thepurpleblob

Once again, I'm on the scrounge This *could* just be A and the D 8ths the whole way through, but I can't find a recording were I can hear the bass properly. That seems a bit tame for McCartney!

Ignore the 5th string (for now). Just get used to it being there to start with and then start thinking of ways how you can use it - sparingly is best.

[quote name='Sibob' post='1230065' date='May 13 2011, 03:52 PM']May I put forward my 'guitar bands' effort [/quote] Oh well then... this is one of those moments when I see something so far removed from what I can achieve that I wonder why I bother However, yes, I did manage to make a cup of tea and go to the loo and the introduction was still going!!

[quote name='peteb' post='1229222' date='May 12 2011, 07:39 PM']My own recollections of playing this tune with guitar bands is that audiences want to like the song but get bored of it quickly, so you get a good reaction to the initial riff but you need to do something with the arrangement (or seague into another tune) after the second chorus as they start to get restless! Of course with keys you have a lot more options to take the song somewhere else.....[/quote] We're just a pub covers band (with keys) - if the audience recognises it and doesn't actually throw stuff at us then it's all good

That's great.... I'll have a look later on. Yeh - I realised it was actually a synth part but I've certainly seen it done on the bass...... at the tricky end of the covers band scene

Has anybody got a transcription for Stevie Wonder's Superstition? It sounds like enough of a technical challenge without having to figure out all the notes as well TIA

[quote name='J.R.Bass' post='1183738' date='Mar 31 2011, 07:24 PM']Haha i don't but please do inform me if i make it in! [/quote] Well this should cover it.... [url="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=151089770380"]http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=151089770380[/url]

[quote name='J.R.Bass' post='1183350' date='Mar 31 2011, 02:22 PM']Your wish is my command. [/quote] Do you read Viz magazine?? You might be in it next month

[quote name='J.R.Bass' post='1182727' date='Mar 30 2011, 09:20 PM'] Not a playing picture but with mothers day coming up, heres a pic with my sisters & mum. [/quote] Absolutely no disrespect to your family but do you have *any* pictures where you are no surrounded by attractive women?

[quote name='awdl22125' post='1182790' date='Mar 30 2011, 10:13 PM']Here's me all artistic like!![/quote] A bit overexposed there, perhaps

[quote name='Hobbayne' post='1165698' date='Mar 17 2011, 01:11 PM']I think I played a bum note [/quote] Is the girl with a microphone stuck in her head making an obscene gesture???

[quote name='chugster' post='1152466' date='Mar 7 2011, 01:38 PM']Am I missing something because I had a look at the Major's lessons and couldn't see where the lessons were for beginners?[/quote] I don't think they are aimed at "hand holding" beginners but look down the list for the ones called "Getting Started". They aim at getting you going reading music which is quite a specific skill but the playing (and listening) effort that goes along with that will do anybody LOTS of good. You may need to read around some of the points and terms in the descriptions if you don't understand them. I've been playing music of some sort (badly) since I was very young so I might not be best placed to comment.

You get used to getting sacked from bands eventually.... I've had to. I'm crap and I'm antisocial and I speak my mind when I should shut the f*** up. Don't be downhearted, just keep checking the free-ads and look forward to having to learn a 50 song set in a weekend (again)!!

[quote name='Bilbo' post='1148076' date='Mar 3 2011, 09:55 AM']Do yourself and the world a favour and just don't play it. [/quote] This is the West of Scotland. There is no choice - it's cheese or nothing!

[quote name='Jambo10' post='1147844' date='Mar 2 2011, 11:05 PM']Just take my advice when I say, never try doing this straight on the back of Town called malice...totally buggers the brain lol.[/quote] Funny you should mention that..... Don't worry, "My Sharona" is in between, and I wish I was joking!!!

[quote name='Jacqueslemac' post='1147760' date='Mar 2 2011, 09:56 PM']Well if someone can come up with another suggestion, I'm happy to give it a go! That said, no-one apart from you will notice anyway. We've altered the ending to make it slightly easier to all finish together, but no-one notices.[/quote] You've convinced me.... open E, open A it is

[quote name='tomb' post='1147755' date='Mar 2 2011, 09:50 PM']cant afford a real teacher, i dont have any income :\[/quote] It's The Major for you then You'll have to learn to read though. It will do you good. Can you run to a second hand copy of "Bass Guitar for Dummies"? It still has it's faults - particularly in not reminding you that to get from one end to the other will take LOTS of hours of practice - but it does at least (mostly) explain stuff properly which is a good start.

[quote name='Jacqueslemac' post='1147750' date='Mar 2 2011, 09:49 PM']The way I play it is to hammer on the G and C and pluck the preceeding open string E and A. I don't think that's the difficult bit, though. For me it's the right hand to get the swing beat.[/quote] Yeh - I think that's my preference too - although I don't think that's how the original is played. I started off with the E G A all the E string but it's impossible (for me) to get to the C without losing the swing feel. As I say, Grrrrr Cheers

[quote name='tomb' post='1146616' date='Mar 2 2011, 12:10 AM']hi guys, as you know im starting off and to improve i searched the internet for lessons, free ones mostly. i came across a few but some say the exact opposite of others, specially on the way to attack the strings so i was wondering what are the best free lessons for bass if there is a thing as a good free bass lesson thanks[/quote] There's two ways to look at that... there's lots of different techniques for playing the bass and all are equally valid. But... some are more valid than others and it's important to get a good grounding in basic technique / theory / ear training. If you are starting out a real teacher... even infrequently... will make a huge difference.

I know what the notes are but I just can't get this to sound right at all. It's the E-G, A-C bit that I fall off. Can anybody who knows this line explain slowly what fingering they use and what (if any) are hammer-ons / pull-offs or what? I've tried every way of playing it I can think of and they all sound crap. I have to play it in a gig next week and don't want to make a tit of myself - more than usual anyway.

I'm sure "Mustang Sally" is a metaphor for all those standards but, unlike a lot of them, it's far from a dead easy song to play - not if you want to make a proper job of it anyway. I'd rather play that than stuff by some miserable, unimaginative rock band (my current covers hate - Stereophonics and Greenday - but you know what I mean)

[quote name='AndyZed750' post='1128927' date='Feb 15 2011, 09:22 PM']At the moment i learn as much of a song (usually Chilli Peppers)as i can, via tabs and internet, when i get stuck i try as much as i can then leave it for a while, learn parts of other songs then go back to the bits i struggle on and find i can get a little further as my skills and finger speed increase slightly. Andy[/quote] I dunno if this helps (or hinders) but I would suggest trying to get from one end of a song to another "somehow" and then come back later to polish it up. In a band situation being able to "muddle through" is a skill in itself and is well worth acquiring. When I started, I'd being playing for months and it suddenly occurred to me that I'd never actually played a song from start to finish

I think the (often quoted) point about being born with a musical gene or having some innate ability is nonsense. It's an excuse of one sort or another. You get good at something because you have the enthusiasm you get stuck in and, above all, you put the hours in. There's probably a bit of luck in finding the right teacher/book/advice too. You've shown what can be done at a relatively advanced age (not being rude, I'm 47!) when, presumably, you have other responsibilities and drains on your time.

I was almost in this position a couple of years ago. That's when I quit - which should tell you something. I wasn't , and am still not, a particular good bass player in the great scheme of things but that's hardly the point. You need to be good enough, look the part, have the appropriate gear (proper PA effectively), play the right songs (inevitably ones you don't like) and - most importantly - treat it like work. You need to play every gig you can find. If you are not playing you are looking for gigs. You need posters, leaflets, business cards. You need to find out were the high-paying gigs are (certainly around here they are usually only available through a booking agent) and go and do what it takes to get them. You need to play weddings. You need to play clubs. You need an accountant. It just becomes a job, but one you do 4+ nights a week so you'll never see your wife/children/dog again. Still interested?

[quote name='Doddy' post='1126257' date='Feb 13 2011, 06:51 PM']I started a thread in off topic earlier in the week. It's Manchester and Brixton Academy.[/quote] Cool.. I couldn't see anything. As long as everybody knows