Easiness of certain songs.

[patrickpiggy]

Hello, there. I'm a new member and i just got an electric guitar. i've been a zappa fan forever, and i want the first song i learn to play to be a zappa song. Which of his songs is 'easiest'?  
I hope he doesn't mind if i totally bastardize it when i try to learn it.

[Lonesome Cowboy Squirt]

Hiya, PP!

Welcome to Barry's Palace of Mayhem, er, Kill Ugly Radio.

Okay, if you just got the guitar, I'm assuming you're more or less a beginner.  I'd suggest you get the basic chords and scales down before you get too daring.  The problem is, if you jump too far ahead without enough training, YOU CAN REALLY HURT YOURSELF.  Trust me, you don't want that.  It's good that you're asking in advance.

If you really must do Zappa, I'd suggest vamping with the band during one of FZ's numerous solo endeavors.  They are usually simple, based on two or three chords, repetitive so you can always fall back into it when you fuck up, and long so you can keep at it and work on your concentration.

Here's a list of some easy FZ songs you can try.  Focus initially on the chord progressions (riffs) and getting stuff rhythmically correct.  All that solo jizz will come in due time.

Stevie's Spanking - neat big rock riff with a whole step modulation at the solo.

Bobby Brown Goes Down- this is based on the old fifties doo-wop ballads.  It's slow and pretty straightforward.  Also try Love of My Life.

Big Leg Emma - Ah, the blues.  FZ wrote a lot of blues tunes, some harder than others.  The nice thing about the blues is that it's pretty predictable (gotta love that ol' I - IV - V progression).  Bamboozled By Love is also a very cool blues riff with a tricky rhythmic twist.

Camarillo Brillo - medium tempo, straightforward, fun!

Don't Eat the Yellow Snow - If you're gonna learn Zappa, you're going to have to get used to odd time signatures.  This one's in 7/8 time, but repetitive and based on a simple major pentatonic scale.  It's important to count.   Follow through with the groove if you have difficulty counting while playing.  "Think" the riff:  "Bomp-bomp-diddy-dee-bomp-bomp-a-diddy."


Finally, here's one that sounds easy, but after a few minutes, can be a real bitch:  Outside Now in 11/8 time.  It's based on one fingering, namely the "bird"....you know, that special gesture with the middle finger everyone enjoys sharing with each other.  The right hand just sweeps across all six strings and back again.  Let the notes ring out.  Be careful not to mute any strings - easier said than done.

That should keep you busy for a while.  Please, don't overdo it.  I know when one is enthusiastic about practicing, one can really push it.  Just a basic rule of thumb:  if it starts to hurt, STOP!  Put the damn guitar down and take a break.  Shake your hands a bit to get the blood flowing.  Relax.  You're not going to become a stunt guitarist overnight, so pace yourself.

Hope this is helpful.

[Barry]

Hey there PP! Welcome to the forums. Incidently: you are that lucky unique person who gets to be member # 100 - and a posting one at that too, which is very much appreciated! (OT bitchin': hey you there, silent lurkers! Isn't it about time you came out of the closet and posted some? We promise not to co- erh nevermind)

As for the easy tunes request, well, LCS pretty much summed 'em up. Basically, go for those tunes that have either a blues, a doowop or a straightforward rock feel at first, especially when you're just starting out. Your intention to learn how to play using FZ tunes is an ambitious one though. So be prepared for some (major) frustration in the process, and also be prepared for that frustration to be perpetuous. Because often times, just when you think you've nailed a tune, you'll find it's got some hidden peculiarities forcing you to rethink the whole thing. (Or maybe not, ya know, you may be a budding guitar genius for all I know, but heck, I know I'm still figuring stuff out)

So there you go. Let us know how it's working out!

[patrickpiggy]

Thanks, guys. that's exactly what i needed.  So now i can keep my mother up until 3 a.m. playing that 'devil music that ain't country' ... heh heh. Thanks. ...Ohh, i hope that i am a budding genius... my guitar hasn't come in yet, i ordered it off of the 'net. Well, thank you very much. you get more thanks than i gave that kid who put my head-fire out. thank you.

[Chris]

You ARE a budding genius. It's all in your head. All you have to do is keep the channel open for your own new ideas -- you definitely have 'em, so let 'em through. There is no "right" or "wrong" in music, AT ALL.

"The ULTIMATE RULE ought to be: If it sounds GOOD to YOU, it's bitchin'; if it sounds BAD to YOU, it's shitty." -- FZ

[Bob the Shoe]

I would say, look up something like 'Wedding Dress song/Handsome Cabin Boy' or 'Take your clothes of when you dance' are good ones for me.  It may seem complicated, but its increadibly fun when they work.

[patrickpiggy]

well, i didn't do it. it was pretty hard.... and i ... did something else. 'seven nation army' by the white stripes is the first whole song i can play. i can't seem to find anywhere with easy music by zappa. i'll try again... right now.

[Chris]

Good job!

I learned the lead line for "Duodenum" (the main theme at the beginning of Lumpy Gravy) and the guitar part for "Aybe Sea" (from Burnt Weeny Sandwich). Trust me, if I can play something on the guitar that somebody else wrote, it's EASY. Just a suggestion, since you asked.  

[Barry]

Patrick, since you mentioned you also like E. Smith (in some other thread around here): have you tried playing some of his stuff? Songs like "Say Yes" (Either/Or, i believe), "Waltz #1" (or was it 2? on XO) are basically pretty easy to play, if you make abstraction of the way Smith orchestrated those songs. You can find a whole bunch of ES-guitar tabs on http://www.sweetadeline.net . Concentrate on the chord progressions, try to get those right first ("a-hah, it starts in C, moves to Em, goes Am, etc etc"), before you get into the fancy mumbojumbo of trying to play them exactly as you hear them on the record...

[patrickpiggy]

i didn't say seven nation army was the only song, barry, you silly goose. i learned 'needle in the hay', too. among others. I was exposed to elliott smith through the royal tenenbaums, and i didn't know what to call it for the first few times. so i watched the movie over and over (we had STARZ back then.)... but thank you, barry. any help is appreciated. so much. i love you.

[caslon]

i can't believe (oh no i don't believe it) that NO ONE has suggested you learn joe's garage. it's so easy; you just bend the strings like...well, you'll find out.
you'll love it.
it's a way of life.

[Lonesome Cowboy Squirt]

...NO ONE has suggested you learn joe's garage. it's so easy; you just bend the strings like....


Yes!  Good call, Caslon!  I do hereby grant you one Plooker Point and deduct one from myself for overlooking the obvious.

i can't seem to find anywhere with easy music by zappa. i'll try again... right now.

Patrickpiggy, do I understand correctly that you're looking for notes and/or tabulature for FZ's easy songs?  Good luck.  To my knowledge, there is only a couple of books containing Zappa material.  One is the Frank Zappa songbook, which is out of print and hard to find.  The other is the Frank Zappa Guitar Book, which contains rather difficult passages (polyrhythms-eeek).  Barfko-Swill offers scores for orchestral works, but they're rather expensive.

Maybe I didn't explain clearly enough last time:  if you really want to learn this stuff, you're going to have to listen.  Take your guitar, take your rockin' teenage hit of your choice and work that rewind button.  Listen to the specific parts again and again and again...ad nauseum.  Try to play on the guitar what you just heard.  Run it back and do it again.  And again.  And again.  You could spend several hours listening to and rewinding a five-second passage.  This is what many musicians (including Zappa alumni) have done.  This is how you learn a song and train your ear at the same time.  This is why musicians are crazy, but it's also why some musicians only need to hear a couple of measures of a song and know exactly what to play.  A well-trained ear is a valuable asset.

Basically, what I'm trying to say is this:  don't rely on any tabs or scores to unlock the secrets.  No printed page is going to play the song for you.  Trust your ears, or better still train them until you know you can trust them.

[Sterbus]

I started with Mr.Green Genes!
Dm-G-Dm-G-Dm-G-Dm-G
C-Am-C-Am  F-G-A-Bb
Always these chords!
and very easy to solo over also!

[VCF]

Black Napkins.

C#minor7 to Dmajor7.  Solo in C# minor.

VCF

[Studio Tan]

A funny one to play along with the recordings is 'Lets Make The Water Turn Black' Some nifty alterations.  Just follow the chords and you'll get it Start at the G-string at the 12th fret.

Verse: (Now belive me....)
C  Em/B  Am
Dm  Em  Fm  G
C  Em/B Am              
Bb  Eb  Ab  G
C Em/B Am
Dm  Em  Fm  G
C  Em/B  Am
Bb  Am  D

Chorus: (Whizzing and...)
G  F  G  Am
G  Am  Bm  D
G  F  Eb  D
C  Ab G

Verse 2: (Ronnie saves his...)
C Em/B Am
Dm  Em  Fm  G
C  Em/B  Am
F  G  Am

Bridge: We see them after school...)
Em  A  
Em  A
Em  C  B
Em  D

Verse 3: (Ronnie's in the army now...)
C  Em/B  Am
Dm  Em  Fm  G
C  Em/B  Am
F  G  Am
F  G  Am
F  G  A