I've played guitar for 2 years now, and I've recently took up surf rock playing. So far I only know Surf rider, penetration, and most of wipe out. What songs would you recommend to a beginner like me?
Thanks
- Home
- News
- Submit News
- Contact
- Contests
- Donations
- Downloads
- Forums
- Guitar Instruction
- IRC
- Member List
- Private Messages
- Podcast
- Polls
- Photo of the Day
- Links
- Search
- Store
- Surf Band Map
- Wiki
- Yahoo Group
Photo of the Day
Shoutbox
SHADOWNIGHT5150:
Bank accounts are a scam created by a shadow government
266 days ago
sysmalakian:
TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY!
252 days ago
dp:
dude
233 days ago
Bango_Rilla:
Shout Bananas!!
188 days ago
BillyBlastOff:
See you kiddies at the Convention!
172 days ago
GDW:
showman
123 days ago
Emilien03:
https://losg...
45 days ago
Pyronauts:
Happy Tanks-Kicking!!!
38 days ago
glennmagi:
CLAM SHACK guitar
24 days ago
Hothorseraddish:
surf music is amazing
4 days ago
IRC Status
#ShallowEnd is empty.
Current Polls
No polls at this time. Check out our past polls.
Current Contests
No contests at this time. Check out our past contests.
Donations
January Birthdays
- 1st – antivirustales2, baccalaureateacademy, bookalimolv, helpemailtales2, Hitasg2, John_Lavelle, lootedbraincase, LosKioskBears, MariahDouglas, nevastechgpsupport, Printertales, SNOKE, tashannrestaurant, topstik, tubedogsurf
- 2nd – jonesrobertt, nsalmon, SpeedWave1, Syndicateofsurf
- 3rd – 2nanfer, 3Alex3, SurferHodadVR
- 4th – JonnyAngle, Wayfarer65, Wayfarer99
- 5th – dragonfly, JeremyeTheSurfRockGuy, UnsteadyFreddie
- 6th – Harkey, ReverbMadness, vendetta
- 7th – eltwang, oceansandoceans, squirt50
- 8th – Daddy, jamescouts, Mike_Vivisector
- 9th – BDUPRE, MedievalSurf, Shadowtone, TheFintastics
- 10th – 6strman1515, andrewstaff, samurairish, tattoo_bossman
- 11th – AlanSurf, BullSkullGuitars, odicolon
- 12th – dickhutchins
- 13th – Fender_Bender, jimbones, launchpad_mcquack, ricktrev, Rob_Markham, Slikbeer, WRAYMAN
- 14th – countrymen46, Rockandre, surf_music_is_not_dead
- 15th – JCStilley, Mr_Bill, SurfFan, twoslices
- 16th – Sha666yLabestia, TeteOrta, Vanhaye
- 17th – kenjolly, MountU, Sonichris, TommyCGuitar
- 18th – CousinMary, Nilstempo, Piratowill, TBZ
- 19th – bursky_ozbekov, Gerrym, SlotRods
- 20th – chrisparks, JoeySunset, leandroafonso85, Padraig
- 21st – BATLORD, budman1950, joebonni, PappyYokum, rottenman, SilverFlash, srf83
- 22nd – Davo, schoub, stratocastermotion, surfindave
- 23rd – Henry_Marechiaro, mitchvreed, TontoFSchwartz
- 24th – JeffLeites, JIMMYLIMO, JohnnyR, The_Cholla
- 25th – mrgraham58
- 26th – gremmie1, Jakehooker, mathead, NoisyDad, PLASTICCARZ, The_Patman, whiz1943, Wombat
- 27th – biworm, ldk, moseseatonjr, Outerwave_Allen, SL35Steve, tentaclejoe
- 28th – adammzgonzalez, brischneider14, Dbunny23, smallfish
- 29th – HapHazzard, hoagiebait, JetBlue, Kirill, reknball
- 30th – instit, wiggins
- 31st – BearJW, DaveF, normj, RistoA, thunderbass
SurfGuitar101 Forums » Surf Musician »
What surf songs would you recommend to a beginner surf player?
• New Topic
Top
Joined: Mar 28, 2017 Posts: 11 |
Posted on May 08 2017 09:16 PM
|
Joined: Mar 02, 2006 Posts: 1683 Georgia 
|
Posted on May 08 2017 09:24 PM
If you're looking for relatively simple, try Cecilia Ann by Dave Myers and The Surftones. That's a very off the cuff suggestion because I play that song around half the times I pick up my guitar. What are your favorite songs/bands? —The Mystery Men? |
|
Joined: Mar 28, 2017 Posts: 11 |
Posted on May 08 2017 09:37 PM
Richard wrote:
Thanks for the suggestion! I'll definitely have to try Cecilia Ann out. To be honest, I don't listen to that much surf music. At one of the Disney waterparks they play a ton of surf music there. That was when I was first introduced to the genre. I was totally captivated by the surf sound, so I wanted to play it. However, when I do listen to surf rock, It's typically by Dick Dale, but I can't tremelo pick like him :-). |
Joined: Feb 25, 2006 Posts: 19292 Des Moines, Iowa, USA
|
Posted on May 08 2017 10:00 PM
Richard wrote:
Not to derail the thread, but Cecilia Ann is not by Dave Meyers & The Surftones. Start here in this thread for more discussion. —Site dude - S3 Agent #202 "It starts... when it begins" -- Ralf Kilauea |
Joined: Jan 09, 2014 Posts: 615 Vancouver BC 
|
Posted on May 08 2017 10:04 PM
Tremolo picking is an essential ingredient for many (certainly not all!!) surf tunes. It is a technique that needs to be built-up over time. Some people can keep up with the speed but not the endurance. It takes practice. Link Wray - Rumble, Jack The Ripper Lorne Last edited: May 08, 2017 22:05:19 |
Joined: Mar 02, 2006 Posts: 11053 Berkeley, CA
|
Posted on May 08 2017 11:58 PM
When I first started, this book helped me quite a bit... https://www.amazon.com/Surf-Guitar-Play-Along-Hal-Leonard/dp/0634073656 I would add Pintor by the Pharos —Danny Snyder Playing keys and guitar with Combo Tezeta Formerly a guitarist in The TomorrowMen and Meshugga Beach Party Latest surf project - Now That's What I Call SURF |
Joined: Apr 08, 2016 Posts: 35 London 
|
Posted on May 09 2017 03:42 AM
The first surf song I learned was The Belairs - Mr Moto. Now there is a helpful YouTube video with tab: |
Joined: Mar 26, 2012 Posts: 206 Bogor, West Java 
|
Posted on May 09 2017 09:19 AM
The Astronauts - Baja, you can learn palm mute picking, chord picking and short tremolo picking from this one song. — |
Joined: Feb 27, 2006 Posts: 25568 Anaheim(So.Cal.)U.S.A.
|
Posted on May 09 2017 11:11 AM
Endless Summer by the Sandals —Jeff(bigtikidude) |
|
Joined: Mar 28, 2017 Posts: 11 |
Posted on May 09 2017 03:18 PM
kruelkats wrote:
Thanks for the suggestion! I just learned it today. |
|
Joined: Sep 23, 2014 Posts: 1401 Memphis, TN
|
Posted on May 09 2017 04:26 PM
Brian wrote:
I never knew this, thanks for the link to that thread.
MooreLoud.com - A tribute to Dick Dale. New Singles "Finish Line" and "Paradiso" on Bandcamp and website. |
Joined: Jan 31, 2015 Posts: 115 Austin, TX
|
Posted on May 09 2017 06:06 PM
Pipeline! And also Out of Limits. —From past me to future you |
Joined: May 18, 2006 Posts: 521
|
Posted on May 09 2017 10:26 PM
The Lonely Bull, lots of video instruction on YouTube. |
|
Joined: Jul 30, 2016 Posts: 883
|
Posted on May 09 2017 11:44 PM
You gotta learn Mr. Moto. One of the granddaddies of surf. And when you're learning it, remember that Paul Johnson wrote it when he was 14 years old! Jonpaul actually played an original demo of it to kick off Fiberglass Jungle last weekend, which was the coolest thing that happened that weekend, anywhere. |
|
Joined: Mar 28, 2017 Posts: 11 |
Posted on May 10 2017 09:26 PM
Thanks for all of the great suggestions everyone! |
|
Joined: Apr 01, 2016 Posts: 89
|
Posted on May 10 2017 10:14 PM
You might try the Rhino box set and see what grabs you. It has a lot of the classics for sure. Also Duane Eddy, Link Ray & The Fireballs are good places to start. Good luck!--- |
Joined: Feb 27, 2006 Posts: 10331 southern Michigan
|
Posted on May 11 2017 09:31 AM
I'd recommend two others: the Lively Ones' "Surf Rider" and Eddie & the Showmen's "Squad Car". Both are about as classic as surf songs get, and are highly recognizable, the first one from Pulp Fiction, of course. Both will teach you all sorts of foundational surf guitar techniques, too, arpeggiating chords, whammy dips, tremolo (or double) picking, double-stops, etc. Good luck! —Ivan Last edited: May 11, 2017 09:31:43 |
Joined: Jul 17, 2016 Posts: 101 Sacramento
|
Posted on May 11 2017 04:15 PM
I recommend: The Shadows - Apache and not necessarily surf, but a great song Link Wrays - Rumble. I also like Man or Astromans - Planet Collision for a quicker song, but it is fairly easy. Have fun! —The Me Gustas |
Joined: May 09, 2008 Posts: 1348 Isle of Kent, MD
|
Posted on May 12 2017 01:19 PM
Shane, Here are two of the first tunes I learned. They helped me "feel the surf". Latin'ia - The Sentinals. It has a nice basic picking with interesting rhythms. Here is a video of the fundamental parts of it Latin'ia Theme to the Endless Summer - This is a super crowd pleaser and I love the feel of the song. It makes me dream of surf.... —Surfcat WAKE UP JIMMY! IT'S CHRISTMASTIME! - NEW SINGLE 2024 NEW - MARCH OF THE DEAD SURFERS (Released Oct 17, 2024) - Agent Octopus |
Joined: May 29, 2007 Posts: 224 Central CT, USA
|
Posted on Jun 20 2017 07:58 PM
ShaneHarkins wrote:
Baja is one of my favorite surf tunes! I recorded a play-along drums-only backing track a while ago. You can find it in the "Downloads" section at the left here, then under "Backing Tracks". Leave a comment there if you try it. —*Dick B. |
Please visit our friends in the surf music community:
Contact Us • About Us • Terms of Service • Privacy Policy • Colophon
SurfGuitar101.com © 2004 - 2024 by Brian Neal. All comments and user contributed articles are property of the posters.
Thanks to all the surf bands, past and present. And thanks to all the fans who care about and keep surf music alive.