Simple 3-man Rock-songs?

I've got a jam-session with two other musicians coming up pretty soon, but neither of us have ever tried arranging a jam-session before, and the other two have asked me if I have any songs I plan to have us play there. The problem is, I know very few songs that can be played by 3 people. There's going to be a Drummer, a Bassist and me on guitar, so I'd prefer if we can play something that can be played with only those three instruments, and preferably some somewhat simple stuff (since the jam is in 10 days and the others have stuff to do that's keeping them from playing their instruments 24/7).

What I would like to know is: What would be some good, simple rocking songs to play together, that we'll be able to learn in just over a week? I've got a wide variety of bands I like, but that doesn't necessarily mean the others like them too, so I'll have to take that into consideration (besides, I wouldn't want it to become a huge ego-trip).

We've already got "Summer Of 69" set in stone, but that's all we've agreed on yet. What would be some good songs to suggest we try that won't be outright impossible to pull off with this lineup (that is, songs that only require Guitar, Drums and Bass)? I'm thinking "My Generation" might be good, since it's a pretty simple tune and maybe some ZZ Top, since a good portion of their songs have some pretty cool riffs. I'm also thinking of putting "Dead Flowers" by The Rolling Stones on the list. It's 5 chords, 3 Major and 2 Sus, so it should be manageable. Any other suggestions for songs that 3 relatively new musicians can learn quickly and play when we meet in 10 days? I'd prefer songs with a cool rocking groove, preferably even Riff-based Rock like ZZ Top and AC/DC or classic Rock with simple Open Chords or Power Chords :)

My Generation is pretty challenging for the bassist. So that would depend on how much time the bassist has to nail those riffs.

The Cult has some fun AC/DC-ish songs, on their album Electric, that shouldn't be too hard to put together quick.

Smoke on the Water and Wild Thing both come to mind....Sweet Home Alabama too.

Looking forward to seeing what others say.

Anything by Nirvana & Green Day come to my mind.

Some older stuff

Lynyrd Skynyrd
Sweet Home Alabama D C G, there is one place where they go from G to E#,E, then back to D C G

Credence with John Fogerty
Bad Moon Rising verse D A G D, choirs G D A G D

Johnny B Good A D E

Elvis Songs you can fake a lot using A D E

Originally Posted by: KasperowThe problem is, I know very few songs that can be played by 3 people. There's going to be a Drummer, a Bassist and me on guitar, so I'd prefer if we can play something that can be played with only those three instruments, and preferably some somewhat simple stuff (since the jam is in 10 days and the others have stuff to do that's keeping them from playing their instruments 24/7).

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of rock & pop songs that can be played by a power trio. :)

But in order to point you in the right direction I need more info.

1. Is there a singer?
2. Can you, are you willing to play leads? Simple leads? No leads, only riffs & chords?

Just by sticking with a basic open chords you can play early rock tunes like Stand By Me, Twist & Shout, La Bamba. You can add tons of Buddy Holly, Beach Boys, Chuck Berry & some Beatles with those & a few barre chords & riffs. :)

Most early rock & blues songs are just 3 chords, but have lots of licks & fills. For example, School Days by Chuck Berry is only G, C & D7 really. But he spends most of his time doing those famous riffs & licks. :)

But I've had lots of students play along by simply strumming & changing between G, C & D7 at the right time & it works great as long as they are singing. Because most people are only going to recognize those songs by the vocal parts

Also, once you get into ZZ Top (Tush, La Grange) & Cream (Crossroads, Sunshine of Your Love), style classic rock riff grooves, then it's almost mandatory to take at least a little solo! :) You don't have to be a shredder, but a few pentatonic licks go a long way. And most people are just there to hear the tune & vocals anyway. So, the barest minimum of solos is usually more than enough.

You can also sort the list of songs from GT by clicking on "Master List", then sort by "difficulty". That will get you this list.

http://www.guitartricks.com/songs.php?input=Master&sort=3

Then look for tunes you'd like to play! Have fun. :)

Thanks for the suggestions. I didn't know Sweet Home Alabama can be played with just those three chords. It sounds a bit more complex, but looks can be deceiving, as they say :)

Originally Posted by: CSchlegelThere are hundreds, if not thousands, of rock & pop songs that can be played by a power trio. :)

But in order to point you in the right direction I need more info.

1. Is there a singer?
2. Can you, are you willing to play leads? Simple leads? No leads, only riffs & chords?[/QUOTE]
1: At the moment there's no dedicated singer, which means that either me or the bassist will be handling lead vocals (probably me since I've played longer than the bassist and I have more spare time to practice).
2: Well, I don't mind playing leads. I just can't keep up with fast shred-solos :) But I can easily handle some simple leads and riffs.

[QUOTE=CSchlegel]Just by sticking with a basic open chords you can play early rock tunes like Stand By Me, Twist & Shout, La Bamba. You can add tons of Buddy Holly, Beach Boys, Chuck Berry & some Beatles with those & a few barre chords & riffs. :)

Most early rock & blues songs are just 3 chords, but have lots of licks & fills. For example, School Days by Chuck Berry is only G, C & D7 really. But he spends most of his time doing those famous riffs & licks. :)

But I've had lots of students play along by simply strumming & changing between G, C & D7 at the right time & it works great as long as they are singing. Because most people are only going to recognize those songs by the vocal parts

Also, once you get into ZZ Top (Tush, La Grange) & Cream (Crossroads, Sunshine of Your Love), style classic rock riff grooves, then it's almost mandatory to take at least a little solo! :) You don't have to be a shredder, but a few pentatonic licks go a long way. And most people are just there to hear the tune & vocals anyway. So, the barest minimum of solos is usually more than enough.

Wow... I may have underestimated the potential power of a trio :) I've always imagined that 4 or 5 members would be better than 3, but that seems to not quite be the case after all :) I already had a pretty good feeling about ZZ Top's stuff. They're pretty much the first band I think of when someone says "Power Trio" :) A lot of their stuff, as far as I've heard, relies on a single riff and a solo (some of their songs use a more modern structure, but most of their best songs use the "1 riff and solo until boredom kicks in" structure).

I've also read that Rush should be a good pick. I don't know anything by Rush, though, but I've read that they're a power-trio so they're worth checking out too :)

Looks like I've got a lot more options than I first thought :)

When you come down to it, Led Zeppelin was a trio too...instrumentation-wise.

For it to sound good, the bass has to have a good fat sound to fill in the rhythm when the guitar takes a solo. You'll also find that power trio guitar solos incorporate a lot of chordal/rhythmic stuff in it...again, to not leave a gaping whole where the rhythm guitar would be. I've read that Alex Lifeson (Rush's guitarist) will use a lot of double stops and stuff in his solos to fatten his guitar sound...again, so that the sound doesn't go flat when he solos.

Also, when you have Geddy Lee, John Entwhistle, or John Paul Jones as your bass player, there are no holes in the sound :-). For a power trio to work, you need a strong bass player

Originally Posted by: maggiorWhen you come down to it, Led Zeppelin was a trio too...instrumentation-wise.

For it to sound good, the bass has to have a good fat sound to fill in the rhythm when the guitar takes a solo. You'll also find that power trio guitar solos incorporate a lot of chordal/rhythmic stuff in it...again, to not leave a gaping whole where the rhythm guitar would be. I've read that Alex Lifeson (Rush's guitarist) will use a lot of double stops and stuff in his solos to fatten his guitar sound...again, so that the sound doesn't go flat when he solos.

Also, when you have Geddy Lee, John Entwhistle, or John Paul Jones as your bass player, there are no holes in the sound :-). For a power trio to work, you need a strong bass player

Well, if we look at it that way, some '80s groups could go too. I know Motley Crue only have two guitars on two or three songs (at least Live. On the records, they typically have 2 to 5 guitar-tracks for more depth), the rest is Mick Mars all the way, and their bass-lines are quite simple too, but Mick's riffs make them sound harder.

What I'm looking for is some simple rocking songs that can be performed well without sounding thinner with a 3-man band. It doesn't really matter if they're by actual Power Trios or not, as long as we'll be able to play them without needing a fourth musician. I can see advantages to both trios and larger bands of 4 or 5 people. Trios will be easier to keep on the same page, at least musically, while larger groups will most likely start arguing over all kinds of things, like "who plays this solo", "where shall we play our first gig" or "which songs should we cover". On the other hand, 4 or 5 man bands give everyone more freedom to move around on-stage (except for the drummer. He's kinda stuck). In a trio, the singer (who also plays an instrument, typically the guitarist) will be forced to stand in one place for most of the time (and let's be honest. Standing in the same spot for hours just isn't as fun as running around like an idiot :) ).

I've checked out the song list, and it has a couple of "simple" songs (songs marked with two guitars) that I'd think could be cool to learn. They're a bit of a mix, so it should be fun to learn them :) Even if the others I'll be jamming with aren't up for them, they could still be fun to learn :)