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What song are you learning?


odysseus

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Very old setlist (1987) that I've shared before... it's in my albums.

Spotted Strange Little Girl, which I remembered as being quite heavy sounding(!) perhaps that was how we played it back then?

Anyway, listened to the original for the first time in ages and ages, it's ethereal and beautiful, and as you'd expect for the more sophisticated end of The Stranglers, JJ's bassline is exquisite.

Between Ultimate Guitar (much of it totally crocked), BigBassTabs (structure right but some simplification and minor errors) and my own ear, I think I've got it down.

 

What a corker of a song, and I can't imagine a greater contrast with Peaches, which I've been playing with the current band. Whatever happened to real rock bands (not progsters) who could put something heavy and something delicate on the same album (Sabbath, Uriah Heep...)

Enough of my guff, wrap your ears around this...

 

 

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I'm learning 'I'm Still Standing' by Elton John.

 

My band is on a summer hiatus as the two other members are Europeans and take their families back home for the school holidays.  So, I've got time to learn all the stuff the BL wants to put in the setlist.  This one is going to take a bit of time to nail as I have never learned how to slap and pop, which 'I'm Still Standing' is full of.

 

I suppose knowing how to slap and pop is an essential tool for a bassist so I'm pleased I've got the summer break to hone my skills.

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On 12/02/2024 at 21:20, PaulHornBass said:

 

I've been playing this in our band for a longer than I care to admit without learning the original line. Just doing that now and feel that I'm gaining a lot from going through it and in particular making sure I get the different rhythms right. 

 

I've just started working on the Bruce Springsteen/E Street band version for the Hulla band as a request for an up coming wedding gig. Our version is loose enough that I have free reign over the bassline I play so I'm currently swapping between the guitar riff and original bass part.

 

As part of the same request list, we're also working on Texas Hold 'Em, 21 Summers, There's Your Trouble, Thinking of You and Rainy Night in Soho.

Edited by Franticsmurf
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1 minute ago, Franticsmurf said:

Our BL is a big Bruce fan, so a lot of our stuff leans towards his style.

I watched it and think it's a great cover. There's a cameo from a certain guitarist 3 minutes in that I didn't see coming! 😆

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It is good, isn't it. I started learning the original version for a funk/rock band a few years ago and liked it but I think I prefer this version. Great fun to play as well. I just need to persuade the BL to keep it in the set after the wedding.

 

I had to Google the guitarist but yes, unexpected but a nice solo.

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I've recently learnt Nowhere To Run and have been enjoying all Jamerson's tiny variations in the riff. A lot of bassists would happily play the same thing 32 times, but there's at least a dozen different versions of it. Lovely stuff 🥰

 

I copied down the notes from this transcription:

 

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Finally put a few minutes aside to learn 'Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick'. It's always been on my list but never had a reason to do so until joining a band that want to cover it!

 

Got it nailed now, just have to make sure my fingers don't get tied in a knot on the C# riff...!

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5 minutes ago, cetera said:

Finally put a few minutes aside to learn 'Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick'. It's always been on my list but never had a reason to do so until joining a band that want to cover it!

 

Got it nailed now, just have to make sure my fingers don't get tied in a knot on the C# riff...!

Make sure you never play it with a drummer who counts it correctly but then speeds up by 40bpm in the first 2 bars. Been there, stopped playing, couldn’t play that fast.

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I'm learning Judith by A Perfect Circle, both the bass and some of the vocals.

 

Slight complication in that the band tunes down to D standard and the song is played C# standard, and I'm not tuning any lower (there are limits, dammit ! :)) but no real biggy, just some changes in note choice.

 

Tried it at practice on Tuesday, sounded pretty good 👍

 

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

After some 20 years without playing any serious slap (except for generic crappy licks) I spent the last week doing some slap fitness, both excercises and also "testing" progress with an intro from a '90s song I like. The song is upwards of 180BPM. I'm no slapper, at all. A week ago I could barely play it at 140BPM. This is 170BPM and was the best I could do yesterday afternoon (unedited), on my SBV-500 (best sounding and easiest Jazz Bass for slapping).

 

 

The original song is called "Dr. Feel", from Argentinean band Zona Púrpura (Guillermo Vadalá -Mark Anthony, Alejandro Sanz, etc.- on bass). I took classes with him for some months back in '93. The man himself briefs us on this intro in a vid from his YT channel.

Edited by andruca
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  • 5 weeks later...

Big band. Found a ton of new arrangements on YT of all the old favs, and stuff I wouldnt have expected to have received the BB treatment....Makes a nice technical change from all the old pop favs.

Edited by diskwave
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Thought I'd sit down to say and try to play/sing Ring of Fire by Johnny Cash on the bass. Hadn't factored in the weird structure, it's going to take a bit longer than I thought! 

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51 minutes ago, Alexx said:

Thought I'd sit down to say and try to play/sing Ring of Fire by Johnny Cash on the bass. Hadn't factored in the weird structure, it's going to take a bit longer than I thought! 

 

This version is more or less a three chord vamp?

 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lNOT3Qr-CXI&feature=youtu.be

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20 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

Currently murdering forget me nots. I need to be more familiar with the song...

I've left that one alone for a while, shown it - and me - some mercy. 

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