Help required for head! :-)

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Help required for head! :-)

Hi
this upcoming sunday im gonna be recording a version of 'Head' (my first ever recording!). I will be working off the piano sheet music so I have:

-The main synth riff
- The bass line
-vocal line

However, im aware that transcriptions of songs to one instrument i.e a piano are going to be lacking in certain qualities compared to a full score transcription.

So im looking for help concerning a selection of things.

A) any tips on the bass line (perhaps a tab version more true to the recording)

B) Maybe 4 bars of the drum pattern (im gonna be using cubase for the drums)

C) tips with the guitar lines/riffing (sounds like its flanged up)

Any opinions would be welcomed.

I do have my own way of playing this jam but im interested in any advice which could improve broaden my playing.

Thanks

You do as I say

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Reply #1 posted 08/22/03 5:42am

Flashpointe	Just play that motherf***er! I have noticed that many folks are concentrating on technicalities of songs, but really, what you outta try doing first and foremost is just doing it. Feel it by ear. Play it first, do your thang, then score it if you want. Wasn't trying to be a smart ass. I just play it. Peace, JD
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Reply #2 posted 08/22/03 6:46am

Dauphin

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I have to agree. The best thing is to play it out and arrange it to your own liking.

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Still it's nice to know, when our bodies wear out, we can get another

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Reply #3 posted 08/22/03 7:42am

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Flashpointe said:

Just play that motherf***er! I have noticed that many folks are concentrating on technicalities of songs, but really, what you outta try doing first and foremost is just doing it. Feel it by ear. Play it first, do your thang, then score it if you want.

Wasn't trying to be a smart ass. I just play it.

Peace,
JD

Absolutely.

Go in and play what you HEAR, not what's been transcribed.

Once you've done that, if you're just DYING to get the exact chord P used, THEN go look it up.

The guitar was running through a gated flange, sounds VERY similar to the one Keith used on the Rolling Stones' "Shattered"... the flange opens when the strings are plucked. I have NO idea what kind of flange it is, but I know it exists -- read about it in a Keith interview 400 years ago.

The Last Otan Track: www.funkmusician.com/what.mp3

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Reply #4 posted 08/22/03 7:55am

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While i appreciate your comments to lessen reliability on technicalities and just play what i feel, i did initially state that -

"I do have my own way of playing this jam but im interested in any advice which could improve/broaden my playing".

My Intention is not to make an exact copy of the existing track. Far from it. I merely sought knowledge from others which i could utilise in my recording. i.e. "when im playing this i usually blah blah blah on my guitar... or i usually play this drum pattern as appossed to the album track.

Any suggestions?

You do as I say

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Reply #5 posted 08/22/03 11:31am

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Good point. I got caught up in the quest for accurate specifics on the songs. I don't even know what KEY the originals are done in. I take the song, listen to it and try to play along.

For Head, the key is the up-beat... that first horn hit of each measure... bumm-DAAA-dat-dada. The DAAA. Whatever chord that it. And the drums work so well because of their core simplicity. Ain't no crazy busy-ness in there - it's just boom-PAH-boom-boom-Pah.

Good luck. That's one of Prince's more simple jams to play - that and LETS WORK (unless you're the bass player!) the key to those jams, (for me, guitar/singer) is to always keep the song tight and simple. Let the overall song work for you.

AND - don't be a doof and sing it falsetto. Pull a tom jones on that number and "man-it-up"! Unh!!
[This message was edited Fri Aug 22 11:31:58 PDT 2003 by otan]

The Last Otan Track: www.funkmusician.com/what.mp3

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Reply #6 posted 08/23/03 6:13am

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otan said:

Thanks Otan, i agree with the points u made. I think thats what concerns me - the simplicity of the track. Because of its sparseness every note i play has got to be relevant.

Im playing everything so the recording process is gonna be a case of trial and error.

Oh, and i'll try the tom jones approach too!!! now where did i put my madalion and chest wig? UNH!!!

You do as I say

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Reply #7 posted 08/25/03 5:24am

PRNelson	Hey Lisa, if u jam on that mutha fucka like u did when u sat in on my band then it should sound hot. U going to put that guitar solo into it or are u going to try the synth solo? Let me know when its done. org note me about hooking up soon mate. You'll never know a girl called Nikki and you'll never find Erotic City
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Reply #8 posted 08/25/03 9:32am

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howcomeudontcallme said:

the simplicity of the track. Because of its sparseness every note i play has got to be relevant.

I would actually argue just the opposite - the simplicity of the track means every note can be irrelevant - as long as you continue to push for sparse/simple over busy. A throwaway note here and there will make the song a jewel, whereas a pre-meditated trill will (MOST times) sound just that - pre-meditated. Loosen up. Record the song for 15 minutes and blow out all the filler/noodly stuff, and then go back and record it with a drive to keep it empty.

I read that some great jazz player said that the first 30 minutes of a show was always a waste - the musicians getting rid of their usual noodling notes - clearing the pallette, so to speak, so they could then get into just grooving and creating.

Good luck, hope to hear some of it!

The Last Otan Track: www.funkmusician.com/what.mp3

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Reply #9 posted 08/25/03 10:18am

groovement

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I NEED help with Head Too smile

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Reply #10 posted 08/26/03 2:02am

calldapplwonde
ry83

otan said:

Good point. I got caught up in the quest for accurate specifics on the songs. I don't even know what KEY the originals are done in. I take the song, listen to it and try to play along.

For Head, the key is the up-beat... that first horn hit of each measure... bumm-DAAA-dat-dada. The DAAA. Whatever chord that it. And the drums work so well because of their core simplicity. Ain't no crazy busy-ness in there - it's just boom-PAH-boom-boom-Pah.

Good luck. That's one of Prince's more simple jams to play - that and LETS WORK (unless you're the bass player!) the key to those jams, (for me, guitar/singer) is to always keep the song tight and simple. Let the overall song work for you.

AND - don't be a doof and sing it falsetto. Pull a tom jones on that number and "man-it-up"! Unh!!
[This message was edited Fri Aug 22 11:31:58 PDT 2003 by otan]

Did you know that there is a version with Prince singing it in his lower register? It's on SAB's "Our Last Night in Europe" (Hamburg, 1986).

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Reply #11 posted 08/26/03 8:03am

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calldapplwondery83 said:

Did you know that there is a version with Prince singing it in his lower register? It's on SAB's "Our Last Night in Europe" (Hamburg, 1986).

I KNEW there was a version out with him singing it in a lower register, but it just doesn't have the impact - isn't he singing it like he did Peach on greatest hits - low-impact vocals? Almost like he had a cold or couldn't hit the notes? I don't remember.

The Last Otan Track: www.funkmusician.com/what.mp3

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Reply #12 posted 08/26/03 4:40pm

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Well the tracks in the can. Around 4min long. recorded on a shoe string budget but that just adds to the feel of the track - raw and just plain dirty. very pleased with the result. listening to it in my car. thank for the help all...well Otan. thanx

You do as I say

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