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Learn note for note on not?

note for note or not?

  • exactly like the original.

    Votes: 26 31.3%

  • mosty like the original with my own flair.

    Votes: 54 65.1%

  • not even playing the same song.

    Votes: 3 3.6%
  • Total voters
    83
#2
When I do covers I always try to play note for note. People want to hear songs the way they are used to hearing them. Unless you are a famous musician nobody wants to hear your interpretation of a song.
 
#3
It really depends on the song. In my classic rock band, when we do a song like Smoke on the Water, I'm going to play it pretty much note for note, with a little of my own stuff. When we do a song like Jumpin' Jack Flash, I'll take a little more liberty in adding my own stuff because the bass is not so much a key part of the song like it is in Smoke on the Water. And frankly, the original bass part is not that great. YMMV.
 
#5
Gotta be note for note. This is one of my pet peeves since day 1. I remember back when I was about 16 I saw a band covering "sweet emotion" by Aerosmith. The bass player butchered the heck out of it and I vowed to never do that when I was on a gig.
 
#8
Playing anything other than original music is rather pointless. But I guess if that's what you do it is probably best to try and make it sound as much like the original as you can because that is how you will be judged by listeners.
 
#9
Almost no one plays the songs EXACTLY note for note. Ask someone to post a set of themselves playing something note for note and you will never get a response.

IMHO, if you play all the signature licks correctly, follow all the changes, get the right feel and are 75 - 80% exact, no one will notice the other 25% unless its wrong notes, wrong feel, or just way off of the original.

Besides, unless you have the exact instrumentation of the original recording and everyone else is playing it note for note (never happen) it won't sound like the original anyway.

There's nothing wrong with trying to get it exact, but that last 20-25% is for you. No one else will notice.
 
#10
/\ /\ /\ /\
What they said.
Mapleglo has it right. When the bass line is critical to the song's identity it is more important to follow the original. Now, "which original"??? many popular songs are covers already!!!! ???? That's not to say your good version of an original is not the way to go. Unless you want to be a human jukebox. ==== Of course there is the cover of a cover of an original??? Take House Of The Rising Sun, who did the original(some are not sure)? And did the Animals do a note for note copy or just a good copy, i mean "cover"? Keep your eyes out for the DJ's comming from behind (with a perfect copy!!!)
 
#11
I try to get as close as possible, but don't sweat it if I'm off; in 25 years no one ever told me I played something wrong (other than the guitard). I disagree that cover bands must play every song exactly as it's recorded; that's what djs are for. My philosophy is that we're hired to play music not songs. Seems to work, we've got gigs booked until November 2014 and every new venue we've played this year has asked for dates before our last set began. When we play, people hit the dance floor. That's what really matters.
 
#14
I spent my formative years in a cover band. We did weddings, bar-mitzvahs, and such. Paid well, didn't care for the music. I left the band in 1989 or 1990, they're still playing the same types of gigs and are very successful, and still have some of the original members. Ok, that covers my credentials.

Anyway, from my perspective, "it depends." Some songs it is important, especially if there's a hook (another one bites the dust, Queen, as an example). In other songs, not so important as long as the chord changes are right, and you work the right passing notes into your line.
 
#15
For me it depends on the band I'm playing in, and the tune itself. In a cover band situation, I go pretty close to note-for-note, but in a tune with a lot of improvisation, I'm not going to learn another player's improvisation and play it note-for-note. I'll learn a few of the licks to get an idea of the style, and then just go for it. Ultimately, the approach I agree with here is to get the signature parts right (such as the aforementioned "Sweet Emotion" riff) and just make sure you get a good groove happening with the rest of it. There are often times in a cover band where someone else hasn't nailed their part, and if you play the bass part note-for-note, it can actually clash with whatever else is going on. Sure, the problem is the other guy, but your job isn't to be right, it's to be musical.

Mostly, though, I play in originals bands, and when we do covers, we do them anywhere from mostly note-for-note to completely re-written.
 
#17
Bassist4Eris said:
For me it depends on the band I'm playing in, and the tune itself. In a cover band situation, I go pretty close to note-for-note, but in a tune with a lot of improvisation, I'm not going to learn another player's improvisation and play it note-for-note. I'll learn a few of the licks to get an idea of the style, and then just go for it. Ultimately, the approach I agree with here is to get the signature parts right (such as the aforementioned "Sweet Emotion" riff) and just make sure you get a good groove happening with the rest of it. There are often times in a cover band where someone else hasn't nailed their part, and if you play the bass part note-for-note, it can actually clash with whatever else is going on. Sure, the problem is the other guy, but your job isn't to be right, it's to be musical.

Mostly, though, I play in originals bands, and when we do covers, we do them anywhere from mostly note-for-note to completely re-written.
Click to expand...

+1 to every part of this. People who insist cover bands have to play what's one the recording note-for-note generally argue that audiences expect to hear a reproduction of the recording; but skip to another thread and you'll hear (often the same) people joking about how the average bar patron can't even tell what a bass is, let alone what's being played on it.

Meanwhile, like bassist4eris says, sometimes playing exactly what the bassist on the recording did will wreck the song, because you're rarely playing with the exact same combination of instruments and voices they were. What if you're covering a song that was recorded with two guitars and a keyboard, and you're in a power trio? You HAVE to stretch out to cover more sonic space in that situation; playing only what was recorded will leave the song hollow.

Ultimately, in my opinion, being a musician means grasping what's needed from you to make the song work for the audience in front of you. That may mean being restrained and laying back; that may mean making sure you can nail that signature riff precisely; that may mean recognizing it's up to you to add some pizzazz and fill extra space.
 
#19
There are many variables to consider, but in general my policy is to learn it "note for note" to capture what made the track special in the first place, especially if it was played by a famous band or bass player. It is more work and takes patience and discipline many times, but you will likely reap growth in your musical development by learning a new way to approach something that you may never have thought of. If the song is a hit, there is normally a reason that the producer/songwriters settled on that bass line. Many musicians today want to go directly to their interpretation before at least learning part of the original reason why the song was successful.
 

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