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Playing stuff wrong


Kevin Dean
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At a band rehearsal last night , our keen eared guitarist pointed out that on a couple of covers I was playing a few wrong notes on a couple of intros , & they were tunes I've played in loads of bands & no one else ever said anything , they harmonized , but I can't believe I I've just been playing them parrot fashion & no one has noticed , Firstly my Guitarist is a git for noticing but correct after checking . Has anyone else done this ?

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Happened to me last night.
Ive been playing with an acoustic guitar player who also sings.
We played through our usual numbers I noticed I played a wrong note over her guitar strum.
I asked if it sounded wrong and she said no..... later I looked it up and replayed the tune and I was right or is that wrong :)

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Yep, I've listened to covers we do on the radio, and something's jumped out at me from the bass line and I've thought "Ooooo, I don't do it like that..." Nothing iconic or easily identifiable, just the odd fill (that I've either missed or I put one in because I've been bored :D ) that no-one's ever mentioned.

Pretty much every time, though, I've stayed with mine. :D

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Guest bassman7755

I'm am bit OCD about thing being played right, at least the bits that need to be right anyway. Have pointed out various errors to various musicians over the years with a mixed range of reception (but more positive than negative). I've even been know to do it bands I'm not actually playing with - pointed out to mate in a band I was watching that they were missing a chord in a particular sequence in one of their songs.

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I always try to play a cover exactly like the original because that way I learn stuff about how notes fit together, how different musicians have complemented each other, etc. For example, in my current band I am playing Another One Bites the Dust in a group for the first time and there is a nice little 'flick' from the guitar which neither the guitarist nor I would have thought would fit, but it does.

I only fudge things if the original is too far above my skill level. For example, I'm not a slap player but can rise to the occasion if necessary but the little slap fill in Car Wash is too fast for me, so I play it with fingers.

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Regarding playing stuff wrong, I am in a position to offer reasonably priced lessons to any BC members needing to address any problems they have in this department.

Based on past results, a course of just 6 lessons with me, will have you playing stuff wrong on demand, as and when you want, in the studio, live on stage, wherever.

References available.

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There are no wrong notes, there is only "Jazz"!

Gordon Giltrap tells an anecdote that when he was an up and coming guitarist he was chatting to Hank Marvin who said to him, "If you ever play a bum note then always play it again the next couple of times that bit of the song comes up. That way people will think it's not a wrong note but an arrangement and assume that they're not musically advanced enough to understand."

Apparently, many years later, when he was playing in Sir Cliff's Heathcliffe musical doing acoustic interludes between the scenes as "The Troubadour" one night he dropped a bit of a clanger in one tune. He dutifully incorporated it for the rest of the tune. Apparently Sir Cliff sidled up to him afterwards and said... "I noticed that a little bit of, ahem... Jazz... crept into that tune tonight." Gordon nods sheepishly, "I noticed that you deliberately repeated it a few times." Gordon nods sheepishly. Sir Cliff looks him straight in the eye and asks "Have you been talking to Hank?" before bursting into laughter.

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[quote name='leschirons' timestamp='1456408028' post='2988675']
Regarding playing stuff wrong, I am in a position to offer reasonably priced lessons to any BC members needing to address any problems they have in this department.

Based on past results, a course of just 6 lessons with me, will have you playing stuff wrong on demand, as and when you want, in the studio, live on stage, wherever.

References available.
[/quote]



My problem is middle age and stamina. Do you offer a Captain America-style genetic engineering package?

Edited by colgraff
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I've always thought of covers as interpretations of other people's songs. I don't try to replicate what somebody else has done and don't listen to songs much before we try them out. I play what I think fits and then have a proper listen to the original. Guitarist does the same and we sometimes prefer what we have come up with. Some bits have t be spot on of course. I once played in a band where the guitarist (who was a complete control freak) once said to me "The bass part doesn't go like that" to which I replied " It f***ing does when I'm playing it". I think tribute bands need to be as close as possible to the original, but covers? Would be bored stupid trying to get everything note for note.

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[quote name='Japhet' timestamp='1456408593' post='2988687']
I've always thought of covers as interpretations of other people's songs. I don't try to replicate what somebody else has done and don't listen to songs much before we try them out. I play what I think fits and then have a proper listen to the original. Guitarist does the same and we sometimes prefer what we have come up with. Some bits have t be spot on of course. I once played in a band where the guitarist (who was a complete control freak) once said to me "The bass part doesn't go like that" to which I replied " It f***ing does when I'm playing it". I think tribute bands need to be as close as possible to the original, but covers? Would be bored stupid trying to get everything note for note.
[/quote]

Quite. What did musicians do before recording was invented?

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