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Black Dog....sounds wrong !!


tonybassplayer
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Learning Black Dog for an audition on Monday night and when it goes to the second part of the bass line ( just as it moves away from the initial riff ) it just sounds wrong and out of time/sync.

I know that it can't be because that is how it is supposed to sound but when you listen to it to try to learn it is not easy.

Anyone else had problems learning it ??

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[quote name='tonybassplayer' post='114217' date='Jan 5 2008, 06:12 PM']Learning Black Dog for an audition on Monday night and when it goes to the second part of the bass line ( just as it moves away from the initial riff ) it just sounds wrong and out of time/sync.

I know that it can't be because that is how it is supposed to sound but when you listen to it to try to learn it is not easy.

Anyone else had problems learning it ??[/quote]

Follow the guitar.....then if it sounds crap, look at the drummer and shake your head :)

Just keep playing along with it untill you can feel the changes.

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[quote name='SJA' post='114377' date='Jan 5 2008, 09:34 PM']yeah, it's always sounded "wrong" to me.

I read a story that John Bonham couldn't figure out the odd time signature, so just played 4/4 through it?[/quote]

Bonham plays it fine as it is in 4/4 and he does that stuff v good!
To my ears it sounds like the guitar boys make a bit of an arse of it- it's a repetitive figure with the accents being displaced each time.
It's when they play the pick up into the original riff from that section that it gets a little shaky.
Something like this
[attachment=4620:Preview_...ck_Dog._.pdf]

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[quote name='King Tut' post='114523' date='Jan 6 2008, 02:34 AM']I'm learning it at the mo and have a hell of a time working out where to come in after the vocals each time! Any help appreciated![/quote]

If you listen carefully Bonham clicks his sticks once to lead back in after the vocal, except the for the second verse, where its timed with the end of the vocal :)

Hope this helps, good fun when you crack it!

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[quote name='En_Djinn' post='114537' date='Jan 6 2008, 03:33 AM']If you listen carefully Bonham clicks his sticks once to lead back in after the vocal, except the for the second verse, where its timed with the end of the vocal :)

Hope this helps, good fun when you crack it![/quote]


I was just about to mention this... that's the way I did it.

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JPJ said;

"I then came up with the bridge riff, which is in E. The riff is rather tricky sounding, as it's built from a repeated phrase that's four and a half beats long. Each time the phrase is repeated it's [i]rhythmically displaced [/i]by half a beat".

Led Zep found it hard too! Just keep playing it.

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I promise to future generations that if I ever write a classic iconic song that will last forever I will make the riff 4, 8, or 16 beats long but will never write one that is 4 and a half beats long !!!!

Thanks for the explanation, it makes me feel a bit better.

Wonder why he didn't just think " this would be easier for me if I knocked a note or two out here and there "

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It's also based on a 'feel' which is hard to replicate. When it was played to Bonzo he refused to play it. Jimmy told him to play 4/4 throughout and that it would all be ok. And it was, it's one of their best tracks!

Play it with some feeling, and try to let the parts 'breath'. Watch Zepp live, this is what they did (or still do I spose!)

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[quote name='tonybassplayer' post='114951' date='Jan 6 2008, 08:42 PM']I promise to future generations that if I ever write a classic iconic song that will last forever I will make the riff 4, 8, or 16 beats long but will never write one that is 4 and a half beats long !!!!

Thanks for the explanation, it makes me feel a bit better.

Wonder why he didn't just think " this would be easier for me if I knocked a note or two out here and there "[/quote]
That would seem to make a lot more sense and it'd flow back into the original riff a bit more easily too, but I suppose the syncopation is an important part of the song...

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[quote name='charic' post='114581' date='Jan 6 2008, 11:11 AM']Im not sure how people feel about the program but i used powertab and got the song down in no time :)[/quote]


Sorry - what is 'powertab'? Never come across it. (I can guess that it's an automatic tabbing programme, but can anyone explain in a nutshell?)

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[quote name='Lenny B' post='115022' date='Jan 6 2008, 09:46 PM']Sorry - what is 'powertab'? Never come across it. (I can guess that it's an automatic tabbing programme, but can anyone explain in a nutshell?)[/quote]
It's very useful, but personally I'd recommend guitar pro which is better in pretty much every way... you can download a demo of that [url="http://www.guitar-pro.com/en/index.php"]from the website[/url]

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[quote name='queenofthedepths' post='115024' date='Jan 6 2008, 09:52 PM']It's very useful, but personally I'd recommend guitar pro which is better in pretty much every way... you can download a demo of that [url="http://www.guitar-pro.com/en/index.php"]from the website[/url][/quote]


Thanks

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