Your first riff

[rugerpc]

The progression from listener to experimentalist to basement noodler to semi-competent payer to accomplished player to guitar pro is a struggle all of us who choose to play take in progress-plateau-regress stages with heart stopping epiphanies and gut wrenching failures.

It ain't easy going from A to B.

Concentrating on the successes instead of the failures is sometimes the only way forward when you are plateauing or regressing. So, here is a thread to celebrate the successes - specifically, the first riff you worked really hard on and finally got it. It may have involved a new technique at the time like hammer-ons or pull-offs or tapping or a strange meter like 7/4...

My question to you is: what was that riff? Do you still play it? Do you still get satisfaction from it? It was your first after all. Kinda like your first real kiss....

For me it was Nancy Wilson's finger-picked opening to "Crazy On You". There are pull-offs, triplets, syncopation, hammer-ons, a thumb on the low E's G...

I still play this opening section. Sometimes not too well. But the satisfaction of getting it right can help me to tackle other guitar things I need to work on.

 

[jfb]

I remember working pretty hard as a kid to learn the solo to The Unforgiven. Shortly after getting it down (for my skill level, hah) I played it for presentation I had in an English class. Looking back I am certain is was rough, but I had a good time and the class ate it up so all was well.

 

[Todd_FindingMyWay]

Good post my friend...
My weekly struggle. When I finally DO get something right, to your point it feels great.
My first 'real' song that I got down was Enter Sandman...When I finally played it until the end, mistake free..I literally ran out of my bedroom...did 3 victory laps around the coffee table arms raised in the air wooping and hollaring with my wife and daughter and dog sitting on the couch watching me in embarassment. Complete the victory lap back to the bedroom, sit down and get started with my next exercise I cant play...LOL

 

[garrett]

The first one I remember learning was "Sweet Leaf" by Black Sabbath. That little walk down in the main riff was pretty tough to do cleanly at the time. I would've been 14 and I felt like a real rocker jammin' to that one in my bedroom. I learned quite a few Sabbath riffs in the beginning. I'm still really fond of their stuff because of that.

 

[markie]

Good post my friend...
My weekly struggle. When I finally DO get something right, to your point it feels great.
My first 'real' song that I got down was Enter Sandman...When I finally played it until the end, mistake free..I literally ran out of my bedroom...did 3 victory laps around the coffee table arms raised in the air wooping and hollaring with my wife and daughter and dog sitting on the couch watching me in embarassment. Complete the victory lap back to the bedroom, sit down and get started with my next exercise I cant play...LOL

I love this post ............................... Awesome stuff :rock: :rock: :rock: :rock:

 

[AP515]

Black Magic Woman - Santana version. First the opening riff, then finally the whole thing mostly like he plays it in the original recording. And I did it all by ear, no tabs. At least the way my ears hear him playing it and a few cheats in the fast parts. I felt like I had really accomplished something when I hit the last note. I can still play it if I work on it a while. Someday I'll take those cheats out!

 

[Todd_FindingMyWay]

I love this post ............................... Awesome stuff :rock: :rock: :rock: :rock:

thanks man....and thats the God's honest truth of how it went down....

To quote Rush (of course) 'One Little Victory'... at a time ;-)

 

[veinbuster]

Beethoven's 9th. Nobody told me it wasn't meant for guitar.

 

[phillybri]

Pretty sure I doused my drawers the first time I did the tapping section of "Eruption" at the right speed with no mistakes...

 

[markie]

Beethoven's 9th. Nobody told me it wasn't meant for guitar.

Not sure whether to call you a smartass or just do this



Hehehe :tongue:

 

[JMintzer]

The lead break for "Cinnamon Girl"…

I'm THIS CLOSE to nailing it!


Jamie

 

[DISTORT6]

AND

Metalhead. Yes, I am.

 

[WEDGE]

I hate to admit it but the first real rocking song I could play was Beat It, not the solo part but the rest of it......I felt godlike.

 

[geese_com]

Samba Pa Ti was probably the most satisfying song I learned in the first years I played guitar.

 

[cwhenke]

I can't remember the first lick I learned, but the first memorable one was learning the intro to Sweet Child. Yes, I still play it, and, yes, it still brings me pleasure, but, no, it never did and never does sound as good as Slash.

 

[MOBirds]

AND

Metalhead. Yes, I am.

ROFL - Crazy Train, OMG I was so stoked the first time I was able to play the intro at speed, I never even tried to figure out the rest of the fills. The intro and basic rhythm were enough for me to scream victory! Breaking the Law, and You've Got Another Thing Coming I learned completely and played the crap out of it for a few years. The only one I'd need to ad is Limelight, although I've recently tried to play that and apparently I've misplaced those brain cells because it's mostly gone. Not sure it's worth sitting down and relearning, never was able to find anyone who could sing like Getty.

 

[JustRob]

There were a lot of small riffs before, but one of the most satisfying things I got down was "Alice's Restaurant". But I still don't think I could play it for 27 min.

 

[László]

I'm pretty sure my first lick was the intro to "The Last Time" by the Rolling Stones, at some point in 1966. My memory on whether it was the first, or if "House of the Rising Sun" was the first, is a little hazy at this point.

Since both songs consisted of the same thing repeated over and over, I drove my father crazy playing them, because I remember him opening the door to the basement and yelling "Don't you know how to play anything else?"

And on guitar at least, of course I didn't.

I also remember turning the amp down, and very slowly sneaking the volume up until he'd come down a second time and basically completely shut me down. This was a regular occurrence.

When my son was learning, I already had a recording booth, and he'd go into it and play, so it never bothered me.

 

[veinbuster]

Not sure whether to call you a smartass or just do this

I skipped lots of notes. Then started playing Black Dog.

 

[Mike Duncan]

Chords? Louie Louie

Riff? La Bamba