What's the hardest thing you can play?
Discussion
Aimed at everyone really, though as I'm a guitarist I'll start with that.
At the minute I can play most acoustic-type songs withought thinking. Slap the chords in front of me and if there's no wierd progressions I can pretty much learn it in a day to the degree you could play it on an open mic acoustic night.
So thought I'd try to play the hardest thing I feasibly could to stretch myself or I'll never get better at guitar. Not so hard it's impossible, so no Malmsteen! But not so easy it's not a challenge.
Currently working my way through Megadeth's Tornado of Souls. It's right at the limit of my ability and I'm enjoying the challenge.
Got the intro and verse nailed, but think I'll hit a brick wall when it gets to the solo. Still - have to give it a go!
What about you?
At the minute I can play most acoustic-type songs withought thinking. Slap the chords in front of me and if there's no wierd progressions I can pretty much learn it in a day to the degree you could play it on an open mic acoustic night.
So thought I'd try to play the hardest thing I feasibly could to stretch myself or I'll never get better at guitar. Not so hard it's impossible, so no Malmsteen! But not so easy it's not a challenge.
Currently working my way through Megadeth's Tornado of Souls. It's right at the limit of my ability and I'm enjoying the challenge.
Got the intro and verse nailed, but think I'll hit a brick wall when it gets to the solo. Still - have to give it a go!
What about you?
Get your head round 'Maxine' by Donald Fagin. It's a really good way to extend harmony.
This bloke makes a complete pigs ear of it, but it's the only vid I can find
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EacsPR5Se_o
(PS - forget the intro)
This bloke makes a complete pigs ear of it, but it's the only vid I can find
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EacsPR5Se_o
(PS - forget the intro)
I nailed the Freebird solo a few years ago, but it is actually not that difficult when you get stuck in and realise there is a lot of repeating going on!
I can play most of Sultans of Swing, and most of the acoustic version of Hotel California too.
Learned these songs ages ago and need something new to have a go at
I can play most of Sultans of Swing, and most of the acoustic version of Hotel California too.
Learned these songs ages ago and need something new to have a go at
Ooh an excuse to trot this out again. It ttok me about a week to learn, a week to get it smooth-ish & another week to carefully insert lots of mistakes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjUlFnmg4_w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjUlFnmg4_w
stephen300o said:
'Flight of the bumblebee' on the tuba.
Like this?http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-NVMsj6lXA
gjf764 said:
stephen300o said:
'Flight of the bumblebee' on the tuba.
Like this?http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-NVMsj6lXA
I'm just starting out on piano so "Why am I blue?" is my peak so far.
davepoth said:
Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata is what I'm currently working on. I can do the first 12 bars. 
The fun starts in the 3rd movement: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zucBfXpCA6sI recently got a load of my grandfathers sheet music, and have been looking at this. I can't get near it, but he could play it when he was 17, which is frustrating to say the least.
Try this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12aQPOCtw0c
1:35
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12aQPOCtw0c
1:35
Edited by audidoody on Monday 13th February 21:24
Difficult question to answer, I can play quite a bit of hard stuff. I've been playing for 2 and a half years now and the one that impresses the most is Sultans Of Swing. On a good day I can get the end bit right.
Then you've got all the generic stuff. Voodoo Child, Hotel California, Free Bird, Sweet Child, Stairway. I actually learnt Hotel California cleanly in 2 days. Great solos but not difficult really, intermediate I would say.
The most demanding song I know is Still Got The Blues, it's quite chilled up until the end when it becomes mad, what a guitarist Gary was.
Then you've got all the generic stuff. Voodoo Child, Hotel California, Free Bird, Sweet Child, Stairway. I actually learnt Hotel California cleanly in 2 days. Great solos but not difficult really, intermediate I would say.
The most demanding song I know is Still Got The Blues, it's quite chilled up until the end when it becomes mad, what a guitarist Gary was.
On my own instrument (horn) everything's bloody difficult (used to be in the Guinness Book of Records as the most difficult instrument!) It really depends on what you mean by difficult - for example, as far as I am concerned, Mozart is probably some of the hardest music to play musically, as it has to be "just so". Technically perhaps not the hardest though. Technically, try on these for size:
Strauss 2nd Horn Concerto
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BnAb-k8cDs
Schumann Konzertstuck for 4 horns and orchestra
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fp8WwU3wUw
I've played both of these. Plenty of other killer stuff out there - check out Vienna Horns playing Back To The Future:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnFl1q0IYTA
and the London Horn Sound - Tico Tico:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDJqMsd77vA
Epic!
Strauss 2nd Horn Concerto
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BnAb-k8cDs
Schumann Konzertstuck for 4 horns and orchestra
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fp8WwU3wUw
I've played both of these. Plenty of other killer stuff out there - check out Vienna Horns playing Back To The Future:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnFl1q0IYTA
and the London Horn Sound - Tico Tico:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDJqMsd77vA
Epic!
Edited by NiceCupOfTea on Tuesday 14th February 00:55
tank slapper said:
The fun starts in the 3rd movement: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zucBfXpCA6s
I recently got a load of my grandfathers sheet music, and have been looking at this. I can't get near it, but he could play it when he was 17, which is frustrating to say the least.
Not much chance of that - I was referring to movement 1, which is at least possible on the guitar, and the bit that us plebs refer to as the Moonlight Sonata. I recently got a load of my grandfathers sheet music, and have been looking at this. I can't get near it, but he could play it when he was 17, which is frustrating to say the least.
One of the few things I recall from music at school is that Rachmaninov tended to write so that you had to stretch an extremely long way across the keyboard for a lot of his stuff, is that right or am I confusing him with someone else?
Rachmaninov was very tall and had massive hands, and he wrote accordingly. His span was somewhere between 11 and 12 inches, which meant he could easily play an octave and half, including notes in the middle fingers. I can normally reach most of the intervals, it's the other stuff that causes me difficulties.
At one point I could play this but 15 years without a piano means I'm rather less capable at the moment. I now have a piano, but don't have the couple of hours a day to practice to get back to it.
At one point I could play this but 15 years without a piano means I'm rather less capable at the moment. I now have a piano, but don't have the couple of hours a day to practice to get back to it.
Edited by tank slapper on Tuesday 14th February 01:53
I find working out fast solos the hardest thing since I'm trying to imitate and remember many, many notes played in fairly quick succession. Things like the final 'I Believe In A Thing Called Love' solo aren't too bad, but I'm struggling to remember Steely Dan's Bodhisattva solo.
From 1:34 to 2:34.
http://grooveshark.com/#!/search?q=Bodhisattva
From 1:34 to 2:34.
http://grooveshark.com/#!/search?q=Bodhisattva
Gassing Station | Music | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff