bassbora Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 I just dont have time to learn all the songs my band covers. If I would have the time I would. So I just learn the basic song structure and then fill in the rest. Now the years of studying jazz, theory and improvisation comes in handy even if its basic rock songs. Means I can be gig ready with number of songs (and lets be honest not that many people in the band or the crowed will ever notice if I am doing the bass line a little bit different) than if I was trying to learn it note for note. So I guess after my 20+ years of playing most of the time I am doing it a bit different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blademan_98 Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 [quote name='Fat Rich' timestamp='1351352949' post='1850474'] I've suddenly realised I've never played any song correctly for 20 years. [/quote] That's me too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimR Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 (edited) [quote name='Angel' timestamp='1351362867' post='1850597'] Can't believe any punter ever notices when a bassline is the the same as the original - unless it's a feature of the song eg Money, Come together etc. [/quote] I think you're right but often the bass doesn't play roots or what you would normally play naturally. I struggled to get anything to fit Get Back, never really heard it, tried all sorts of lines, it's a Beatles track, how hard can it be? Listened to the original and it's just 8th roots all the way through. One guy spent 30mins telling me that "the bass line doesn't go like that" in about 4 tunes I had played that night. I'm always careful what I say in return as you never know who you are talking to. Turns out he was a bass playing journalist doing a review, so keeping quiet and listening to his 'advice' was the best thing in that case. If it's someone just sounding off my reply is usually "Well it did tonight." Edited October 27, 2012 by TimR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jus Lukin Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 (edited) - Edited February 16, 2022 by Jus Lukin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahpook Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 [quote name='Spike Vincent' timestamp='1351345048' post='1850361'] It's really quite embarassing when it's one of your own originals.... [/quote] aaah, but then you can repeat the mistake and call it a jazz interlude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingBollock Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 In my first proper band (back in 1988) we played Megadeth's Peace Sells...But Who's Buying. I'd never heard it before and the lead Guitarist came 'round to my house to teach it to me, along with the rest of the set. So, I'd been playing it for a couple of months every week at rehearsal when one day the Guitarist says "You still play that wrong" (meaning the intro), I'd been playing it the exact same why he taught me to play it! Anyway, after the demise of that band I finally got the album that it's on, but the whole album is played a quarter step tuned down, so it never sounded right playing along to it. It wasn't until [i]last year[/i] that I finally got around to learning it properly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimR Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 [quote name='KingBollock' timestamp='1351369247' post='1850650'] ... the lead Guitarist came 'round to my house to teach it to me, along with the rest of the set. So, I'd been playing it for a couple of months every week at rehearsal when one day the Guitarist says "You still play that wrong" (meaning the intro), I'd been playing it the exact same why he taught me to play it! ... [/quote] Don't worry about that. I've had many guitarists try to tell me how parts go. I'm sure their ears are different. Their fingers definitely are which is evident when you hear them trying to play bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingBollock Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 [quote name='TimR' timestamp='1351373261' post='1850688'] Don't worry about that. I've had many guitarists try to tell me how parts go. I'm sure their ears are different. Their fingers definitely are which is evident when you hear them trying to play bass. [/quote] He's a music teacher that also teaches Guitar and Bass! Though he wasn't at the time, he was a luthier putting himself through music college back then. I think I've got that right, the rest of the band were 18+ (I think the singer was in his 30s) whereas I was only 13, so I didn't hang around with them socially. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyfisher Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 [quote name='bassman7755' timestamp='1351361769' post='1850576'] I mean FFS how can you not take the time to learn a great bass line like the one from "all right now" properly (if your thinking "I dont remember it being anything special" then your probably one of the people whos never sat down to learn it properly). I mean we moan about how little respect and recognition bass players get from other musicians and the public in general but what do we expect if we cant demonstrate basic proficiency in learning simple pop bass lines propely. [/quote] Don't confuse proficiency with playing a note-perfect 'tribute' cover. What if someone can play a simple bass line "properly" (whatever that means) but just doesn't want to? You may not like the result but others might. Is this a cue for examples of cover versions that are generally accepted as better than the original versions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamfist Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 [quote name='bassman7755' timestamp='1351361769' post='1850576'] Theres a difference between "interpreting" a song in your own way and being too lazy to even learn the song properly in the first place. When I see a band in a pub and they have got some basic part of the song such as the chords or the bassline clearly wrong because they have just jammed it together and never bothered to actually listen to it, I feel insulted and ripped off [/quote] So true. THere are way too many lazy cover band musicians out there who simply can't be bothered. For them, it's got nothing to do with musicianship and interpreting a song differently. [quote name='Angel' timestamp='1351362867' post='1850597'] Can't believe any punter ever notices when a bassline is the the same as the original - unless it's a feature of the song eg Money, Come together etc. [/quote] It's true that they won't be able to put their finger on why a song doesn't sound right, but they will frequently notice that a song simply doesn't sound good, and it will be because the "groove" that they expect from a certain song is not there, as the bassist/drummer are not providing the same rhythmic platform for the song that they are used to from the original. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimR Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 (edited) There are a few songs you have to interpret because in certain situations the original bassline won't fit. Stevie Wonder's Supertition needs the hook and the funk guitar part. If you are a three piece often the bass will take the hook line. I think the thread is about not deliberately playing something different but finding you have morphed it over time. Mustang Sally is a great one for morphing. I suspect we all originally learned the Wilson Picket or Commitments versions to start with. But even the Wilson Picket version was a cover. I've never heard two bands play it the same, but they'll proudly tell you which version they do???! Edited October 28, 2012 by TimR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alstocko Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 I realised last week that I've been playing a note or two wrong in "Seven Sisters". It sounds minor, but I was disappointed in myself... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spike Vincent Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 [quote name='ahpook' timestamp='1351368552' post='1850645'] aaah, but then you can repeat the mistake and call it a jazz interlude [/quote] Unfortunately it was the main riff.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blademan_98 Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 Well I just watched Hendrix at the Isle of Wight festival. He hardly played any of the same notes he laid down in the studio. Billy Cox didn't play the Noel Redding notes either ................. and so the discussion will rage on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjones Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 [quote name='TimR' timestamp='1351362171' post='1850584'] Indeed, I found the verse so hard, I decided to play cowbell. Which makes everyone look upl when I come in with the chorus. [/quote] Well you'll be glad to know there isn't any bass in the verse on the original 'All right Now' (I hope I'm right?). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjones Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 The problem with the band I mentioned earlier, was that the chords were so wrong that the correct melody couldn't go over the top. You'd be sitting there thinking 'those words sound familiar but I don't recognise the tune?'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 Since I joined a covers band I've found that unless the rest of the band have exactly the same instrumentation and also play exactly what was on the recording, trying to replicate the recorded bassline is an exercise in pointlessness. So long as the song sounds right when the whole band is playing it I don't worry about playing the original basslines exactly any more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimR Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 [quote name='gjones' timestamp='1351427653' post='1851041'] Well you'll be glad to know there isn't any bass in the verse on the original 'All right Now' (I hope I'm right?). [/quote] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bassman7755 Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 [quote name='gjones' timestamp='1351427653' post='1851041'] Well you'll be glad to know there isn't any bass in the verse on the original 'All right Now' (I hope I'm right?). [/quote] I think you missed the irony in the post you responded to . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bassman7755 Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 [quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1351428021' post='1851048'] Since I joined a covers band I've found that unless the rest of the band have exactly the same instrumentation and also play exactly what was on the recording, trying to replicate the recorded bassline is an exercise in pointlessness. So long as the song sounds right when the whole band is playing it I don't worry about playing the original basslines exactly any more. [/quote] As I said before theres a clear difference between re-imagining/re-interpreting a bassline (or even a whole song) and plain laziness. In this day and age with the like of youtube providing instant free access to almost every song ever written there is simply no excuse for going out and playing a song without having first sat down bass in hand and studied it properly for a couple of listens though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjones Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 [quote name='bassman7755' timestamp='1351434000' post='1851123'] I think you missed the irony in the post you responded to . [/quote] I was just checking. Just in case he meant it. What about that bassline in the verse of 'Honky tonk woman', difficult or what? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonunders Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 I have managed to play a whole song without catching on I was actulally playing a different song to the band. Wondered why I was getting funny looks. Audience didn't notice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevB Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 It's been 10 years rather than 20 but just realised the other day I was playing 1 wrong note in one of the riffs to James Brown's 'I Got You' you know the 'I feel good' song? That phrase that's played twice just before the chorus kicks in. The note I used to play still fitted fine but it clearly wasn't right. Very minor but a bit of a face palm moment. Having said that in any given gig I probably play a multitude of duffers that go entirely unnoticed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 [quote name='jonunders' timestamp='1351458048' post='1851463'] I have managed to play a whole song without catching on I was actulally playing a different song to the band. Wondered why I was getting funny looks. Audience didn't notice! [/quote] laughed at that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_bass5 Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 Yep, quite often these days. When i first joined this band almost 10 years ago they gave me a CD of covers to learn in two weeks. This i did but obviously in a hurry. Its only when i hear the originals now on the radio etc do i realise im playing them differently. I do sometimes sit down and re learn them, but its more just for something to do rather than to get them spot on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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