Through doing this project, I've become somewhat obsessed with the idea of learning every song by a particular band or even just a whole album. It is sort of a crazy premise, but it has real and applicable benefits. Learning how to play the songs is an obvious one, but a project like these also forces you to become a better musician. In order to play all of the parts, you need to be able to play all of the instruments and you need to be able to critically listen to the recording in order to figure out how to play the parts.
Aside from all of that, you start to gain a familiarity with the music in a way that's impossible to do just as a listener. Because you're able to play the songs instead of just listen to them, you're familiar with them kinetically instead of just aurally. Plus, you may also start to uncover certain musical features that your favorite band frequently uses. I've noticed that Rod Argent likes to employ two sequential half steps in his bass parts ("I'll Keep Trying," "Whenever You're Ready," "She Loves the Way They Love Her") and that Chris White likes to use chord progressions that center around D F#(m) G and A ("Don't Go Away," "I Don't Want to Know," "Don't Cry for Me," "Brief Candles," "The Feeling's Inside").
Really, the whole point of this post is to promote the idea of learning if not the whole output of your favorite band at least a whole album. You may never learn everything, but it will certainly be an enlightening experience.
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