Do you have to follow beats to a measure?

I'm with topdown on this - go with rule #1.  Make it your own music and play it how you like it.

If you're playing Mississippi John Hurt or John Lee Hooker or other musicians like them, don't even consider putting them to standard timing.  It won't work.  No one ever told them that was the "right" way to play, so they just did what sounded good to them or let them say what they wanted to have said.  Which brings us back to Topdown's axiom. 

- Zurf

I once saw an interview with John Prine, people would tell him that he was playing songs wrong, so that's when he decided to write his own songs, that way no one could tell him it was wrong. The rest is history. So by that standard Topdown is right.

Cam

I'm not a fan of unstructured music in any form but there are some that are so to each there own

I am the worlds worst for playing covers "the correct way".  EX:  One night 2 friends sat down, I pulled my guitar out and she asked to sing HOTEL CALIFIORNIA.  I said OK. I paly this song to the note, just slower and a slight diff rythem pattern.  It messed her up cause she went right from memory and not listening to how I played.  It took her a min or two to adjust.  Once she did, it sounded amazing!  Wish I had taped it!

Trouble is,,,, most PPL are slaves to the click.  I still am trying to master it!!  It is a must if your recording tracks, jamming with new friends.  I have found most pple are resistant to changing what they have learnt "by the book / original version"  If you can find a few ppl who encourrage you and are willing to do your way a bit,,, KEEP THEM AROUND FOREVER!

PLAY YOUR SONG.    BE YOURSELF AND FOLLO0W THE SONG IN YOUR HEART.

I like the way you think. My theory is that if you want to hear a song exactly as it is done, buy the cd or listen to the radio.  That is why some covers are better than the originals and vica versa.  That is a problem with jamming too. People want to sound exactly like the original. I prefer to put a different twist to make it my own and to compensate for lack of ability somewhere. I too like playing HOTEL CALIFORNIA, but it will never sound like the original. Maybe if I can get the eagles to play with me and turn the volume off on my amp,I can pull it off. Until then, I will play it the way I like to make it sound the best I can.

I use a finger picking style, where my thumb keeps the rythm with the bass notes, and my fingers pick out the tune between the chords. I get the best of both worlds, but it takes a lot of work nowadays. My damned fingers are arthritic as hell. I find, thought, that if I keep playing through, the pain diminishes and my dexterity improves. Hurts like hell in the morning, though.
I can flat pick, almost as well, but clinching a pick between my fingers and thumb is excrutiating after a short stint, unless I just play chord/rythms.

It took my best friend months to pick up on the bass rythm, but the results were worth the effort for both of us. Great music resulted.

Bands and guitarists who mmake the best music, really know their stuff. they learn to play other people's songs first to learn how a song or piece or music comes together. Bands who start off writing their own songs without having leared to play first, don't usualy have good rythms and melodies or interesting chord progressions. If you learn to play at a steady beat right from the start, it will save you a lot of re-learning later on.

A friend of mine who plays drums, says his drumming improved a lot just by practicing with a metronome. If your beat is steady it will look after itself allowing you to concentrate on playing the song. This will only come with practie. As for Mississippi John Hurt, that will be much easier if you can play at a steady rythme.

a metronome is essential for recording if you intend multi-tracking. i have done many recordings (covers and originals) with or without a click, it all depends on your internal clock. russ harding tells me he has perfect meter. having done several recordings with him i can verify that. when i record i play guitar, drums, bass and keyboards, so most times i use the click. i find that i dont actually need to count if i have a beat to follow. and of course some songs sound so much more soul-full when you don't keep a strict time, eg; keep a note a half beat longer etc, so then you come back in a half beat later, (it makes a terrible mess of the metronome count though! )

I had a friend rest his soul named Bobby Mercereau he played tenor sax with my band in Las Vegas he had a unusual gift of perfect pitch it was so perfect that he could turn his back and close his eyes and you could play any note he would not only tell you what note you played but if it was in tune and he was always right,another gift he possessed was the ability to play back note for note any phrase or lick he heard including charlie Parker songs he was incredible kind of spooky.:)

How about the cat?  Does it keep time?