What is your favorite song to play?

[FrankenTaylor]

What is your favorite song to play?


My favorite song  to play is Rock on the water.

[timfitz63]

If by "favorite" you mean the song you get the most enjoyment or satisfaction from playing, I'd have to say "Sweet Talkin' Woman" by Electric Light Orchestra.  It's got a simple-but-catchy chord progression (meaning I make few mistakes whenever I play it, and it sounds interesting); it's well-suited to a strumming soloist on a guitar (especially a 12-string, which is my particular favorite) while still being recognizable; it's got a simple rhythm (important in my case); and is just a song that I find fun to play.

If by "favorite" you mean a song that you like the most and have learned to play on the guitar, I'd have to say "Dust In The Wind" by Kansas.  For me, it's the consummate acoustic-guitar song and is instantly recognizable when played.  But being primarily a strumming player, and this being a finger-picking song, my ability to play it well is inconsistent -- so it's challenging to me.

[donlyn]

If by "favorite" you mean the song you get the most enjoyment or satisfaction from playing, ...

I like Tim's qualified definition, so I will use it. My favourite song to play is "Apache", based off the Jorgen Ingmann version (not the Marvin/Shadows one). It has the advantage of sounding real good no matter which guitar I play it on (even a 12 string, Tim). It has enough tricks to keep it interesting, and is always available for a few more tweaks. Sometimes I play a verse/chorus of "Ghost Riders in the Sky" as an intro, eliding into a 'drumbeat' opening for "Apache" (I hold an Am and rhythmically slap the strings for that effect). Since Ingmann multi-tracked his own recording, and features 'many guitars' (see original album cover for that reference), as a finger-picker I have been able to fill out the piece a bit with just one guitar.

I will extend the answer a bit with my favourite song to do with a vocal, which is currently Buddy Holly's "Love's Made a Fool of You", but done through the filter of Tom Rush's version. More mellow and laid back. Not a complex song, but I just get a kick out of it.

Don

[Knight]

The one I just learned to play from start to finish

[Soof]

"Apache" and "Ghost Riders" are both excellent.  As is "Dust In The Wind"

For me , my FAVE is "If You Could Read My Mind" by Gordon Lightfoot, (Rainy Day People is also a good one).
They both sound good  on 6 and 12 strings.
Sometimes I try my hand at singing while strumming and picking, but alas, it won't even get me a cup of coffee !

[Dakell]

My favorite is the first fingerstyle piece I ever learned. Morning Has Broken by Cat Stevens. I really jumped off the deep end trying to get into fingerstyle with it. I had a good friend who recently passed away who was a prolific guitar collector. His favorite guitar was the one he owned the longest. It's a hand made Yairi DY90 they call the super abalone because of its Martin D45 abalone appointments and was made and signed by Kazuo Yairi. My friend always handed it to me first when I'd visit and he wanted me to play Morning Has Broken. He only knew basic chords but liked to hear more advanced stuff on his favorite guitar. He bought it new in 1982 and maintained it in mint condition. When he knew his time was short on earth he asked me to play that song on it at his funeral and then take it home with me. This will be in 2 weeks in Houston, 4 hours from me. He was cremated and they held off on his celebration of life service till then. It's gonna be a tough gig but he was a good friend and it's what he wanted so I've been practicing it relentlessly. I've done some pearl inlay work and am thinking about about doing a small piece on the lower bout of In Loving Memory Dave Grana. I think it would go good with the massive amount of abalone already there. That song will be forever cemented as my favorite and I'll have a stellar cannon to play it on as well.

[Epic Audio]

Cool topic. My favorite song to play is always the one those listening enjoy the most... Love songs to my fiance work pretty well as do silly songs like Sushi-Yucky for my young nieces or 80's classic rock for my friends of that era.

When I am playing for myself my favorite changes with mood, thoughts, what strikes me at the time, last music I heard, how the guitar sounds and feels at that moment (as it tends to change) and environment. Sometimes I really enjoy playing songs I played in my college band (brings back a lot of great memories). Other times I like to play originals a good friend of mine wrote or even my originals. Sometimes I want to play a song for the sake of the song, sometimes I want to play for the guitar (to hear and feel the nuances of the tone). I will often switch from having my favorite being one recently written or learned to one of the oldest. 

[TaylorGirl]

I have many favorites, so it's too difficult to choose just one. But, I just recently taught myself "Kentucky Sunrise Waltz", like Jim Hurst plays it, fingerstyle. Love it. Now I'm working on "Remember When" (Alan Jackson) for a friend who loves to sit and listen to me play. It was sung at their wedding. It's a really pretty song. I'm always discovering new, wonderful songs. My mandolin-playing duo partner has also got us into a lot of songs that sound great together. Music is so fun. Oh, and Hector the Hero is very cool.

[Jersey tuning]

As a singer/player my favorite song is "Behind Blue Eyes" by the Who.  Enough interesting fingerstyle playing plus great lyrics.  Honorable mention to Joni Mitchell's Urge For Going. and the Door's Crystal Ship . 

[Marco Polo]

I have several favorites that put a smile on my face and make me feel good....

Boston's 'More Than A Feeling' stands out...in addition to 'Hitch A Ride'

[HondaMC1]

"Asking Too Much of You"
Written by Toy Caldwell from The Marshall Tucker Bands "Together Forever" album.
Still sang by Doug Gray at concerts.

[donlyn]

... Honorable mention to Joni Mitchell's Urge For Going.

Interesting, in that when I posted that link to Tom Rush's "Urge for Going", I would have said 'Urge' was my favorite for guitar and vocal (again, done through the filter of Tom Rush's version). However that youtube link led me to Tom Rush's version of Buddy Holly's "Love's Made a Fool of You", which has somehow become my latest fun song to do.

[Jersey tuning]

... Honorable mention to Joni Mitchell's Urge For Going.

Interesting, in that when I posted that link to Tom Rush's "Urge for Going", I would have said 'Urge' was my favorite for guitar and vocal (again, done through the filter of Tom Rush's version). However that youtube link led me to Tom Rush's version of Buddy Holly's "Love's Made a Fool of You", which has somehow become my latest fun song to do.

My version is 90% Joni, 10% Tom.  Both do it in "A" form capoed. 

[donlyn]

My version is 90% Tom, 10% me, and I do it in A, no capo; I like open strings. Any Joni influence is purely coincidental, probably Tom's fault. 

[Guitar Cowboy]

I agree with Knight ... the one I'm trying to  learn well enough to play in front of people. Currently its Bon Jovi's "Wanted Dead Or Alive . My wife and I were in Phoenix a month ago and we almost always see this "Singing Cowboy -Marshall Pioneer Pepper "  He does Ol' Time Cowboy Songs like Happy Trails, Red River Valley,  Rawhide , etc.  We've seen him numerous times and he's always getting requests to play newer country  and he never does them , claiming that's not what he does...very understandable. This last time , however, on his last song,  he busted into the opening lick for "Wanted"  and proceeded to play it all the way through. It was great, the crowd loved it, and I said to myself " Ooh, there's one I can do. I've been having fun with it and I'm hoping to play it at my July open mic.