You play the guitar? Can you play me a song?

Which song will you choose that will define your level of musical ability and at the same time, impress your listeners?

I have found that when someone requests that I play a song for them on the guitar, my first instinct is to ask them what they would like to hear. Not to gloat, but in all honesty, in the 46 years I have been practicing and playing the guitar and bass guitar, I have long since lost count of just how many songs I actually know. So, it is nearly impossible for me to pick the perfect song that will satisfy the curiosity of a new listener. Instead what I do is ask them who they have been listening to lately. If they name someone I'm not familiar with, I ask what type of music the artist or band plays. I will then try to come up with something similar to what they have described and play a song that might be closer to what they would like to hear.

Most people are not musicians. Everybody loves music. Everybody has their favorite artists and groups. What most people hear when they listen to music, is the melody and the lyrics. Memorizing words in a melody is why people sing in their car. rare…