What song are you learning?

[odysseus]

I don't play covers live, but I have resumed learning some just to push my knowledge and technique.

I've been returning to my youth and last week I re-learned Wrathchild by Iron Maiden - quite simple apart from a couple of fills that needed a couple of sessions to bed in.

Currently trying to learn Rush's The Analog Kid.  Whoa... that's a different ballgame. Couldn't find a tab for Guitar Pro, so I'm transcribing one onto GP7 from a YouTube channel.

The first riff was enough to tax me - I've got it up to about 92% of max speed while remaining reasonably fluid. It's going to be a while, but that's what I wanted - to stretch my playing.

Otherwise, I don't learn much and end up playing similar things all the time.

 

So... anyone else learning a particular song, whether it be for live, for playing, or for the hell of it?

[Reggaebass]

I’m having to brush up on some black uhuru songs which I haven’t played for a while for a private reggae party coming up, but when they’re out the way I can get back to learning a song I heard and really liked .....Watching The Detectives by Elvis Costello, it’s such a good Bassline , a bit of a challenge but I enjoy that 🙂

 

[SH73]

Caught in a mosh to improve my guitar shredding technique

[odysseus]

1 hour ago, SH73 said:

Caught in a mosh to improve my guitar shredding technique

Good call.  I love Got The Time, both on bass and guitar... I'm a crap guitarist but I like to pretend!!

[SH73]

10 minutes ago, odysseus said:

Good call.  I love Got The Time, both on bass and guitar... I'm a crap guitarist but I like to pretend!!

To be fair, since I got back to playing after over a decade absence, I spent playing guitar more than bass. I record mostly so guitars will always be more complex than bass with 2 plus tracks. I have never known until recently ish that  Got the time is a cover song. Frank plays the intro with a pick then changes to finger style.

Edited December 26, 2019 by SH73
.

[4000]

3 hours ago, odysseus said:

I don't play covers live, but I have resumed learning some just to push my knowledge and technique.

I've been returning to my youth and last week I re-learned Wrathchild by Iron Maiden - quite simple apart from a couple of fills that needed a couple of sessions to bed in.

Currently trying to learn Rush's The Analog Kid.  Whoa... that's a different ballgame. Couldn't find a tab for Guitar Pro, so I'm transcribing one onto GP7 from a YouTube channel.

The first riff was enough to tax me - I've got it up to about 92% of max speed while remaining reasonably fluid. It's going to be a while, but that's what I wanted - to stretch my playing.

Otherwise, I don't learn much and end up playing similar things all the time.

 

So... anyone else learning a particular song, whether it be for live, for playing, or for the hell of it?

I assume then that you play originals live? Do you write the basslines? If so, do you play your automatic go-to fingerings or do you try and challenge yourself? I sing most of my parts well before I get near the fingerboard, which helps me to think outside the box a bit. 

[NoRhino]

I'm learning Nathan East's lines on Clapton's version of Hot Tamales. 15 minutes a day is paying off and it's ready for January's first rehearsal. Wish me luck. 

[Bassfinger]

Today it's been Carry on Wayward Son.

[Stub Mandrel]

'Jack Frost and the Hooded Crow' - but on mandolin, no fancy picking, just chords. Some quite fast changes in one bit.

I seem to have most trouble with remembering the words...

[DJpullchord]

Bach 999

[BrunoBass]

I’ve just been given four ‘90s Britpop songs to learn, which may or may not lead to me joining my next band. 

I’m very familiar with all four songs, as the mid nineties was definitely ‘my era’. It’s not necessarily what I’d listen to now, but it should be a good gig if they want me. None of the basslines are especially challenging. 
 

 

[Bassfinger]

1 hour ago, Stub Mandrel said:

'Jack Frost and the Hooded Crow' - but on mandolin, no fancy picking, just chords. Some quite fast changes in one bit.

I seem to have most trouble with remembering the words...

Slightly off topic, but are you seeing Anderson performing as Tull next year?

[Stub Mandrel]

55 minutes ago, Bassfinger said:

Slightly off topic, but are you seeing Anderson performing as Tull next year?

Hopefully... 🙂

Would be nice if he has Peggy on board !

[Oopsdabassist]

2 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

'Jack Frost and the Hooded Crow' - but on mandolin, no fancy picking, just chords. Some quite fast changes in one bit.

I seem to have most trouble with remembering the words...

have you charted this?  I might break out my mando and have a go, but I have no idea even what key its in 🙄

[Stub Mandrel]

27 minutes ago, Oopsdabassist said:

have you charted this?  I might break out my mando and have a go, but I have no idea even what key its in 🙄

It feels like Am although its starts on G.

I just got the chords of Ultimate Guitar. These appear accurate (note the variations):

https://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/tab/jethro-tull/jack-frost-and-the-hooded-crow-chords-2101985

Not sure about the 'bass riff' bit', I do something like this but it's probably completely wrong:

E----------------------------
A---------------------------
D--0--2--0--2--0--0--
G--2--2--2--2--0--0--

 

Edited December 26, 2019 by Stub Mandrel

[Baceface]

3 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

'Jack Frost and the Hooded Crow' - but on mandolin, no fancy picking, just chords. 

I'm sure you know this but I believe Ian Anderson used a non-standard tuning on the mandolin for most of the Tull stuff. I think it was GDGD (as opposed to standard GDAE) which gives a really cool modal, droning effect and is great for chords.

...Until I realised this, I could never figure out why his mandolin parts sounded so cool and why I could never get the same sound myself! 

EDIT

I was being a colossal derrière as usual. 

Jack Frost was an outtake from Broadsword and I believe that Dave Pegg played the mandolin on the track, which probably means it was in GDAE. 
A quick experiment seems to back this up in that the chords sound a bit closer in standard, as opposed to Anderson, tuning.

I know that Dave Pegg was always very attached to the song and remember him playing it with Fairport around '85.
I've got a copy of him playing it on "The Cocktail Cowboy Goes it Alone" somewhere but I find that album a bit of a challenging listen.

Anyway, a fantastic tune in it's Tull guise and one of my favourites. I like the 80s version more that the Christmas Album one but both are splendid. Good luck!

 

Edited December 26, 2019 by Baceface

[Stub Mandrel]

12 hours ago, Baceface said:

I know that Dave Pegg was always very attached to the song and remember him playing it with Fairport around '85.
I've got a copy of him playing it on "The Cocktail Cowboy Goes it Alone" somewhere but I find that album a bit of a challenging listen.

It's the percussion, especially the use of the dreaded sampled handclaps... I think Peggy panicked a bit at the thought of not having a drummer!

The sleeve of my cassette copy is signed by the man himself (he did seem a bit astonished, I seem to recall he said he'd never been asked to sign a copy before...)

[Bassfinger]

13 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

Hopefully... 🙂

Would be nice if he has Peggy on board !

I'm seeing them at Aylesbury and Leicester, 2 days apart.  My hero was Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond (as per my avatar), but I would also love to see Peggy with them again. To be fair though David Goodier is no mean bassmeister himself.

Edited December 27, 2019 by Bassfinger

[odysseus]

17 hours ago, 4000 said:

I assume then that you play originals live? Do you write the basslines? If so, do you play your automatic go-to fingerings or do you try and challenge yourself? I sing most of my parts well before I get near the fingerboard, which helps me to think outside the box a bit. 

The music is written by myself and the guitarist, the lyrics and vocal melodies by the singer and the drummer, who is also a singer.  A song started by me tends to be more bass-oriented, so maybe more 'adventurous' bass-wise then one started on guitar, but that may change depending on what we think the song requires.  I guess I use the techniques I know, while anything new I've learned may be phased in and used once I get fluid with it.  Some stuff I might not use at all if it doesn't 'fit' with what we do.
Learning songs by other bands is good for increasing my knowledge and technique, which in turn can also lead to new ideas for songs.  I'm quite happy to learn stuff just for the sake of learning...

[CamdenRob]

Mostly been learning the melody line to various Christmas carols this week on my 8 year old nephew’s half size guitar 👍 

Mostly up and down a G major scale to be honest, but seemed to go down well with the family 😊

[Happy Jack]

Glad to hear that I'm not the only one avoiding ridiculously challenging prog stuff ...

This week, I am mainly learning Lola (The Kinks), Peggy Sue (Buddy Holly) and Barbara Ann (Beach Boys). I am also re-visiting Dancing In The Streets, Love Shack and Burning Love.

I do so like to stay current and relevant.

 

[EJWW]

On 26/12/2019 at 14:29, odysseus said:

 

Currently trying to learn Rush's The Analog Kid.  Whoa... that's a different ballgame. Couldn't find a tab for Guitar Pro, so I'm transcribing one onto GP7 from a YouTube channel.

The first riff was enough to tax me - I've got it up to about 92% of max speed while remaining reasonably fluid. It's going to be a while, but that's what I wanted - to stretch my playing.

Big respect to you having a go at Analogue Kid, so many wicked bass lines on this whole underrated album. My favourite song (and bass line) of that album is Digital Man.

The last tune I sat down to fully learn as a challenge was 'Easy' by Nik Kershaw after I was very fortunately introduced to it by @bubinga5 in another topic. It sounded so bloody hard I just needed to unpick it. I eventually did but I had to sit down with it for several hours. 

[4000]

On 27/12/2019 at 10:57, odysseus said:

The music is written by myself and the guitarist, the lyrics and vocal melodies by the singer and the drummer, who is also a singer.  A song started by me tends to be more bass-oriented, so maybe more 'adventurous' bass-wise then one started on guitar, but that may change depending on what we think the song requires.  I guess I use the techniques I know, while anything new I've learned may be phased in and used once I get fluid with it.  Some stuff I might not use at all if it doesn't 'fit' with what we do.
Learning songs by other bands is good for increasing my knowledge and technique, which in turn can also lead to new ideas for songs.  I'm quite happy to learn stuff just for the sake of learning...

Nothing wrong with learning for the sake of learning.

FWIW, I almost never write music on the bass. Usually the songs I write enter my head and then have to be translated onto various instruments and voices. The songs that are written by the other members of the band, again, the basslines are either mostly worked out in my head and are then translated to the instrument, or are sung and then worked out. It’s very unusual for me to come up with the line by playing first. If you come up with melodies and rhythmic ideas first, without touching the instrument, it frees you from just playing patterns you know all the time. Theoretically it means you can come up with pretty much anything, which you then learn to play.

But there’s nothing wrong with learning other lines in order to try and think outside your own personal box. Although I wouldn't limit it to learning bass parts. Learn melodies, piano lines, sax lines, anything, the more the better. 

[Lozz196]

Am currently learning some heavy rock stuff, Bon Jovi, Rainbow, Def Leppard, stuff I`ve liked for ages but never bothered to learn. Quite good fun really, and unlike a lot of the original players my hair isn`t getting in the way of looking at the fretboard as I learn 😂

[Stub Mandrel]

I've been sent a list of ten songs. I haven't even met the singer yet,one practice then two gigs a week later.

Most are pretty straightforward, but the list includes Wherever I Lay My Hat so now I'm trying to learn more than just the twiddly bit at the beginning...