How do you guys go about covering a song? I never really learn exactly how to play a song. It's not really my style. I just come up with my own drums. I try and keep it along the same lines as the original but for the most part it's my own beats and fills.








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http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b2/kurtcobean/HANNAHHTML2.jpg">

It kind of depends on the song, sometimes a song has pretty much perfect drum tracking, like a lot of BDM's drumming, nothing I can really think of to add that would make it sound better, so I just play what he plays.








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"Close to the original but your own style". That's me.








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13612
www.billraydrums.com
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BillRayDrums wrote:

"Close to the original but your own style". That's me.

+1

Signature parts and the groove stay, everything else is me.








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SGarrett wrote:

+1

Signature parts and the groove stay, everything else is me.

"Signature parts". Exactly!








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13612
www.billraydrums.com
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You can go any way you want with it. So it's all good. But you have to remember that everything you do has to be for the fan's enjoyment, so keep the signature parts. They'll recognize those parts and enjoy it. I want to do some Steely Dan covers, I wish I was in a band, blimey. LOL








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I'm with Bill and Scott! Some songs it's just criminal to change things too much.








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It all depends on the vibe of what everyone else is playing. Jazz musicians make careers off taking covers and playing the changes as they see fit.








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Alan_ wrote:

It all depends on the vibe of what everyone else is playing. Jazz musicians make careers off taking covers and playing the changes as they see fit.

True.








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Well if the band's playing a punk cover of a funk tune then no holds barred. Now if you are playing a zep tune or a Rush tune you better be spot on.

It depends on the band, and the song!

I tend to cover the Hendrix stuff as close as I can, because the drumming is really an integral part of the feel... In other bands, I prefer to hit the signature parts dead on, and the rest is all me.

Every so often, we completely toss the original parts and make a whole new arrangement.

This couldn't have been too helpful, no?








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I suck at playing covers, so usually I try to get it as close as possible, but there always seems to be my style mixed in there. I admire anyone who plays covers well. It's always been harder than it looks to get that feel.








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I think zen's response is perfect.

play to fit the situation. if the band's trying to nail it note-for-note, support them by doing the same. if they're going off and creating something new within the confines of the song, play what you think fits.








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It's fun to learn songs note for note if you want to take on the challenge of learning another drummers style. I went through a period last year where I learned and charted out several YES tunes with Bill Bruford on drums. (for a YES cover band) Once I learned what he played on the tracks, I was free to mix stuff up as I saw fit. I learned a lot by really getting into his style and seeing which rhythmic tricks he used (note displacement, odd time signatures. mixed stickings).

When I need to learn a lot of songs quickly, as I am right now, I make a quick chart of the song and then listen too over and over until I can sing the guitar part and melody to myself from memory. I don't even try to play the song on the drums until I have the song engraved in my brain -- then I just play it my own way but in the spirit of the original. I can usually get two or three songs done a day this way.

If it's something with really distinctive, cool drumming, then I'll probably play as close to the original as I can, but really there's nothing you can do to stop your own individual style creeping in there. Everyone's got their own little quirks.

If not, I put my own spin on it. You know, different fills etc. Sometimes I'll play it entirely differently, but if you're going to do that you've got to make sure what you're playing actually works with the song.

My band covers 'Mary Jane's Last Dance' by Tom Petty and 'I Wanna Be Your Dog' by the Stooges, and my drumming's fairly different in both of those. Especially as we put a little drum solo into the second one.

However, if we were going to cover, say, 'Sweet Lady' by Queen or 'When the Levee Breaks' by Led Zeppelin, I'd be sticking to the originals, cause I love the drumming way too much to change it.








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