How accurately should you learn songs?

[Proton90]

Hi folks!

I have started rehearsing with a function band with plans to embark on a cruise gig this summer. We have to learn quite an ample number of songs (cca. 200) for the gig, and I have been making some good progress, at least in my eyes. However, every once in a while my ears are not good enough to pick up the lines exactly, so I refer to YouTube live versions or covers, and there are occasions where I see the player doing things that are certainly not there (slapping octaves instead of fingering, playing an octave lower, etc.), but it still sounds good.

So my question is: how important is it in a function band to play your part exactly like it was recorded? Can you deviate from the source if the changes still make the song sound good or do you stick to the original no matter what?

An exact example is this guy doing ABBA's Gimme Gimme:


To my ears it's like he's slapping where there is fingering, and his technique seems to differ from what I hear to be on the original (using his thumb to pluck the root notes of the octaves, etc.). It still sounds very good nonetheless!

Mind you my question is strictly for function bands.

Thanks for your answers in advance!

 

[bpmben]

As it’s not a tribute band you probably won’t need to play the parts exactly as the original but just close enough, particularly with any obvious signature bass riffs or fills. Always better to under play, I think!

 

[JACink]

You mention it is a cruise gig, but is this as a Cruise ship band or as a guest band on a cruise?

Cruise ship bands play things note for note as they read the music to the song they are playing.

If it is as a guest band, then it depends on the vibe and feel you are going for as a band, I think it is a lot less important to play note for note and far more important to get the vibe right as a band.

Of course, this is just IMO.

 

[TexasRock]

It depends how anal your band mates are. Most studio recordings have extra instruments that you won't have with a band. In that case I always try to do extra to fill some of the void where the missing parts are. Some bands love it and others want it played exactly like the record. I don't play well with the latter category, grove it. Make good basslines, do your own runs that fit and if they don't like it it's their loss. A very well known producer once told me "just be consistent with confidence. That will put you in the top 5%."

 

[Groove Doctor]

Chart out the chords and memorise the structures for all 200 songs first. That’s a stink load of effort as it is to get under your belt.

Anyone that learns the bass line 80% accurate to this many songs gets my respect. After that you can work on the finer details (if you have any time left).

 

[TexasRock]

Chart out the chords and memorise the structures for all 200 songs first. That’s a stink load of effort as it is to get under your belt.

Anyone that learns the bass line 80% accurate to this many songs gets my respect. After that you can work on the finer details (if you have any time left).

Very well said. Make sure you hit the signature parts and play from the heart. That describes 99% of every successful bass player.

 

[Spidey2112]

As soon as I find out what a 'function band' is, I'll let you know.

 

[Proton90]

Thanks for the many infos, guys!

It's a cruise gig as an entertainment band, the guys in the band don't really do charts, everything goes by heart except for lyrics, but I make own notes for the sake of safety. They are not demanding at all in terms of what I play, it's my own innate ambition to get it right (right=as close to the original as possible), and I was wondering if those of you who also work on cruise ships would have the same mindset.

I've been in function bands before and all of them gave me almost free reign over what I play, but I guess the more a band sounds like the record the better, at least I really enjoy listening to a band who puts in the extra effort, even though few members of the audience notices it.

 

[Proton90]

You mention it is a cruise gig, but is this as a Cruise ship band or as a guest band on a cruise?

Cruise ship bands play things note for note as they read the music to the song they are playing.

If it is as a guest band, then it depends on the vibe and feel you are going for as a band, I think it is a lot less important to play note for note and far more important to get the vibe right as a band.

Of course, this is just IMO.

It's a cruise gig as an "entertainment" band, and I was told there would be no sheet reading required, we play our own repertoire. It's a European company, and here there is a dedicated show band, who do read sheet music during their preformances.

 

[buldog5151bass]

Depends on the song, the band, and the gig. For a gig like that, you want to be covering the song as closely as possible.

 

[Spidey2112]

... I really enjoy listening to a band who puts in the extra effort, even though few members of the audience notices it.

Agreed... I really try to stay true to the original, no matter the song... that's a whole lotta songs, though.

Simplify them, to play them through, then add the key parts to make them whole.

On a cruise ship, there's usually a diverse gathering of people... unless what you're playing is universally accepted, it may not be of the utmost importance (to them) how 'accurate' the song is...

... just that it sounds good... i.e. you guys sound good, together.

I was on a cruise with a reggae band playing regularly, during the daytime... I couldn't tell you if they were playing anything exactly as it was recorded, or not... they sounded good, but after hearing them the second day, their songs all started sounding the same... it was like a musical Groundhog Day...

... I really should have used SPF 100, too.

 

[InhumanResource]

Hi folks!

I have started rehearsing with a function band with plans to embark on a cruise gig this summer. We have to learn quite an ample number of songs (cca. 200) for the gig, and I have been making some good progress, at least in my eyes. However, every once in a while my ears are not good enough to pick up the lines exactly, so I refer to YouTube live versions or covers, and there are occasions where I see the player doing things that are certainly not there (slapping octaves instead of fingering, playing an octave lower, etc.), but it still sounds good.

So my question is: how important is it in a function band to play your part exactly like it was recorded? Can you deviate from the source if the changes still make the song sound good or do you stick to the original no matter what?

An exact example is this guy doing ABBA's Gimme Gimme:


To my ears it's like he's slapping where there is fingering, and his technique seems to differ from what I hear to be on the original (using his thumb to pluck the root notes of the octaves, etc.). It still sounds very good nonetheless!

Mind you my question is strictly for function bands.

Thanks for your answers in advance!

For the type of gigs you described I would just go ahead and learn them right from the record. Our really does make a difference.

 

[Whousedtoplay]

Thanks for the many infos, guys!

It's a cruise gig as an entertainment band, the guys in the band don't really do charts, everything goes by heart except for lyrics, but I make own notes for the sake of safety. They are not demanding at all in terms of what I play, it's my own innate ambition to get it right (right=as close to the original as possible), and I was wondering if those of you who also work on cruise ships would have the same mindset.

I've been in function bands before and all of them gave me almost free reign over what I play, but I guess the more a band sounds like the record the better, at least I really enjoy listening to a band who puts in the extra effort, even though few members of the audience notices it.

It’s always a good idea to get as close as possible to the original line, but...
Are all the musicians, especially the drummer in the band trying to get as close as possible to their original lines?
How good are those musicians?
How tight is the sound/performance of the band?
Is your band to play music for the audience to dance or to eat (some Muzak in the elevator)?

 

[Whousedtoplay]

Hi folks!

I have started rehearsing with a function band with plans to embark on a cruise gig this summer. We have to learn quite an ample number of songs (cca. 200) for the gig, and I have been making some good progress, at least in my eyes. However, every once in a while my ears are not good enough to pick up the lines exactly, so I refer to YouTube live versions or covers, and there are occasions where I see the player doing things that are certainly not there (slapping octaves instead of fingering, playing an octave lower, etc.), but it still sounds good.

So my question is: how important is it in a function band to play your part exactly like it was recorded? Can you deviate from the source if the changes still make the song sound good or do you stick to the original no matter what?

An exact example is this guy doing ABBA's Gimme Gimme:


To my ears it's like he's slapping where there is fingering, and his technique seems to differ from what I hear to be on the original (using his thumb to pluck the root notes of the octaves, etc.). It still sounds very good nonetheless!

Mind you my question is strictly for function bands.

Thanks for your answers in advance!

Your question about ABBA.
Are you asking about the perfect transcription of the bass line mixed with some synth bass?
Are you trying to copy that old bass timbre while playing live?
The original bass line has some slap but I would focus more on the bass (and the band) ability to grasp the fundamentals of the song’s groove (maybe simplified, maybe modernized) first.

 

[Slevage]

I’ve been on many cruises.
The “rock bands” on the shops have all been excellent with really deep a repertoire.
They produced cover tunes to s recognizable level but never 100% note for note.
Their ability to go seamlessly from song to song was important— it’s all about delivery.
Excellent vocals are a must. The thing that makes heads turn in the audience is having a guy who has genetic roots in an Asian country sing like one of the Brothers Gibb on one tune and the Lou Rawls on the next.

 

[Whousedtoplay]

Cruise ship bands play things note for note as they read the music to the song they are playing.

Of course, this is just IMO.

And who does those “note for note” transcriptions?
How accurate are they?

 

[Whousedtoplay]

I’ve been on many cruises.
The “rock bands” on the shops have all been excellent with really deep a repertoire.
They produced cover tunes to s recognizable level but never 100% note for note.
Their ability to go seamlessly from song to song was important— it’s all about delivery.
Excellent vocals are a must. The thing that makes heads turn in the audience is having a guy who has genetic roots in an Asian country sing like one of the Brothers Gibb on one tune and the Lou Rawls on the next.

One could try to get as close as possible to the original songs but those songs are from different bands with different tones, timbres, different instruments, while the cover band does not have that kind of ability.
After some time, you can only hear the rearranged by the performing band cover songs.

 

[paulears]

For a tribute - even that changes the 'rules'. Is it a tribute faithfully recreating the original sound, or a tribute to the original band, where deviations that can sometimes improve the sound, are OK?

In the tribute band I'm in, some of the popular songs were in Eb, but actually recorded in E, and varispeeded down. This means that you need a 5 string, or a detuned bass to play them accurately. My current thinking with a function band is that it's down the the singer - the person who doesn't have access to tricks and gizmos. If they sound like the original, then the band should do the same. If they clearly are very different in style and timbre, then the band can pull a few tricks too without a major problem.

 

[jpmcbride]

You mention it is a cruise gig, but is this as a Cruise ship band or as a guest band on a cruise? Cruise ship bands play things note for note as they read the music to the song they are playing. Of course, this is just IMO.

I just recently came back from a cruise and watched several bands and solo performers on the ship. None were playing from reading.

 

[gln1955]

I'd try to get close but not obsess over it. With that many songs there is going to be a lot that will not sound the same as the record, most of all the vocals.

People on a cruise want to have a good time. Give it to them. Be energetic, get people dancing and nobody will be critiquing your bass lines.