I'm curious how others approach covers. Do you try to do them the same (key, speed, style, etc) as the original artist does or do you vary things? I typically try to make a song mine. That usually involves a key change at the very least and sometimes changes to the chord progression (usually to make it simpler). That seems to make it easier for me to play them after a few glasses of wine.

Hey Allen -

I try to copy exactly, but then I have a teacher to help me do so. Helps me learn different chords, voicings...

Allen,

When it's a song with lyrics, I always adapt it to my vocal skills and inclinations. I'll change keys, change phrasing, even change a word or two to make it make more sense to me. If it's a tune I want to perform in a jam or song circle, I'll sometimes simplify the progression to make it easier for others to pick up readily (some of my favorite songs get neglected for this reason: too likely to be jam-busters). Since I play mostly bluegrass, but like a wide variety of songs, I've crow-barred quite a few songs into the BG genre, and most folks seem to like the result. E.G, both "Streets with no Name" and "Still Haven't Found..." from U2 make great BG jam tunes. There are a lot of songs I've been covering for so long I don't even remember what the original version is like.

If it's an instrumental, I'll try to recreate it as closely as possible, although my version is almost always simpler. A good portion of whatever improvement I have seen over the years has come from trying to recreate instrumental stuff that I like.

B

Good question.
My answer would be...it probably depends on what the musician wants to and can do. I vary towards both ends of the spectrum. Some songs, especially guitar and vocals, I try and do it like the cover if I enjoy it that way (whether it's in the same key or not). Sometimes it's also dictated by the song. Some of them might sound weird if changed or it may just not make sense. On instrumentals, I try and get it close to the cover but there's still an element in it that's mine. This is most evident if I arranged it myself. Then it's my arrangement and it's unique in that sense. There is are a lot to do in playing covers. It's like cooking - you can either follow the recipe word for word or personalize it a little bit by changing or tweaking the recipe. Then, it also depeneds on how good a cook one is. Me? I can barely boil water. Thank God for guitars.

Typcially reinvent it so my "style" can handle it.

When I started, I'd play along with records. It's all there was ('65-'66). Then, I'd watch players on tee vee or in person. I try to respect the song, but I change keys to suit my limited vocal range, and use alternate tunings or tempos. Cover doesn't mean copy.

quote:

Originally posted by sonoman:
Cover doesn't mean copy.

Exactly! One thing I've gotten into lately is doing medleys with different songs from different artists. More fun than squishing tadpoles.