Anatomy of arranging a cover song

Covering a song is one of the best ways for me to mine for songwriting nuggets from my favorite songwriters and musicians. Until I dig into the song, uncover its structure, examine the arrangement and production, the song is only reaching the surface of my musical brain.

I am arranging "the Dog-End of a Day Gone By" by Love and Rockets, from their first album Seventh Dream of Teenage Heaven (1985). This song may be considered one of the first shoegaze songs, except that neither frontman from Love and Rockets gazes at their shoes in concert.

The rolling drumbeats back a slightly distorted guitar riff, as Daniel Ash and David J sing in unison. The song crescendos to a layer of organs during the last (third) verse before closing with the chorus repeated in variations. I especially love Daniel Ash's simple guitar solo in the out-tro playing the open D string like a beacon. The whole song has a hypnotic, calming effect, and I find such comfort when listening to or playing this song. The song feels like getting under fluffy blankets and fresh sheets after a hot bath at the end of a rough day.

I love Love and Rockets and mourn their dissolution. When Daniel and David sing together with perfect timing, the songs have a special power and alchemy.

I will detail how I arrange a cover song. I approach researching recipes and ingredients when making a new dish the same way. First, I choose a song I can stand playing ad nauseum. Second, I figure out the chord progression by ear. I also use websites like riffstation.com and ultimateguitar.com for help. I combine my own transcription with computer and others' transcriptions, and I always check by ear by playing through the whole song. Third, I scour the web for live footage of the band playing the song. I watch the guitarist for fingering, fret positions, and strum patterns.

Fourth, I search for different cover versions, arrangements of the song, by amateurs and professionals. I listen for parts of the arrangement I like and watch the cover guitarist for chord choices. Finally I make my own arrangement and adjust it to my own taste

Once I have an arrangement that I like, I practice guitar only using a metronome or drum machine until I have mastered the music with a steady beat. I break down the entire guitar arrangement into small pieces. I will practice only the chorus or the verse until I can play each section smoothly. Sometimes I cheat and sing along because I love the song so much that I can't help myself. I try to wait a little until I've mastered the guitar since it's distracting to play guitar and sing at the same time.

When I combine vocals and guitar, I use a capo and try singing the song in different keys to find the best key to accommodate my limited vocal range. When I've decided on the key, I use GarageBand to change the key of the song and make custom tracks in the chosen keys. I often transpose the song in two to three different keys, within a range of three to four semitones' difference. I practice singing the entire song in the different keys while driving around to double check for the best key for my voice.

After I settle on the one best key, I use Music Memo on iOS to record vocals only. I use an old iPod with headphones to play the custom backing track to minimize other sounds bleeding into the vocal track. I listen to a vocals only rehearsal to check my pitch, phrasing, etc... I'm not a singer, but I'm using my own voice as another instrument. I'm trying to get the best vocal performance possible from a non-singer. The awesome Ms. JR, my guitar teacher, has taught me to record and scrutinize vocals only. Our tendency as guitarists is to focus on our guitar playing.

I resume practicing simultaneously singing and playing guitar with a metronome or drum machine. Once I feel comfortable, I record a rehearsal on Music Memo and evaluate both the vocals and guitar, the mix of both.

I often do all of the above before I play the song in front of my guitar teacher or a vocal coach for their feedback.

I perform my cover version of "Dog-end of a Day Gone By" in front of my voice class. I'm playing the song without prior feedback from either a guitar teacher or voice coach. The song is my own arrangement. The students are a lovely 626 mix of all ages and all ethnicities. I don't think anyone has ever heard this song before. The class accompanist has an amazing ear, and he and I confer for about five minutes about the piano arrangement. I give him a bare bones lyric sheet with the chord progressions. He scribbles in the number of measures on the lyric sheet. We don't get a chance to rehearse.

I am the first student to perform in front of the whole class. I'm doing a kind deed for the other students because I'm not a singer and will set a low bar that they can easily outperform. I flub my opening guitar riffs, but nobody knows this since nobody has heard the song before. I also mess up the transition into the chorus. I just keep going, never letting the mistakes stop the song. I keep smiling and looking at the audience even though I'm a nervous wreck with sweaty hands slipping off the guitar neck.

I finish the song to surprisingly enthusiastic applause. My classmates compliment me on the warmth of my music, how I look comfortable on stage. Our voice teacher, Ms. SL, asks me to transpose the song to a higher key. She tells me to smooth out the words. We realize that my abrupt phrasing likely results from English being my third language (Cantonese and Mandarin were first and second). I still worry about whether people understand my English! My overly clear enunciation makes my singing sound choppy. I also suspect that my punk tendencies influenced by Joey Ramone, make each word sound clipped.

Having played the song in public in front of my supportive classmates, I play it at an open mic near my house. Again nobody knows the song in the audience.

Below is my acoustic cover in Bb. I wonder how the howling after the line "the dog is howling at the moon" in the bridge goes over.