Reproducing Covers Faithfully?

ScreamingDave

My band is a covers band, but we never try to reproduce the song exactly as the original or the most well known version.  We just take songs we like and do our version of it. I was just wondering what other people’s view is ……

Rocker

I agree but the well known riffs and chord changes need to be played as closely as possible to the original recording. 

stickyfiddle

I'm a big fan of being able to play things note for note and also not doing that on purpose some of the time. 

But I also firmly believe that a lot of people use "doing it our way" as an excuse to not put effort in to make something sound good

EricTheWeary

Just lots of ‘it depends.’ 

Invariably I don’t like note for note covers because they tend to be a bit stiff and they tend to hilight what you aren’t getting quite right. But all about making musical choices. 

sev112

Even the bands don’t play them the same way or can play their recorded riffs, 

Roland

I’m with @stickyfiddle on this. Learning a cover song is an opportunity to learn the way that the original artist played it, both on the original record and subsequent live recordings. Not to learn the song is lazy. Anything you can’t play is an opportunity to develop your playing abilities.

However when it comes to performance different rules apply. For a start many artists develop their original version. Sometimes the original was assembled digitally, and isn’t playable. More often the song develops based on audience response: modified guitar parts, singalong sections, repeat choruses. All these are useful to a covers band.

It’s also necessary to let your personal style show occasionally, because this adds energy and personality to the performance. Ultimately it’s a balancing act.

Evo

Depends very strongly on the reasons for "doing your own version".

If it's because the original has a tendency to empty dance floors for some reason then absolutely tweak it into a floor filler, also sometimes studio versions just aren't possible to reproduce live and in that case an interpretation is the only way.

However....
If it's because somebody can't or won't put the effort in to learn something new or difficult, then they need to stop making excuses and take more pride in their playing. The truth is there are plenty of great songs out there which are very easy to play "note for note", if something is genuinely beyond capabilities then choose an easier song instead!

If you want to play a difficult song, then respect it and put the work in. 

Best advice I was ever given when I started professional playing was "Don't take yourself too seriously, but DO take the music too seriously", and that's always made sense to me. There's always wiggle room for interpretation, but the key for me is to always make sure it's never to the detriment of the song.

CaseOfAce

Generally get the chords and riffs and (if signature) solos down and play around with them within limits. If the solo is a pentatonic blues thing then I'll improvise. It's gonna sound like your band with the abilities and sounds at their disposal regardless.

I'm a big fan of the Jerry Garcia Band and how they tackled covers - it's an approximation not a facsimile.

To me seeing a band (cover or famous original) sounding exactly what's on the record isn't my preference.

Sporky

I never saw the point in copying the original. People can listen to the original whenever they want. 

RocknRollDave

stickyfiddle said:

I'm a big fan of being able to play things note for note and also not doing that on purpose some of the time. 

But I also firmly believe that a lot of people use "doing it our way" as an excuse to not put effort in to make something sound good

I agree. 

ICBM

ScreamingDave said:

My band is a covers band, but we never try to reproduce the song exactly as the original or the most well known version.  We just take songs we like and do our version of it. I was just wondering what other people’s view is ……

Exactly the same.

I actively dislike hearing a band try to play a cover exactly like the original - unless they're so accurate it gets into the spooky zone, but it normally never does since the singer is rarely that close - full-on tribute bands excepted, but that's a special case.

Nothing puts me off faster than a band that sounds like one of those Top Of The Pops albums from the 70s - note-for-note accurate, but completely lacking any musical interest. I'd actually rather hear a band be not that good, as long as they're doing something creative and different with the song. I don't care at all about supposedly signature riffs and solos either - the bare bones of the song is all that counts.

Danny1969

It depends what we are talking about really. For pub gig's anything goes and I've done all kinds of stuff from rocked up covers of Kim Wilde to Rock a Billy versions of Talking Heads. My favorite local band take eighties pop classics and turns them into something that works with one guitar. They rearrange the song and reharmonize it sometimes. 

Then there's the gigs where there's a kind of pride in being able to reproduce classic stuff quite accurately. Especially classic rock stuff where a lot of the audience are muso's and even those who aren't know how all the big solo's go and expect the big bits to be there. I enjoy these gigs and try to reproduce the big solo's and parts as close as poss. 

The corporate party / awards stuff kind of expects a band that can play the big hits close enough that they are  recognisable within a few seconds .. this is important as the band plays stingers when the person walks up to get the award. Then for the after show party the big hits of the last 20 years or so are expected and they need to be very close to the record. There's a depressingly small pool of songs being played at these as they hasn't been anything much new come through so bands are STILL playing Brightside, Sex, Dekota, UpTown etc with a few newer ones like Watermelon and Blinding lights.  

mrkb

Sporky said:

I never saw the point in copying the original. People can listen to the original whenever they want. 

Agreed, if you want to hear the original go to see a tribute band or a disco

maltingsaudio

My party piece is making most songs fit c am f and g with an acoustic so you can guess where I’m at! Although it is always good to nail something note for note because then it’s in your muscle memory. Taking a month to learn a riff right sounds like a bore but well worth it even if you don’t actually get to play it live (https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/242480/note-for-note-or-not. Still haven’t played it outside the sitting room! 

p90fool

We're a guitar/bass/drums band but play lots of pop covers which aren't guitar based, so I have to do a lot of work on arrangements in order to prioritise the key elements which made the song a good song in the first place.

TBH that's only thing which keeps me interested in playing in a covers band, and the idea of merely learning another guitarist's part for a song fills me with equal parts boredom and dread.  

But yes, I agree that most of the people I know who say "well this is our version" are usually lazy or just shite. 

ESBlonde

Hooks and melodies, it’s important that the chemically relaxed punters recognise the piece even if they don’t like it/the artist.
once they get it they are playing the original recording in their head  anyway so as long as you don’t deviate from those hooks and melodies, you’re golden. In many projects the line up doesn’t allow for that synth part or the second guitar or pedal steel or cello etc. it gets harder when you are just bass drums guitar but those key bits need to be there. Try doing hotel California or this thing called love without substantially butchering the well known lead break and looking cool to the vast majority of your audience. 

The reason so many modern ‘acts’ use tracks or are karaoke style is because they are cheaper but also because they are popular. Some of my talented friends have gone this route because they can’t find enough dedicated talent to provide live sounds to a standard. The reason Disco and then karaoke style have edged out real live bands is financial and the fact that your audience want what they want.

Keefy

stickyfiddle said:

I'm a big fan of being able to play things note for note and also not doing that on purpose some of the time. 

But I also firmly believe that a lot of people use "doing it our way" as an excuse to not put effort in to make something sound good

This. I hate to hear a band play a cover when it’s clear they just haven’t listened to the track properly.

‘As played on the record’ is my starting point, but there are good reasons why the live performance may end up different, including arranging the song to suit the band lineup, and a conscious decision to simplify. On the one hand I enjoy the challenge of learning something note-for-note for a tribute band; on the other I will happily take a solo down an octave to retain a full sound when playing in a trio.

Rowby1

As per the OP. Making the song your own is different from doing a half arsed job because you’re lazy. 

Went to see a local covers band yesterday who were doing all 80s pop…..without a keyboard player. Unfortunately rather than being inventive they’d bought some cheap Kareoke backing tracks and played along with them. Guitarist stood there like a spare part 50% of the time. It was, frankly a bit rubbish. Stuck it for four songs.

mudslide73

We're a mixture of the two but the starting point is always the original. I try to do things note for note but will improvise the solos if we extend things. I like bands who completely change covers but it has to be fun/interesting rather than lazy and half learned.

Gassage

It's not a binary thing but you do need to pay some homage to the original UNLESS you completely rework it.

A great example is Comfy.

If you cover it as per PF, then you must play the first 12 bars of the outro solo correctly- but it's a tradition that you can freestyle thereafter.

Or, you totally rip the song up and do something original like the Scissor Sisters did.

Kurtis

Doesn't really matter as long as it's good!