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Note for note solo replication


strat0124

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Do you guys think that is necessary? I understand that some licks are important to the song, but to do a solo TAB-like, note for note? To me it sounds like hell most of the time. WHY? Because who can play just like ________? The answer is nobody. I've never understood that, but appreciate somebody who can do note for note transcriptive solo's of say, Jimmy Page or Hendrix. But its almost always hollow to me. What's your cut?
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I think you get a lot more out of it than just sounding like a certain player. You develop your ear, you can learn/improve you abiltiy to write musical notation, you can better analyze what the player was doing, etc. I don't do it enough any more.

 

Paul

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I agree with you. The solo's your chance to personalize the song. Now I'm not saying you should rewrite the entier solo! But you shouldn't try to play stuff that you just can't pull-off. Like you said, it sounds bad. If I wanted to hear the solo note for note I'd just listen to the CD.

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Originally posted by JimK:

I agree with you. The solo's your chance to personalize the song. Now I'm not saying you should rewrite the entier solo! But you shouldn't try to play stuff that you just can't pull-off. Like you said, it sounds bad. If I wanted to hear the solo note for note I'd just listen to the CD.

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If I like a particular solo, I will try to learn it, mainly to learn a unique technique or riff and why it works, so that I can apply it across my playing. I have learned a lot from note for note solos but generally don't try to cop them when playing my rendition of a tune.

 

There are a few rare examples though where, to my ears, the orginal solo is just so perfect that it really becomes an integral part of the the song. The two examples that come to mind are Eric Clapton's solo on Crossroads (Cream version) and Jimi Hendrix's solos and riffs on All Along the Watchtower. When I play these two tunes live, I try to stay "close" to the original solos and riffs because they just work so well with those particular tunes.

 

One word of caution though is that you should be flexible enough to improvise if something goes wrong. For example, if you are trying to cop a solo and you blow a transition riff, you've got to be able to recover or you will be lost. That's why it's important to understand where you are and why the solo works so that you can always improvise and rebound (i.e. if it a minor or major pentatonic pattern you can improv from there).

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I would only expect to hear a solo reproduced note for note if it was part of the song's signature (IE - the solo is part of the song as much as the vocal melody).

 

Three examples:

 

Fire - Jimi Hendrix

Day Tripper - Beatles

Just What I Needed - The Cars

 

If I heard a band play any of these songs without the solos nailed note for note, my assumption would be that the guitarist was just too lazy to learn them. :P

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I find that learning the note-for-note version can be useful just to get a sense of how ____(player x, y, or z)___ approached it when they recorded it, and maybe to understand their style a little better. If I can take that info and incorporate it into my playing, then I've got another tool to work with.

 

Otherwise, I agree completely. Except where the solo-as-recorded is truely integral to the tune, I don't even want to hear the original musician play it note for note.

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Any time I learn a solo, I try to learn it note for note - that's just me. But you'll notice that anytime someone has a hit with a cover song, that it's a very different take on the song. The artist made the song their own, and if it's a good song to begin with, that shows.

 

So if you're in a tribute band, I guess you better be note for note. Otherwise, find a good song that you like, and then make it your own by stamping your own take on it.

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I'm working on one right now ... Chuck Loeb tune 'As Is'. I want to learn the solo note for note, not just because I love how it sounds, but to train my ear and brain to think more along those tonal lines. Sure, I can do my own solo over the tune, but never in a thousand attempts would I play some of the intervals and phrasing that makes the solo sound so good. So, I'll learn it note for note, get comfortable with it, then hopefully incorporate some of the style into my own.
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My band learns things note-for-note. Once we do that, we alter them to suit ourselves. What we consider 'signature' solos we play as-recorded; others we do what we want within the style of what's on record. For example, my guitarist does the solo from Pink Floyd's 'Time' pretty much the way it was on DSOTM, but he improvises freely with the "Comfortably Numb" solo.

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Yes, the song decides. I can't see the Car's "shake it up" without a note for note solo, but there's a lot of music where the solo is just generic.

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My original reply made the assumption that you were refering to practicing/learning the guitar. If you're talking about performing, then my answer is that it depends on the song. However, I much prefer to hear someone do an original solo vs. a note-for-note replica.

 

For learning, though, I stick with my original reply, You can get a lot out of doing it.

 

Paul

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Hmmm, I go both ways. There are some songs where the solo is my fav part and it wouldn't sound right any other way, like; Reeling in the Years. Any single by the Cars too.

 

On songs like Crossroads or Purple Haze, I do the signiture bit at the beginning, but when it comes time to solo I just burn in my own style.

 

On something like Comfortably Numb, I do the first solo pretty much lick for lick since it's so melodic and cool and then start the end solo right and end up jammin.

 

And then, even though Harrison is one of my favs, I've arranged some Beatle tunes where I'll do a long jammin' intro so the crowd doesn't even know what song it is with extended solo and just go into the familiar tune. On something like this, I'd try to get the signiture licks going on and jam around them in my own style.

 

I guess I do that more than anything; start off solos verbatum and then evolve into my own thing.

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Depends. If the solo as played is a significant contribution to the song because of the notes, sound and phrasing I'll cop it exactly. Folks gave some good examples above (Gilmore, Easton, etc.). I'll usually try to catch the feel of what the artist is doing if not the actual notes. You know, if it sounds like noodling I'll noodle, if it sounds like wanking I'll make my best attempt to wank (I noodle a LOT better). Sometimes every note of a solo just gives me the chills so bad I've just gotta cop it right down to the fingering and timbre.

Jamie

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I have to agree with what most people are saying here. The only times I play a solo note for note are when it is either an integral part of the song or as just a nod to the original to give it the intended feel. Even my rhythm parts are improvised sometimes if I can get away with it without getting dirty looks from the drummer. Without improvisation, playing guitar would lose its appeal very rapidly.
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