"Owning" the song

[stratovani]

About a month ago I uploaded a video of myself playing along to a Rush song, and one of the comments I got was that I played it well but I needed to "own" the song. I'm not getting this, doesn't Rush own the song, and I'm just borrowing it? Or if I'm not playing it well enough (which I think I am), should I play it better? Strange term!

[Hoffman6000]

It Just means play with confidence....as if you wrote the song yourself and have something invested into it....as if you "own" it.

[Rockmusician]

Originally Posted by Hoffman6000

It Just means play with confidence....as if you wrote the song yourself and have something invested into it....as if you "own" it.

+1

I would add that it could also mean to not play it note for note. Stay true to the overall structure but put your own interpretation into while at the same time capturing the essence of the song.

If you want an example of what I'm talking about, go to Youtube and look up the Bad Company Merchants of Cool show with Jaz Lochrie on bass and compare it to their Hard Rock Live show with Lynn Sorensen. They each capture the songs quite well but play the parts slightly different from each other. In fact, both play them differently than the original bass player Boz Burrell.

[KeithPas]

When you are sure you are playing the song well rather than thinking you are playing it well you will "own" the song. (figuratively of course)