Your methods for learning new songs (covers)

[Cameronj279]

Just wondering what everybodies approach is to learning some cover songs are, whether you use tabs or do everything by ear.

If you learn by ear what are some ways you've managed to be able to do that?

I either learn by ear (but it takes ages and I'm cr*p at it) or by watching videos of covers/live shows.

[chris_b]

Listen to it, work it out, chart it, learn it only if it stays in the set.

[Lozz196]

If I can do it by ear, that`s my preference. If the bassline can`t easily be distinguished, I`ll check up on the tab, as don`t see the point of playing a song wrongly, if I can do it right. from then on, it`s a case of play along with the song on my stereo, until I`ve got it.

[discreet]

Always by ear. I start by listening to the target track at low volume while I'm doing something else (Basschat!). I'll play it maybe twenty or thirty times depending on whether it's something I'm already familiar with and how complex the line is.

Then (usually next day) I'll pick up the bass, get a rough idea of the arrangement and attempt the bassline. I'll listen to the track about fifty or so times during this process.

Then I'll separate the track into logical sections and listen very closely to what is happening in each, refining the line as I go and getting a handle on exactly what I [i]think [/i]is being played.

If I can, I'll leave it for a day or two and come back to it fresh. Inevitably I'll realise what I've come up with so far is [i]nothing [/i]like what's actually being played on the recording. This is when I usually 'get it'. At this point I'll rehearse with the recording and run through it as many times as I can stand without going nuts (usually a [i]lot[/i] of repetitions) so I can play it without thinking (this lets me concentrate more on the phrasing, the groove, all the 'non-note' stuff, if that makes sense...

I find when listening to bass lines it can be useful to play the target track at varying volume levels, listen to it from another room or from downstairs, or even from outside - there is [i]always [/i]something going on that you'll miss, regardless of how many times you play the recording at one level.

I admit I am pretty anal though, and in some of my previous covers bands my forensic technique usually led to me being very disappointed with the crappy efforts of everyone else in the band, so be careful! Not a problem with my current band though, who are tragic geeks.

Edited July 13, 2012 by discreet

[Conan]

As above. Listen to it a few times without picking up a bass. Then play along with it by ear, enough time that it is commited to my memory. Any awkward bits that I can't quite work out, I might resort to youtube - but there are a lot of poor covers on there!

[discreet]

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1342178506' post='1730872']
I might resort to youtube - but there are a lot of poor covers on there![/quote]

Christ, you got that right! Can be useful though, as examples of exactly how [b]not [/b]to do it!

[Cameronj279]

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1342178506' post='1730872']
Any awkward bits that I can't quite work out, I might resort to youtube - but there are a lot of poor covers on there!
[/quote]

There really is! I will admit, I have a few of them though. If I go to YouTube I make sure it's someone who's pretty accurate, and I generally just use it as a rough guideline.

[BottomE]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1342178476' post='1730871']
Always by ear. I start by listening to the target track at low volume while I'm doing something else (Basschat!). I'll play it maybe twenty or thirty times depending on whether it's something I'm already familiar with and how complex the line is.

Then (usually next day) I'll pick up the bass, get a rough idea of the arrangement and attempt the bassline. I'll listen to the track about fifty or so times during this process.

Then I'll separate the track into logical sections and listen very closely to what is happening in each, refining the line as I go and getting a handle on exactly what I [i]think [/i]is being played.

If I can, I'll leave it for a day or two and come back to it fresh. Inevitably I'll realise what I've come up with so far is [i]nothing [/i]like what's actually being played on the recording. This is when I usually 'get it'. At this point I'll rehearse with the recording and run through it as many times as I can stand without going nuts (usually a [i]lot[/i] of repetitions) so I can play it without thinking (this lets me concentrate more on the phrasing, the groove, all the 'non-note' stuff, if that makes sense...

I find when listening to bass lines it can be useful to play the target track at varying volume levels, listen to it from another room or from downstairs, or even from outside - there is [i]always [/i]something going on that you'll miss, regardless of how many times you play the recording at one level.

I admit I am pretty anal though, and in some of my previous covers bands my forensic technique usually led to me being very disappointed with the crappy efforts of everyone else in the band, so be careful! Not a problem with my current band though, who are tragic geeks.
[/quote]

We must have been seperated at birth cos i am equally anal. The rest of the band have stopped trying to blag their way through stuff too as i sometimes learn their parts too! Sometimes, i need the score or a tab to work out the line but in the main its lots of listening and a little playing.

[Norris]

As I walk to work, I usually put it on my iPod & spend a week listening to it first. Then try and work it out by ear.

Any tricky bits, or difficult-to-hear bits I run through an editor program - pitch-shifting it up an octave can make the bass line a lot more prominent.

[Silvia Bluejay]

I make a point of working out the bassline by ear as precisely as possible, even if I only play along to the record and don't play live. In fact, it's more important to get the notes right if you need to be in unison with the record than if you're playing a cover version with your band

As mentioned before, I listen to the song in question a number of times, sometimes sing along to it to tune myself to it, then grab my bass and make sure first of all to find what key it's in. That I do by playing a bit of the melody as I hear it, and checking whether it's correct. I often get it right first time, but sometimes it takes me several attempts.

Then I begin at the beginning, so to speak, and jot down chord charts if the song is easy to remember or write down the notes one by one as letters if it's tricky (I can read music but I can't write it correctly).

I tend to always play with my notes in front of me, which is something I would have to grow out of if I started to play live.

Edited July 13, 2012 by bluejay

[BigRedX]

Mostly by ear. If I can't hear what the bassline is doing on the original I'll make something up in the style of the rest of the part that fits, going on the assumption that if I can't hear what it's doing no-one else can. Always prepared to modify what I'm doing once we get the song in a band setting to allow for what the other members in the band are playing versus what's on the original. Also if there's keyboard parts in the original (my covers band has no keyboards) I need to be prepared to incorporate the keys left hand into my bassline once I've heard how the rest of the band pay it.

[discreet]

[quote name='BottomE' timestamp='1342178914' post='1730891']
...The rest of the band have stopped trying to blag their way through stuff too...[/quote]

Ha, I've noticed this! The guitarist and drummer both told me (separately) that when they learn a new number they think, '...is this good enough? No..! Mark will definitely pick me up on [i]that[/i]...' and they go the extra mile!

[discreet]

[quote name='Norris' timestamp='1342179170' post='1730896']
...difficult-to-hear bits I run through an editor program - pitch-shifting it up an octave can make the bass line a lot more prominent.[/quote]

I do this too, it works really well.

[Conan]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1342178784' post='1730885']
Christ, you got that right! Can be useful though, as examples of exactly how [b]not [/b]to do it!
[/quote]

True - but there are some good ones too. The guy who calls himself something like TJH3113 is awesome when it comes to Rush stuff, and when I was struggling a bit with Extreme's "Get the funk out" earlier this year I found the clip by Higgie (member on here) to be really useful!!

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=596vdEUpBL4[/media]

But you have to wade through a lot of dross to find the quality! And none of it was any good for helping me learn Dream Theater's "Pull me under". That is just a silly bass line anyway!

Edited July 13, 2012 by Conan

[xgsjx]

I use whatever I need to to get the job done.
I'll try by ear first, maybe writing a chord chart for the longer/trickier songs. But for the more tricky ones to pick out, I'll use score, tab, Basschat, YouTube or whatever else I need to.

Off to learn Get The Funk Out! Cheers Conan & Higgie!

[Conan]

[quote name='xgsjx' timestamp='1342180161' post='1730928']
Off to learn Get The Funk Out! Cheers Conan & Higgie!
[/quote]

Learning it is one thing... playing it in a freezing cold rehearsal studio is another - extremely tiring track to play!!

[pobrien_ie]

Interesting thread.... I'm standing in for a band next week and have to learn about 30 new songs (70's and 80's rock). This will be a turn up on the nigh and play type gig, no rehearsal beforehand. I was only asked to do the gig this Tuesday, so learning all these songs on top of work and family life is a challenge to say the least. To make things worse, a lot of the songs I've never really listed to properly before and most aren't really my cup of tea at all.

My approach is a bit of all of the above. I listen to the songs as much as I can first, ideally with bass in hand though. I use tabs and my ear to get the parts down. I've a bit of a habit of skipping from song to song in this kind of situation and somehow that seems to work for me. When I'm learning a technical song that I'm unfamiliar with I always seem to have a eureka moment at some point where the obvious structure / pattern of the song just slaps me in the face! It tends to be plain sailing from that point onwards.

By the way, tabs for Steely Dan's My Old School would be much appreciated...dreading tackling that one for some reason!

[xgsjx]

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1342180291' post='1730933']
Learning it is one thing... playing it in a freezing cold rehearsal studio is another - extremely tiring track to play!!
[/quote]

That's why they're called Extreme!

[Conan]

[quote name='pobrien_ie' timestamp='1342180364' post='1730936']
By the way, tabs for Steely Dan's My Old School would be much appreciated...dreading tackling that one for some reason!
[/quote]

That sounds like a lot of work for not much return... On the Dan thing, try PMing [url="http://basschat.co.uk/user/5887-pete-academy/"]Pete Academy[/url] on here - he is master of all things Steely...

Edited July 13, 2012 by Conan

[JakeBrownBass]

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Edited January 19, 2013 by JakeBrownBass

[pietruszka]

As a lot of people have said, I learn it by ear. If the notation is available I use that (reading practise is always good!). I listen to it several times through, then I just play the roots to get the sequence dialled in, then everything else tends to fall into place.





Dan

[Cameronj279]

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1342179924' post='1730918']

But you have to wade through a lot of dross to find the quality! And none of it was any good for helping me learn Dream Theater's "Pull me under". That is just a silly bass line anyway!
[/quote]

I used a youtube video with the intention of learning "In the Name of God" and I have to say it worked pretty well! got to maybe 3:20 in and then I realized I really didn't have enough ability to play the rest of it though

[Lord Sausage]

Listen to it a couple of times whilst looking at the chords. Then play what i want but i keep in the bits that have to be exact for the sake of the song.

[leschirons]

For me,

1) Key
2) Basic structure (verse, verse, bridge, chorus etc)
3) Become familiar with the song in my head.
4) Learn each section by ear.
5) Stick it all together and take in any building or falling of tension.
6) Hope all the other buggers have done the same when we get to the gig.

[groovebuster]

wen i wer a lad y sat down got the key and went from there. now unless ur a jazzer and its just a popular tune UTUBE fool. some1s probly bin there. still using ur ear is never a bad fing. get root notes, get chords, get fiddly bits. wana take it further get melody and play chords. find relavent scales, learn over 2 octives then solo y ass off.