100 Cover Songs – Week 1
Week One of My Mission: Learn 100 Cover Songs this Summer
In June, I made a goal to learn a 100 cover songs this summer. I wasn’t focusing enough on my mission, so I dedicated 10 hours of rehearsal time this week to learning covers. Here’s what I finished so far. I performed six tunes (highlighted in red) for the first time at my Brighton gigs this weekend.
- For the First Time (the Script)
- Ooh La La (Faces/Rod Stewart)
- I Want You to Want Me (Cheap Trick)
- Hotel California (The Eagles)
- Tainted Love (Soft Cell)
- Send Me on My Way (Rusted Root)
- 867-5309 (Tommy Tutone)
- Sweet Pea (Amos Lee)
- Two (Ryan Adams)
- Homeward Bound (Simon & Garfunkle)
- Mrs. Robinson (Simon & Garfunkle)
- Ventura Highway (America)
- Give a Little Bit (Supertramp)
- Roll to Me (Del Amitri)
- Don’t Ask Me (Billy Joel)
- Angel for Montgomery (Bonnie Raitt/John Prime)
- Folson Prison Blues (Johnny Cash)
- Drops of Jupiter (Train)
- Breakeven (The Script)
- Hey There Delila (Plain White T’s)
- She’s So High (Tal Bachman)
- Chariot (Gavin Degraw)
- Danny’s Song (Kenny Loggins)
- Losing My Religion (REM)
- Maggie May (Rod Stewart)
- Amie (Pure Prairie League)
- Against the Wind (Bob Seger)
- Night Moves (Bob Seger)
- You’ll Accompany Me (Bob Seger)
- Summer of 69 (Brian Adams)
- Don’t Stop Believing (Journey)
- You’ve Got a Friend (James Taylor)
- Half of My Heart (John Mayer)
- Squeeze Box (the Who)
I’ve made solid progress on the other fifteen, but not well enough to perform them competently. I hope to add those songs for next weekend in Tawas.
Fingerpicking “Danny’s Song”
I also made some improvements learning fingerpicking patterns while transposing “Danny’s Song” by Kenny Loggins and Jim Messina. I used to play this song with Aaron Noone in 2006, but I would only add guitar fills while Aaron did the bulk of the chord work and singing. (I sang harmony.) Really, Aaron did all the work and I was along for the ride.
It was time to learn the song more competently, but there aren’t many helpful tabs or YouTube tutorials that address the fingerpicking pattern. This might have been a blessing, because it forced me to decipher it myself after an hour of work! The beginning verse is using a T-M-I-R pattern over D C Bm | E(7) A(sus4) progression.
If you aren’t familiar with fingerpicking patterns, I recommend picking up The Guitar Grimoire by Adam Kadmon. It offers an introduction into fingerpicking exercises, pattern and notations! I might do a little YouTube tutorial of the fingerpicking pattern of “Danny’s Song” this week.
While many are getting summer tans, Gunshy and I are hiding out, working on songs.
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