Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Google Guitar Doodle Song Gallery

Posted by samzenpus on from the we-are-the-music-makers dept.

itwbennett writes "Now in its second day of productivity destruction, Google's Guitar Doodle is still making music, beautiful music. Here's a roundup of some of YouTube's best, from beginner favorite Seven Nation Army to an ambitious version of Paint it Black, and, yes, Stairway to Heaven."

77 comments

  1. Really Google? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The sound that comes from that doodle is an insult to Les Paul.

    1. Re:Really Google? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not to mention the complete lack of sharps and flats. All you can really play is Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Ode to Joy.

    2. Re:Really Google? by Joe+Jay+Bee · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Yes they should be horrified that the impractical toy guitar that was designed to fit inside their logo is impossible to play complex songs on.

      --
      I write bullshit
    3. Re:Really Google? by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      If you click on the little keyboard you can then play notes by pressing different keys, just like the old SoundTracker.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    4. Re:Really Google? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't see any keyboard unfortunately ... and pressing keys gives me auto search :-(

    5. Re:Really Google? by Jello+B. · · Score: 1

      Not true. There's an F sharp.

    6. Re:Really Google? by lithis · · Score: 1

      There is, in fact, one sharp, because the doodle is in the key of G.

      That's G as in Bach's Minuet in G. I can't play the rest of the song properly due to the lack of accidentals and notes below G.

    7. Re:Really Google? by istartedi · · Score: 1

      I figured that somebody who really knows music would be able to come up with a tune that works within the restrictions of the doodle. That Minuet actually sounds good.

      --
      For all intensive purposes, "whom" is no longer a word. That begs the question, "who cares"?
    8. Re:Really Google? by phantomfive · · Score: 1

      Here was my original composition inspired by the event: http://goo.gl/doodle/9SF6g It was surprisingly hard to get the notes even when playing your computer keyboard quickly.

      Here's the best Beatles song I've heard so far played on it (but this one wasn't me): http://www.google.com/logos/2011/lespaul.html#hl=en&tune=IBBQIQkg

      --
      "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
  2. inb4... by itchythebear · · Score: 2

    freebird!!!!

    --
    If what I just said sounded like a troll, it was probably just a failed attempt at humor.
  3. Freeeeee Birrrrrrd!!! by chemicaldave · · Score: 3, Funny

    Play Freebird!

    1. Re:Freeeeee Birrrrrrd!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Kickstart My Heart!!!!

  4. That is a terrible gallery by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Google lets you record them and then play them back via links... and they put together a gallery of crappy YouTube captures?

  5. Wow, 3.5 MB for a page by A+Friendly+Troll · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Size of main page:
    111.421 bytes

    Number of inline elements:
    172 (3.563.734 bytes)

    That's with ad blocking turned on.

    Without it, the page is over 4 megabytes.

    Jesus...

    1. Re:Wow, 3.5 MB for a page by Idbar · · Score: 1

      Additionally, the page allows you record the chords and use a shortened version to play the music. Yet, everyone has decided to record massive youtube videos instead.

    2. Re:Wow, 3.5 MB for a page by audunn · · Score: 1

      Perhaps it is because google recording was just 30 seconds. For most those 30 seconds is more than enough but for a rare few nowhere near. But yeah maybe most people just didn't get the recording feature.

    3. Re:Wow, 3.5 MB for a page by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's 2011. If 4 MB doesn't load in about 2 seconds or less, you're doing it wrong.

  6. The doodle doesn't show up for me anymore.. by iONiUM · · Score: 1

    I don't know about others, but for me Google's homepage does not have the guitar anymore. It also doesn't appear in Google's history for doodles.

    But, through some long-winded way that included Facebook, I found this link that has it. Enjoy.

    1. Re:The doodle doesn't show up for me anymore.. by the_other_chewey · · Score: 1

      Or you could just use http://www.google.com/webhp?hl=en&tune

      It's not really obvious though...

    2. Re:The doodle doesn't show up for me anymore.. by geezer+nerd · · Score: 1

      For years now, I have not been able to see ANY of the Google doodles. All I ever see is the traditional multicolored logo, no matter what cute thing is being touted on the web. To be fair, what I see also has a small "Beta" subscript on it. Does that mean somewhere along the line I have eaten a cookie that makes me doodle-free? Since this situation began about the time I moved from the US, I thought it might be that the doodles are not shared on Google's international sites, but that seems absurd. No matter how I type the URL, I keep getting redirected back to encrypted.google.com, and that does not seem to have the doodles on it. There is a "go to classic Google" link on the page, but it takes me back to the same place. Annoying.

    3. Re:The doodle doesn't show up for me anymore.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      It's the encryption, but it's good for you :)

      You can always go here: google.com/logos

    4. Re:The doodle doesn't show up for me anymore.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Your DNS has probably been hijacked by malware. You're not actually seeing the real google site but a proxy designed to do all kinds of evil things.

      Google's Public DNS:
      Configure your network settings to use the IP addresses 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 as your DNS servers.

    5. Re:The doodle doesn't show up for me anymore.. by maxwell+demon · · Score: 2

      Do you possibly have a browser setting or extension enabled which forces the browser always to use the secure (encrypted) version of a web site if available?
      If so, you probably have to disable that to see the traditional Google page.

      --
      The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
  7. No mention of Les Paul? by jd2112 · · Score: 5, Informative

    The Google Doodle was in honor of Les Paul, who would have been 96 yesterday. For the handfull of slashdotters who don't know Les Paul was one of the inventors of the solid body electric guitar, multitrack recording, and many other inventions still used in the recording industry. And if that weren't enough he was an excellent musician as well.

    --
    Any insufficiently advanced magic is indistinguishable from technology.
    1. Re:No mention of Les Paul? by gnapster · · Score: 3, Informative

      Here is a comic strip commemorating his passing (nearly two years ago).

    2. Re:No mention of Les Paul? by gknoy · · Score: 3, Informative

      For those seeing the [questionablecontent.net] annotation and wondering if the strip is worksafe, it is. That particular one is. (I'm pretty sure most of the ones in the archive would be also, but you might be careful all the same. This one's safe, though.)

      If you'd rather not read the comic, one could always read Les Paul's wikipedia article ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Paul ), but QC mentions some of his really notable accomplishments. A brief (and likely too-shallow) overview would be to say that he was a pioneer of the solid body guitar (the Gibson Les Paul closely followed the Fender Telecaster), and that he invented multitrack recording (along with also pioneering several other techniques). He laid the technological basis for nearly all of our recent music.

      Even though I'm not a music nerd, I think the guy was pretty amazing.

    3. Re:No mention of Les Paul? by Naurgrim · · Score: 3, Informative

      And if that weren't enough he was an excellent musician as well.

      I consider myself fortunate to have seen him play live, must have been about 1986. He was one of the finest guitarists ever, IMHO.

      Before seeing him live, I had heard many of his recordings. Knowing that he like to use tape effects, etc. I thought that some of his fast riffs were done with double speed tape, as they sounded super-humanly fast. I was amazed to find that he actually could play that fast, live, without error.

      The only other guitarist I have seen play live at that level is Robert Fripp, but that's a story for another day - King Crimson, Discipline tour, 1982.

      --
      .......You Are,
      ...What You Do,
      When It Counts.
  8. Ought to be great fun... by Black+Parrot · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...until the RIAA lawyers show up with the take-down notices.

    Heaven forbid if someone should do "Happy Birthday"[*] - a SWAT team might show up instead.

    [*] Can I use those words on Slashdot without getting fined?

    --
    Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
    1. Re:Ought to be great fun... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ah... Stairway to Heaven. The best joke in Wayne's World ruined for the video release.

    2. Re:Ought to be great fun... by just_another_sean · · Score: 1

      Oh no, this guy better really be worried (artist featured in video)!

      We're Going to be Friends

      It's really good BTW

      --
      Creationist Textbook Stickers Declared Unconstitutional by CowboyNeal
    3. Re:Ought to be great fun... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Thanks, this clip restored my faith in the musical humanity :-) The ones in TFS were of... mixed quality.

  9. My Submission by Jonathan+Perkin · · Score: 4, Funny

    http://goo.gl/doodle/peUg5

    1. Re:My Submission by gnapster · · Score: 1

      How did you do that? I have been playing with it, but I only have a trackpad, which feels incredibly restricted. I don't expect I could do much better with a mouse. Do you have a touch screen?

    2. Re:My Submission by gknoy · · Score: 1

      Well played! (literally and figuratively)

    3. Re:My Submission by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Click the "record" button, then press numbers 0-9.

    4. Re:My Submission by jqweezy · · Score: 0

      You can use the keyboard to strum.

    5. Re:My Submission by Smurf · · Score: 2

      If you have problems getting the keyboard to strum, you may need to turn off Google Instant in your search settings. Then, click somewhere out of the text box, and go nuts with the keyboard.

    6. Re:My Submission by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You can play by using one row of your keyboard.

      Here's mine: http://goo.gl/doodle/wcJm2

    7. Re:My Submission by froggymana · · Score: 1

      And mine: http://goo.gl/doodle/vm76M

      --
      "To prevent this day from getting any worse, I'll just read ERROR as GOOD THING" 1GJU8xLuDKDxEs4KLf8fAGyptoDsqvEsBT
    8. Re:My Submission by gnapster · · Score: 1

      Oh! It never occurred to me to use the keyboard. Thanks!

  10. NO Stairway to Heaven. by a_nonamiss · · Score: 1

    NO Stairway. Denied.

    --
    -Arthur
    Cave ne ante ullas catapultas ambules
  11. Tetris by jqweezy · · Score: 1

    http://www.google.com/webhp?tune=UAEIQiVBNBEQIgISilEhCECoEISiRFJCSQkgIA**

  12. Now I feel like sheepish by hellfire · · Score: 1

    All I could manage was row row row your boat.

    http://goo.gl/doodle/Sesa

    --

    "All great wisdom is contained in .signature files"

    1. Re:Now I feel like sheepish by serbanp · · Score: 1

      use the computer keyboard and a world of possibilities (sans accents, that's it) will open up...

    2. Re:Now I feel like sheepish by hellfire · · Score: 1

      Dude. I did use the keyboard! :)

      --

      "All great wisdom is contained in .signature files"

    3. Re:Now I feel like sheepish by serbanp · · Score: 2

      oooh! [what one says in this situation? yes!] It's very good, yeah, the talent is there but you just need a little practice, that's all! :P

  13. Strings vibrate but no sound by Rob+the+Bold · · Score: 1

    I can see the strings vibrate when I pick them, and when playing back, but no sound with Chrome on Ubuntu. I kind of thought there should be, but figured I just didn't get it. Now I see I did get it, but didn't get it.

    Suppose I could debug, but that would take time from Slashdot posting . . .

    --
    I am not a crackpot.
    1. Re:Strings vibrate but no sound by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Do you have something like NoScript on?

    2. Re:Strings vibrate but no sound by Jello+B. · · Score: 1

      Sound comes from Flash.

    3. Re:Strings vibrate but no sound by Rob+the+Bold · · Score: 1

      Flash works -- well as well as flash works -- on other pages. And I wasn't no-scripting. The answer it seems was to use Firefox instead of Chrome. OK, Google.

      I don't know if it's this laggy for everyone, but I will not inflict my extra slow and even crappier interpolation of "Stairway" on you.

      --
      I am not a crackpot.
    4. Re:Strings vibrate but no sound by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Apropos-of-nothing-Ubuntu-Guy! I knew you'd show up.

  14. Why youtube videos? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The doodle can record songs, then you can play them back in realtime in your browser. Does anyone have a link to an index of real-time recordings?

  15. Forward to the past III by Chemtox · · Score: 2

    Until someone comes out with an ASIO driver for Firefox, I'm sticking to Guitar Queero.

    1. Re:Forward to the past III by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh god you earned a funny from this mod for that one. Anyone who's used a DAW should know!

  16. Please don't sue me, Paramount by bitrex · · Score: 1

    http://goo.gl/doodle/3hcD3

    1. Re:Please don't sue me, Paramount by socz · · Score: 1

      Now that's Top Fun!

      --
      My abilities are only limited by my imagination
    2. Re:Please don't sue me, Paramount by Overzeetop · · Score: 1

      Yeah, but can you do Axel F?

      --
      Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
  17. Tom Morello by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5P3FcKpz8k

  18. What about original songs? by Briareos · · Score: 1

    Tim Exile at least does his thing without infring^wreferencing prior art... :)

    --

    "I'm not anti-anything, I'm anti-everything, it fits better." - Sole

  19. This may be good by Lord+Juan · · Score: 1

    You know, if the RIAA and other collecting agencies start acting like assholes as always, and start taking down user created contend up and down, maybe more people would get a glance at how terrible the current copyright regime is. Since common people never create anything, and just consume, they never get to see how bad things really are.

  20. If that's the best... by DerekLyons · · Score: 2

    If that's "some of the best", I'd hate to hear any of the worst. Most of the songs were virtually unrecognizable..

  21. How to get the keyboard and not autocomplete by pkinetics · · Score: 1

    Some people keep having the autocomplete kick in when they start using the keyboard. Here is how to get the keyboard to work.

    There is a spot just under the strings, to the left of the record button. If you mouse over it, your mouse pointer will change to a cursor. It is a relatively decent size area, so you have a decent area to click. Click here.

    This is essentially the spot where the widget is for the playback dealie bopper.

    This works in Chrome, IE8, and Firefox.

    1. Re:How to get the keyboard and not autocomplete by dogmatixpsych · · Score: 1

      Or, you can just click the record button (and then click to stop it). That's usually what I do.

  22. The doodle now has a permanent home by audunn · · Score: 2

    Google have given it a permanent home here http://www.google.com/logos/2011/lespaul.html

  23. U2 by dogmatixpsych · · Score: 1

    Here's one of my Doodle songs: http://youtu.be/5tPoLqSQNmw

  24. Annoying by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Annoying. Google in my homepage and new tab page. Every time I open a new window I end up playing a string or two over the speakers. This is also at work.

  25. Maybe ... by PPH · · Score: 1

    ... when Keith Moon's birthday rolls around, Google can do a drum set. I've been dying to drive my cow-orkers completely nuts with a good drum solo.

    --
    Have gnu, will travel.
  26. Weird by Legion303 · · Score: 1

    I don't understand the layout (maybe for ease in strumming chords with your mouse?), and there are only 10 notes you can play, limited to GMaj. Maybe Google didn't want people recording a bunch of atonal crap or something, but that doesn't stop me from doing this: http://tinyurl.com/3z5wvjz

  27. I'm feeling lucky by Dredakyst · · Score: 1

    Here's one of our doodle songs, the wife and i worked on: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwhfgaluniY

  28. Les Paul by BrynM · · Score: 1

    Since there's no mention of Les Paul in a lot of the news relating to the doodle, here he is. Thank you Les. I have proudly owned several guitars with your name and they have given me countless moments of joy, contemplation and reverence. I hope the other side of the rainbow is treating you well. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NdSU03jnUw

    --
    US Democracy:The best person for the job (among These pre-selected choices...)
  29. Hey There Delilah (Intro) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Figured this one out:
    http://goo.gl/doodle/UovOM

  30. once I figured out you could use a the keyboard... by night_flyer · · Score: 1

    Google song hopefully that will get around the lameness filter

    --


    Thanks to file sharing, I purchase more CDs
    Thanks to the RIAA, I buy them used...
  31. Some mistakes by okmijnuhb · · Score: 1

    Really some rather tone deaf incorrect choice of notes in "Paint it Black" and others. How can you call it "not bad"?

  32. Collection of Google Guitar Tunes by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Here's a collection of Google Guitar Tunes http://www.jackcola.org/blog/166-a-collection-of-the-best-music-from-google-guitar-doodle

  33. Requires Adobe Flash by kriston · · Score: 1

    Even though many of these doodles are there to surreptitiously showcase standards-based alternatives to Adobe Flash, this doodle actually requires Adobe Flash to play the audio.

    --

    Kriston

    1. Re:Requires Adobe Flash by sjames · · Score: 1

      That's because when it comes to multimedia, HTML5 really isn't there yet. It has no kind of support for live streaming, cannot deal with generated sound, and is fragmented by patent trolls. The latter is not a solvable problem until patents expire or the courts and legislatures of the world start being for the people, but the others are a simple lack of actually thinking things through.