What's new on the list of things you are working on?

New Audioslave song..Show me how to live...one of the easiest songs to play and it has a nice little groove. Might be on the heavy side for some. Songs is in Drop D

and for someone to tell me I'm immature for playing cover songs that's BS

Amen to THAT! What in the world is immature - or wrong - with playing songs you know and love? I know we differ slightly in our opinions of HOW to play covers, Chris - you like to get 'em as close as you can to the original, I like to put my own spin on them - but that's just down to the way we are. I reckon 99.99% of all guitarists - or would-be guitarists - pick the guitar up in the first place because they want to be able to play their favourite songs. Keep doing those songs the way YOU like to do 'em, and don't let anyone try and tell you any different!
Let's see...

1- Get a job.

Yup, that's about it. :lol:

Is that a new song... :P

No, Rahul, it's an OLD song..... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hkJL6wRBE8

:D :D :D

Vic

If there is someone who loves playing covers the most here (and recording them with a single guitar...), that person has to be me!

However, I do not like to play note by note or use same exact chords as in the original. That's mostly because I am too lazy to search tabs on the internet. I usually pick up lyrics and I am set. 8)

I like to put my own spin on them - but that's just down to the way we are. I reckon 99.99% of all guitarists - or would-be guitarists - pick the guitar up in the first place because they want to be able to play their favourite songs. Keep doing those songs the way YOU like to do 'em, and don't let anyone try and tell you any different!
Vic

I could not agree more. I like "making a song my own", to a degree. I've been bugged lately because I've selected a few songs to work on that I haven't quite figured out how to "make my own".

David pointed something out to me about my video of Sundown (remember that abomination?)... the original recording has one 12 string, one lead 6 string, one lead electric, and one bass. Not to mention at least one layer of vocals. Now, how could I possibly think I could get close to that playing solo? So you do what you like and what you can using the tools you have, and don't let anyone tell you differently.

I saw a street performer at the shopping mall do a play & sing version of "Jack & Diane". He used quite a different groove than original. My brother-in-law used to do a song or two in his gigs emplying a raggae beat instead of the original.

How boring would it be to do just the guitar track on some songs where the guitar plays a minimal role? You almost have to change things up. And the opposite is true for heavy guitar songs or ones with signature guitar riffs. Better do at least the riff or have a very suitable substitution.

I saw a street performer at the shopping mall do a play & sing version of "Jack & Diane". He used quite a different groove than original. My brother-in-law used to do a song or two in his gigs emplying a raggae beat instead of the original.

How boring would it be to do just the guitar track on some songs where the guitar plays a minimal role? You almost have to change things up. And the opposite is true for heavy guitar songs or ones with signature guitar riffs. Better do at least the riff or have a very suitable substitution.

That's what I'm still trying to do with Rock On, David Essex (yes still working on :roll: ). Def Leppard and The Smashing Pumpkins use three guitars, as far as I can tell... a bass since the song is bass heavy, and two 6 strings. I'm trying to get my own groove with a song that has no chords: just a melody line, an instrumental two-note accompaniment line (octave apart) and a bass line. Now therein lies a challenge for any solo beginning musician.

Btw, was the street performer The Naked Cowboy? He's a riot.

Btw, was the street performer The Naked Cowboy? He's a riot.
Nope. Some local guy making a few bucks on a Sunday afternoon.
Now therein lies a challenge for any solo beginning musician.
I agree. To me, most every song has a groove to it. When I play a song on guitar, the whole song is going on inside my head. I try to repeat the whole song on the guitar. I want to capture the song's basic groove on the guitar. Sometimes it doesn't work. I can hear it when I play it, but I think that's because the song is also being repeated in my head. When I play it back if recorded, sometimes it just sounds like random chords. Not always, but sometimes.

If you were to try and tell someone how a song goes, you might say "da da da, da da, da da, da de da da da, duh de da,da da da." or whatever. That's what I try to capture. That's normally not what's going on with the guitar in the original recording. so, by default, us solo guitar playing types have to do something that is way away from what was done by the guitarist's part in the original recording.

And then when I do get to play with a bass player, I feel like I am way too strummy.

The good thing about all of this guitar nonsense is that you never stop learning.

Well Roy and Frank how does that work...I mean i know what you are talking about when you say you are making a one guitar arrangement but what happens when you play with someone ele, are you able to change the way you play it?

Now I know I say I play songs note for note and that's true to a point but I'm not sure that's always possible. I do for the most part have all the rhythm guitar parts for any song unless there are multiple guitars in whihc case i might add a riff into what I am playing if there is room for me to play it. Also on some songs there are some killer riffs that I want to learn and they may not be played by the guitar part I am playing but I'll still learn them and sometimes play them sometimes not it depends on the song.

In some cases me playing just my guitar part might not sound like much of a song but for most you can definitely tell what song I'm playing.

....are you able to change the way you play it?
I can a little. I am way behind you on the playing with people front. I do try to be less strummy. With any other guitarist, which is very rare, I'll do a rhythm bit for the song while hey play a lead or melody line. One might say I am a back-drop for the lead guitar in that instance and be correct.

One thing I am kind of looking into is some bass and drum only backing tracks. I use Guitar Pro. Yes, they are user community files and sometimes really stink, but are sometimes good enough. I've adjusted the properties on the bass and drums sometimes and gotten a better sound. I really have no clue what I'm doing and leave it alone for the most part. Regardless, it allows me to play rhythm to a somewhat close to original rhythm section groove.

I think it's against a backing track that I can spot something wrong with the way I do rhythm. Well, when I record it and play it back. The guitar always comes back to me either a bit out of timing or it comes across as way too much guitar where I should be doing notes or double stops (or any other variety of partial chord strikes). I can listen to the song's original guitar parts on the original recording and then go to mine and my guitar rhythm guitar parts are way too far in the fore-front.

So all that leaves me in an in between state, skill-wise......I think. I can play the single guitar thing, and sing and play and be OK. I can play some guitar with another guitar player if they like playing lead. I could probably do some lead to someone else's rhythm guitar now.

I can do the single guitar thing with a bass player, but I know I throw him off at times. timing or whatever. I'm hoping the guys in his band will let me sit in on a practice session just to watch, listen and learn. His old band would have, but it went poof and now he's in a new band. I'll show up to a gig or two and let them get to know me some.

Well Roy and Frank how does that work...I mean i know what you are talking about when you say you are making a one guitar arrangement but what happens when you play with someone ele, are you able to change the way you play it?

Can't answer for Frank and Roy, but...if I'm learning a song, I like to get the rhythm part down. Doesn't have to be note-for-note and strum-for-strum identical to the original, but it's got to be close enough to be able to play along with the CD and not sound off. Playing the same song with someone else is a different kettle of fish; in that case, I'll back off a little, leave the other guitarist some space to work in. Keep it simple, keep it tight - and concentrate on my parts.

When I'm on my own, I like to mess around with songs - a slow acoustic version of Paranoid, and a beefed up version of Without You, to name just two. Laz introduced us to a jazzy version of a Bachman Turner Overdrive song last year - Taking Care Of Business, if I remember correctly. But in company, I tend to stick as closely to the originals as I can. This is why you've converted me to learning a song not-for-note - do that, and you CAN play it with other people, as long as they're playing it correctly. You want to do it differently, then you've got to explain it to them - and I've never found time yet to do that mid-song!

:D :D :D

Vic

Actually roy I don't think you are doing anything wrong you are doing what fits your situation and maybe doing a little bit of this and a little of that seems like you progress slower I'd bet in a few years it'll all come together nicely.

You dabble in a lot of areas I don't spend any time with. I don't ever record, I do sing but the songs I sing are with me palying minimal guitar and I don't actively work on my singing and playing because I don't see myself as much as a singer.

I have and need to get back to work on my soloing. I get on it for a week or so then drop it because I'm not doing much with it outside of when i play by myself.

Well Roy and Frank how does that work...I mean i know what you are talking about when you say you are making a one guitar arrangement but what happens when you play with someone ele, are you able to change the way you play it?

Ah, there's the rub! I've never played with anyone, nor do I have any prospects of doing so. That's something that would launch me into another story. The short answer for me is that I'm strictly rhythm. If I were to play It Don't Come Easy with someone else, he or she would play the intro, bridge and outro solo guitar. I'd play the rhythm. So I think that's adaptable.

Playing by myself, I could play the intro and outro, but not the bridge solo without the rhythm dropping out, so I'd just keep the rhythm going. This is one of the reasons I play with recordings as much as I can. If I were doing a one person gig, I'd have to pick songs that were strictly rhythm, i.e. Ain't No Sunshine, or even It Don't Come Easy without the bridge solo.

Vic yea that's what i was thinking of. I've been hanging around this open mic that a couple of the guys play at on Tuesday's and I've found that if you aren't going to play a cover close (doesn't have to be exact to the original) it's liek playing a totally different song, which it is and nobody can follow you. Sure there are some guys that'll just lay back and solo for ten minutes but the songs never come across that great if the get changed.

There's a guitar player that used to come to the house on Fridays and play with us and he's good but he turns every song into his...which again there is nothing wrong but I got up and tried to play Purple Haze with him, but man it's like a totally different song they way he plays it. he plays it all slowed down to and with a totally different rhythm and unless you've played it with him a few times it's tough to follow.

Anyway in theory that's what are starting point was with the band learning new songs everyone was to learn there part from the original and then show up to practice and play it. Never quite worked out that way other than for me and the other guitar player but that's another story.

That all sounds perfectly understandable. The least common denominator factor. The groove of the song better be intact or only 1 of 5 musicians on stage knows what's going on.

I think the comment about leaving the other guitarist room is part of my problems when recording. I just go at the song, full speed ahead like a rampaging bull. I've been working on lowering my roll without getting out of time or out of the song's groove. I keep finding myself needing to reign it all in. When I try to to that in real time with my bass player friend, I really mess him up badly. I think my in song adjustments are faulty. I play the same thing, just less of it. At least that's what I try to do.

I'm trying to finish Hide Away (Freddie King) and also an instrumental version of "Run" by Snow Patrol.