How do musicians play, with one instrument, songs written for a band with 5 members?

Question

Sometimes I hear covers or acoustic versions of songs that are normally played by:

* Rhythm guitarist
* Guitarist
* Bassist
* Drummer
* Keyboard person (pianist?)

And usually the the singer is the rhythm guitarist (in the bands I’m familiar with).

When one of these songs is played by just one person with one instrument– like a piano cover for example, I am not music-savvy enough to know what parts of the original song would be included, excluded, or changed in some way.

In: 3

Answer 1

Typically three parts are included:

a) The melody line – that is, the general tune of the song, or what you would whistle if you were walking down the street.

b) The chords structure – typically played lower either as arpeggios or straight chords.

b.5) If the musician is sufficiently capable, they might also play a bass line by inverting the chords/arpeggios so the lowest not follows the originals bas line. To explain, imagine a C chord has the notes C E & G, but at the point in the song the bassist would be playing a G. The chord played would then be G (on the lowest string) followed but a C and an E. That’s called an inversion.

c) The musician can also include percussive elements. At it’s most obvious, this might be tapping their instrument. However, even a bass line can be percussive. What you’re really looking for is a musician who emphasizes notes to a certain rhythm.

If they sing, that typically brings in another element.

A good example it Tommy Emmanuel because his playing makes it obvious. His treble notes play the melody. His thumb typically plays lower diatonic chords. Additionally, his thumb plays a very percussive role emphasising the beat. Often he will also tap the guitar. (Tommy – if you’re reading this, sorry for dumbing it down).

You will see all this in most moderately talented musos who play an instrument that lets you hit multiple notes at once (like guitar or piano), Specifically, look at classical guitarists and pianists who are about grade 5 or above. This comes pretty naturally at that that level.

Incidentally, also look at instruments like piano accordion and bagpipes that, because of their drone, disallow percussive to blend easily with sustained notes.