My wife and I were walking down the street of our town and we approached a small music venue, Jaxon Edwin. It was obvious, the band was playing hard rock but the song was ending and I could not identify it. However, the next song started with car horns and then a bass playing a single note in quarter note beats – the signature sound of Van Halen’s Runnin’ With the Devil!
Car horns or cowbells?
How many can remember the cowbell starting out Mountain’s Mississippi Queen? Forget those two details and everyone will know something is missing. However, back when Runnin’ With the Devil came out and my band started playing it, we had no way of pulling off that car horn intro. I forget how we improvised – keyboard, maybe? It was so cool to not only hear someone pull it off but do a dang good job of it!
Getting the signatures right
One night a few years ago, my wife and I attended a concert/dance with a local swing band, The Columbia Jazz Band. They were amazingly good. Big swing bands typically have music stands out in front of the musicians but I had never seen one used by the drummer. This band’s drummer had a stand with music and he was clearly paying it a lot of attention. During their break I just had to ask about it. He told me that people expect to hear certain things, like signature riffs, in the old big band swing songs and will actually point out when he misses something! I couldn’t believe it! My mother was a fan of swing but I am sure she never would have noticed the drummer doing something different unless it changed the song significantly.
I have mentioned my friend, Tony, and his Shades of Blue Orchestra in a previous post. I will notice certain things I expect to be in the music when they are not but I’m like that. It doesn’t ruin it for me but if something is different, it must be better or I will criticize it to death. I’m like that (did I say that?) but that is for the serious bands, really.
How good does it have to be?
It’s one thing to make sure the signature sound is there but I don’t get disturbed if it doesn’t sound exactly like the original. Here’s why: it is difficult to do, even today, and oh, so, close can actually be a distraction for me. I can tell when the object was to get something as close to the recording as humanly possible as it usually means something else suffers. A criticism of the Eagles live shows, for example, is that they were too close to the original recording. There was little, if any, deviation. I think to myself, why am I here? I could have stayed home and enjoyed the recording on my stereo just as well without the expense and inconvenience. Jam a little guys!
Read Street Player: My Chicago Story by Danny Seraphine or read just about anything about Stevie Ray Vaughn and you will find that they never played their music the same way twice. Reading things like that helped me take the pressure off of my playing and enjoy it more.
So, skip the signature sound?
You can get a song “right” and still not nail the recording. Clanking a cowbell to set the beat is easy but sometimes it involves just getting the signature riff right (for example, the intro to Sweet Home Alabama) and that can take some work. Getting the precise tone, attack, volume, stance, guitar, amp, pedal,… can steal away the fun if taken too far. What happens when you get that one song to sound just right and now you need to jump to something completely different? Modeling equipment can help but then it becomes work, in my humble opinion.
When I play at our family reunion, it is just me and my ol’ acoustic. Everybody recognizes the song. All of the basic elements are there that make the song stand out. Try (Don’t Fear) the Reaper on an acoustic. One of the coolest riffs in classic rock and plenty recognizable on whatever guitar you play.
Take the pressure off and just enjoy playing. Oh, and do the same for your local bands! You might find you enjoy the music that much more 😉
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Needs more cowbell? Getting the signature sound
My wife and I were walking down the street of our town and we approached a small music venue, Jaxon Edwin. It was obvious, the band was playing hard rock but the song was ending and I could not identify it. However, the next song started with car horns and then a bass playing a single note in quarter note beats – the signature sound of Van Halen’s Runnin’ With the Devil!
How many can remember the cowbell starting out Mountain’s Mississippi Queen? Forget those two details and everyone will know something is missing. However, back when Runnin’ With the Devil came out and my band started playing it, we had no way of pulling off that car horn intro. I forget how we improvised – keyboard, maybe? It was so cool to not only hear someone pull it off but do a dang good job of it!
Getting the signatures right
One night a few years ago, my wife and I attended a concert/dance with a local swing band, The Columbia Jazz Band. They were amazingly good. Big swing bands typically have music stands out in front of the musicians but I had never seen one used by the drummer. This band’s drummer had a stand with music and he was clearly paying it a lot of attention. During their break I just had to ask about it. He told me that people expect to hear certain things, like signature riffs, in the old big band swing songs and will actually point out when he misses something! I couldn’t believe it! My mother was a fan of swing but I am sure she never would have noticed the drummer doing something different unless it changed the song significantly.
I have mentioned my friend, Tony, and his Shades of Blue Orchestra in a previous post. I will notice certain things I expect to be in the music when they are not but I’m like that. It doesn’t ruin it for me but if something is different, it must be better or I will criticize it to death. I’m like that (did I say that?) but that is for the serious bands, really.
How good does it have to be?
It’s one thing to make sure the signature sound is there but I don’t get disturbed if it doesn’t sound exactly like the original. Here’s why: it is difficult to do, even today, and oh, so, close can actually be a distraction for me. I can tell when the object was to get something as close to the recording as humanly possible as it usually means something else suffers. A criticism of the Eagles live shows, for example, is that they were too close to the original recording. There was little, if any, deviation. I think to myself, why am I here? I could have stayed home and enjoyed the recording on my stereo just as well without the expense and inconvenience. Jam a little guys!
Read Street Player: My Chicago Story by Danny Seraphine or read just about anything about Stevie Ray Vaughn and you will find that they never played their music the same way twice. Reading things like that helped me take the pressure off of my playing and enjoy it more.
So, skip the signature sound?
You can get a song “right” and still not nail the recording. Clanking a cowbell to set the beat is easy but sometimes it involves just getting the signature riff right (for example, the intro to Sweet Home Alabama) and that can take some work. Getting the precise tone, attack, volume, stance, guitar, amp, pedal,… can steal away the fun if taken too far. What happens when you get that one song to sound just right and now you need to jump to something completely different? Modeling equipment can help but then it becomes work, in my humble opinion.
When I play at our family reunion, it is just me and my ol’ acoustic. Everybody recognizes the song. All of the basic elements are there that make the song stand out. Try (Don’t Fear) the Reaper on an acoustic. One of the coolest riffs in classic rock and plenty recognizable on whatever guitar you play.
Take the pressure off and just enjoy playing. Oh, and do the same for your local bands! You might find you enjoy the music that much more 😉
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