For instrumentalists only: Is your Style Unique ?

[grimtraveller]

Here's a hypothetical question ¬> if, unbeknown to you, someone removed all the guitar/bass/drums/percussion/keyboards/strings/horns/woodwind {ie, any that apply} parts that you had recorded on a song and played identical parts to replace them, would you be able to tell ? Would you listen to it and think "that's not me" ? Is your style of playing whatever instrument you play uniquely recognizable to you or would you not be able to tell the difference?

---

 

[Slouching Raymond]

I've done quite a bit of drawing, and I can recognize my hand in a drawing, even if I do not remember actually doing it.
The same must apply to playing music.

 

[rob aylestone]

I did this for our old keyboard player when his hands became stiff and awkward. We were putting his keys down in the studio so when he really couldn't play his parts would run in off track, not live. Sadly, we left it too late and some of his tracks had too many errors for me to edit note for note on the screen, so I quietly swapped his playing for mine. Two weeks into the tracks he mentioned he'd played some unusual inversions of chords and other bits - I told him that he hadn't, it was me! I thought I'd done a pretty good job - but he noticed.

 

[spantini]

I can recognize my style, but if someone were to play the identical part to replace it I probably wouldn't notice, other than to recognize I had written the part. I mean, if it's identical then it's the same - right? Now if they play the identical notes but their style creeps into the equation, then that's when I can tell. Hell... my partner in a previous home studio setup asked me to lay down some guitar work for a song he was composing to be submitted as a movie theme to an upcoming film. My main instrument is bass, but I agreed and laid down a couple guitar tracks and forgot about them. About 6 years later, he played the tracks for me and I couldn't connect with them at all. I was swearing up and down it was someone else. That really messed with my head.

 

[Gtoboy]

I can recognize my style, but if someone were to play the identical part to replace it I probably wouldn't notice, other than to recognize I had written the part. I mean, if it's identical then it's the same - right? Now if they play the identical notes but their style creeps into the equation, then that's when I can tell. Hell... my partner in a previous home studio setup asked me to lay down some guitar work for a song he was composing to be submitted as a movie theme to an upcoming film. My main instrument is bass, but I agreed and laid down a couple guitar tracks and forgot about them. About 6 years later, he played the tracks for me and I couldn't connect with them at all. I was swearing up and down it was someone else. That really messed with my head.

I have plenty of older recordings which, while I recognize my playing, I can not for the life of me remember how I played them. My "style"? of playing has evolved constantly over time, however, others, especially non musicians, have said they can tell when it's my playing. I don't even know if that answers the question.

 

[spantini]

I get that too when listening back even only 6 years or so with songs I haven't played in awhile.

I don't have that problem with originals done with my old band 40 years ago. Hell, when I listen back to those I can recall every little nuance of my bass playing. That might be due to the fact we ran through those songs 3-4 times each night, at least 2 nights per week in practice sessions plus any gigs for a period of 6 years.

 

[markmann]

My style is definitely unique but I'm sure there are guitar players out there that could copy my style and sound. It's tough to capture all of the small nuances of technique and tone but with enough practice a good player could do it.

 

[spantini]

A few years back, I was watching cable and caught a Pink Floyd concert doing Dark Side of the Moon and some earlier material. I had been to two Dark Side concerts in 1976, one in Maryland and the other in Wisconsin - just a couple weeks apart. As I was watching them on cable, something didn't sound right. I couldn't nail it down. The performance sounded almost identical to those concerts years ago - and their albums. After watching about half the show I discovered this wasn't Pink Floyd, but Brit Floyd trying their best to duplicate the original sound and feel, but it wasn't working. The sounds of the instruments seemed to be spot on but the style of playing, and vocals, was off just a hair.