Rllink
Well-known member
The last year or so I have been trying to hear chord progressions in music and then playing the songs by ear. I've recognized a couple of things that seem to help with that and I feel like I'm starting to get a handle on it, maybe. So a couple of weeks ago I was contacted by an organization that is teaching a summer reading program for underprivileged kids. Because their first day was going to be stories with songs, someone suggested me to them as someone who could accompany the kids. So I said I would, and they sent me a list of songs. I looked them up and they were all pretty easy songs to play and I committed them to memory. But when I got there they had a somewhat different song list, and some of the songs I had not even heard before. So I panicked at first, but then I just faked it by starting the songs off in a C or a G, and then went with whatever came to me. It went quite well actually, and even though I had only volunteered for the first day, it went well enough that they decided to include some stories with songs every time, so they invited me back, and I said that I would.
So I've gone twice now, and each time they throw songs at me that were not on the list, and each time I have to figure it out on the fly. None of the songs are particularly complicated, but they are songs that have to be played none the less. I can get through a lot of them with nothing more than a C and a G7. Some I start throwing in other chords when I feel them come up, usually on the second verse, as I realize that I missed a chord change of some kind the first time around. There's twenty or so little kids, some college age kids helping out, and two adults who run it.
My point is, that this has been a wonderful learning experience for me. I feel like it is really helping, in more ways than one. I got a song list for this week, but actually I'm looking forward to hitting those curve balls that they throw at me that aren't on the list. It has turned into a game. I'm starting to get this "give it your best shot" attitude. Maybe if anyone is interested in going down that road, they might consider volunteering for something like this. There is nothing like getting put on the spot to push one out of their comfort zone and stimulating some growth. And seriously, it would be pretty hard to do such a bad job that they fire you, so there is nothing to lose.
So I've gone twice now, and each time they throw songs at me that were not on the list, and each time I have to figure it out on the fly. None of the songs are particularly complicated, but they are songs that have to be played none the less. I can get through a lot of them with nothing more than a C and a G7. Some I start throwing in other chords when I feel them come up, usually on the second verse, as I realize that I missed a chord change of some kind the first time around. There's twenty or so little kids, some college age kids helping out, and two adults who run it.
My point is, that this has been a wonderful learning experience for me. I feel like it is really helping, in more ways than one. I got a song list for this week, but actually I'm looking forward to hitting those curve balls that they throw at me that aren't on the list. It has turned into a game. I'm starting to get this "give it your best shot" attitude. Maybe if anyone is interested in going down that road, they might consider volunteering for something like this. There is nothing like getting put on the spot to push one out of their comfort zone and stimulating some growth. And seriously, it would be pretty hard to do such a bad job that they fire you, so there is nothing to lose.
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