How much giggable material do you have?

Say someone at a party hands you an acoustic guitar. How much material do you have before you have to recycle?

Right now I have only 20 minutes of solid material that I can put out to entertain. That's about four songs! Yipes. And I've been playing guitar for almost 25 years.

Too much learning scales/theory not enough songs for me.

i think, i could come up with 120 songs with complete lyrics and correct chords, all country,
if i sum up every song i could play and sing, i´d be in the 200 range.
but i´m not good in scales and theory....:wink:

I could probably go for a couple hours if randomly handed a guitar.

As long as i have my "lists" with me, at least 500 songs. When i depend on just memory alone for impromptu picking, still 300+.

I don't sing, so the situation has never really come up for me to be THE "entertainment". One reason I suppose I have such a list of songs to "grab" is I love instrumentals (Chet Atkins, Travis, Maphis, Reed, etc.) but I am not locked into only country music; like to dabble into jazz, gospel, some bluegrass, older R&R from the 70s, doo-wop, big band, blues. If it is musical to me, then it's fair game. If I can learn it and it can be recognized:lol::oops:, then it goes on the "list".

Say someone at a party hands you an acoustic guitar. How much material do you have before you have to recycle?

Right now I have only 20 minutes of solid material that I can put out to entertain. That's about four songs! Yipes. And I've been playing guitar for almost 25 years.

Too much learning scales/theory not enough songs for me.

Somehow, your math seems wrong to me. 4 songs last you 20 minutes ? I would think you need more than 4 songs to last 20 minutes. An average single is 2 1/2 to 3 minutes long.

Maybe 2 of his 4 are American Pie and Stairway to Heaven. That would bring him up around 16 minutes. :razz:

Maybe 2 of his 4 are American Pie and Stairway to Heaven. That would bring him up around 16 minutes. :razz:

Maybe he knows Free Bird and 3 commercial jingles... :mrgreen:


I have to have a list of the songs I know, I can't seem to recall them all right off instantly

Somehow, your math seems wrong to me. 4 songs last you 20 minutes ? I would think you need more than 4 songs to last 20 minutes. An average single is 2 1/2 to 3 minutes long.

I'm more curious about the fact that after 25 years of playing he only knows four songs. :confused:

For my solo gigs, I estimate I have about 100 tunes, about 40 of which I keep up at any given time (the others I can recall but I need a little black coffee and a glance at the chart)

For gigging with a group, I think that # about doubles...there was about 200 sheets in my "book" last time I paid attention. These are all songs I can play in a pinch, or at least glance at the chart and be refreshed...There's other tunes I'd "know" but not as well, those I can do with a chart and sort of bluff my way through....thank goodness I don't sing...

I can understand how you can go a while without learning recognizable material... I went through a major backlash (in college, imagine that) and delved heavily into mechanics, theory, scales, etc... because I was upset at seeing everyone pick up a guitar and play the same four chords from a dave matthews band or jack johnson song without any understanding of what they were playing. I think I gained a new appreciation for learning songs and now love playing other peoples work. I could probably pick up a guitar and play an hour but nothing would ever be a note for note complete song, there would be recognizable melodies and chord progressions and I can sing a note or two. If you're asking how many complete songs I can play-- 0 minutes, how long I could jam in front of people or at a local pub with another musician-- quite a while (30-40 ~songs?)

Well I see "giggable" material and party entertainment fodder as two separate categories.

Maybe 40-50 songs ready to go with just me, a guitar, and a mic on stage. I'd say several hundred more if I have the lyrics. Used to be more, but I haven't gigged solo in a while and some of them have evaporated.

At a party in a singalong atmosphere, I can play until the sun comes up if people are into it. Especially if there's someone to jam with. But that's because I don't care if I mess up or forget the lyrics as long as we're all having fun.

This is something I've been wanting to improve on for years. I've played lead guitar in bands for going on 30 years, but have never done any solo playing and I generally don't sing (I don't memorize lyrics easily). If I get handed a guitar, I can play a few songs, but mostly "parts" I know, some solos and I can improvise a groove, but since I've never worked songs out for solo purposes, it just isn't the same as a true solo performer.
It's still on my list of goals, to be able to sit down and play a few dozen songs that would entertain a living room full of folks.

I'm more curious about the fact that after 25 years of playing he only knows four songs. :confused:

Come on man....for some of us its an electric forum. It is pretty pathetic, but not unreasonably so:

a) not 25 years of hard practice. I've been noodling/playing lead guitar for 25 years.

b) focusing on lead guitar/accompanyment in a full band.

c) not a vocalist or solo fingerstyle acoustic guitarist. Im such an electric player that I can just barely do a bar chord on an acoustic!

d) 4 tunes that can hold someones attention. Know a bunch of blues classics, instrumental songs for electric, etc. With chord sheets/lyrics and having heard the song i can play a lot more songs, but I never bothered to memorize the lyrics/chords.

So if someone hands me a guitar at a party, I can probably keep their attention for 20 minutes. Or if I had to go do a gig today in front of a mic, without fumbling with chord sheets.

I'm good for about 5 hours of material

Come on man....for some of us its an electric forum. It is pretty pathetic, but not unreasonably so:

a) not 25 years of hard practice. I've been noodling/playing lead guitar for 25 years.

b) focusing on lead guitar/accompanyment in a full band.

c) not a vocalist or solo fingerstyle acoustic guitarist. Im such an electric player that I can just barely do a bar chord on an acoustic!

d) 4 tunes that can hold someones attention. Know a bunch of blues classics, instrumental songs for electric, etc. With chord sheets/lyrics and having heard the song i can play a lot more songs, but I never bothered to memorize the lyrics/chords.

So if someone hands me a guitar at a party, I can probably keep their attention for 20 minutes. Or if I had to go do a gig today in front of a mic, without fumbling with chord sheets.

I got ya. You really know more than four songs, you're just saying four songs in a "sit down with a guitar and play songs" way.

I know what you mean. I don't learn lyrics, or really sing, so there aren't many, if any, songs I can play from beginning to end and sing. I can put a lead over other people playing for hours. I didn't know it was so pathetic and uncommon...

I got ya. You really know more than four songs, you're just saying four songs in a "sit down with a guitar and play songs" way.

Actually even so, I probably only know about 20 songs (start to finish) at this point. I've learned probably 50-80 songs mostly for bands that I've forgotten how to play start to finish.

I dont know if this is pathetic or not, because if I need to learn a tune for a gig I can, no problem. But I can't remember lyrics (because I dont sing), and rely on the drummer to cue transitions from different sections of the song. Im lost at sea as a solo guy.

I see it as a problem with memory and diligence.

It depends on how many songs I can remember that I remember. I recently did a solo acoustic wallpaper gig that went for 2 1/2 hours with no breaks (fingers absolutely killing me by the end) with more to spare, but I had some lyric sheets. But the main thing was a list of songs in front of me. Put me under pressure and I'll completely forget about the dozens of songs I've played over the years that I certainly still know...if asked, then: "oh, Rock and Roll Music? no problem. Is She Really Going Out With Him? Sure." But much of the time I'm just sitting there thinking, geez, what songs do I know? When of course there are hundreds.

Say someone at a party hands you an acoustic guitar. How much material do you have before you have to recycle?

Right now I have only 20 minutes of solid material that I can put out to entertain. That's about four songs! Yipes. And I've been playing guitar for almost 25 years.

Too much learning scales/theory not enough songs for me.

You have 4 GOOD songs.
That's a GOOD start.
4 good songs trumps 20 lousy songs.
Start working on a 5th (song that is).

Repeat as needed.

4 hrs + solo or with a band

Perhaps I haven't spent enough time on scales/theory, :oops:, but for many years my focus was less on guitar virtuosity and more on accompanying my singing, so I have a large enough repertoire of gig-able material. I can easily do 40-50 songs from memory.

I have been playing for 42 years (playing out for the last 11), and I have a pretty good memory. Oh, I do occasionally suffer brain farts when it comes to lyrics, and there are some lengthy songs (e.g., Marty Robbins' "El Paso") that I just need to glance at the lyrics or I'm liable to flub a line. But I can and have done a night's worth of songs from memory.

I've been working on improving my guitar playing skills in the last several years, but I'm still just a rhythm and riffs guy on guitar and a singer first. So if the criterion here is holding people's attention, I'd have a hard time of it trying to play lead, but singing and accompanying myself, I could do an evening of entertainment.

Perhaps I haven't spent enough time on scales/theory, :oops:, but for many years my focus was less on guitar virtuosity and more on accompanying my singing, so I have a large enough repertoire of gig-able material. I can easily do 40-50 songs from memory.

I have been playing for 42 years (playing out for the last 11), and I have a pretty good memory. Oh, I do occasionally suffer brain farts when it comes to lyrics, and there are some lengthy songs (e.g., Marty Robbins' "El Paso") that I just need to glance at the lyrics or I'm liable to flub a line. But I can and have done a night's worth of songs from memory.

I've been working on improving my guitar playing skills in the last several years, but I'm still just a rhythm and riffs guy on guitar and a singer first. So if the criterion here is holding people's attention, I'd have a hard time of it trying to play lead, but singing and accompanying myself, I could do an evening of entertainment.

You must have chicks hanging all over you! Hell, I want to jump on. I really respect guys that can sing and play guitar, much more than dime a dozen lead players.

You must have chicks hanging all over you! Hell, I want to jump on. I really respect guys that can sing and play guitar, much more than dime a dozen lead players.


Well, thanks, but I hardly think of lead players as a dime a dozen. It doesn't appear that way to me. I guess maybe it comes across to me as a rare gift because I can't do it, even after playing for 4 decades.

I've been singing all my life; I probably emerged from the womb singing "Ain't Misbehavin'." (Woa! Where did I get that image?!? :shock: :oops:) Anyway, because singing is my area of giftedness, I guess I don't see it as rare a thing as a guy that has really got chops and can play all over the neck and never get lost.

As for chicks, I've been married for 38 years to the same lady; she's a real glutton for punishment (seriously, though, she's a big fan). Still, I have had some ego-stoking moments from other ladies. On several occasions, I have watched women in the audience do that hand-to-the-chest thing. That always gets me. Anytime my singing makes a woman's heart flutter, I get a big rush of blood to my...ego. (What did you think I was going to say? :twisted:)

Yeah, I like to sing for the ladies, but I also like singing stuff that guys relate to. I basically have a pretty diverse repertoire: '40s jazz/popular standards; Country (mostly traditional C&W); Beatles; CCR; JT; Gordon Lightfoot; Simon & Garfunkel; John Denver; John Mayall; Robert Johnson; SRV.

If I have my songbook with me, possibly several hours. I have a terrible time remembering lyrics, so I use lyric sheets. Music, no problem. For some mental reason I can NOT remember a single song all the way through. Of course anymore I can't remember what day it is most of the time.

Probably three hours of originals, but according to our lead guitarist, I am really only playing one song over and over. I know enough covers to tack on another hour or so.
How hard of a line are we drawing on the "keeping their attention" and "entertaining" requirements?