Note for note or in the style of?

[GuitarAddict]

Many years ago I was playing in a covers band and when we took a break one of the guys in the audience came up to me and said “You played the intro of Black Magic Woman wrong!” I think i may have replied that it’s LIVE music and if you want an exact rendition go home and put the CD on, in a polite way of course.
I have learnt hundreds of songs over the years and can’t remember every one note for note, but I get pretty close and normally put in the signature riffs everyone expects to hear, but in the modern times with a million tutorials on youtube for every guitar song you can imagine, is it still acceptable to play your own version or has it got to be note for note?
Bearing in mind the original artist probably doesn’t play an exact replica of the studio version.
I’d like to know your opinions.

 

[Alnus Rubra]

I’m in the “make it your own” camp.

Make your answer:

“You Can’t Always Get What You Want”

 

[sergiodeblanc]

Sh!t…. Carlos didn’t even play BMW note for note.

 

[Birdsofprey]

Great topic! Make it your own short but complex answer. I’ve stated hear before copying is the biggest compliment to a artist but creativity is where the true art lies. Given long enough arguably I could learn any song but I’ll be dam if I could even come close to writing something of musical notoriety that people enjoy. It’s always on my list to try and write and for me it would be guitar oriented instrumentals so that the listener could create there own vision. I would just want to provide the vehicle.
That all being said I love a great cover band Lincoln Lab Project comes to mind quickly ,immense talent there and I appreciate and love everything they do. I also love to go see live music and enjoy whatever bands playing interpretations of current and past songs. Lastly I’m always on YouTube to see covers of songs I like most of the time the ones I go back to are the ones that have a unique take on the originals.

 

[Aahzz]

I'm firmly in the "make it your own" camp as well. I tend to like jam bands, so I generally don't even want to see the original band play it note for note .

On the flip side, I'm also a fan of prog and those bands I do want to see pull it off like the recording.

So I guess I'm saying that if I see a prog cover band, I want them to do it precisely, and any other cover band I want to see the band add their own flavor. As for bands in which I play, I don't have the technical skills to pull off prog .

 

[Birdsofprey]

Aahzz, ever see Lotus Land the Rush cover band? Unbelievable!!

 

[Daryl Jones]

Great discussion opportunity! I can't count the times I've seen live performances that really went way pear-shaped compared to the studio recordings. It's "live" so if you want that kind of multiple take perfection... yeah, listen to the polished recording and don't buy the tickets. I teach and coach karate, and I have a problem with competitions that adhere to the "box" for competitors performing kata in tournaments. No room for self expression and too often (IMO) the adjudicators will view a stellar individual performance as "incorrect" for subtle hand or stance positions and mark it lower. If the overall performance makes your hair stand up, who's to say it isn't perfect or outstanding in its own right? In those situations I firmly believe there is no wrong or right. One of my work associates is a professional player and has faced this comment hundreds of times. His answer of choice is "Your opinion, but I'm the one up there playing for money, and you're the one paying to hear me wishing it was the other way around." Pretty much sums it up I think.

 

[alantig]

I'm definitely in the make it your own camp. I don't even want to see the actual band play it just like the record - I probably have the record. I want to hear what they're feeling that day. There are certain licks and such that I want to hear, but I suspect we all have our own list and those lists are no doubt different.

I've learned some stuff note-for-note, and there are a small handful of solos I generally try to play that way. More often than not, I use that as a framework and branch off from there.

I always go back to one of a few things about this kind of stuff. One is "I'm not Randy Rhoads/Ace Frehley/Carlos Santana". If you want to hear them, go listen to them. Another is from an interview I saw with a blues guitarist who'd gotten a gig w/an older blues guy. The interviewer asked him how close he tried to cop the recorded parts, and he said, "Man, I asked about that. I said, 'Do you want me to play the solo from the record.' And [the blues guy] said, 'That's how the solo sounded that day in the studio. I want to hear what you're playing, not the other guy.'"

To me, the beauty of live music is that the band (theoretically) can expand on the recording, and go off in different directions. It seems to be rarer today than it used to be, but it's almost always more interesting than a replay of the record.

 

[Deleted member 5962]

I'm sort of with Aahzz on this one. I think it depends on what you're playing. I could go into more detail on this subject, and have in the past, but my comments might be offensive if taken wrong. I'll just say this for now. The more technical the piece is, the more I fall into the "note for note" category. On bluesy and vibey stuff, I'm less strict. Although, that is coming from the guy who used to play 3 versions of Machine Gun because they were all different and I wanted to play each one exactly like Jimi did.

Started on classical music at 5 years old, so "note for note and perfect" is to be expected. But I also have songs where I don't like the solo and completely do my own thing. But the challenge of learning note for note solos of great guitar players was what taught me how to play guitar.

 

[dmatthews]

MIYO
Don't let a random guy bring you down.
We've had people come up to us at a break and tell us we did song XYZ better than the original. That of course is just as random as the opposite.
You're up on stage, they are not.
Do what you do, enjoy it, and $%#& the haters.

 

[guitarforlife]

I'm in the make your own music for the most part. I try to hit the hooks or memorable licks. Somethings I try to get close because of a melody. But when it is just endless finger tapping or fast runs or bluesy double stops or other noodling. I just make it up as I go and every night may be different I just play what hits me at the time.
I could care less what anyone says or thinks, I do me.

The one thing that comes to my mind is years ago guitar player magazine had a new guitar player on the cover. If I recall it said who is Eric Johnson and why is he on our cover. I then listened to the sound sheet of Cliffs of Dover. WOW !!!! I instantly knew why he was on the cover. Some time later he released it on CD. I bought the CD took it home just to listen to the song on something better then a Flexi disc.

It wasn't that I was disappointed but it was not the same as it was on the Flexi. He had change it a little. It was still awesome but not quite the same. My point is even the greatest guitar players alter things. If they spent all their time playing note for note riffs and solos they would not be the great player they are.

 

[jak3af3r]

It depends on the environment. If you're hired as strictly a tribute band, I'd side with note for note. If it's covers in a "bar band" thing I'd say hit the signature stuff so it's recognizable and read the room for everything else and change to suit.

I've been on both ends of the dilemma where people really want to hear songs just like the record and other times where friends show up just to hear absolute shredding over songs they know well.

It's really awkward when you have one person say they're disappointed because you didn't rip a solo and another compliment on playing it straight about the same song.

 

[László]

Make it your own. You're not in a freakin' classical orchestra.

 

[Uncle Bob]

For me it depends also on WHO you’re covering rather than just the song. Why? Well as an example if you play a Hendrix song ‘a bit like’ Hendrix then people just say “He’s trying to be like Hendrix but he’s not doing a very good job of it” (and they’d probably be right, hence why I mostly avoided Hendrix covers!).

Although, in retrospect I suppose I could have just failed miserably at sounding like whomever and told people I was ‘making it my own’ on purpose!

What I actually preferred to do, if we couldn’t do justice to a song in its original form, was simply to rearrange it. So, it’s a bit of both styles for me.

 

[Uncle Bob]

It depends on the environment. If you're hired as strictly a tribute band, I'd side with note for note. If it's covers in a "bar band" thing I'd say hit the signature stuff so it's recognizable and read the room for everything else and change to suit.

I've been on both ends of the dilemma where people really want to hear songs just like the record and other times where friends show up just to hear absolute shredding over songs they know well.

It's really awkward when you have one person say they're disappointed because you didn't rip a solo and another compliment on playing it straight about the same song.

Awkward, for me, was a guy approaching me after a gig and saying “Dude you must really like Clapton because you sound just like him”. Now then, I don’t and never have sounded like Clapton, neither accidentally or on purpose, and at that time I didn’t even rate him that highly (which totally changed after I saw him live - amazing). Being a polite fellow all I could really say was “thanks”!

I’m just glad people enjoyed the gig. The fact it was in a pub probably helped enormously...

 

[Rod/]

Playing a solo Note for note is like a secretary copying a letter written by someone else. And how boring is that, playing the same frikkin solo that you didn’t write night after night. Improvisation is part of the inner key to your own guitar style. I never play the same solo twice with the 3 different bands I play with and it’s challenging as well as being very rewarding.
I always felt bad for Peter Stroud (a very fine guitarist) having to play Cheryl Crow songs note for note off her albums when playing live.. for 30 years! She made a band full of great musicians play such lackluster music.. imho, a non band leader, and totally boring in concert…. Never featured each musician either.. it was always about her…

 

[Tony M.]

Make it your own.

If I sounded exactly like
(insert random famous guitarist here)
one of us would be unnecessary.

 

[Deleted member 5962]

Playing a solo Note for note is like a secretary copying a letter written by someone else. And how boring is that, playing the same frikkin solo that you didn’t write night after night. Improvisation is part of the inner key to your own guitar style. I never play the same solo twice with the 3 different bands I play with and it’s challenging as well as being very rewarding.
I always felt bad for Peter Stroud (a very fine guitarist) having to play Cheryl Crow songs note for note off her albums when playing live.. for 30 years! She made a band full of great musicians play such lackluster music.. imho, a non band leader, and totally boring in concert…. Never featured each musician either.. it was always about her…

So, lets see if I have this correctly. If you show up some night, and the band plays Rush, Ozzie, Van Halen, Led Zeppelin, etc., and the guitar player NAILS every solo in every song, you are not impressed with his ability, skill and dedication to the song, you’re bored? Clearly with that level of skill he COULD pull off some great improvs of his own but he dedicated himself to the original. But you’re bored by that?

Second question: Joe Average Barband Player does all the above songs but mostly with his own solos, but throws in some parts of the original. Do you think that being himself is better than the guy who nails them all? More important question: Do you think he is being more true to the song? So, in this instance, we want everyone else in the band to play the song “exactly like the record”, but the lead guitar player can just do whatever he wants? And to be perfectly clear, I’m not saying that anyone who can’t play a Van Halen solo note for note, should never do a Van Halen song. I’m asking if you think that “your own thing” is more true to the song than duplicating the original.

I’m aware that there is plenty of music that you play that you can throw your own solos in there, and nobody might care, might even be better than the original. But if I’m playing Eddie or Randy or many others, my first focus is playing it exactly like they did, and not just to show off, but to play the song as it was played. And, I do not view that as a lack of creativity, but a dedication to the original song.

 

[Alnus Rubra]

Subjectively, it’s down to the individual.

Valid points for both sides. I guess when I’m playing an iconic song, where the audience are expecting a certain solo, a good assimilation of the original suits the situation.

However songs can evolve and for what should be a fairly free bunch of spirits, as musicians we can be fairly conservative at times.

But hey, that’s the beauty of music. You can make it what you want, if people get upset, it’s only in a fleeting moment. Who knows, some might appreciate it.

As you were!

 

[GuitarAddict]

Wow, some strong opinions there. Didn’t think that would get such a response.
I can’t gig anymore due to health problems and I miss it so much, didn’t play for a while until I realised I was being stupid, and that playing at home with no audience for one’s own pleasure is infinitely better than not playing at all.
The way I used to approach it was to look at a few live performances of a song I’d play in a gig and see how the original artist approached the solo. 99% of the time it was different from the studio recording in some cases totally different. Some artists like Clapton change the solo beyond recognition every performance or at least every tour.
In the end I settled on playing in the style of but it had to be at least as difficult as the original, that’s to say if a solo featured 2 finger tapping or a lightning fast run, my solo had to have similar techniques, that way my conscience was clear and if there was a guitarist in the audience they could see I wasn’t “cheating”.
Thanks for all the posts.