How accurately should you learn songs?

[gidbass]

I play in a cover band, I play the hooks, fake the rest.

If it was a tribute band, I'd learn note for note.

Good Luck!

 

[Sam Dingle]

Depends on the song and band.

General cover band:

Learn the chords to that taylor swift song

Learn the whole bass line to I want you back

Tribute band:

Learn the bands songs

 

[jamro217]

Fortunately you're playing bass and not lead guitar. Imagine having to learn two hundred solos from various artists in the same amount of time. You just have to know how to do your job. Root Fiving is fine, just not if you're playing "Roundabout". If you're in one of the main attraction bands like (the orchestra pit), you'd better prepare differently than if you're playing in one of the restaurants for ambience. The smaller, informal venues seem to give you more liberty with the music. Have fun.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

Most of the original artists I see on stage don't do their songs note for note. Exposed parts matter, if the singer is singing nobody will notice if you play something simpler unless it's a notable part or signature line.

 

[trevcda]

My rule of thumb has always been: know what the exact part is but change it as needed.....because bass is so integral with drums, it always sounds best when they play together ...... If im playing the correct part and the drummer isnt ( or vise versa) then we are both wrong.......

This. Learn it to the best of your ability. The world is full of phone-it-in bass players that are content to be "good enough" and "just get by". Have bigger aspirations. Want to be better. Learn as much as you can to get there. Once you're on the boat, you'll have 20 hours a day to make it better.

 

[Kipp Harrington]

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!

95% of your audience will never recognize improvisation. Depends on your keen-eared band mates. Otherwise, have some fun with it for cryin’ out loud!

 

[madbass6]

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 a cruise gig !
You need to learn them to the best of your ability!

 

[JW56789]

Many times I learned a recording note for note for note, woodshedded myself to death, only to show up on the gig and find . . . . . . the rest of the band didn't, and my work was for nothing, as now half the particular licks didn't have a matching drum part, the guitar cues weren't there, and on and on.

So, IF EVERYBODY is on that same page and they play THEIR parts EXACTLY like the record, there you go. If they don't (which 90% of the time is the likely outcome), you're at least by far totally educated to that tune and you'll have to edit or modify to fit however it is the rest of them are approaching it, but you are now fluent enough on the tune to make it work.

This 'make it work' is what puts lead in your spine, the dues you pay, and what teaches you who the real pros are, and by far the biggest part of playing with others.

 

[retslock]

That’s a hellova lot of work. My approach would be - write simple chord charts that will get you through in the short term. Any distinctive riffs or grooves that identify a song and set it apart - that make it recognisable are best learned as close as you can within your time constraints and workload.
If it’s just a simple tonic fifth sort of standard feel just know the form and make it sound decent. You can fine tune your parts as time goes by. I would want to do that but firstly - know the form and feel so you can provide a reasonable part that’s not going to clash or let the band and the audience down.

 

[Ric5]

How accurately should you learn songs?

I get all of the chord changes correct and signature riffs and the rest I interpret

 

[StatesideRambler]

I have no idea what a “function band” is, but I’m old. You should learn the songs well enough to sound passably good in a tribute band and also well enough that you can give it your own interpretation when that’s called for. Then ask the BL or MD what he wants.

 

[klingguruh]

You have to be careful with this! I tend to learn covers note-for-note because 1) I am not better than Paul McCartney, Pino Palladino, Sting, etc. and also 2) I absolutely love it when I do a last minute fill-in gig and everyone in the band says "Man that was awesome! It's so refreshing to the basslines played correctly!"

A lot of players probably think it sounds "ok" or "good enough" to learn a song 75% or play it "their way". I've seen many many bands play covers incorrectly and I'm sorry, it just doesn't sound good.

This!
I joined several coverbands with 200+ songs on short notice, sometimes even within a few days and with no rehearsals.
Transcribing the basslines note per note took me 10-20 minutes per song. In doing so I also made sure to have the structure af a song right. Practise and learning by heart took place while giging.
Also: playing covers is like acting. The better you do it the more it broadens the understanding of your instrument.
Mind you this is for people with a deep interest in becoming a better musician. If you're going for sex, drugs and rock'n'roll you should put your effort there, that's just as valid...

 

[glocke1]

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!

Really depends on the band. The band I gig with the most I put a lot of effort into learning tunes as accurately as possible, however those guys don't do the same. There was some motown tune we did last year that has a short and sweet bass solo in it. I learned it, they skipped that section.

For the tune you mentioned, I think the only time I'd really worry about getting it accurate in terms of technique is if you are in a bonafide tribute band. I think for a cruise ship gig you are probably good to go if you deviate a little bit from the source.

 

[Fergie Fulton]

Cool to hear you are going for a Cruise Ship gig...but....why learn rather than just read what is needed?

Write everything down and play what you write...it is the easiest, quickest and best way to be consistent.

Why consistent?

A cruise ship gig is a "closed situation" gig, what that means is when it sails you are there no matter what really happens.
So if you are ill, you play, injured, you play, not getting on with someone, you play, not happy with the arrangements, you play, not happy being there, you play, and so on...you cannot pack up your gear and leave....you play no matter what.

Distraction can affect your memory, so that affects your consistency...from audience members to crew members, anyone can catch your eye as a distraction.
Weather conditions, trying to play on a ship that is "rolling" on the water can be disorientating, as well as nauseating...but you still have to play.

A rare one, but one i have suffered, the throbbing vibration of an engine...talk about off putting, it takes a lot of concentration to ignore the low pulse of a engine when it is out of tempo with what you play.

So my option every time is not to commit parts to memory, just read what is needed....and if the MD has a folder of 5000 songs then i should be able to play 5000 songs...because that is what reading does for you...it gives a vast range of consistent playing.

 

[kerrycares]

Learn as much as you can and as accurately as you can because you’re learning language.
You become a really good player and develop really big ears by paying attention to details.
For most music played for general appreciation and dancing , the bass line is the song!
Have fun and enjoy the cruise.

 

[lz4005]

It depends. Are you an artist or a musician? You can't really be both at heart.

A musician accurately recites music created by others. This is like a cook following a recipe.

An artist knows the language of music itself and can capture the feel and essence of the original without delving into the details.
This is like a chef who knows what to do when given a set of ingredients and no recipe.

Neither is better than the other because they can both make their clients happy.

I don't agree with your labels. Competent musicians know how to do both.

Every chef who goes to culinary school learns how to follow recipes precisely first, then how to improvise on a theme without instructions.

If you're playing a cover song, learn the song. Then decide what to play. Doing only one or the other isn't enough.

 

[Nev375]

I don't agree with your labels. Competent musicians know how to do both.

Every chef who goes to culinary school learns how to follow recipes precisely first, then how to improvise on a theme without instructions.

If you're playing a cover song, learn the song. Then decide what to play. Doing only one or the other isn't enough.

That's a fair point then as I've never been to culinary school.

But by your statement, I've never ever met a competent musician.
In 47 years every musician I've met was was either one or the other.
I've met many who thought they were both or didn't know the difference.

 

[gln1955]

That's a fair point then as I've never been to culinary school.

But by your statement, I've never ever met a competent musician.
In 47 years every musician I've met was was either one or the other.
I've met many who thought they were both or didn't know the difference.

I'm having hard time wrapping my head aound this. Are you implying that the great composers, past or present, couldn't play someone else's music as written? That's absurd.

 

[Nev375]

I'm having hard time wrapping my head aound this. Are you implying that the great composers, past or present, couldn't play someone else's music as written? That's absurd.

I'm speaking in generalities. How many great composers have you met?

 

[petrus61]

I feel that unless someone has permission or has paid for the right to perform someone else’s copywritten material live, they should at the very least strive to perform it as written/originally performed. That includes performing it at the original pitch and tempo. I’m fine with tasteful interpretations, but it’s a slippery slope and takes genuine skill and talent to pull off, IMO. I’m pretty firm on this, don’t really care about any opinions to the contrary, and feel that whoever owns the music can do what they please with it .