Doing too many covers

[themusicblogger]

Hi there,

I've found that recording or playing too many covers may screw up your song-writing technique. For example, if you try to compose a song, it may always be too similar to other songs you've played in the past. Let's discuss. Are there ways to combat against this? Or is stopping the 'cover playing' the only way?

Thoughts?

 

[StackableMusic]

I think the opposite: knowing how a lot of songs go is helpful to the creative process because you start to know the landscape of the songs you like - you can't avoid cliches until you understand them. You just have to consciously apply that knowledge.

 

[up-fiddler]

Probably most of us here gig out for a living or to supplement our existence financially. Invariably that means playing covers and stopping is like cutting off your nose to spite your face.

The flip side is that when you are in that 'creative zone' you need to stop doing whatever it is that gets in the way of writing a great piece of music. It can be a difficult balance but you need to remember that most people would love to be able to do what we do musically.

 

[VomitHatSteve]

Perhaps it just feels like you're song-writing is sounding to much like cover songs. A lot of chord progressions, melodies, cliches, etc. are used quite often (and can sometimes be hard to avoid when writing). You may just be more sensitive similarities that you were already writing.

 

[wreckd504]

I agree with stackablemusic. Learning lots of different covers has taught me numerous chord progressions, styles and techniques. However, that wouldn't apply i don't think if all you did was cover one style. I'm not saying that you do this, but if all you learned were bob dylan songs, it wouldn't be a mystery why all you may write are guitar folk songs. I think mixing a range of tastes into your original music is great.

What do you mean by screw up your song writing technique?

For me, learning a lot of jazz standards has broken me out of constantly writing songs with open chords or simplistic progressions. Not to say i don't come back to those when the song asks for it, but it gives me more of an arsenal.

What are you trying to achieve? Are you a folk singer/songwriter? Are you trying to be a producer? Me personally i'm trying to write a broad range of music and therefore feel i need (and find enjoyment in learning) knowledge of particular genres progressions and stylistic features. In saying that, if you want to be a heavy metal singer, I can't seem much point in learning in Sarah Mclachlan songs. Unless you want to go the evanescence route of combining a heavy sound with beautiful piano.

To end my rant, i'm actually learning more covers now that i did when i first started writing original songs, and find inspiration for new material by melding all my interests into a big musical melting pot.

 

[MadAudio]

Personally, I'm at the point where doing a cover recording is still fun, and that's because I don't have the chance to do them that often. I've been way to busy recording original music. In fact, I still haven't finished the cover of XTC's "Towers of London" that I started more than a year ago, and it's probably the best cover version I've ever done.

 

[TerraMortim]

I've done a few covers in my life...good fun but I wouldn't recomend making it a habit of it. I have noticed that some people start writing a song and get frustrated with it and just end up doing a cover instead because they want to record SOMETHING. Maybe, just taking a step away from music for a day or two is all you need. Often at the frustration point, I come back a few days later, and say what was I thinking, that was pretty cool...or only have a few changes to make to make it great. I don't know if it will mess up your technique. It might be more the result than the cause. Not enough imagination to write a song, so the person just covers a ton of songs because they have a certain level of musical competency, but not really any ideas when it comes to songwriting.

The occasional cover is okay, but people generally start to wonder if you do a ton anyway.... unless you want to play weddings and corporate events (those guys do make a bunch of money... but..hmmm... NO!).

Instead of approaching it as learning songs, which probably will make you unconciously write parts that are identical that you might even think you came up with, just listen to a lot of different kinds of music, deconstruct it and figure out what approach is used, rather than just strictly the notes. What approach is behind the notes that make it work, not really the notes or chords themselves.

One thing that is cool, try to write a song with a performer on an instrument that you have no idea how to play. You can bet, after all the frustration and head pounding is over, it won't sound so much like what is typically played by that instrument. But then again, I love situations like that... bringing gothrock players in on industrial records, death metal guys to play tracks on ambient, etc... keeps things interesting and quite chaotic. YAY!

 

[mikeh]

As a general rule, if a musician wants to gig consistantly and make decent money per gig - covers are a given. I think the more songs you learn (and the styles of music you learn) it can only help you grow as a musician and as a writer. As an example, learning some jazz standards can help break away from playing power chords, etc.

I don't gig nearly as often as I did in my younger years - and I find that I now have more creating energy available for writing - helping me to be a more prolific writer than I use to be (when I gigged several times a week I did not have the time or the available creative juices to write much). Playing covers did not compromise my writing - gigging too much compromised my writing.

However, learning all those cover songs helped me to understand song structure, harmony and music theory - which has helped me as a writer and an arranger.