Some of us took lessons, some of us did not.
Usually, though, when we were learning our instrument, we were learning a bunch of really crummy songs that we did not want to learn, but that helped us get better. Stuff like: "Kumbaya" and "Mary Had a Little Lamb" and other such lame stuff.

Well, I know that I did.

But then that breakthrough happened... where you learned the first really cool song. The one that you still enjoy playing, even to this day.

What was it?
Who taught you how to play it?

When I was 17, my friend Justin and I were jamming in my basement. He was a pretty damn good player (who still plays with some pretty well-known bands). He sat me down and showed me how to play: "Up On the Sun" by Meat Puppets.

well, i guess the first one that was considered "cool" at the time was Dave Matthews "Satellite".

The one I still enjoy playing is a few bars of one of the guitar solos in Metallica's "One". haha

My older brother taught me how to play Danzig's Twist of Cain. That's the 1st one I can remember.

"Sara" by Jefferson Starship. on the flute. oh yeah.

I'm not a musician, but I did learn how to play Your Cheatin' Heart on the guitar once upon a long time ago.

i'm not a musician, but my friend dan taught me how to play that opening part to "wish you were here" the summer before we went to high school. i thought i was pretty cool. from there i learned to play a lot of shitty versions of shitty pearl jam, live, counting crows, etc. songs

Probably "Greensleeves"

my own song, my 2nd or 4th or something like that, "watch out for me"

i bought a guitar so i could learn "secret agent man"
then i went straight for offsprings "come out and play"

cinamon girl

I somehow managed to figure out "Down on the Corner" all by myself in high school, well before I really started (trying) to play (badly).

do drummers count as musicians?

my second song on guitar was "Not fade away" by Buddy Holly, and i knew it by way of The Grateful Dead

i guess that's kinda cool.

I think it was XTC's "Dear God."

I play bass...

Booker T. and the MG's "Green Onions" was fun -- I think it was the first thing I learned way back when.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/music/wma-pop- ... 09-2558404

I'm not much of a musician but I did play bass in a just-for-fun band in the '80s. SOme of the songs we learned...

Ex Lion Tamer - Wire

Stars are Stars - Echo & The Bunnymen

Waiting for the Man - Velvets

In Between Days - The Cure

The first song I learned on guitar and had the "COOL!" reaction was "Heartbreaker" by Led Zeppelin.

The first song I learned to play and was actually impressed by my skill was C.P.E. Bach's "Solfeggio."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRY1ih1AeJE

^ Could never get it down as well as this dude, which is prolly why I gave up.

Duck Dunn!

Louie, Louie