Does your band OVERPLAY?

aydee

Platinum Member
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Is everyone playing16th notes at the same time?

Are riffs or chords duplicated unneccasarily ?

Is there too much comping under the solos?

Is the bass player playing the same notes as everyone else?

what are you views about 'silence' and 'space' in your band's music?

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PS- could you preface your comment with the kind of music you play

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sounds like you are describing a very inexperienced band, or at least inexperienced players you have yet to learn to listen

and space is absolutely necessary

as Monk said

"don't play everything (or everytime) let some things go by, some music is just imagined, what you don't play can be more important than what you do."
 
I play mainly blues and am lucky enough to be in a band full of guys who outgrew that stuff decades ago.

I do see a lot of open mic jammers though, guitarists, bassists, drummers, harmonica players etc. and many of them are guilty of overplaying. They only get 3 songs and they feel they have to get all their stuff in. That's the reason nobody asks them to play in a band because they just get up there to blow chops. There's no larger picture. They don't seem to understood that you are supposed to be a part of things, help tie things together, not be a separate entity up there.

Guys that don't listen to what's going on around them get laughed at secretly.
 
sounds like you are describing a very inexperienced band, or at least inexperienced players you have yet to learn to listen

and space is absolutely necessary

as Monk said

"don't play everything (or everytime) let some things go by, some music is just imagined, what you don't play can be more important than what you do."

In a general sense, I agree. Sometimes, however, depending on the musical situation, it can be appropriate to "overplay" or as I would call it......fill up some of the gaps! One band that I play in (motown, pop) it is absolutely not appropriate. The other is a more edgy rock with some originals; basically a "power trio". We cut loose and stretch out a lot more there and I think it works for that music.
 
Space and dynamics are the two most important things in music I would say.

I play in a blues trio and I wouldn't say we overplay. The guitarist does get his solo, in almost every song, but thats the natures of the songs and they are always very tasteful. Obviously there are songs were we all just let go and get in to a blues trance!

One of the most difficult things to do is get a full sound with so few musicians without overplaying.
 
Maybe not hugely, but sometimes, yes. In the opinion of a few, I'm certainly guilty of that from time to time (as some of you already know), but in no way as an attempt to show my inadequate chops. It's more of an interpretation thing. In the case of my band, it's probably more appropriate to ask if we could play less, & if we did, would the music benefit? In some ways, yes to both parts of the question, but context is everything. A rock band is expected to display a certain exuberance, it's part of the deal, especially live. That usually manifests itself as over showy endings and other drama statements.
 
In a general sense, I agree. Sometimes, however, depending on the musical situation, it can be appropriate to "overplay" or as I would call it......fill up some of the gaps! One band that I play in (motown, pop) it is absolutely not appropriate. The other is a more edgy rock with some originals; basically a "power trio". We cut loose and stretch out a lot more there and I think it works for that music.

sometimes when we are in the situation we think it works when in reality it doesnt

the only time I've ever heard over playing work is in some progressive metal outfits such as East Of The Wall

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ce7YP5ld3Is
 
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Is everyone playing16th notes at the same time?

Are riffs or chords duplicated unneccasarily ?

Is there too much comping under the solos?

Is the bass player playing the same notes as everyone else?

what are you views about 'silence' and 'space' in your band's music?

...

PS- could you preface your comment with the kind of music you play

...

I seem to recall some threads discussing this type of thing before ...
 
I think that the musical situation is key.

A bassist buddy of mine is playing in a 7-piece pop band, and there's really no room for overplaying, so nobody does.

But I just joined a fairly heavy rock band, and as a trio there's lots of room for everybody to play fairly busy without it getting overwhelming. I mean, listen to Rush: 3 guys playing complex parts pretty much all the time, but it works because they each have their own sonic territory.

So "overplaying" is a relative thing. 3 guys in a trio can all play busy without it dropping into the "overplaying" category, but add more musicians while maintaining the busy-ness, and the same level of complex playing suddenly becomes overplaying.
 
If someone has great timing (not just good but great) then extra notes are less of a problem. Raggedness fills space - while the other notes are "on the grid" the spaces between their notes are being partially filled by the notes off the grid.

Yeah, our keys player overplays at times but it would be less of an issue if he got his timing straight. I've not yet played with an overplayer who was easy to train. People get wedded to their stuff.

My mum the writer had a gross little saying about editing - "Murder your darlings" ... which meant you had to be prepared to ditch those cool little plot twists and turns of phrase if they didn't add to the effectiveness of the overall communication. Over ornamentation can dilute the message as surely as a lack of passion.

Writers have gratuitous licks too. All artists have to balance between taste and flair - to jazz things up just the right amount to tell the story most effectively.
 
Maybe

R&B and Blues.

Has nothing to do with inexperience or lack of skill. I've been gigging for around
30 years and i'm the youngest. These guys all play extremely well, they just all
happen to play alot of notes. I'm going to record a gig sometime this month
and then I'll know for sure.

As of now I'm playing as little as possible to try and stay
out of the way.
 
sometimes when we are in the situation we think it works when in reality it doesnt

the only time I've ever heard over playing work is in some progressive metal outfits such as East Of The Wall

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ce7YP5ld3Is

Well, I guess if we hold to the literal term "overplay", then yes, by definition, it is not appropriate. If it is indeed "working" for a particular type of music, is it really overplaying? That might be a better question to debate. In my mind, if it is working, then it is probably not overplaying. Besides, "overplaying" is very subjective in and of itself. Just my opinion of course.
 
Some band members feel a certain nakedness in the music when they are not strumming hammering on their instrument...for them the song is too empty or quiet. Yet the loud-quiet dynamic and space in what is NOT played, is so important.
Interestingly, drummers are the best at controlling and maintaining this, but others in the band are less used to sitting out a few bars (especially guitar).
Think about it, what would music be like if the singer sang ALL the time?
I agree this problem is reduced as the number of band members decreases.
 
Some band members feel a certain nakedness in the music when they are not strumming hammering on their instrument...for them the song is too empty or quiet. Yet the loud-quiet dynamic and space in what is NOT played, is so important.
Interestingly, drummers are the best at controlling and maintaining this, but others in the band are less used to sitting out a few bars (especially guitar).
Think about it, what would music be like if the singer sang ALL the time?
I agree this problem is reduced as the number of band members decreases.

I think you are right. One of my bands overplays, we are a 6 piece, I often say to the guys that all we need is a keyboard and then we will have white noise... it drives me crazy trying to get dynamics into the band... but people keep coming to gigs and we've been together for 15 years, so there must be something in this overplaying.

The other band is very considered and every detail is thought through... and I must confess that I like both bands equally.
 
Guitarists are terrible for it, in my limited experience. I wish we didn't have to have them

This is great! As a drummer who is also a guitarist in a band I will tell you that you are half right. There is something about the guitar that just makes me want to play as many notes as possible. As a drummer I can lay back and just feel the groove. As a guitarist, with the same feel and timing, I want to play a million notes per bar for some reason. I know its wrong but I cant help myself.
 
My band runs the gamet of types of songs. While we are playing Gimme Three Steps we are pedal to the metal with no open spaces. When we play Riders on the Storm or Wish You Were Here, there are plenty of spaces that don't need to congested.

One thing our guitarist insists is when he is trying to play leads/solos, that the keyboardist only play simple chords. Otherwise it sounds like we are just jamming on top of each other.
 
The basic illogic of the statement “Less Is More” is daunting.

I know what is meant, but the logic abused to try and garner some kind of objective truth supporting an argument regarding taste is frustrating and defeating…both in argument and application.

If we like simpler music, say so…if we like more complex music, we should say so…and stop trying to push subjectivity as fact.

To quote a wise man, (sic) “Less is less and more is more”.

Better to speak of our own failings as a listener…more accurate…and more respectful of differing tastes.
 
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