meshik Posted July 21, 2018 Share Posted July 21, 2018 Sorry if this is posted in the wrong place, I just signed up to write this question because I'm going nuts. My buddies and I are meaning to play He Can Only Hold Her by Amy Winehouse, and I simply can't seem to figure out the notes to this super simple song. It feels like the bass in the song is out of tune because no matter what note I hit it always feels off. Can anyone confirm that I'm not losing my mind? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicbassman Posted July 21, 2018 Share Posted July 21, 2018 OK, just had a quick listen to this on Youtube - I think you'll need to detune your bass about a quarter of a tone to be in pitch with this whilst you learn it. Then the chords are just D - Em and back to D, and now and then it's D - Em - Bm - Em. I suspect you might have had problems as the bass is so mixed in with the kick - this makes it a bit tricky to discern, and if you add in the quarter tone drop this wouldn't have helped. Hope this helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleabag Posted July 21, 2018 Share Posted July 21, 2018 Quite right. I've found many YT vids/tunes to be out by a quarter tone, which is a pain, as it it's bass re-tune. If it was a semi-tone out you could simply play one fret down ( or up, depending ). I dont know whether thats a side effect of YT itself, the person who uploaded, or the original recording Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartinB Posted July 21, 2018 Share Posted July 21, 2018 People sometimes modify the pitch, the speed and (for videos) the aspect ratio to avoid Youtube automatically recognising and blocking their upload as copyright infringement. Though in this case the "official" upload on Youtube and the version on Spotify also sound the same, so it seems like the original recording is probably just wonky. Used to happen a lot in ye olden times when they'd fiddle with the tape speed after recording - seems unusual for an album from 2006. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted July 21, 2018 Share Posted July 21, 2018 Download the Best Practice app for Windows. https://sourceforge.net/projects/bestpractice/ You can slow down a song to make it easier to follow what's being played, or change the pitch in tiny increments to allow for the varispeeding you've just bumped up against, or do both at the same time. Highly recommended. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmo Valdemar Posted July 21, 2018 Share Posted July 21, 2018 I think if you're wearing the dress and wig most people will know who you are supposed to be. If you get time you could draw on some sailor tattoos as well. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meshik Posted July 22, 2018 Author Share Posted July 22, 2018 Thanks for validating me! I've been actually listening to the CD, so all the running away from the YouTube algorithm thing isn't the case here. It'd be interesting to know if it's intentional or not. Anyways, thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpondonBassed Posted July 22, 2018 Share Posted July 22, 2018 44 minutes ago, meshik said: Thanks for validating me! Welcome to the forum Meshik. Are you saying that the CD version is at an odd pitch as well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maude Posted July 22, 2018 Share Posted July 22, 2018 Could it be a little trick whoever recorded/produced the song used to give the song a retro feel? Slightly off pitch that gives the feeling of a stretched tape or something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Tut Posted July 22, 2018 Share Posted July 22, 2018 When I'm learning a song that's a little bit out, tuning wise, I import it into logic, pitch shift it the appropriate amount to bring it into tune then bounce a copy of it I to my collection so it's always there for reference 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveFry Posted July 22, 2018 Share Posted July 22, 2018 Was she a victim of the 432Hz Police ? 😮 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicbassman Posted July 22, 2018 Share Posted July 22, 2018 8 minutes ago, DaveFry said: Was she a victim of the 432Hz Police ? 😮 432Hz be damned! Try this test................... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpondonBassed Posted July 22, 2018 Share Posted July 22, 2018 23 minutes ago, musicbassman said: 432Hz be damned! Try this test................... Oh no. Not again. Concert is NOT the only pitch. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted July 22, 2018 Share Posted July 22, 2018 I always wanted to release an album that not only was it not recorded at A=440 but each individual track was off by a different amount. And then to mess with people's minds even more the tunings of the individual tracks would also be different depending on the format - CD, Vinyl, iTunes download, Amazon download, Spotify stream etc. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpondonBassed Posted July 22, 2018 Share Posted July 22, 2018 (edited) 16 minutes ago, BigRedX said: I always wanted to release an album that not only was it not recorded at A=440 but each individual track was off by a different amount. And then to mess with people's minds even more the tunings of the individual tracks would also be different depending on the format - CD, Vinyl, iTunes download, Amazon download, Spotify stream etc. "It's people like you what cause unrest." Monty Python Edited July 22, 2018 by SpondonBassed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted July 22, 2018 Share Posted July 22, 2018 1 minute ago, SpondonBassed said: "It's people like you what cause unrest." Monty Python Then my work here would be done! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmccombe7 Posted July 22, 2018 Share Posted July 22, 2018 (edited) used to be that recordings were slowed or sped up to fit a 4min radio slot but not sure that's still applicable these days. Many chart bands had that done back in the days before software and Apps could adjust it for you. Dave Edited July 22, 2018 by dmccombe7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted July 23, 2018 Share Posted July 23, 2018 I once had a brain fart when trying out a Warwick Vampyre 4-string that I knew was strung for low tuning. I assumed it was BEAD, turns out the Vampyre Dark Lord (for unbeknown to me 'twas one of those) is strung F#BEA... 😕😀 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazzbass Posted July 25, 2018 Share Posted July 25, 2018 On 22/07/2018 at 22:49, BigRedX said: I always wanted to release an album that not only was it not recorded at A=440 but each individual track was off by a different amount. And then to mess with people's minds even more the tunings of the individual tracks would also be different depending on the format - CD, Vinyl, iTunes download, Amazon download, Spotify stream etc. hehe I always wanted to record a silent dog whistle and stick it in a song and watch the mayhem haha we are recording our debut album at the moment, so I might try this hehe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norm Posted July 26, 2018 Share Posted July 26, 2018 Probably Mark Ronson going for the full retro effect? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowdown Posted July 26, 2018 Share Posted July 26, 2018 Can anyone confirm that I'm not losing my mind? Thanks! No, You're not losing your mind. There was (supposedly) some sampling going on with the AW track (from the single - She's a Fox). If there was some sampling going on, that might account for the tuning being in the cracks. (Also the horns sound like they are from an older soul track as well, so maybe there were samples from more than one source used?). I do remember reading an article, in which P-Nut said he put the backing track together for her, but others claimed along with album notes, that it was just a demo track. The interesting thing with all this was; P-Nut sued AW/Mick Ronson or the record company, won, and he was then credited... Sorry for getting busy on a tuning issue, but it's all out there on the World Wide Web. "Lonnie Youngblood & Jimi Hendrix - She's a Fox" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted July 26, 2018 Share Posted July 26, 2018 On 23/07/2018 at 16:22, bode said: We used to detune half a tone, then a full tone down to D. Kept it that way for years. It's messed up my relative pitch precision hearing for life! I was trying to tune a new bass at 440 and was lost. I need to re teach my brain. I can see where you`re coming from, for a while I was standing in on bass for a mates band and they did a lot of drop D/drop C# stuff and I just couldn`t work out the pitch at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andytoad Posted July 26, 2018 Share Posted July 26, 2018 Ooooh good jimi track, 5 hours ago, lowdown said: No, You're not losing your mind. There was (supposedly) some sampling going on with the AW track (from the single - She's a Fox). If there was some sampling going on, that might account for the tuning being in the cracks. (Also the horns sound like they are from an older soul track as well, so maybe there were samples from more than one source used?). I do remember reading an article, in which P-Nut said he put the backing track together for her, but others claimed along with album notes, that it was just a demo track. The interesting thing with all this was; P-Nut sued AW/Mick Ronson or the record company, won, and he was then credited... Sorry for getting busy on a tuning issue, but it's all out there on the World Wide Web. "Lonnie Youngblood & Jimi Hendrix - She's a Fox" ooooh good jimi track, anymore like this? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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