?Cover bands have been around?forever and actually anytime your?playing a song someone else wrote your basically playing a cover. Here's a list of tips that?most bands rarely think about.

1. Try to get "outside" of the band and listen to your music subjectively. All to often we worry about being tight or about some small detail that most of the time the audience?NEVER hears. For instance the band may play the song great but your singer just can't sing it, it may not be in their range. Vocals are the MOST important thing to many listeners, ?if you have bad vocals the band might as well go home!

2. Play popular songs. There are thousands of great hit songs to play without playing the same overplayed tunes. Just spend some time picking better songs to play that the audience will recognize. If they don't know them they will become disinterested. Fans want to hear songs that are the soundtracks to their lives not some B side artsy stuff?they could care less about, so please your audience.

3. Don't forget the entertainment factor. Move around and act like you love what you are doing, put on a show. Musicians may be musicians in the studio but onstage your are also?the ENTERTAINMENT.
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4.?Minimize down time between songs, ?if you spend more than 30 seconds between songs with dead air it's too long. If your guitar players need to tune or someone needs some water have the singer talk to the crowd to keep them involved and the time will pass and they'll never notice.

5. Introduce your songs and the name of the artist that plays it.?For instance when you hear a song on the radio you like doesn't it just suck when they don't give the name of the song or artist? Your audience will be impressed?by the?covers of all these popular bands and amazingly most people judge a great band by that band covering their favorite bands songs!?Example just play some technically difficult song with a zillion?notes to PERFECTION that they don't know and they'll sit there like a bump on a log,?then play a?three chord Green Day song and they'll explode.

Let's recap:

1. Listen to your band subjectively and honestly.
2. Play only songs your singer sings well.
3. Pick popular, great songs
4. ENTERTAIN the audience
5. Minimize dead air between songs
6. Introduce the song and the artist that plays it.
7. Be well rehearsed, play the song as close to perfection as you can


Guitar Guru