ubit

1 hour ago, Bridgehouse said:

Why are people upset on here?

 

 

Because of this statement....."Thing about covers is most songs can be learned in one listen through."

 

2 minutes ago, police squad said:

A lute album, that would be dire.

 

 

Don't you mean lyre?

16 minutes ago, bassman7755 said:

So let me throw this into the mix - when I have a learn a new song I listen to it repeatedly until I can hum/sing the bassline by heart before ever picking up the bass. Discuss 🧨

 

 

This what I do. I have been playing bass for more than 45 years. I think I am decent enough. I don't read music but I know where all the notes are on the fretboard. I still listen to songs many times to work out exactly what is being done. unless I am jamming. Then I go by intuition but if I want to learn a cover I give it many runs through to get it right.

 

If most songs can be learned on a single listen then why bother with tab?

 

Even easy songs that I work out in minutes would get listened to over and over so that I was sure I had the lot worked out correctly.

 

 

53 minutes ago, TimR said:

Don't see how? It was a question. 

 

 

Quite a loaded question. Everyone knows what a statement like that means.

16 minutes ago, TimR said:

Which leaves a chunk of material you may have to listen to several times to pick out. 

 

No one said you should be able to learn all cover songs from hearing them once on the radio. 

 

 

This is quite different from your earlier posts

8 minutes ago, TimR said:

Why. Most cover versions should be on people's radar from hearing them on the radio. Loads of them, apparently, are played by practically every other band. 

 

Sitting down and actively listening to a song with your bass in your hand should be all it takes for the majority of songs you'll be asked to play. 

 

Most songs follow a simple format and chord progression. The bass lines consist of notes within the scale and chord.

 

Which leaves a chunk of material you may have to listen to several times to pick out. 

 

No one said you should be able to learn all cover songs from hearing them once on the radio. 

 

The key word here is listen. 

 

 

 

 

I can't believe you are still touting this rhetoric. If you had just said it's possible to play a lot of pop songs after  VERY FEW  listens, I think most people would have accepted that. But to say MOST songs can be learned after one listen and if you can't do that you shouldn't call yourself a bass player  has caused such controversy and derision.

21 hours ago, SH73 said:

I saw Motorhead in 96. It was far too loud

 

 

The loudest band I have ever heard was Mamas Boyz in The Garage in Glasgow  back in the 80's. We liked loud bands but that was just noise. I was young and even I found it painful. You couldn't make out what song they were playing. Absolutely no need for it.

1 hour ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

Please imagine whitty song title based

retort here.

 

(I don't know any Sting songs except Roxanne and I couldn't make that work)

 

 

Here ya go, take yer pick.

 

"Be My Girl – Sally"Sting
Andy SummersOutlandos d'Amour1978[1]

"The Bed's Too Big Without You"StingReggatta de Blanc1979[2]

"Behind My Camel"Andy SummersZenyatta Mondatta1980[3]

"Bombs Away"Stewart CopelandZenyatta Mondatta1980[3]

"Born in the '50s"StingOutlandos d'Amour1978[1]

"Bring On the Night" StingReggatta de Blanc1979[2]

"Can't Stand Losing You" StingOutlandos d'Amour1978[1]

"Canary in a Coalmine"StingZenyatta Mondatta1980[3]

"Contact"Stewart CopelandReggatta de Blanc1979[2]

"Darkness"Stewart CopelandGhost in the Machine1981[4]

"De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" StingZenyatta Mondatta1980[3]

"Dead End Job" Sting
Stewart Copeland[5]Non-album single
B-side of "Can't Stand Losing You"1978[6]

"Deathwish"Sting
Andy Summers
Stewart CopelandReggatta de Blanc1979[2]

"Demolition Man"StingGhost in the Machine1981[4]

"Does Everyone Stare"Stewart CopelandReggatta de Blanc1979[2]

"Don't Stand So Close to Me"[a] StingZenyatta Mondatta1980[3]

"Driven to Tears"StingZenyatta Mondatta1980[3]

"Every Breath You Take" StingSynchronicity1983[8]

"Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" StingGhost in the Machine1981[4]

"Fall Out" Stewart CopelandNon-album single1977[9]

"Flexible Strategies" Sting
Andy Summers
Stewart CopelandNon-album single
B-side of "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic"1981[10]

"Friends" Andy SummersNon-album single
B-side of "Don't Stand So Close to Me"1980[11]

"Hole in My Life"StingOutlandos d'Amour1978[1]

"How Stupid Mr. Bates"Andy Summers
Sting
Stewart CopelandBrimstone and Treacle1982

"Hungry for You (J'aurais toujours faim de toi)"StingGhost in the Machine1981[4]

"I Burn for You"StingBrimstone and Treacle1982

"Invisible Sun" StingGhost in the Machine1981[4]

"It's Alright for You"Sting
Stewart CopelandReggatta de Blanc1979[2]

"A Kind of Loving"Andy Summers
Sting
Stewart CopelandBrimstone and Treacle1982

"King of Pain" StingSynchronicity1983[8]

"Landlord" Sting
Stewart CopelandNon-album single
B-side of "Message in a Bottle"1979[12]

"Low Life" StingNon-album single
B-side of "Spirits in the Material World"1981[13]

"Man in a Suitcase"StingZenyatta Mondatta1980[3]

"Masoko Tanga"StingOutlandos d'Amour1978[1]

"Message in a Bottle" StingReggatta de Blanc1979[2]

"Miss Gradenko"Stewart CopelandSynchronicity1983[8]

"Mother"Andy SummersSynchronicity1983[8]

"Murder by Numbers" Sting
Andy SummersNon-album single
B-side of "Every Breath You Take"1983[14]

"Next to You"StingOutlandos d'Amour1978[1]

"No Time This Time"StingReggatta de Blanc1979[2]

"Nothing Achieving" Stewart Copeland
Ian CopelandNon-album single
B-side of "Fall Out"1977[15]

"O My God"StingSynchronicity1983[8]

"Ωmegaman"Andy SummersGhost in the Machine1981[4]

"On Any Other Day"Stewart CopelandReggatta de Blanc1979[2]

"Once Upon a Daydream" Sting
Andy SummersNon-album single
B-side of "Synchronicity II"1983[16]

"One World (Not Three)"StingGhost in the Machine1981[4]

"The Other Way of Stopping"Stewart CopelandZenyatta Mondatta1980[3]

"Peanuts"Sting
Stewart CopelandOutlandos d'Amour1978[1]

"Reggatta de Blanc"Sting
Andy Summers
Stewart CopelandReggatta de Blanc1979[2]

"Rehumanize Yourself"Sting
Stewart CopelandGhost in the Machine1981[4]

"Roxanne" StingOutlandos d'Amour1978[1]

"Secret Journey" StingGhost in the Machine1981[4]

"A Sermon" Stewart CopelandNon-album single
B-side of "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da"1980[17]

"Shadows in the Rain"StingZenyatta Mondatta1980[3]

"Shambelle" Andy SummersNon-album single
B-side of "Invisible Sun"1981[18]

"So Lonely" StingOutlandos d'Amour1978[1]

"Someone to Talk to" Andy SummersNon-album single
B-side of "Wrapped Around Your Finger"1983[19]

"Spirits in the Material World" StingGhost in the Machine1981[4]

"Synchronicity I"StingSynchronicity1983[8]

"Synchronicity II" StingSynchronicity1983[8]

"Tea in the Sahara"[b]StingSynchronicity1983[8]

"Too Much Information"StingGhost in the Machine1981[4]

"Truth Hits Everybody"StingOutlandos d'Amour1978[1]

"Visions of the Night" StingNon-album single
B-side of "Walking on the Moon"1979[21]

"Voices Inside My Head"StingZenyatta Mondatta1980[3]

"Walking in Your Footsteps"StingSynchronicity1983[8]

"Walking on the Moon" StingReggatta de Blanc1979[2]

"When the World Is Running Down,
You Make the Best of What's Still Around"StingZenyatta Mondatta1980[3]

"Wrapped Around Your Finger" StingSynchronicity1983[8]

 

15 hours ago, TimR said:

One listen through to learn most covers.

 

It'll hardly be the first time you've ever heard the tunes.

 

 

This is hurting me head.

What I want to know is, with this revelation that it should only take one listen to learn a song, is the "what song are you learning" thread now defunct?

 

It will be the "what song are you lear.......ah, it was on in the background, forget that, what's next?" thread

9 minutes ago, Bridgehouse said:

I’m gutted that I’m only allowed to read it once to be honest.

  You can read it more than once if you want but if you do your name will be mud and you won’t be able to call yourself a real forum poster! 

5 minutes ago, lozkerr said:

Aye, I'm going to have to do something. That or some folky stuff about the Clearances - they love that down Bannermanns on a Saturday night. I'm just sad I didn't have what it takes to be in a covers band.

 

after playing in a cover band for over thirty years I’m gutted to find out I don’t have what it takes to be in a cover band! 

1 hour ago, upside downer said:

It can be done. I've listened to 4' 33" by John Cage just the once.

 

Nailed it.

 

in all seriousness we used to finish with this and it went down better than all our other covers. We used to get the biggest cheer of the night when we started it. 

16 minutes ago, upside downer said:

It can be done. I've listened to 4' 33" by John Cage just the once.

 

Nailed it.

Thou art truly a prodigy! I wallow in thine shadow.

1 minute ago, dmccombe7 said:

Over the many years i've been playing i've come across some guitarists that can play a song after a once thru. It always amazed me but these were guys that were always playing regulary in pubs and clubs and maybe it was just a refresher for them. Maybe the solos were ad-libbed and i just couldn't tell LOL

Dave

Mrs Ubit's brother is one such guitarist. He really is a prodigy. Self taught, no lessons, no Youtube back then. Left handed but plays right handed. Can play any stringed instrument after a quick familiarity. He can pick up songs in no time. He is by far in a minority. Even other good guitarists are in awe of his talent.

 

I do take Tim R's point that it's possible but to come away with a statement that anyone can do it is a little bit condescending. Certainly to me. I am not saying it was meant that way but it has come across that way to a few of us. Maybe he is a prodigy like my Brother in law or maybe he is satisfied to play stuff not caring if it is perfect. Saying that if I can't do it I shouldn't be in a cover band is definitely condescending.

9 minutes ago, Bridgehouse said:

The attitude expressed would explain why I’ve heard some utterly shocking performances in pubs and clubs over the years though…..

 

 

Listening to a song once and being told by the guitarist that it's A-E and G, then the verse is A-E-B and F isn't learning a song. You would only be playing root notes with your own connecting runs. If you want to learn a song properly you need to spend more time than that. Boys and Girls by Blur, Rio by Duran Duran. No one could play them purely on one listen. Same with Cake By The ocean. All do-able pop covers.

1 hour ago, chris_b said:

Hey, it's a good Country song. I love the sound of the original recording.

 

There's  also a great version on Daryl's House.

 

 

Don't get me wrong, when I first heard it by Old Crow Medicine Show I thought it was great but it got so over played that I grew to hate it. We learned it way back before it was so well known and I was dismayed when I heard lots of other bands doing it. The punters loved it!

1 hour ago, TimR said:

 

 

I think you may be taking what I wrote a little bit too literally and specifically.

 

Most cover songs can be learned in one listen through. We aren't talking about film scores, neither are we talking about 20minute prog rock songs. We are taking about songs with 3 or 4 very predictable chords in them. 

 

I'd listen to the verse and chorus and then pick up my bass and put the notes in. By the end of the second chorus for 'most songs' I'd have the chords sorted.

 

Not all songs, but that's exactly how I learned the majority of our current set list. 

 

I'd then work on any sections that are particularly difficult (if there were any) and look at harder songs on the set list.

 

Remember we were talking about joining a covers band. Most of the hard work would have been already done by the guitars, drums and vocals. 

 

Once in the rehearsal, you can guarantee they will have already made changes to their arrangement to suit band instrumentation and ability. 

 

 

 

 

You are either a child prodigy or you are playing very simplified versions of songs in your cover band.

 

 

One listen and you know them?

2 hours ago, Geek99 said:

given a choice between Rush and Mustang Sally / S3x on fire most punters will vote for the former option with their feet 

 

 

See this is where I'm different. If I found a band doing Rush covers in a bar I would be over the moon and I would enjoy my evening with both my fellow local Rush fans. Everyone else would be somewhere else!

6 minutes ago, Nail Soup said:

This may vary from person to person. Definitely not one listen for me I'm afraid, and I do invest hours for covers.

If there's a method I'm all ears!

 

 

He must be talking about Status Quo songs mate. Not many musicians can play any song after one listen.

1 hour ago, TimR said:

Our setlist seems to consist mainly of simple 3 and 4 chord songs. I wouldn't want to go through and check which ones I like playing and which ones I don't. 

 

But I wouldn't listen to a single on of them given the choice. I tend to change radio stations if any of them come on.  

 

 

This was my exact point. If we played songs that were only what I wanted to play because they were songs I liked, the bar would empty. We were forced, because we wanted more gigs, to play what went down well and brought people in to the bar. You used to hear massive cheers when we played Wagon Wheel. I detest that song and it's beyond boring to play but drunken punters loved it. We used to fill our set with rubbish like this and throw in a couple of songs that we liked and you could tell. They preferred the rubbish, commercialised bore fest that every other band did.

On 16/10/2021 at 17:13, dmccombe7 said:

Have to say Skerryvore did ok with the island scene. Bit of Scottish Trad rock going on there. I think it all stems from that other trad rock foot-stomping band from Scotland Runrig but they are probably the exceptions to the rule. Capercaillie another great trad rock band.

I know what you mean about the local scene in Oban or even Highlands for that matter. Inverness probably an exception there too.

You'll just have to travel down to the big City. 

How unlucky am i that our first gig in 18mths with the Glam band is the night they shut off all the streets in Glasgow for the COP thing.

Dave

 

 

Yeah mate, I hear ya about the bands mentioned. No doubt they have made money out of this genre. I just hated that that's all everyone wants. There are fans of other genres but we just found that on the whole that kind of music got people dancing and if we wanted gigs we gradually had to develop our own take on it. Its when our accordion player started jamming with the rock stuff that I got cheesed off.

On 16/10/2021 at 16:07, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

On 16/10/2021 at 16:07, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

I do remember having a disagreement over a song called 'Cake By The Ocean' some years ago when I was in a function band that has since folded. That had more to do with the person suggesting it than the actual song itself in all honesty. Looking back at it, I should have handled that differently, but he was the band leader and in my view looking for an easy add-on of a song that his kids liked that had (IMHO) a limited lifespan

 

 

 

You should have done it, its a great song when done right!

 

 

13 minutes ago, Coilte said:

To my ears, it sounds as turgid and boring today as when I first placed the LP on the turntable back in '69. 😎

 

 

There, I fixed that for you. 😉

10 hours ago, Dan Dare said:

No such thing as "music that doesn't date". Everything is of its time. However, that and whether or not it continues to be liked are separate issues. I like Bach, but I certainly can't and wouldn't claim his music hasn't "dated".

 

 

This! Music does date for the reason you provided. Production and recording techniques give a good idea of when a song was brought out. Its all down to whether people still listen to it and like it. 

 

Personally I like new music but I also like old music, so I am keeping some old music current.