saying you are wrong about the calluses and "you don't need to be good to sound good" on an electric, not true at all.

no doubt you need a little more finger strength to form chords on an acoustic but it also depends on the guitar itself. Playing a high end acoustic like a Taylor is totally different from a lower end yamaha

[fuzzball297]

"Smoke on the Water" for example. The easiest song you can possibly play on guitar. It sounds great when you play it on an electric, but when you play it on acoustic, it sounds as easy as "Mary Had a Little Lamb"

[Hendrix]

Lol it may take less effort to play electric, but what does take effort is learning to feel the music

[fuzzball297]

I feel music. You know when you feel that shiver down your spine. I get that a lot listening to music because it's just so great. I dunno, it may be just me, but everytime I hear music that's just amazing, I get shivers. That for the few minutes you're listening to it, Life's perfect.

[Frightcrawler]

You're just looking to get flamed, fuzzball. I'm surprised no one has done it yet. Must be a real nice forum. :)

Just for the sake of discussion, lets talk about the flaws in your argument. First, you diss rock - one of the most popular guitar oriented genres. Good job. You say you like "acoustic" music. I'm curious as to what genre that fits into. The intro of stairway is acoustic. Some metal bands incorporate acoustic music into their songs. If you meant classical, sure I'll give you that. Classical music is among the most technically demanding guitar music ever created. But if you meant anything other that, your argument falls apart.

Second of all, you say Stairway to Heaven is easy. Can you play it from beginning to end, intro to verses to solo to outro? I'd say about 90% of the songs taught on this site here are easier than Stairway to Heaven.

Next, I can't believe you wrote what you wrote here. Especially #2. Do you really think playing random notes on ANY instrument will make you sound good? Give me a break man.

Ok, I might not be that experienced at guitar yet, but from what I understand from playing, #1 you don't get callisus from playing electric, and #2 you don't need to be good to sound good (you can just play random notes or chords and sound good) If you've played acoustic and electric, you'd notice the difference.

If you played acoustic and electric, you'd notice the difference initially, and then reach a level where you can play both very well. Open your mind, my friend.

I dunno man. From reading your first post I got the impression that you're bashing Stairway just because it's "cool" to knock it. It's a beautiful song with beautiful songwriting. And it certainly isn't easy. Take a look at some tabs, try it out.


We do need Stairway to Heaven.

[fuzzball297]

I didn't mean to diss rock altogether. I like some soft rock, alternative, and indie rock, it's just the hard rock I can't stand, not because it's easy to play, which it usually isn't, but only because it's loud and annoying to me. And yes playing random notes can get you places on instruments. What do you think improv is? Jazz would be nothing without it. And yes, a lot of guitar music is improvised. But still, most people would know stairway to heaven, and I'm not saying I do from beginning to end, but it's a widely kown song, and I think that some people should know how to play the song by now if they really wanted to. It's a very old song, a song that's been played for decades. I'm not trying to get flamed, I'm just trying to share the point of view of somebody who doesn't even have an electric guitar in the first place and doesn't care for playing loud rock music. I settle for acoustic as you already know and I like the soft stuff, the peaceful stuff.

[hrblocked]

Stairway certainly isn't hard rock. Oh and jazz is a lot more then random notes, those guys that play jazz know every note of the neck and know exactly what they're doing. Jazz is right up there with classical and blues as far as difficulty and skill level.

[lespaul_3000]

yeah stairway

[fuzzball297]

Ok, so what if I don't know much about rock. I'm just starting guitar practically. I'm a killer trumpet player though!

[hrblocked]

Well fuzz it's never to late to learn different genres of music. I'm a guitar beginner too, but I know my music. It really helps to know as many artists and types of music as possible. I'm always looking for new bands or artists, it's always fun to see what new and exciting things people are coming up with. That's basically how music as evolved so, people making music their own and changing the classic ways of playing.

[MartJ]

This is ridiculous. I'm pretty sure electric guitarists get callouses and they're not playing just random notes. :rolleyes: It's the same instrument and the notes on the neck are the same. A song that's easier to play doesn't mean it's "good" or "bad". Have you even listened to Stairway, fuzzball? It's a beautiful beautiful song.

[hrblocked]

good point Mart, some of the greatest songs are actually very easy songs. What makes it good is the chord arrangements. That's one of the things david teaches you to know what chords sound good with each other. I can see where fuzz my say electric easier, because electric guitars generally have a thinner guage string, but you're right it is the same instrument. I'm learning on an acoustic and it shreds my fingertips, but that doesn't make it harder to play.

[stevieraywannabe]

Ok, so what if I don't know much about rock. I'm just starting guitar practically. I'm a killer trumpet player though!

Ive been reading this post for awhile, and you say you are just starting guitar, yet in all your post you sound like such an expert on guitar playing. Maybe you should get a little more experience under you belt before you try to talk about something you dont know about.

[jb007]

And yes playing random notes can get you places on instruments. What do you think improv is? Jazz would be nothing without it. And yes, a lot of guitar music is improvised

Theres a little thing called scales.

[hippiesrock9]

totaly need this song

[cofree22]

i kind of agree man...acoustic is definitely the way to go...and aside from the song being easy, i don't even have any desire to learn it...

[Sgt. Pepper]

Just do an acoustic version of this song already..jeez.

[DEE]

Had to put my two cents worth on this one. Stairway is an awesome tune and yes it is not terribly hard to play except for trying to get the layered parts in the solo to sound good on a single guitar! Cool song to put different techniques together though,some fingerstyle,soloing and just banging out power chords. And as far as an acoustic being harder to play,not always the case. Played an old Gibson acoustic, from late 40,s to early 50,s as far as I could tell fron sn#, it played as easy as my Epi. Les Paul Custom and much easier than some of the cheap electrics I've picked up.

[DarkSlash]

got my vote!
please dave teach us stairway to heaven

[fuzzball297]

Ive been reading this post for awhile, and you say you are just starting guitar, yet in all your post you sound like such an expert on guitar playing. Maybe you should get a little more experience under you belt before you try to talk about something you dont know about. I don't sound like I'm an expert on guitar playing, just music in general. If anything from what you're telling me, I sound like a complete idiot when it comes guitar, which I am. And I am very open to different types of music already. There isn't a song in any genre I don't like, but that doesn't mean I hate it or love it altogether.

[fuzzball297]

This is ridiculous. I'm pretty sure electric guitarists get callouses and they're not playing just random notes. :rolleyes: It's the same instrument and the notes on the neck are the same. A song that's easier to play doesn't mean it's "good" or "bad". Have you even listened to Stairway, fuzzball? It's a beautiful beautiful song. I've listened to other people play it, not the original, but I don't remember it being that great. The intro was pretty good though, I thought.

[fuzzball297]

Ok I just found it on Rhapsody, and yeah I never heard all of it. The first part seems simple, but the last few minutes is really good. I'm not saying I love it, but yeah, it's great guitar playing. I take back what I said before about it being all easy. But I think it would be impossible for Dave to do a 9 minute song including solos for everybody here.

[stevieraywannabe]

Quotes from fuzzball297

Oh my god, how do you not know how to play stairway?

sorry it's just frustrating because I can't stand rock

I am saying that electric guitar is too easy to play and that it's just not the same effort needed to play acoustic.

#1 you don't get callisus from playing electric, and #2 you don't need to be good to sound good (you can just play random notes or chords and sound good) If you've played acoustic and electric, you'd notice the difference.

"Smoke on the Water" for example. The easiest song you can possibly play on guitar.

And yes playing random notes can get you places on instruments. What do you think improv is? Jazz would be nothing without it. And yes, a lot of guitar music is improvised.

I don't sound like I'm an expert on guitar playing

And I am very open to different types of music already.

There isn't a song in any genre I don't like

Sounds like you think you are an expert to me. I really like the way you say you cant stand rock but then you say you are open to different types of music.

[KristinnEs]

Oooh.. dude.. Sounds like you dont have the foggiest idea as to what improvisation is all about.. It takes good knowledge, reflexes and skill to pull of a good improv. It is governed by so many rules I´m sure you´d be extremely surprised.

Now, lets take blues soloing for example, a simple concept.. You probably think its all about using the minor pentatonic scale with the added blues note for that bluesy feel, punch out some random notes and poof, you´ve got an improv... In fact, You need to know the chord structure, Is it 12 bar? 8 bar? 32 bar? 16 bar? or even the rare 64 bar form of blues? Is the progression I-IV-V? What chords are you going to play? If you play minor chords only it will sound sad, most often best played slow and heavily... If it has sevenths it will get the twangy sounds, are you going to use fifth chords for that heavy feel? Are you going to use chords at all? If you´re using scales you still need to know what chords you´re supposed to be soloing over... Doesnt sound good to solo in the key of "G" to an "E#7"th bar chord...

And countless other things to take into consideration.. And that´s "just" blues... Then there are rules for jazz, country, rock or any other genre you´d ever like to name.

Now, go out there, read a few books, learn stuff here on the site (stop going over the first ten videos over and over again) and dont come back before you give our polynotal instrument the respect it deserves.

K, out!

[stevieraywannabe]

Now, lets take blues soloing for example, a simple concept.. You probably think its all about using the minor pentatonic scale with the added blues note for that bluesy feel, punch out some random notes and poof, you´ve got an improv... In fact, You need to know the chord structure, Is it 12 bar? 8 bar? 32 bar? 16 bar? or even the rare 64 bar form of blues? Is the progression I-IV-V? What chords are you going to play? If you play minor chords only it will sound sad, most often best played slow and heavily... If it has sevenths it will get the twangy sounds, are you going to use fifth chords for that heavy feel? Are you going to use chords at all? If you´re using scales you still need to know what chords you´re supposed to be soloing over... Doesnt sound good to solo in the key of "G" to an "E#7"th bar chord...
K, out!

Now theres someone that knows what they are talking about fuzzball. Do you see the difference in his post and yours. I bet you didnt understand one thing he said, yet it sounds like you are an expert on improv. Now take KristinnEs advice and dont come back before you give our polynotal instrument the respect it deserves. See Ya!!!!!!!!!!

[fuzzball297]

Now theres someone that knows what they are talking about fuzzball. Do you see the difference in his post and yours. I bet you didnt understand one thing he said, yet it sounds like you are an expert on improv. Now take KristinnEs advice and dont come back before you give our polynotal instrument the respect it deserves. See Ya!!!!!!!!!!
I've never gotten a lesson from anybody, so give me a break. I learned everything I know from myself. I'm not going to be taught how to improvise on guitar I just figure it's the same on all instruments. You play notes within the same scale as the song using every bit of it. I'm a beginner on guitar and I'm sorry I tried to make myself sound good at the beginning of my posts, but I just figured this song was widely known by most guitar players. Yes, I was wrong, I already admitted it before, so stop criticizing me.

[fuzzball297]

Quotes from fuzzball297

Oh my god, how do you not know how to play stairway?

sorry it's just frustrating because I can't stand rock

I am saying that electric guitar is too easy to play and that it's just not the same effort needed to play acoustic.

#1 you don't get callisus from playing electric, and #2 you don't need to be good to sound good (you can just play random notes or chords and sound good) If you've played acoustic and electric, you'd notice the difference.

"Smoke on the Water" for example. The easiest song you can possibly play on guitar.

And yes playing random notes can get you places on instruments. What do you think improv is? Jazz would be nothing without it. And yes, a lot of guitar music is improvised.

I don't sound like I'm an expert on guitar playing

And I am very open to different types of music already.

There isn't a song in any genre I don't like

Sounds like you think you are an expert to me. I really like the way you say you cant stand rock but then you say you are open to different types of music.

I did if I recall, mention that I didn't mean all rock, I meant hard rock. I like other rock, it's just hard rock I can't stand. And yes, "Smoke On The Water" is an easy song, I don't know why you highlighted it. Knowing it doesn't make me sound like an expert, because it is as easy as "Mary Had a Little Lamb". I have played both electric and acoustic, while acoustic requires more finger strength and is in my mind harder to play, I like the sound better. I also discussed improvisation already. I'm not an expert, this is all common stuff to a musician, even if you don't play guitar.

[fuzzball297]

Now take KristinnEs advice and dont come back before you give our polynotal instrument the respect it deserves. See Ya!!!!!!!!!! I do respect guitar. I wouldn't listen to it otherwise, and it's not always improvisation. Now let's just quit this argument. If somebody wants stairway to heaven, sure, but otherwise this thread shouldn't be bumped over the other songs because of this.