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Don't be a Fake Machine

By Philip Hendrickson

When we first hear a song it’s easy to catch the basic groove or beat. It is a waltz, samba, two-beat, whatever. The temptation is to stop there and think we know how to play the song. That is a beginning, but it’s just enough to fake the song.

The next step is to listen again and document the form, observing any unusual hits, stops, turnarounds, or ways the feel changes in the different sections of the song. Also pay special attention to how the song ends, because the crowd can always tell if a band ends together.

The third level is to listen several more times, closely, to absorb how small variations are expressed from one chorus to the next. Almost never is a form played exactly the same each time through. Does it build intensity? Does the drummer add or drop beats? Does she or he switch the ride instrument or lay out after the bridge? Are certain lyrics accented by the band? 

The point is not to create a perfect reproduction. Rather, sense how the feel changes, how the mood of the piece ebbs and flows, so you can interpret it in your own style. You might react to the song in ways that follow the original, but you want your expressions to pay homage to it, rather than be a caricature of it. 

Do your homework so you can tell the song’s story without changing it but using your own words. Don’t just be a fake machine.