So you listened to a song and fell in love with the sound of the guitar – everything from its melody to the way it stands out against the band -and you decided that there would be nothing cooler than to play guitar for the band. Well, I won’t be able to guarantee your spot as an honorary member, but I will show you how to play guitar in the style of your favorite band.
There are people that advise against copying another player’s style, but I believe it is important keep yourself motivated when starting out, and beginning to hear your favorite guitarist in your playing will be sure to keep you learning. And for people that are simply learning guitar to play their favorite band’s songs, it is perfectly acceptable to do just that.
The first step is to choose a song that best captures the sound you are trying to imitate, every band releases a few songs seems out of place on the album, but you should try to find one that defines the band’s style you originally fell in love with. Once you have chosen the song pay close attention to why you like the guitar’s sound, is it the percussive quality in the playing , or is it the unique use of chords that resolves in an unexpected manner, it can even be something as simple as the way it fits in with the other instruments. The important part is to identify and internalize the sound you are trying to imitate. The song you have chosen will serve as a center for developing your guitar style around.
The next step is to learn the song note by note through the use of either tabs or by ear. Learning by ear would be the harder but more beneficial way as it develops your ability to imitate sounds you hear, but there is no shame in tabs as you will still be able to learn the band’s style. The point is to learn the song by heart. Once you have accomplished this task it is time to add your own improvisation into the song.
Start by picking a section that you particularly enjoy playing, it can be a riff, intro or even solo if you think you can manage. As you repeat the riff, begin to omit the last few notes for some of your own that best fit the sound of the song. When you first try to do this it will most likely sound terrible and out of place, but don’t get discouraged as the process is trial and error. If the note you play sounds dissonant simply slide up until the tension resolves, or if it sounds stale try playing around with the rhythm. Practicing fills will not only improve your improvisational skills, but help you play within the band’s style. Soon your variations will be good enough to actually sound like part of the song. When you get comfortable with the fills try to improvise an entire phrase. The goal is to become proficient in forming phrases that match the song’s sound. A tip to accomplish this goal is by internalizing the song’s atmosphere.
There are several ways to help you internalize the song’s atmosphere, with one of the easiest being to simply play along to the recording. Constantly listening to the song helps you hear which notes fit, and which makes your ears cringe. Backing tracks following the same chord progression could also be used as they provide a more bare canvas to practice over with, and is especially handy if your piece is a solo since you can keep soloing as long as you need to get the phrase perfect.
Once you are able to play along with the song while also adding your own material, you can do one of two things. The first being to learn more of the artist’s songs and applying the same method, this will allow you to pick up even more nuances of the band to center your playing around. The second is to apply what you have learned in the song and start making your own songs.
When composing your song, it is important to maintain focus on the style you are trying to imitate. Begin by playing through a couple of their artist’s songs to warm up and to get your fingers accustomed to the nuances of that style. You can start with a phrase you learned from them and alter it enough so that it becomes original, but still resembles the band. Once you have found a riff that you like try to imagine the next part of the section as if it was written by your favorite band. By the time you become proficient at creating phrases that imitate the band’s style you will have developed an ear for improvisation, and that will help you structure your future songs.
I have to restate that I am not advocating for players to rip off their favorite artists or to become carbon copies of them, but to enjoy learning the style of the guitarists they admire. All music is a form of imitation with the past influencing the present and future. It is important to remember that, similar to the saying you are what you eat, a guitarist’s style will resemble the music they play.