Is this a stupid question?

Well, I may be wrong (and I often am), but I believe "cover" just means to sing/play/perform someone else's song. So, if you were to play Hard Day's Night, you would be covering it.

As I say, I may be wrong.
 
A maths teacher of my daughter's used to say there is no such thing as a stupid question and he was right.

Anyway, my understanding of the word used to be that it was an attempt by another performer to recreate the arrangement of an original recording, but it seems to have broadened out to refer to your interpretation of a well known song.
 
What they said.^^^
Not a stupid question, because it wasn't me that asked it!!!!! :D But as they say, the only stupid question, is the one you didn't ask.
 
Anyway, my understanding of the word used to be that it was an attempt by another performer to recreate the arrangement of an original recording, but it seems to have broadened out to refer to your interpretation of a well known song.
A little of both. Think of a bar band doing covers... they usually try to mimic the original arrangements because that's what the target audience wants to hear.

But sometimes covers can be outrageously different from the originals. Take Vanilla Fudge's interpretation of the Supremes' "You Keep Me Hangin' On" or what Judas Priest did with Joan Baez's "Diamonds & Rust."
 
I see people using the word "cover". It is usually associated with a song or video. What does that mean? And, so what if it's a stupid question, I still want to know!


It means that a song is performed by someone else than the original performer.
Examples:
Madonna made a cover of Don Mcleans 'American Pie'.
Amy Whinehouse made a cover of 'Valerie' by The Zutons.
Elvis Presley made a cover of 'Guitar Man' by Jerry Reed.

And like others said, there are no stupid questions.
 
Last edited:
The philosopher Emmanual Kant once said "Since there are no stupid questions, the question 'Is this a stupid question?' MUST BE a stupid question, but since there are no stupid questions, the question 'Is this a stupid question?' CAN'T BE a stupid question, but since there are no stupid questions ... AAAARGH!!!!"
 
"He who asks a question is a fool for five minutes; he who does not ask a question remains a fool forever"

:eek:ld:
 
A little of both. Think of a bar band doing covers... they usually try to mimic the original arrangements because that's what the target audience wants to hear.

But sometimes covers can be outrageously different from the originals. Take Vanilla Fudge's interpretation of the Supremes' "You Keep Me Hangin' On" or what Judas Priest did with Joan Baez's "Diamonds & Rust."

It was my understanding, and I could very well be wrong, that the difference between a cover band and a tribute band was that a cover band put their own flair on it, while a tribute band tried to play a song as true to the recording as possible.
 
It was my understanding, and I could very well be wrong, that the difference between a cover band and a tribute band was that a cover band put their own flair on it, while a tribute band tried to play a song as true to the recording as possible.
I always thought of a cover band as a band that did mostly, if not all, covers of various bands, and a tribute band doing only songs by one band (usually naming themselves after a song or album by that band).
 
The goal of every songwriter is to write a "standard", which is to say a song that is recorded by multiple artists. Hank Williams' song "Cheatin' Heart" is a prime example. I have never written a "standard", but, I have had people "cover" my songs. "Typical Day" was played at Madison Square Garden by another artist at the International Folk Music Alliance festival there. I felt honored that the artist "covered" my song.

There are lots of people catching flack on YouTube because they are posting cover songs. In a way, I think it is very unfortunate. Copyright law was never intended to prevent performers from playing music written by others. It was intended to prevent people from making exact copies of another artists recordings or sheet music. The original duration, in the US Constitution was also only seven years. Now, it is 95 years past the death of the copyright holder... all to protect Mickey Mouse, but that is another story.
 
Top Bottom