Hey guys,

A while back I started learning guitar - and was wondering if someone could recommend a few beginner Prince songs I could take a look at - most of his stuff seems really complicated though.

thanks

I've been playing for about 3 years and one of the first Prince songs I learned to play was 7. The tabs nd chords can be easily found online and the chords are mostly ones that you learn as a beginner. Good luck with your learning it's a really fun instrument once you get the fingering and scales down.

if you want something that you can instantly feel chuffed about because you recognise itas Prince then the solo/melody from Question Of U is really easy as is the 'run' and chords of The Cross. Lets go crazy chords are quite easy too.

This comking from somebody who cant play the guitar more than these

Cheat - use Tabs

Dinner with Delores is REALLY easy...i taught myself that...try doing it by ear its easy.

I'm going to suggest something 180 degrees different:

Learn your favorite song first. Here's why:

First of all, playnig guitar is not hard. At least, playing chords and rhythm isn't. Sure, shredding the solo to "Purple Rain" is a challenge, but trust me - playing the chords to it isn't hard at all.

Second, if you start with your favorite song, then everything after that will seem really easy. I taught myself to play by buying the songbooks and replicating the chord shapes above the bars. The first book I bought was for the "Purple Rain" album, and the first song I learned was "Take Me With U".

That song has really funky, really complex chords but I didn't know that. I just figured they were chords like in every other song. So I learned how to play it - really well, in fact. (I'm serious, playing rhythm guitar is NOT hard!) It was my favorite song, so I was motivated to get it down.

I taught myself all the songs in that book. But again, I had no idea how complex they were. I just knew I liked the songs.

When I moved on to other artists and other songs, I was amazed at how easy they were! And it was all because I started with something "hard".

So don't be afraid. Learn your favorite Prince song first, no matter what it is.

If you need help, find someone who's a good rhthym player and ask for help. If you don't know a good player, go to bars until you find one that plays like you want to play, and ask for advice or even lessons.

But start with what you like best, and you'll learn faster and have more fun that way. Good luck!

Try "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star - The New Master"

alexnvrmnd777 said:

Try "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star - The New Master"

The Cross

Purple Rain (chords not solo )

Playing Prince rhythms is pretty simple if you play along with the music. But he leaves lots of empty spaces for different instruments to come in, so playing them solo and counting out the time is tought.

Easy ones to start with

The Cross

Bambi

Purple Rain

Lets Go Crazy

When You Were Mine

Peach

Sexy Mf

Alphabet St

The Question of U

One Of Us

7

I could never take the place of your man

elephants and flowers

i like it there

fury

why u wanna treat me so bad

endorphine machine

i want to be your lover

These are all SUPER EASY and fun to play. I learned all of these as my first songs ever with NO previous playing experience. I learned these all within the first month of playing and each one can be mastered pretty quickly as they are very simple.

Good luck to you!!

Lots of misinformation here. Makes me wonder if some of the people responding actually play an instrument.

Is it difficult to learn a root + 5th power chord, the basic chord shape used throughout rock & roll and heavy metal music? No. It requires two fingers and you basically slide that shape up and down in different patterns. You can learn many basic rock songs & riffs by ear once you're able to associate the chords with the tones you hear.

But to suggest that playing the guitar is easy is a complete falsehood. Learning how to actually PLAY the instrument is very difficult. Learning riffs, a melody, a basic scale...yes, one can begin to pick up some of those parts just playing by ear. But to APPLY those various parts as far as fundamental learning is another thing altogether. Ignorance is NOT bliss. There is nothing cool about saying, "I don't read, I don't know anything about music...I just turn it up and rip!!!" Makes for a cool interview but a lousy musician.

To suggest on a web page associated with perhaps the greatest musician of current times that playing rhythm guitar is easy...my God...that's almost an insult. It takes years to get down your patterns, your "feel"...most of your tone is in your hands, not the amp or guitar...to establish an identity on your instrument takes many hours of practice and dedication. Funk/r&b rhythm guitar is such a specialized craft. Very subtle...mostly about what you leave out, the spaces between notes and playing chord fragments, than bashing out power chords a la Tony Iommi or James Hetfield. And even those guys are deceptively talented...but I digress.

Take your time, learn your instrument and you can play anything. Don't look for shortcuts. Patience and dedication are the keys.

To your question...the basic chords to Let's Go Crazy are not that difficult to get under your hand...and believe it or not, Purple Rain isn't the hardest song to learn the basic parts to, either.

dandeeland said:

Easy ones to start with

The Cross

Bambi

Purple Rain

Lets Go Crazy

When You Were Mine

Peach

Sexy Mf

Alphabet St

The Question of U

One Of Us

7

I could never take the place of your man

elephants and flowers

i like it there

fury

why u wanna treat me so bad

endorphine machine

i want to be your lover

These are all SUPER EASY and fun to play. I learned all of these as my first songs ever with NO previous playing experience. I learned these all within the first month of playing and each one can be mastered pretty quickly as they are very simple.

Good luck to you!!

I'm sorry and I'm not usually this direct, but I'm calling bullshit on this. Within one month of never having played before? You should send an audition tape to Prince's management because you should be on the road with him if this is true. Which I highly doubt. Why mislead someone who may have a genuine question..?

GDB said:

Lots of misinformation here. Makes me wonder if some of the people responding actually play an instrument.

Is it difficult to learn a root + 5th power chord, the basic chord shape used throughout rock & roll and heavy metal music? No. It requires two fingers and you basically slide that shape up and down in different patterns. You can learn many basic rock songs & riffs by ear once you're able to associate the chords with the tones you hear.

But to suggest that playing the guitar is easy is a complete falsehood. Learning how to actually PLAY the instrument is very difficult. Learning riffs, a melody, a basic scale...yes, one can begin to pick up some of those parts just playing by ear. But to APPLY those various parts as far as fundamental learning is another thing altogether. Ignorance is NOT bliss. There is nothing cool about saying, "I don't read, I don't know anything about music...I just turn it up and rip!!!" Makes for a cool interview but a lousy musician.

To suggest on a web page associated with perhaps the greatest musician of current times that playing rhythm guitar is easy...my God...that's almost an insult. It takes years to get down your patterns, your "feel"...most of your tone is in your hands, not the amp or guitar...to establish an identity on your instrument takes many hours of practice and dedication. Funk/r&b rhythm guitar is such a specialized craft. Very subtle...mostly about what you leave out, the spaces between notes and playing chord fragments, than bashing out power chords a la Tony Iommi or James Hetfield. And even those guys are deceptively talented...but I digress.

Take your time, learn your instrument and you can play anything. Don't look for shortcuts. Patience and dedication are the keys.

To your question...the basic chords to Let's Go Crazy are not that difficult to get under your hand...and believe it or not, Purple Rain isn't the hardest song to learn the basic parts to, either.

exactly, i've been learning for three months and it isnt easy, i've gotten alot better since when i started, but even i know it will take a few thousand hours of serious practice and hardwork before i might become "pretty good". Patience is the key to it, i hope to play prince's songs someday (endorphinmachine, purple rain, computer blue) but it will take alot of time to get there.

GDB said:

Lots of misinformation here. Makes me wonder if some of the people responding actually play an instrument.

Is it difficult to learn a root + 5th power chord, the basic chord shape used throughout rock & roll and heavy metal music? No. It requires two fingers and you basically slide that shape up and down in different patterns. You can learn many basic rock songs & riffs by ear once you're able to associate the chords with the tones you hear.

But to suggest that playing the guitar is easy is a complete falsehood. Learning how to actually PLAY the instrument is very difficult. Learning riffs, a melody, a basic scale...yes, one can begin to pick up some of those parts just playing by ear. But to APPLY those various parts as far as fundamental learning is another thing altogether. Ignorance is NOT bliss. There is nothing cool about saying, "I don't read, I don't know anything about music...I just turn it up and rip!!!" Makes for a cool interview but a lousy musician.

To suggest on a web page associated with perhaps the greatest musician of current times that playing rhythm guitar is easy...my God...that's almost an insult. It takes years to get down your patterns, your "feel"...most of your tone is in your hands, not the amp or guitar...to establish an identity on your instrument takes many hours of practice and dedication. Funk/r&b rhythm guitar is such a specialized craft. Very subtle...mostly about what you leave out, the spaces between notes and playing chord fragments, than bashing out power chords a la Tony Iommi or James Hetfield. And even those guys are deceptively talented...but I digress.

Take your time, learn your instrument and you can play anything. Don't look for shortcuts. Patience and dedication are the keys.

To your question...the basic chords to Let's Go Crazy are not that difficult to get under your hand...and believe it or not, Purple Rain isn't the hardest song to learn the basic parts to, either.

Good info, but I think you missed the point of this particular post. He/she was asking for some easy Prince songs to play along with, not become a guitar master. I am in a band, do play music, and we do cover some Prince songs. Prince songs are not that complex from a technical stand point. Three, four, five chord turn arounds. The most diffacult part of a Prince song is the vocal melody and the tone texture of the instruments. My recomendations for easy starter songs to play along with would be.

When you were Mine

I like it there

The Cross

Little Red Corvettte

7

I could never take the place of your man. (just a scale)

These are fun songs that are not too hard to get. They are in standard tuning so you don't need to capo.

leonche64 said:

Good info, but I think you missed the point of this particular post. He/she was asking for some easy Prince songs to play along with, not become a guitar master. I am in a band, do play music, and we do cover some Prince songs. Prince songs are not that complex from a technical stand point. Three, four, five chord turn arounds. The most diffacult part of a Prince song is the vocal melody and the tone texture of the instruments. My recomendations for easy starter songs to play along with would be.

When you were Mine

I like it there

The Cross

Little Red Corvettte

7

I could never take the place of your man. (just a scale)

These are fun songs that are not too hard to get. They are in standard tuning so you don't need to capo.

I don't think so...I understood the OP's question. My response was primarily directed at the responders who offered what I believed was erroneous information re how easy it is to learn the guitar and to play funk/r&b rhythm guitar. I offered the OP some ideas on how to approach the guitar so he won't have to lean upon tab or solely his ear as a crutch, and suggested a couple of songs that I thought might fall under his neophyte fingers relatively easily. I believe that for a beginner, P's songs would be considered difficult...perhaps not from the perspective of a musician who plays them in cover bands but definitely from the POV of a student. You might be able to play block chord forms and learn a melody line...but to play it in time, with the proper rhythm and facility requires a lot of work IMHO.

He didn't ask for songs to play along to...he asked for songs to learn. There is a difference, I believe.

GDB said:

dandeeland said:

....

Good luck to you!!

I'm sorry and I'm not usually this direct, but I'm calling bullshit on this. Within one month of never having played before? You should send an audition tape to Prince's management because you should be on the road with him if this is true. Which I highly doubt. Why mislead someone who may have a genuine question..?

I have to agree. After 10 years of playing I consider myself as an above average guitar player. And I can tell that most of the songs mentioned aren't "beginner songs" at all. Funk and r&b rhythm guitar is very difficult btw, at least if you want to do it well.

also try dreamer

For funk guitar playing, these are good lessons:
http://www.youtube.com/wa...EPw06KxdOY
http://www.youtube.com/wa...pQGwDxQwvM
they get a little difficult at the end, but if you get the basics and the swing, you can play rhythm to a lot of his funk songs, which is really fun. Better than learning his songs by heart IMO. If you practise a lot you can play rhythm guitar like prince does. For the soloing, you need to practise even more

GDB said:

leonche64 said:

When you were Mine

I like it there

The Cross

Little Red Corvettte

7

I could never take the place of your man. (just a scale)

These are fun songs that are not too hard to get. They are in standard tuning so you don't need to capo.

I don't think so...I understood the OP's question. My response was primarily directed at the responders who offered what I believed was erroneous information re how easy it is to learn the guitar and to play funk/r&b rhythm guitar. I offered the OP some ideas on how to approach the guitar so he won't have to lean upon tab or solely his ear as a crutch, and suggested a couple of songs that I thought might fall under his neophyte fingers relatively easily. I believe that for a beginner, P's songs would be considered difficult...perhaps not from the perspective of a musician who plays them in cover bands but definitely from the POV of a student. You might be able to play block chord forms and learn a melody line...but to play it in time, with the proper rhythm and facility requires a lot of work IMHO.

He didn't ask for songs to play along to...he asked for songs to learn. There is a difference, I believe.

I went back and read the post you called bullshit on. I am with you on that one. However, I still think the songs I mentioned will satisfy the OP.

If you are totally new to guitar then it's unlikely that you will be able to play barre chords from

get-go - better off learning songs with the easier chord shapes (namely E, Em, A, Am, C, D, G)

Saying that a great way to tune your ear and learn songs is to pick the melody out of lead lines of your fave songs

Also, head on over to http://prince.forum9.biz/ where there are all levels of musicians willing and able to help you!

good luck, it's a long journey but well worth it!

daf1999 said:

If you are totally new to guitar then it's unlikely that you will be able to play barre chords from

get-go - better off learning songs with the easier chord shapes (namely E, Em, A, Am, C, D, G)

Saying that a great way to tune your ear and learn songs is to pick the melody out of lead lines of your fave songs

Also, head on over to http://prince.forum9.biz/ where there are all levels of musicians willing and able to help you!

good luck, it's a long journey but well worth it!

vey well said. Barre chords are a nightmare for someone new. The 1st song I leard was 'The Cross' which will take you a very short time to learn [simple chord shapes]. I think Star Fish and Coffee is also very simple. Trust me, stick to the very simple chords, it's all down to individual talent and natural ability, if like me you have very little time, short fingers, very little talent and the attention span of a nat then stick to the basics until you are 100% happy!!.

Thank you to everyone that responded!

I definately will keep practising the essentials and going thru my lessons; but I am very keen to review the trax mentioned above.

Thank you also for the link to the Prince music forum.

have a great day everyone !

I was messing around with Bambi earlier tonight and was surprised how easily it was to work out. As a relatively easy-to-learn song for a beginner I think you could grasp this one without too much difficulty.

Dorothy Parker