Songs you didn't appreciate until you tried to play them.

Rowby1 · February 2016

So 20 years.......sorry, 30 years ago I started playing in covers bands and consequently discovered how clever Beatles songs were.

This week had to learn Rebel Yell and realised how well put together that songs is.

Anyone else had the experience of learning a cover and being pleasantly surprised by the way it's constructed?

Cabicular · February 2016

Anything by Quo is always a bit of a surprise
They have an undeserved reputation for simplicity ... Yeah you try it!

Gassage · February 2016

Go Your Own Way using the LB inversions as played on the electric.

Miles away from the cowboy chord version people tend to play.

Don't Dream It's Over- the rhythm is impossible for me.

not_the_dj · February 2016

I had that with Rebel Yell as well, a superbly crafted song...and a sure fire crowd pleaser as well, one of my favorite songs in our set.

EricTheWeary · February 2016

Probably a few but Special Brew comes to mind. I really hate that song. However, it's a workshop in how to arrange 3 chords and create something out of very simple elements, a whole greater than the sum of it's parts.

Oh, Embarrassment by Madness which has about 20 chords and several different sections and we could never get the timing right. Whilst in my head it was just a hummable ditty.

Although, TBH, anything with more than 3 chords I find pretty impressive.

RocknRollDave · February 2016

Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran is a beatch to sing....just my luck it's one of the most popular first dances during my first year of fronting a band....

+1 on the Quo. Dropped/ open tunings etc....

John_P · February 2016

RocknRollDave said:

Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran is a beatch to sing....just my luck it's one of the most popular first dances during my first year of fronting a band....

+1 on the Quo. Dropped/ open tunings etc....

I had to play that for a couple of dep gigs at weddings last year - certainly added to the usual depping nerves

Abba songs often have something extra in the arrangements that I hadn't noticed on first listening.

I'd agree with Gassage about GYOW - the timing is awkward if you start to think about it about (for drummers as well as guitar).

thecolourbox · February 2016

RocknRollDave said:

Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran is a beatch to sing....just my luck it's one of the most popular first dances during my first year of fronting a band....

From when I've tried it, that one's all about timing the breathing properly , and doing it discreetly. Which is something us mostly self taught singists usually struggle with. I find that singers who've not been taught how to do this properly, even with the nicest voices, tend to stick out with regard to phrasing and discreet breathing. Also though, it's worth bearing in mind on the verse bits that are too low, even Mr Sheeran fudges the lowest notes

My suggestion for this category of songs is Someone Like You by Adele. I'm not a huge fan of listening to her, as I'm not 0particularly the target audience, but her songs (or at least I presume the songs given to her to sing!) are in my view very well crafted and put together so reworking one to play as a guitar based singer songwriter type thing really opened my eyes to that. It's not difficult to play or sing really (once you get it in your key), it just flows very well and feels quite smooth to play and sing.

stratman3142 · February 2016

A few years back I used to play "I Want You Back" (The Jackson Five) in a covers band. That was a bit tricky.

Sometimes the chordally simple songs are harder than expected, mainly because the groove/feel is deceptive. To a certain extent that applies to Status Quo (mentioned previously). Also, anything by AC/DC. I once tried to recreate Back In Black on my computer using programmed drums and it was a bit rigid to say the least. Edit: I just found it (was that really 6 years ago?). Link below (for a laugh

) - I'm too old to care about what people think these days.
https://app.box.com/shared/f50k9eaqxr

Phil_aka_Pip · February 2016

Tiger Feet. You have to be on the ball for the changes

RocknRollDave · February 2016

thecolourbox said:

RocknRollDave said:

Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran is a beatch to sing....just my luck it's one of the most popular first dances during my first year of fronting a band....

From when I've tried it, that one's all about timing the breathing properly , and doing it discreetly. Which is something us mostly self taught singists usually struggle with. I find that singers who've not been taught how to do this properly, even with the nicest voices, tend to stick out with regard to phrasing and discreet breathing. Also though, it's worth bearing in mind on the verse bits that are too low, even Mr Sheeran fudges the lowest notes

All good advice, much appreciated! I shall work on the breathing.

PolarityMan · February 2016

Why would you play something if you didn't appreciate it in the first place? This thread makes no sense.

Rowby1 · February 2016

PolarityMan said:

Why would you play something if you didn't appreciate it in the first place? This thread makes no sense.

So you've never learnt anything that's surprised you?

Deijavoo · February 2016

PolarityMan said:

Why would you play something if you didn't appreciate it in the first place? This thread makes no sense.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=3chords+vai&client=ms-android-h3g-gb&prmd=ivmn&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiIrLCQ3IfLAhUBERQKHYKtDdIQ_AUIBygB&biw=360&bih=511#tbm=isch&q=3+chords+vai+amazing+meme&imgrc=zHJHhIG1fmN1IM:

Deijavoo · February 2016

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/c0/a2/b8/c0a2b8e65c0ac32daea3583e201cfe76.jpg

lustycourtier · February 2016

RocknRollDave said:
Seriously? It's lets get it on. Easy as pie
Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran is a beatch to sing....just my luck it's one of the most popular first dances during my first year of fronting a band....

+1 on the Quo. Dropped/ open tunings etc....

Grunfeld · February 2016

PolarityMan said:

Why would you play something if you didn't appreciate it in the first place? This thread makes no sense.

I dunno, I think it does make some sense. Here's why: I play in a covers band so obviously I have to learn songs which punters enjoy. Personally, I don't listen to any of this sort of music -- this is something I do to earn a few quid and have fun playing live too. But you can appreciate things on different levels. For example, I've recently been learning "Walk this Way" by Aerosmith and my initial thought was that it was a lot of shouty nonsense. But it also turns out to be a really well crafted song with a great swing feel. And the solos are interesting because of the way they squeeze so much out of relatively few notes.

So, in the first place I didn't think much of it, but I learnt it because it will go down well live. As I've studied it and learnt it I've come to appreciate it. I still don't really like it but it's a good piece of work. And many songs are like that for me. This is just an example.

Cabicular · February 2016

Sometimes you learn more from doing stuff way outside your normal taste. Plus if you are in a wedding or function band you often have little choice.

Snap · February 2016

in answer to the OP,

a lot of Neil Young's stuff.

Generally, I can't learn by tab, I just can't get on with it, so I learn by ear. At least that way, I concentrate on the feel, rather than perhaps the technical accuracies. HOwever, that method is full of holes, cos often to get something right, unless your ear is a perfect transcriber, you need to know what's being played.

EricTheWeary · February 2016

Grunfeld said:

PolarityMan said:

Why would you play something if you didn't appreciate it in the first place? This thread makes no sense.

I dunno, I think it does make some sense. Here's why: I play in a covers band so obviously I have to learn songs which punters enjoy. Personally, I don't listen to any of this sort of music -- this is something I do to earn a few quid and have fun playing live too. But you can appreciate things on different levels. For example, I've recently been learning "Walk this Way" by Aerosmith and my initial thought was that it was a lot of shouty nonsense. But it also turns out to be a really well crafted song with a great swing feel. And the solos are interesting because of the way they squeeze so much out of relatively few notes.

So, in the first place I didn't think much of it, but I learnt it because it will go down well live. As I've studied it and learnt it I've come to appreciate it. I still don't really like it but it's a good piece of work. And many songs are like that for me. This is just an example.

Probably better than the alternative - dissecting a favourite song in order to learn it and getting sick of it!

mudslide73 · March 2016

Turning Japanese - Amazing arrangement. I liked it before but it could be on a Yes album if it had more pretentious lyrics and some more solos. A lot of new wave stuff is deceptively easy sounding tho.

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Songs you didn't appreciate until you tried to play them.

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