provny Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 I was listening to Dire Straits/Mark Knofler performing "Brothers In Arms" (then failing miserably at trying to play and sing it myself) and thinking there is something magical and somehow "right" about that song that I'm not sure anyone else could approximate, even with their own arrangement of it or trying to copy the original. (Maybe I'm wrong about that though...) Maybe I feel this way mainly because I'm still very much a beginner guitarist, and don't know or recognize ways to make most any song "work" when I try to play it... Can you think of other songs that seemingly can't be covered well by anyone else-- or have you yet to find such a song (of which only one performer can do it justice)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanvillRob Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 I was listening to Dire Straits/Mark Knofler performing "Brothers In Arms" (then failing miserably at trying to play and sing it myself) and thinking there is something magical and somehow "right" about that song that I'm not sure anyone else could approximate, even with their own arrangement of it or trying to copy the original. (Maybe I'm wrong about that though...) Maybe I feel this way mainly because I'm still very much a beginner guitarist, and don't know or recognize ways to make most any song "work" when I try to play it... Can you think of other songs that seemingly can't be covered well by anyone else-- or have you yet to find such a song (of which only one performer can do it justice)? That's true of every song I have trouble learning! I've been working on SRV's "Life By The Drop", and while I can hit all the notes in the intro....it just doesn't SOUND right! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grampa Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 "Bohemian Rhapsody" but probably not a good example. Once Cash did a version of a song it became his and any other version pales. And no one should ever try to do "Stairway to Heaven". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissouriPicker Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 I think most any song can be covered adequately by a number of people. Personally, there are a lot of songs I don't think I do a decent job on, BUT, I hear others do a nice job on them. I don't think anyone can do What A Wonderful World like Louie Armstrong, but I've heard some cool rendtions of it. And I agree, folks like Cash often did a rendition that others pale beside, but, others can still do a good version of the song. I've found that part of the difficulty in covering a song is that we find ourselves attempting to sing it in the key we sung it to countless times as we listened on the radio, and that may not be the key you or I can best sing it in. I can't sing Runaway in the key Del Shannon sang it in and I certainly can't hit the falsetto part, but I can still do a good version of it in the key of A. Actually, any rendition of any song that I do likely pales compared to the original. But, when I do I Walk The Line, folks know I'm not Cash, etc. and are not expecting me to be...I guess the bottom line is "don't sell yourself short." Cash said "you've got to be who you've got to be." You and I have to be who we are. We are not Cash, Dylan, Emmylou, Bono, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buc McMaster Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 Let's see a photo of the 165!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pfox14 Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 Anytime I try to play any of Hendrix's stuff I fail miserably. I should just give up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanvillRob Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 I think most any song can be covered adequately by a number of people. Personally, there are a lot of songs I don't think I do a decent job on, BUT, I hear others do a nice job on them. I don't think anyone can do What A Wonderful World like Louie Armstrong, but I've heard some cool rendtions of it. And I agree, folks like Cash often did a rendition that others pale beside, but, others can still do a good version of the song. I've found that part of the difficulty in covering a song is that we find ourselves attempting to sing it in the key we sung it to countless times as we listened on the radio, and that may not be the key you or I can best sing it in. I can't sing Runaway in the key Del Shannon sang it in and I certainly can't hit the falsetto part, but I can still do a good version of it in the key of A. Actually, any rendition of any song that I do likely pales compared to the original. But, when I do I Walk The Line, folks know I'm not Cash, etc. and are not expecting me to be...I guess the bottom line is "don't sell yourself short." Cash said "you've got to be who you've got to be." You and I have to be who we are. We are not Cash, Dylan, Emmylou, Bono, etc. Larry.... I used to do Runnaway...(in A)...but, like you, I suspect my marbles would be rolling around the floor if I tried to hit the high notes today! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McDuff Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 Some songs I really enjoy playing but I'm aware that if for some reason I was asked to play for people or on an album (ha!) I couldn't cover them because I feel that I have nothing personal I could add to the song to make it truer... If any of that makes sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 Generally I do not try and replicate anything. While I can't write a song to save my life folks tell me I have a knack for arranging songs. But I do keep thinking if I could pull off one Lonnie Johnson solo note for note I would have accomplished something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 Some songs I really enjoy playing but I'm aware that if for some reason I was asked to play for people or on an album (ha!) I couldn't cover them because I feel that I have nothing personal I could add to the song to make it truer... If any of that makes sense. That is kinda how alot of us felt about the Beatles catalog back in the mid-1960s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
provny Posted February 10, 2012 Author Share Posted February 10, 2012 Let's see a photo of the 165!! Hopefully this works: :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 Anytime I try to play any of Hendrix's stuff I fail miserably. I should just give up. Geez, Paul, at least you try! Some of it, like Little Wing, can be adapted, if not properly replicated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 Hopefully this works: :) My God! It's another Gibson with the pickguard on the wrong side! Can't they get anything right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 Larry.... I used to do Runnaway...(in A)...but, like you, I suspect my marbles would be rolling around the floor if I tried to hit the high notes today! Just let one of your pugs give you a little nip in the right place, and you'll give Del Shannon a run for his money on the high parts! I remember the first time I heard that song. 1961. Freshman year in high school. Pool party, Scottsdale, Arizona. But I can also remember the first time I heard Dylan, the first time I heard the Beatles, and a bunch of other strange things. Music trigger memories in amazing ways....... which would be another thread...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanvillRob Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 Just let one of your pugs give you a little nip in the right place, and you'll give Del Shannon a run for his money on the high parts! I remember the first time I heard that song. 1961. Freshman year in high school. Pool party, Scottsdale, Arizona. But I can also remember the first time I heard Dylan, the first time I heard the Beatles, and a bunch of other strange things. Music trigger memories in amazing ways....... which would be another thread...... Nick.... man you hit the nail on the head there..... I remember the first time I heard the Beatles.... simply BLEW ME AWAY! Before that I was listening to C&W, (after all...my dad controled the radio), and "Duke Of Earl" on the local AM station..... Many songs bring up old memories....(many of which I simply cannot repeat here). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 Many songs bring up old memories....(many of which I simply cannot repeat here). Bob, you're reading my mind. Maybe its a geezer musician thing......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanvillRob Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 Bob, you're reading my mind. Maybe its a geezer musician thing......... We'll have to discuss this when we're eyeball-to-eyeball! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 We'll have to discuss this when we're eyeball-to-eyeball! Eyeball to eyeball, and highball to highball! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedzep Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 As far as figuring out songs and attuning them to a format you can make sound good in your living room, I have too much to say about this and wouldn't want to put y'all to sleep, but one of the great little gifts is when you 'accidentally' play a lick or chord progression that brings your ear to a new song. Damn, I've killed hours of time steering on to another trail after stumbling onto it. Latest example, I was practicing the newly learned 'Sailin' Shoes' when the first chord Gm7 (not the barre position) began ringing in my ear and drew me to the Paul Simon song 'Armistice Day'. My brain jumped right off the track and I can play the latter better after getting hooked for hours. Now my kitchen still needs to be painted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livemusic Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 Sometimes songs just don't work for a fellow. I'm talking about one guitar / one voice. Some I've tried again and again and finally give up. But, there are plenty of songs, plus, my own 300! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrorod Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 Some songs I really enjoy playing but I'm aware that if for some reason I was asked to play for people or on an album (ha!) I couldn't cover them because I feel that I have nothing personal I could add to the song to make it truer... If any of that makes sense. For a second ,I thought you were "bluesbreather"....same avatar.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrorod Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 Hopefully this works: :) Very Nice....BUT >....Wrong-handed... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rambler Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 Nothing wrong with getting excited by pieces that stretch our abilities. Just be patient with the process. To help the process along? Lock down the groove. No fancy picking, just get the changes down so its rock steady. Add the vocals. Then work on the lead note, or picking part. If there are now chords/positions, isolate those and go sloooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooow til you can play in time (did I mention sloooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooow?). R Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesKing777 Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 'Roxanne' by Police could be a challenge for some..... 'At Last' by Sarah Vaughn could have heavy objects heading your way..... BluesKing777. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 Nothing wrong with getting excited by pieces that stretch our abilities. Just be patient with the process. To help the process along? Lock down the groove. No fancy picking, just get the changes down so its rock steady. Add the vocals. Then work on the lead note, or picking part. If there are now chords/positions, isolate those and go sloooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooow til you can play in time (did I mention sloooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooow?). R That's exactly my approach. Do the changes in slow motion, then gradually pick them up. A metronome works wonders for doing this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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