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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
#41
For a cover you can probably get away with more improv on the bass than you can any other instrument in the band.

I have heard some covers where the keyboardist or guitar player sub a different chord entirely at some part in the song and then you think " Hey!.....they never used that chord in the original version!" and it sticks out like a sore thumb.
 
#47
mapleglo said:
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.
Click to expand...

Smoke On The Water is a very good example to use, Sir.
It's perhaps the first "lick" most people learn, and even non players can quickly get into it on a guitar or bass fretboard.
It gets played endlessly in musical instrument shops.
It's perhaps the most famous and recognized riff in the world.

Yet.
It's not an easy song to play properly. There are crazy nuances, and the rhythm is unforgiving. Played correctly, it's a great tune, but it has been endlessly destroyed by hacks.
 
#51
JTE said:
And my 30+ years playing cover gigs is that the only people who expect a lovingly perfect regurgitation of a specific record are the unemployed musicians in the crowd. The rest of the people are there to hear a band play music with each other.

John
Click to expand...

Well said. There are some songs (or maybe some parts of some songs) where the bass part carries the song and should be played close to the original. For 90% of what I play on covers, I'm thinking of the chords (as opposed to the notes) and playing it how I feel it.
 
#52
I don't play note for note, but I do play the important phrases on any bass line.
If it needs a straight root note pocket, then that's what I play.
If it has room to move, then I move.
It depends on the song.
I would rather hear a band put their own take on a song than play it straight up. If I wanted that, I would listen to a DJ.
 
#53
My whole purpose in playing music these days is to interpret rather than to reiterate. I understand the need for certain covers to be authentic, but music to me needs to be an organic experience, and regurgitating what some other bass player did doesn't cut it for me. I left the symphony orchestra for this very reason. Great experience with some great music, but ultimately unsatisfying from an improvisational standpoint.
 
#55
That's an interesting question. I saw Zep in concert twice, and Jones did not play the same bass line note for note in hardly any song.

Yes, the classic riffs like "Dazed and Confused," "How Many More Times, "Whole Lotta Love," but on even those you could tell that he would shake it up and do something a little different now and then.

That's the approach to me. When a song has a clearly recognizable bass line, note-for-note is the way to go. But, if not, then put your own spin on it.

As an aside, though, some bass players seem to think that playing fast and busy makes it better. So many times, at least to me, it sounds more like the bass guy is trying to demonstrate that he can play bass, than serve the song. Sometimes less is more, and sometimes your spin is not as good as the original one.

Not trying to be critical just dispersing some smoke.
 
#56
Classic rock, R&B - bass players have to have those lines down cold. Otherwise it messes the band up and is noticed by the audience. Examples: Heart and Soul (Huey Lewis) bass lick in D to transition into verse. All Right Now (Free) bass lick that leads into the extended solo. Sweet Emotion (mentioned elsewhere).
note-for note (or really close) gives the listener the right feel to the song. I think that's the essential point to note-for-note. Giving the listener a comfortable point of reference.
 
#57
It depends.
If it is for personal ear training I go verbatim.
If it is for other peoples projects I go as they say.
It also depends on the music. Some is more prescriptive than other.
 
#59
It is more important to understand the structure of a song. Learning a song note-for-note actually is the easiest way to learn a song, but too often is an exercise in rote memorization that doesn't really lead to a fundamental understanding of what makes it work.

You can't break the rules with any credibility until you know the rules well. I have no patience for someone who doesn't know the difference between a B flat and a flat tire treating me to his/her new artistic imagining of well-known stuff.

My personal belief is the original is a moment frozen in history. It's not ever coming back in the same shape or form. On a crass, commercial level, ALL the money on that original has been made and divvied up, and I wasn't included in any of it.

In short, while I will never violate the spirit of an original, I think it's a fool's errand to try to render it note-for-note with no variation whatsoever. The original artist wouldn't even do that or try to.

Without taste and intelligence, it's just a pile of notes.
 

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