It doesn't always have to "Just Like The Record!" - Check this out...

My biggest gripe when I was still a working musician was constantly being harped at about being JLTR...

If that's all you're looking for, that's why they make media players. This isn't intended to be a controversial or off-color comparison, I'd like whoever reads this post and watches the vid to consider something I've believed for years. Making music is a lot like making love. How long is it possible to convey the depth of your feelings if, time after time, you don't change one iota of what you are doing?

Improvisation and variety can breathe life into anything you do, it could even be applied to sports.

For years I fought guys about the fact that out of all the people at a job, let's use the example of 200, there are only going to be a small handful in the audience that stick around to tell you how much you s*ck. Usually it's other musicians but there are some yahoos that seem to believe knowing how where to put their earbuds and how to push the Play button makes them experts on music.

I had to point out that this guy found the vocals to this Michael Jackson song on YT with the backup music removed. He used that as his starting point. It really is MJ singing but Andy put in everything else. First time I listened to this, you talk about an "ear worm"!!! I couldn't get it out of my head. This is my kinds stuff and I can picture this being a hit...

Not a whole lot sucks more than hearing the first few notes of your ALL TIME favorite song EVER, starting on the radio only to open up your mouth to sing it the way it's always been (because it's always been badass and you sound just like them while you are in your car) then find out that it's the same song, yet not the same song.



Then your MIL is in the backseat gloating because you act like you know everything (according to her every evening after her tuck in scotch) .. But now you have just proven (in her Valium diluted mind) that you are not as smart as you think you are. Don't you just feel like an idiot...

Just saying.

I get what you are saying though. I wouldn't tell you how to do your thing.

I'm old and don't deal with change well.

That's why I love live music. It's when you can truly hear the talent and creativity of the artist. I have several favorite bands and I own all of their studio albums but it's usually only their live albums that I truly enjoy. I love it when a band changes a song up live. Maybe extend a solo, add a new verse, change lyrics or just jam. Frankly, if I were to go see an artist live and they sounded exactly like their album, I would feel a bit cheated. That's the point of playing live isn't it? Being without the safety net of a studio and engineer. A live show should be about spontaneity, turning mistakes into creative moments and perhaps most of all, make the audience feel that the large amount of coin they just dropped on tickets was worth it.

originally posted by: Kangaruex4Ewe
Not a whole lot sucks more than hearing the first few notes of your ALL TIME favorite song EVER, starting on the radio only to open up your mouth to sing it the way it's always been (because it's always been badass and you sound just like them while you are in your car) then find out that it's the same song, yet not the same song.

-- snip --

Doesn't always necessarily mean you were wrong. I can think of a lot of examples, but this one came to mind first. There are only so many notes and I think there are times when the saying "Great minds think alike" is closer than claiming someone ripped off another artist. These guys might very well have never even heard the other guy's song, but I could sure see coming in with the wrong lyrics...

Well, it's like this. If you're one of the legions whose job is to furnish music at clubs, birthday parties and wedding receptions, then you're going to have to play other people's music, because most of the time the crowd don't want to hear yours (and most of the time, they're right not to want to — few musicians are good composers). If you're going to play other people's music it seems a bit silly to complain if people want you to play it just like the original.

I understand how frustrating it can be for a musician to be forced to ape somebody else's music note for note night after night, especially if it isn't music you like very much in the first place. That's why so many professionals end up hating music as they get older. But didn't you know that it's just the same for all the session players who get called to play on advertising jingles, TV themes, movie soundtracks and commercial pop songs? A lot of them, too, have come to hate music because of the banal pablum they have to produce. Mind you, most of them have now been replaced by computer programs, just as live bands in clubs are increasingly giving way to DJs and synth duos. You're still a working muso on the club circuit? Lucky man.

Traditionally, the solution was to join a jazz combo and blow your frustrations away every night making music nobody (including you) had ever heard before. Jazz is a dying form today, but you can do the same thing in other styles, too, especially if you play a front-line instrument like a saxophone or an electric guitar.

I've never been a professional musician but I've played my share of covers. Generally we keep the song structure and basic chord progression (though a few simple substitutions are allowed), keep any hooks, breaks, etc., that have to be there because they're essential to the song, and just wing the rest.

People, far from complaining, seem to enjoy it. Its good to give out to people when you're playing — offer the music to them, you know, rather than make a muso thing out of it. If you establish a personal link with the audience, they'll trust you and accept a lot more from you. Only watch out for the envy of your bandmates.

originally posted by: Astyanax
Well, it's like this. If you're one of the legions whose job is to furnish music at clubs, birthday parties and wedding receptions, then you're going to have to play other people's music, because most of the time the crowd don't want to hear yours (and most of the time, they're right not to want to — few musicians are good composers). If you're going to play other people's music it seems a bit silly to complain if people want you to play it just like the original.

We're not that far apart in approach. (See below)

-- snip --

originally posted by: Astyanax
I've never been a professional musician but I've played my share of covers. Generally we keep the song structure and basic chord progression (though a few simple substitutions are allowed), keep any hooks, breaks, etc., that have to be there because they're essential to the song, and just wing the rest.

People, far from complaining, seem to enjoy it. Its good to give out to people when you're playing — offer the music to them, you know, rather than make a muso thing out of it. If you establish a personal link with the audience, they'll trust you and accept a lot more from you. Only watch out for the envy of your bandmates.

Since I wrote the post sort of on the spur of the moment, I guess maybe I left out enough context. You made my point well above: "Keep the song structure and basic chord progression (though a few simple substitutions are allowed), keep any hooks, breaks, etc., that have to be there because they're essential to the song, and just wing the rest."

Because I was a family man, I could never afford to let go of my day job, although I had my share of offers from bands that did the club circuit. "Keep the song structure and basic chord progression (though a few simple substitutions are allowed), keep any hooks, breaks, etc., that have to be there because they're essential to the song, and just wing the rest."

When you are playing wedding receptions, birthday parties, a club within driving distance, etc., the vast majority of your audience is happy to hear their favorite song as long as all the bases you mentioned are touched. (I used to joke that I've played all of the "Animal" clubs, The Elk, The Moose, The Eagles, etc.)

The bandmates I was speaking of weren't capable of doing anything other than apeing what they'd picked up of the record. I've always liked a statement that Ace Frehley made in an interview in the very early years of KISS (I'm paraphrasing from memory):

"When you are first starting out there is nothing you can do about it, you have to play covers of other people's stuff. You know you are on the right track when someone can walk in the door, hear their favorite song and without seeing the band know that you are the guy playing..."

The changes I wanted to be able to do fell within your guidelines but added enough "flavor" to the song to keep it interesting. Even those (very talented) painters that make those "starving artist" oil paintings that are sold at street fairs and flea markets make subtle changes from one to the other, but only another painter would zero in on them immediately. Not being a painter, I'd have to look for a while to find them. That's basically what I meant.

I'm just now picking my guitar back up after a long stint of concentrating on raising our three kids (retired/disabled). My biggest frustration is my left-hand index finger. Because of an industrial accident it is ~1/4" (the blade hit the tip of the bone) shorter and the joint just behind the fingernail was crushed diagonally so it runs at and angle. The fingernail wants to grow slightly curved around the tip so I'm constant filing it back to the quick to avoid buzzing on the string. It still bends enough that I may be able to get by but my brain still thinks in terms of the finger that used to be there.

My thumb healed beautifully. The blade took off the entire pad but didn't hit the bone. My doctor let it heal from the bottom up and all you can see now is an X in my thumbprint. I don't even think of it anymore when I press the back of the neck.

originally posted by: jtrenthacker
That's why I love live music. It's when you can truly hear the talent and creativity of the artist. I have several favorite bands and I own all of their studio albums but it's usually only their live albums that I truly enjoy. I love it when a band changes a song up live. Maybe extend a solo, add a new verse, change lyrics or just jam. Frankly, if I were to go see an artist live and they sounded exactly like their album, I would feel a bit cheated. That's the point of playing live isn't it? Being without the safety net of a studio and engineer. A live show should be about spontaneity, turning mistakes into creative moments and perhaps most of all, make the audience feel that the large amount of coin they just dropped on tickets was worth it.

It always makes me a bit envious to see a band I like on YT do something that was spontaneous when I saw them on the same tour and got the regular show.