Um, youre not playing that right. Am I an asshole?

[jsgksu]

Every now and then, Ill meet someone who is pretty good at guitar, I dont know if theyre better than me but Im modest and sometimes think if I havent learned it before maybe I cant play it. Or maybe they can sing good, or whatever. But then they play a Dave song, and it sounds pretty good, but theyre not playing it the right way. Like recently some guy was playing #41 all at the top three frets. He played it cuz my friends told him I like Dave a lot and can play most of his songs, so he busts that out, and Im like, yeah it sounds like it, but thats not how you play it. The common response is, you can play a song a lot of different ways. Most of the time Im not an asshole but I always wanna say, yeah, but theres only one right way and your not playing it that way, the right way is harder and sounds a little bit better. I wont say Im better or theyre better because we might not play the same kind of music, but am I an asshole for not seeing their way on the matter. Cuz the last kid I met is real cokcy and thinks hes good, and so do my other non-guitar playing friends (they think Im real good too) but he didnt play a single dave song right. Same thing I do when I watch cover bands, "hes not playing that right, thats different" am I an ass or do I have a right, or whatever, to point out their mistakes and tell them theyre wrong even if it sounds similair?

[jeffro]

No, you're not an ass. I tend to do that to.

[You_Enjoy_Myself]

a little constructive criticism never hurt anyone. Just tell him it sounds good, but Dave plays it a little different. Then tell him about this site if he wants to play things RIGHT

[myxomatosis]

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I used to play it like that.. before I found this site

[c_tietze]

My belief covers all aspects of life. I don't give a flying f*ck what anybody does with their life, their instrument, their whatever.

If someone wants to play a song a certain way, more power to them. After all, the only "correct" way to play a DMB song is if Dave plays it himself, we're all just covering the man's songs people.

[pablortega]

I have found different tabs for lets say #41, and they also sound pretty well. I try to play them dave's way because they normally tend to be more of a challenge.
My personal opinion is that there is no right one to play a song. If you see the Dave and Trey special, you see trey asking the guitar player of the African band where did he play a certain song, because there were plenty of places where he could do it.

Saludos
P.

[myxomatosis]

I have found different tabs for lets say #41, and they also sound pretty well. I try to play them dave's way because they normally tend to be more of a challenge.
My personal opinion is that there is no right one to play a song. If you see the Dave and Trey special, you see trey asking the guitar player of the African band where did he play a certain song, because there were plenty of places where he could do it.

Saludos
P.

HOLA!

[dmfollower]

It seems to me that if your playing someone elses song then there is actually a right and wrong way cause someone wrote it their certain way.
There is a right and wrong way to play dave songs, dave's way and all other ways. Now if you write you own song and want to mix it up then i well, you do what ever you want.
If someone calls you an ass cause you try and show them/tell them that there playing a song wrong, maybe they just don't understand what your trying to say.

[GSR]

if you're playing dave's tune..then why wouldn't you play it how he does?

[Dancing Ants]

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I used to play it like that.. before I found this site

I like that ALOT. It sounds much fuller on my guitar.

[hcole]

if you're playing dave's tune..then why wouldn't you play it how he does?

For the same reason that dave plays Watchtower, The Maker, Long Black Veil and others differently than the original artist.

[GSR]

if you're playing dave's tune..then why wouldn't you play it how he does?

For the same reason that dave plays Watchtower, The Maker, Long Black Veil and others differently than the original artist.

"but i won't tell you what that reason is"

[hcole]

It seems to me that if your playing someone elses song then there is actually a right and wrong way cause someone wrote it their certain way.
There is a right and wrong way to play dave songs, dave's way and all other ways. Now if you write you own song and want to mix it up then i well, you do what ever you want.
If someone calls you an ass cause you try and show them/tell them that there playing a song wrong, maybe they just don't understand what your trying to say.

This doesn't make any sense to me. Johnny Cash's cover of NIN Hurt was outstanding, I wouldn't say that he played it wrong, he just played it different.

[Thomas]

my outlook on cover songs has always been this:

if you're going to play someone elses music, either do it exactly the same or completely different.

usually the artist you are copying is better than you so when you play it exactly the same you learn a lot and will improve.

when you make it your own you are branching out even further as a musician.

when you play the silly EZ-Guitar chords, unless you have no desire to get better, you're not really helping yourself out any.

[ericwormann]

It really depends on the situation. If someone was playing something they know I like, then I wouldn't say anything, especially if it was in front of other people. If I was playing something in a casual setting with a group of friends, and someone kept trying to correct me, I would feel embarassed and think that person was a jerk. Unless someone specifically asks me how to play something, I let them do whatever they want.