Acoustic arrangements of full band songs

Lestratcaster · December 2018

I've been writing a few acoustic arrangements for the band I play for, which is really interesting. I've dropped the key down a tone for one and also use alot of open tunings to get more ringing sound from the strings.

Do acoustic versions of band songs need bass? Most of my favourite ones don't have it on there so I don't think its necessary.

Also any other things to think about when doing acoustic versions? I don't want it to be a replica of the full band version, that would just be boring. I do notice when heavier/breakdown riffy based bands turn electric full band songs into acoustic they kinda drop the breakdown or heavy stuff.

DulcetJones · December 2018

I've been in a band for nearly a year that has been doing something like this. The backstory is I played with two of these people a few years ago in more of a full blown electric band, drums, keys, I played a Les Paul etc. Things were getting way too loud for most of us and it fell apart. A few months later two of them called me and said they were working up a new band and wanted me to come over and see if I wanted to be part of it, I told them I would only play acoustic guitar and didn't want to be in a loud band anymore. As it turns out they were going the same way, using plugged in acoustic guitars, a "percussionist" who only plays hand drums and a harmonica player/sound guy. It's been working great, at first we had a lead singer that didn't play any instruments but has since started playing light, understated bass, I've started playing banjo on a few songs and lapsteel on a few. The percussionist plays accordion on a few tunes and a few other folk type instruments. We do several original songs but we also cover some rockers with two acoustic guitars, minimal bass, hand drums and vocals. These include "Like a Hurricane"(Neil Young), "Secret Agent Man" (Johnny Rivers), "The Weight"(The Band), "Dock of the Bay" (Otis Redding), "Hasn't Hit Me Yet" (Blue Rodeo) "One" (U2) "Tainted Love"(Soft Cell), and more. I play banjo on some, and lapsteel on some but mostly acoustic/electric, a Fender Paramount dreadnought type of guitar. Wow, just noticed, I appear to have written a novel here, sorry!

p90fool · December 2018

I do a some duo work with various singers where I'm the only instrument. We do a lot of non-guitar songs like Blame it on the Boogie, I Will Survive, that kind of thing.

I don't rely on cowboy chords, I usually have to work out some fairly complex invertions to suggest the important stuff on the record if it's not possible to play them.

Through a PA it's obviously possible to have a fairly powerful, full-range acoustic sound, though it's still possible to have fun purely acoustically.

Here's a very hungover mess around with a friend of mine, who adds a few brass phrases herself. Although "informal" to put it politely, it actually sounds great trough a PA.

jellyroll · December 2018

Great that @p90fool. Wish I could play like that

martin8708 · December 2018

I have been involved with acoustic guitarists on two occasions ,with myself as a bass player .
I tend to get the fretless bass out for accompanying single musicians , it just seems to add a nice foundation to the song with the odd slide or fill to add a bit of interest .

One of the duo's I was in for 10 years ,and we would play a wide variety of music , obviously it's not going to be note for note ( as per the recording ) , but if you have a good rhythm guitarist with strong vocals and a solid bass player , it's amazing what you can power your way through .
Its almost as if the audience fill in the missing bits in their heads , especially if they are singing along or full of alcohol .

BigLicks67 · December 2018

@p90fool - Lovely stuff.
Reminds me of the age I spent learning that riff on the bass only to forget it about a month later. The joys of being over 50 : >

Lestratcaster · December 2018

Nice link there P90! Yeah it'll be an arrangement for at least 2, if not 3 acoustics, don't think we'll have bass on there.

Just for some examples of what I'm aiming for here's some bands where they've done an acoustic version:

Band version:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pn-6eOxnEMI&ab_channel=ADayToRememberVEVO

Acoustic version:

http://https//www.youtube.com/watch?v=m89pFYHHuUA&ab_channel=ADayToRememberVEVO

Band version:

http://https//www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0ao8FCW-Qk&ab_channel=RedBullRecords

Acoustic version:

http://https//www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLuU6ZTNtnw&ab_channel=RedBullRecords

Band version:

http://https//www.youtube.com/watch?v=eH6tqXQNWUA&ab_channel=WhileSheSleepsVEVO

Acoustic/Alternative version:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKcI9a8AnA4&ab_channel=WhileSheSleepsVEVO

Many of them if not all are in different keys with some form of open tuning and different chord shapes. It helps fill out the sound nicely.

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Acoustic arrangements of full band songs

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