Good songs to play on acoustic

[eraserhead]

What are some good chord-based songs to play and sing along with on acoustic? I mean like, songs that can be performed by one person, just chords and voice.

Examples: "Winter" by Bayside, "Lua" by Bright Eyes. Stuff along those lines. Thanks in advance.

[whiteboypain]

Oasis - Wonderwall ;-)

[duhpunk]

20 below- hidden in plain view
21 and invincible- something corporate
quiet things...-brand new
you're so last summer- TBS
good riddance- green day
what went wrong- blink 182

or you can be adventurous like me and make acoustic versions of songs that really shouldnt be acoustic lol

[Tristan Needler]

Go for a couple Elliott Smith songs. Say Yes is always good.

[atticus1492]

You should go for "Poison Oak" by Bright Eyes. If you are good, that would be fucking epic.

[GoWaitInTheCar]

You should go for "Poison Oak" by Bright Eyes. If you are good, that would be fucking epic.

Love love love that song.

[GoWaitInTheCar]

I'm pretty over anything emo acoustic. No Bayside. No Hidden In Plain View.

Afghan Whigs- Honky's Ladder
Placebo- Follow The Cops Back Home
Placebo- Without You I'm Nothing
Radiohead- Creep
The Smiths- Heavens Knows I'm Miserable Now
The B-52's- Rock Lobster

[GoWaitInTheCar]

Bright Eyes- Road To Joy
Bright Eyes- Happy Birthday To Me (Feb.15th)
Modest Mouse- Trailer Trash
Modest Mouse- Bankrupt On Selling

[we are cured]

Brand New - Moshi Moshi/Play Crack the Sky

[Iamhome]

TBS - New American Classic...

I'm going to try Poison Oak tonight - Thanks for the suggestion whoever that was...

I have a cover of me playing New American Classic on my myspace... (http://myspace.com/taoso)

[we are cured]

I have a cover of me playing New American Classic on my myspace... (http://myspace.com/taoso)

not bad.

[Iamhome]

not bad.

Thanks man, I see you playing guitar in your pic, best of luck to you and your project(s).

[Iamhome]

I have a cover of me playing New American Classic on my myspace... (http://myspace.com/taoso)

This wasn't meant to be a brag or anything, I just realized that you asked for chord based songs, which this one isn't. My apologies!

[OveriseFan]

20 below- hidden in plain view
21 and invincible- something corporate
quiet things...-brand new
you're so last summer- TBS
good riddance- green day
what went wrong- blink 182

or you can be adventurous like me and make acoustic versions of songs that really shouldnt be acoustic lol

All but one of those would be making an acoustic version of a song that isn't originally acoustic.

(I know what you mean though. I love doing acoustic versions of rap songs and stuff... I'm trying to make an acoustic version of "My Love" by Justin Timberlake right now. It's fun.)

[duhpunk]

All but one of those would be making an acoustic version of a song that isn't originally acoustic.

(I know what you mean though. I love doing acoustic versions of rap songs and stuff... I'm trying to make an acoustic version of "My Love" by Justin Timberlake right now. It's fun.)

more like 3. but i have acoustic versions of every one of those songs

[eraserhead]

I'm having a lot of fun with The Quiet Things and Poison Oak, keep em comin.

[pshh]

i will follow you into the dark

[MIKEY_HORROR]

Jumper- 3EB
Perfect Sonnet- Bright Eyes
Radio- Alkaline Trio

[Iamhome]

I'm having a lot of fun with The Quiet Things and Poison Oak, keep em comin.

Are you playing Poison Oak with open chords or power chords?

I recorded a version for shits and giggles...

[atticus1492]

Are you playing Poison Oak with open chords or power chords?

I recorded a version for shits and giggles...

Open chords are really easy for this song, I think.

[karmapolicia]

CapoCapoCapo

[karmapolicia]

Learn I'm Wide Awake... in it's entirety like I did haha.

[Iamhome]

CapoCapoCapo


Yes, my next investment :)

[Iamhome]

Open chords are really easy for this song, I think.

I couldn't find correct tabs... and the open chords weren't coming to me that easily.

[atticus1492]

I couldn't find correct tabs... and the open chords weren't coming to me that easily.

Well, I might be wrong. I am not exactly looking for them. For the intro isn't it like A and Dsusx (sus something, I don't remember) Then again, maybe I am on crack. There is an F#m in there somewhere also.

[Iamhome]

Well, I might be wrong. I am not exactly looking for them. For the intro isn't it like A and Dsusx (sus something, I don't remember) Then again, maybe I am on crack. There is an F#m in there somewhere also.

Yeah, I feel the a A to Dsus7... I think another reason I'm having problems is because my acoustic is tuned down (on accident I just kept playing and adjusting by ear, I don't have a tuner so I'll need to play through a song I know and tune it.

[eraserhead]

Yeah the Poison Oak intro is A to Dsus7, it sounds right anyways. The F#min comes in later, I think during the verse? There's a part where it's E to F#min. It's wierd because the F#min doesn't sound right to me in those spots.

I know most of the songs off I'm Wide Awake, I just never tried Poison Oak before, for some reason. I love playing Lua, First Day of My Life, At the Bottom of Everything, and Landlocked Blues. And I never even thought of doing The Quiet Things acoustically, I didn't even know there was an acoustic version...it's fun as hell to play. Especially the "I lie for, only you...etc." part, just awesome.

[atticus1492]

Yeah the Poison Oak intro is A to Dsus7, it sounds right anyways. The F#min comes in later, I think during the verse? There's a part where it's E to F#min. It's wierd because the F#min doesn't sound right to me in those spots.

I know most of the songs off I'm Wide Awake, I just never tried Poison Oak before, for some reason. I love playing Lua, First Day of My Life, At the Bottom of Everything, and Landlocked Blues. And I never even thought of doing The Quiet Things acoustically, I didn't even know there was an acoustic version...it's fun as hell to play. Especially the "I lie for, only you...etc." part, just awesome.

I love Lua so much.

[Tristan Needler]

Play When The Night Feels My Song by Bedouin Soundclash. That could be really fun. It's really easy too, you'll learn it in five minutes.

[eraserhead]

Learning Play Crack the Sky...the chords are easy but the 3/4 time signature throws me. I'm finding it hard to fit the lyrics in.

[devinisdie]

All of these are pretty easy songs that take anywhere from 5 minutes to an hour to get down.

the classic Saves The Day songs (Sell my Old Clothes, Freakish, This is Not an Exit, Three Miles Down, Jodie, etc.) are perfect with just an acoustic guitar.

Bright eyes, obviously

"My Heart is the Worst Kind of Weapon"- Fall Out Boy
"I Knew You Before"- Dustin Kensrue
"The Light and the Glass"- Coheed and Cambria [first acoustic song I learned, easy but long]
"Ever So Sweet" - The Early November
"The First Single"- The Format
"When You're Around" - Motion City Soundtrack

[lew_1987]

i transcribed my own version of "clear and conscious" by name taken, its an awesome song, acoustic or not.

[OveriseFan]

more like 3. but i have acoustic versions of every one of those songs

3?

20 below- hidden in plain view
21 and invincible- something corporate
quiet things...-brand new
you're so last summer- TBS
good riddance- green day
what went wrong- blink 182

Good Riddance is the only song there that is acoustic.

Yes, they've done acoustic versions, but that doesn't make them 'acoustic songs', you know? He'd still be making an acoustic version of it.

[the_champ_is_here]

Hey Ya

[eraserhead]

The song doesn't necessarily need to be acoustic, for example I play Hallelujah by Jeff Buckley because the melody is great and the chords are simple. That song was never exactly acoustic, but it works great as an acoustic song.

So, as long as a song has a decent melody and the chords are on UltimateGuitar, it would work in this thread.

Hey Ya
yes, like that.

[StillWaiting]

Tiger Lily- Matchbook Romance
Wrecking hotel rooms- Mxpx
View From Heaven- Yellowcard
The day I turned my back on you- Bouncing Souls

Good Riddence is a classic on accoustic.

[~Alesana.Rocks~]

crazy -gnarls barkley
whitered -a static lullaby

[pshh]

tsl songs

[akwood]

Anyone heard the Margot and the Nuclear So and So's demos? Those are some amazing acoustic songs.

[skinnymiracles]

Radiohead - True Love Waits
Radiohead - Exit Music (for a Film)
Ben Harper - Diamonds on the Inside (you can play a standard tuning version hes done live)

all pretty easy and really fun

[streaksandskies]

I'm really into Dave Matthews stuff when playing my acoustic as of late.

Check out Warehouse and Lie In Your Graves by DMB.

Also I just started figuring out Chloroform Perfume by From Autumn To Ashes off the album to "bad your beautiful" album. It's a catchy song so check that out too

[streaksandskies]

tsl songs

Any fuck with an acoustic guitar at a party thinks he's the shit when he starts playing some best of me. Learn something with a little more taste.

[pshh]

Any fuck with an acoustic guitar at a party thinks he's the shit when he starts playing some best of me. Learn something with a little more taste.

ok cool guy dont need to be an asshole

[Harold Wood]

William Payne


duh

[xxeuthanasia]

broken, seether
schism, tool (that's not originally acoustic but it sounds good acoustically)

[jds10912]

3?

20 below- hidden in plain view
21 and invincible- something corporate
quiet things...-brand new
you're so last summer- TBS
good riddance- green day
what went wrong- blink 182

Good Riddance is the only song there that is acoustic.

Yes, they've done acoustic versions, but that doesn't make them 'acoustic songs', you know? He'd still be making an acoustic version of it.


what went wrong is acoustic too

[eraserhead]

How is this for an acoustic setlist (I only get 15 minutes to play):

The Boy Who Blocked His Own Shot by Brand New
I Will Follow You Into The Dark by Death Cab for Cutie
Play Crack the Sky by Brand New

I was considering some other songs (Everchanging, Lua, There Is A Light), but I might stick with these ones. I love Lua but but it is not a song to play at Battle of the Bands, IMO. I have troubles with the vocals and strumming on Everchanging so that is not a very strong song for me. There Is A Light, I feel will sound too empty with just acoustic. So I narrowed it down to those three. I know, a lot of Brand New...but hopefully no one will mind.

[lew_1987]

favor house atlantic - coheed and cambria
red sky - thrice

two songs i have played on acoustic before

[eraserhead]

Shit, Red Sky is awesome to play, I never thought of that. Thanks a lot.

[lew_1987]

Shit, Red Sky is awesome to play, I never thought of that. Thanks a lot.

no probs ;-). i use a capo cos my voice is really deep...

[CellarGhosts]

Blue In the Face - Alkaline Trio, ftw

[eraserhead]

no probs ;-). i use a capo cos my voice is really deep...
Aren't you supposed to use a capo anyways? What fret do you put it on? What chords do you use? Cause in the tab I found it calls for a capo on second fret and the chords for the verse are Am, G, Am, G, F, Am, G.

[lew_1987]

Aren't you supposed to use a capo anyways? What fret do you put it on? What chords do you use? Cause in the tab I found it calls for a capo on second fret and the chords for the verse are Am, G, Am, G, F, Am, G.

i used a capo on 3 in standard tuning i think... but on the original they dont use a capo and tune to drop C.

[eraserhead]

Blue In the Face - Alkaline Trio, ftw
This is an awesome fucking song, thanks a lot

[OveriseFan]

what went wrong is acoustic too

That shows how much of a Blink fan I am... ;-)

How is this for an acoustic setlist (I only get 15 minutes to play):

The Boy Who Blocked His Own Shot by Brand New
I Will Follow You Into The Dark by Death Cab for Cutie
Play Crack the Sky by Brand New

I was considering some other songs (Everchanging, Lua, There Is A Light), but I might stick with these ones. I love Lua but but it is not a song to play at Battle of the Bands, IMO. I have troubles with the vocals and strumming on Everchanging so that is not a very strong song for me. There Is A Light, I feel will sound too empty with just acoustic. So I narrowed it down to those three. I know, a lot of Brand New...but hopefully no one will mind.

It looks good enough, although it's kind of... 'boring'. You know? They're all slower songs. I'd throw in an upbeat, bouncy one, at least, personally, but it's your choice.

Good luck, man! I just was in a Battle of the Bands two weeks ago. It was a lot of fun. Just enjoy performing.

[eraserhead]

They are all kind of slow, but I can't think of a "fun" one to play.

[CellarGhosts]

This is an awesome fucking song, thanks a lot
Sure thing.

It's one fucking awesome song indeed haha.

[eraserhead]

Well I did the set. It went alright for my first solo performance ever. The guitar kept cutting out though due to some sort of technical problem, that was gay, and I totally messed up Play Crack the Sky in the middle part because of that. I wish I could do it again.

But, I really had fun, and it didn't go horrible, so I guess I can't ask for more.

[GoWaitInTheCar]

Defiance, Ohio - Petty Problems
Two Gallants - The Throes

[CellarGhosts]

Alkaline Trio - Emma (acoustic)
the Pogues - Fairytale Of New York
Sundowner - My Boatless Booze Cruise
Against Me! - Sink, Florida, Sink
Dropkick Murphys - Forever
Flogging Molly - Float
Bruce Springsteen - Atlantic City

[screamoutmyname]

or you can be adventurous like me and make acoustic versions of songs that really shouldnt be acoustic lol

i do the same! haha

[screamoutmyname]

Blue In the Face - Alkaline Trio, ftw

yess that is one of my favorites...

along with:
Saves the Day - Hold
From Autumn to Ashes - The Fiction We Live/Autumn's Monologue
Hidden in Plain View - 20 Below
Finch - Letters to You
Blink 182 - Going Away to College
Taking Back Sunday - Cute Without the 'E"
...
oh the list is endless

[theguy77]

oh man, two of the most fun songs to play/sing on an acoustic like ever:

say anything - i want to know your plans
iron & wine - naked as we came

the iron & wine one just has to be played with fingers though a pick ruins it. but damn, the say anything one, totally intricate, the fact that IARB is easily, EASILY the most complex and deep pop-punk album musically applies to even their acoustic song, in a way many highly respected acoustic singer-songwriters could never accomplish. flame me if you want i know max bemis gets sucked off on here by the hour but i make no apologies. he may not be the most talented singer or lyricist and im not saying hes even close to being universally the best at anything but damn, does he write intricate songs and damn, does he find some way to make them catchy.

[CellarGhosts]

oh man, two of the most fun songs to play/sing on an acoustic like ever:

say anything - i want to know your plans
iron & wine - naked as we came

the iron & wine one just has to be played with fingers though a pick ruins it. but damn, the say anything one, totally intricate, the fact that IARB is easily, EASILY the most complex and deep pop-punk album musically applies to even their acoustic song, in a way many highly respected acoustic singer-songwriters could never accomplish. flame me if you want i know max bemis gets sucked off on here by the hour but i make no apologies. he may not be the most talented singer or lyricist and im not saying hes even close to being universally the best at anything but damn, does he write intricate songs and damn, does he find some way to make them catchy.
haha, Ryan I love ya but c'mon now ;-)

But really, Max Bemis/Say Anything have never really appealed to me at all, for some reason, aside from a few songs. and though there were some good tunes on IDOTG, overall that album was big mess IMO. wayyyy too long. I do admit though, he's pretty damn creative. I just think there are much better vocalists/lyricists out there that don't get enough recognition.

For instance (because I just finished a binge on this dude's music), Joey Cape. his lyrics are great, and his voice is one of the best out there, especially when it hits that low, pained register he has. And his songwriting abilities really do expand past the melodic punk stuff Lagwagon does. Bad Astronaut were astounding, and his solo songs are ace too. mostly I just think he deserves more recognition but whatevz. haha.

yess that is one of my favorites...

along with:
Saves the Day - Hold
From Autumn to Ashes - The Fiction We Live/Autumn's Monologue
Hidden in Plain View - 20 Below
Finch - Letters to You
Blink 182 - Going Away to College
Taking Back Sunday - Cute Without the 'E"
...
oh the list is endless
it's such a fun song haha. it's fun playing acoustic versions of other Alk3 songs that aren't acoustic, as well.

and those are all pretty cool choices.

[screamoutmyname]

it's such a fun song haha. it's fun playing acoustic versions of other Alk3 songs that aren't acoustic, as well.

and those are all pretty cool choices.

yes definitely haha

thanks =)

[CellarGhosts]

yes definitely haha

thanks =)
I think "Mercy Me" is pretty fun on acoustic, plus "Jaked On Green Beers" sounds pretty neat acoustically, sometimes I play that one slowed down and in a 3/4 time-type rhythm, sounds pretty neat haha.

[screamoutmyname]

I think "Mercy Me" is pretty fun on acoustic, plus "Jaked On Green Beers" sounds pretty neat acoustically, sometimes I play that one slowed down and in a 3/4 time-type rhythm, sounds pretty neat haha.

oohh... jaked on green beers... i might need to try that... "radio" is good because it's already really slow... and sometimes i pull out "private eye"

[CellarGhosts]

oohh... jaked on green beers... i might need to try that... "radio" is good because it's already really slow... and sometimes i pull out "private eye"
haha yessir. it sounds pretty cool playing it that way, because it's so fast originally. agreed on Radio, i've actually seen alot of covers on youtube of that one done acosutically. not so well in some cases haha.

and private eye is pretty cool on acoustic too.

[screamoutmyname]

haha yessir. it sounds pretty cool playing it that way, because it's so fast originally. agreed on Radio, i've actually seen alot of covers on youtube of that one done acosutically. not so well in some cases haha.

and private eye is pretty cool on acoustic too.

nice! i'd love to see Matt Skiba pull out some Alk3 acoustic songs one day... if i ever get to see them.

[CellarGhosts]

nice! i'd love to see Matt Skiba pull out some Alk3 acoustic songs one day... if i ever get to see them.
ah yes same here. have you heard his solo acoustic songs?

[downtotheriver]

as cities burn - the widow


these tabs are almost perfect

http://ultimate-guitar.com/tabs/a/as_cities_burn/widow_crd.htm

[eraserhead]

yess that is one of my favorites...

along with:
Saves the Day - Hold
From Autumn to Ashes - The Fiction We Live/Autumn's Monologue
Hidden in Plain View - 20 Below
Finch - Letters to You
Blink 182 - Going Away to College
Taking Back Sunday - Cute Without the 'E"
...
oh the list is endless
do you have a tab for this somewhere? I mean like for an acoustic version? I've always tried to figure out a way to play it acoustically but nothing's ever really worked.

[screamoutmyname]

do you have a tab for this somewhere? I mean like for an acoustic version? I've always tried to figure out a way to play it acoustically but nothing's ever really worked.

ahh no tabs for the acoustic version... sorry =/

i just kinda strum more than in the original haha

however, Feeling Left Out does a great cover of "Going Away to College" on the Tribute to Blink 182 album, so perhaps there's a tab for that floating around the interweb... if i find one, i'll be sure to let you know.

[screamoutmyname]

ah yes same here. have you heard his solo acoustic songs?

i had no idea he had solo acoustic songs?! any idea where i can find some? ;-)

[CellarGhosts]

i had no idea he had solo acoustic songs?! any idea where i can find some? ;-)
haha yes indeed he does. and this (http://www.mediafire.com/?1ebcwe1jhxh) should work. let me know if it doesn't. :-)

[eraserhead]

ahh no tabs for the acoustic version... sorry =/

i just kinda strum more than in the original haha

however, Feeling Left Out does a great cover of "Going Away to College" on the Tribute to Blink 182 album, so perhaps there's a tab for that floating around the interweb... if i find one, i'll be sure to let you know.
cool, thanks

[screamoutmyname]

cool, thanks

no problem, man! no luck finding any tabs yet, but i'll keep looking haha

haha yes indeed he does. and this (http://www.mediafire.com/?1ebcwe1jhxh) should work. let me know if it doesn't. :-)

thank you very, very much!

[CellarGhosts]

no problem, man! no luck finding any tabs yet, but i'll keep looking haha



thank you very, very much!
haha, no problem, buddy!

[The Boathouse]

My personal favorite to play acoustic is Grade's "Little Satisfactions," it makes for a good genre-bend.