Learning things note for note...

[erictheweary]

[Deleted - slightly mental post]

[Not_the_DJ]

[Deleted - slightly mental post]

Spoil sport

[guitarfishbay]

Spoil sport

Edit.

[BobLoblaw]

Except that ... isn't the latter is an ole blooze standard that's been done loads of different ways by loads of different people? It's like saying you have to do Johnny B Goode or All Along the Watchtower the Hendrix way, when neither song is a Hendrix original.

Well obviously people will recognize the Chuck Berry version Of Johnny B.Goode..Goes without saying.

Ram Jam did a cover of Black Betty that people most idenitify with, and let me tell you if the guitar players in a cover band don't at least do the ram jam version justice, they deserve the boo birds..Same with Free's All Right Now....How can a working guitar player worth his salt stick his own solo on any or both of these classics...Sheer laziness or lack of professionalism IMO...Hack out in the basement and stay there then.

[erictheweary]

Spoil sport

Okay, here goes...

Playing someone else's solo note for note depends upon if you are Victoria Pendleton or Denise Van Outen.

When I watched Strictly last saturday night both had learned their steps and neither was doing their own thing, only what they had been told to do.
However, Victoria was graceless and clunky and should have been doing something else instead whereas Denise was graceful and doing dancing you could enjoy watching.

So, do you play the solo from Alright Now note for note? Depends upon if you play it like Victoria Pendelton or Denise Van Outen.

Now, I'm a Victoria Pendleton type of guitarist and listening to me trying to do that solo note for note on a gig would be excrutiating. If I did it I would do my own solo - the best Erictheweary solo would be better than my poor Kossoff imitation.

[told you...]

[stickyfiddle]

Okay, here goes...

Playing someone else's solo note for note depends upon if you are Victoria Pendleton or Denise Van Outen.

When I watched Strictly last saturday night both had learned their steps and neither was doing their own thing, only what they had been told to do.
However, Victoria was graceless and clunky and should have been doing something else instead whereas Denise was graceful and doing dancing you could enjoy watching.

So, do you play the solo from Alright Now note for note? Depends upon if you play it like Victoria Pendelton or Denise Van Outen.

Now, I'm a Victoria Pendleton type of guitarist and listening to me trying to do that solo note for note on a gig would be excrutiating. If I did it I would do my own solo - the best Erictheweary solo would be better than my poor Kossoff imitation.

[told you...]

Excellent analogy, I think (haven't seen the dancing ladies, but I know what you mean!)

For me it does depend on the song and the part.

We play Crazy Little Thing Called Love, as I'm sure a lot of cover bands do. The middle solo is iconic and needs to be done right. Not identical, but the feel and main licks need to be there. But the solo at the end is ripe for messing with, to no ill effect.

[bertie]

Excellent analogy,

but a million miles away from the target, things simply arent that black and white IMHO.

There is a glorious mid-ground to be had, and that is what works.

[Dewar54]

I agree with pretty much everything said already, but I would add as someone who does try to play songs to the original (not all of them but the ones I really like anyway) I do it because I love the music, I love the song and the guitar work on it. Possibly due to at least partly a lack of confidence on my part, but the artist has spent hours in many cases pouring over each chord and note to express what they want to say, who am I to say I can do it better? Or even half as good, or eighth
If I love a solo I'm going to try and play it, the sincerest form of flattery and all that. Of course if I feel I can't do it justice I won't play it. I think if I was a better player I would do my own thing more, but a singer doesn't improvise the lyrics of a song to make it their own do they. I do it out of respect for the artist and a lack of confidence I think.

[frankus]

Learning things note for note is an action and pretty much like any action it's the motivation that's important not the action.

Learning something for the shear love or respect of the composer is a great way of learning more about them and gaining insight into bits of the music you'd not considered before.

Learning something to be correct, well that's not so great. It's a "be perfect" which is an emotional driver, specifically one of the "loser drivers" - what that means is the ad-men who use emotional drivers can keep selling you shit you don't need by conning you into believing it'll make your playing perfect (it never does but that doesn't stop us buying it).

So if the love of the music compells you it's a pull and that's great; if it's the fear of making mistakes that's driving your need to learn it note for note; perhaps acknowledge that and destroy it because it'll get in the way of you enjoying the guitar.

[Dewar54]

Learning things note for note is an action and pretty much like any action it's the motivation that's important not the action.

Learning something for the shear love or respect of the composer is a great way of learning more about them and gaining insight into bits of the music you'd not considered before.

Learning something to be correct, well that's not so great. It's a "be perfect" which is an emotional driver, specifically one of the "loser drivers" - what that means is the ad-men who use emotional drivers can keep selling you shit you don't need by conning you into believing it'll make your playing perfect (it never does but that doesn't stop us buying it).

So if the love of the music compells you it's a pull and that's great; if it's the fear of making mistakes that's driving your need to learn it note for note; perhaps acknowledge that and destroy it because it'll get in the way of you enjoying the guitar.

I have a problem relaxing in front of people while playing, I don't like being put in the spotlight so from that viewpoint yeah I do use it as a crutch but I'm getting better. My main motivation is still the love of the music though, I'm aware that 'parroting' your favourite guitar parts is not necessarily going to make me an amazing player in my own right but I'm very clear in my mind of my own place and limitations and also what I expect to get out of playing guitar. I've been playing over twenty years and I can stay in tune and when the planets are aligned just right and I'm feeling the music I can improvise a passable solo, but a lot of the stuff I play is not necessarily stuff I would choose to play and I'm definitely one of those players who relies on my emotion to motivate my playing, if I'm not really into the song or it's a style I'm not comfortable with, basically if I'm not feeling it there's no way I can improvise a solo over it, well I could but you certainly wouldn't want to listen to it