Basslines you struggled to learn then...BOOM!

[donslow]

As a Musician I’m (like most of us I’m sure) always trying to learn new things whether it’s a new technique or mastering that elusive line

what basslines have we all struggled to nail for longer than expected and then all of a sudden, one day you pick up your bass and BOOM! There it is...

I’ll kick this off, I was, very on and off, always trying to learn the bass parts to Mogwai’s “ex-cowboy” but I was determined to be able to play it in standard tuning. Trying and trying for the longest time and then after about 2 months of not trying, I grabbed a bass one afternoon and played it  exactly as it should be played, just like that!

what lines have you all struggled to get right and then, out of nowhere, there it is?!

 

 

[uk_lefty]

I've only recently discovered Songsterr where it plays a backing track and moves along the tab at the right tempo. It's really helped me learn some tricky parts that stumped me for ages. 

[donslow]

3 hours ago, uk_lefty said:

I've only recently discovered Songsterr where it plays a backing track and moves along the tab at the right tempo. It's really helped me learn some tricky parts that stumped me for ages. 

I can see what you mean and you’re right, songster does help certainly but what I was really referring to was, basslines you have learnt/know the notes to but for some reason has taken an age to play right, if that makes sense?! 

[uk_lefty]

43 minutes ago, donslow said:

I can see what you mean and you’re right, songster does help certainly but what I was really referring to was, basslines you have learnt/know the notes to but for some reason has taken an age to play right, if that makes sense?! 

Ah, well mine was the intro to Sweet Child O Mine. Not at all complicated, and I play far more complex things, but somehow this eluded me for years. I was blagging it on a dep gig just playing something that kinda fit... Then my boss had a week's holiday so I had some day time to noodle about on bass and using songsterr helped me nail it. I now play it almost every time I pick up my bass just to keep it front of mind. It's silly because it's not a complex line but I think I kept getting frustrated and quitting. 

[donslow]

6 minutes ago, uk_lefty said:

Ah, well mine was the intro to Sweet Child O Mine. Not at all complicated, and I play far more complex things, but somehow this eluded me for years. I was blagging it on a dep gig just playing something that kinda fit... Then my boss had a week's holiday so I had some day time to noodle about on bass and using songsterr helped me nail it. I now play it almost every time I pick up my bass just to keep it front of mind. It's silly because it's not a complex line but I think I kept getting frustrated and quitting. 

Nice dude! Nice!

[Nail Soup]

39 minutes ago, uk_lefty said:

Then my boss had a week's holiday so I had some day time to noodle about on bass

No wonder the country's going to the dogs!

[geoham]

For me, it was Hysteria by Muse. I spent a while obsessing with getting the sound right, then practiced it slowly, but could never quite get it right at speed. I kept coming back to it and repeating the process over a period of about five years!

My keyboard player recently suggested doing it with the band, and suddenly things just clicked. I assume due to the pressure of playing it along with others. Now I can't wait to get out gigging again! I also think this justifies a purchase of a Status Chris Wolstenholme signature bass.... sure the wife will agree too...

George

[KingPrawn]

So many to choose from. One of my biggest challenges recently has been using a pick instead of fingers. I’ve struggled to get the same speed. The start of Town called malice was a right nightmare in the beginning. With fingers faultless with pick ridiculous.  I agree regarding leaving the line for a period always seems to help. 

[geoham]

1 minute ago, KingPrawn said:

So many to choose from. One of my biggest challenges recently has been using a pick instead of fingers. I’ve struggled to get the same speed. The start of Town called malice was a right nightmare in the beginning. With fingers faultless with pick ridiculous.  I agree regarding leaving the line for a period always seems to help. 

Me too! I'm never happy with how I play this, though my bandmates insist it's fine.

[Woodinblack]

Hit me with your rythmn stick. For years it was just way too fast, then one day, it wasn't. Litterally one day, I couldn't play it the previous day, my hand worked it out while I was sleeping.

Still can't play it well, but not really the point!

[uk_lefty]

10 minutes ago, Nail Soup said:

No wonder the country's going to the dogs!

I still did well over 40hrs... Honest. For the non UK based company I work for!! 

[Nail Soup]

31 minutes ago, uk_lefty said:

I still did well over 40hrs... Honest. For the non UK based company I work for!! 

I know what you mean... I often say to colleagues "I'm packing up early today" when I actually mean that I'm simply finishing on time!

[donslow]

1 hour ago, KingPrawn said:

So many to choose from. One of my biggest challenges recently has been using a pick instead of fingers. I’ve struggled to get the same speed. The start of Town called malice was a right nightmare in the beginning. With fingers faultless with pick ridiculous.  I agree regarding leaving the line for a period always seems to help. 

Definitely this too, have had to learn to use a pick recently for a cover of beastie boys sabotage, granted a majority of it is strumming but I struggled with the little run at first, makes me realise why I don’t like using a pick, because I can’t (and that’s coming from me as an ex-guitarist) ha ha

1 hour ago, Woodinblack said:

Hit me with your rythmn stick. For years it was just way too fast, then one day, it wasn't. Litterally one day, I couldn't play it the previous day, my hand worked it out while I was sleeping.

Still can't play it well, but not really the point!

seems to be the same with the bassline for ex-cowboy as mentioned in my first post except with me it was getting my fingers in the right positions to play it, it’s a simple line but trying to play it fluently in standard tuning is (Well, was) a bit of a challenge

1 hour ago, geoham said:

My keyboard player recently suggested doing it with the band, and suddenly things just clicked. I assume due to the pressure of playing it along with others.

George

Funny how that happens isn’t it?!

Edited September 8, 2020 by donslow

[BillyBass]

11 hours ago, donslow said:

Trying and trying for the longest time and then after about 2 months of not trying, I grabbed a bass one afternoon and played it  exactly as it should be played, just like that!

 

I find that as a general rule, when I am struggling with a particular song or part of a song, I need to take a break and then come back to it.  Sometimes all I need is an hour away from the bass and then when I start another session, it all clicks into place quite easily.

For me, relentlessly grinding away at a song is often a waste of time; taking breaks every now and again helps.

[donslow]

2 hours ago, BillyBass said:

For me, relentlessly grinding away at a song is often a waste of time; taking breaks every now and again helps.

Have to agree with that, normally my kind of thinking

[Barking Spiders]

Sir Duke...it's not the horns and bass unison line that was the problem but the deceptively tricky line in the verses as there's little repetition

[geoham]

17 hours ago, Woodinblack said:

Hit me with your rythmn stick. For years it was just way too fast, then one day, it wasn't. Litterally one day, I couldn't play it the previous day, my hand worked it out while I was sleeping.

Still can't play it well, but not really the point!

It's still at the too fast phase for me! Did almost have it in the setlist for my last band, so I was pretty close. But the band then imploded and I've not looked at it since.

Certainly a touch of genius in Norman Watt-Roy putting this Jaco-esque line in the song. I can't imagine it any other way, but I'm pretty sure I'd have played something a bit more root focused in his shoes!

[Greg Edwards69]

For me it's "Get what you give" by the New Radicals. It's not a technically challenging bass line by any stretch, pretty simple to be honest. I just have a job remembering it all!  There's a lot of beautiful chord voicing shaped by the bass note choice that seem to change every verse and chorus which make it dynamically interesting. Not to mention the tasteful fills here and there at the right place which I seem to forget when to play them.

Edited September 9, 2020 by Greg Edwards69

[el borracho]

It's My Life by Talk Talk. It was that bridge between verse & chorus - I had a mental block on it when I played it live. Fine at home but in the band I struggled with it for months...until one day it just worked.

[dmccombe7]

HMWYRS i just started slow with the music sheet / tab and worked up to correct speed. There was a little bit in the verse where his timing is off beat that kept catching me out but i kept at it and i can do it but not good enough to play in a band but it was just for my own satisfaction really. I keep working at it tho. Every now and again i have a wee go at it.

Had a lot over the years where little bits of a song evaded me and then all of a sudden it just worked and i got it.

This one i just struggled with the rhythmic feel of the bass line. Its not a technically difficult bass line and its not overly fast. I just had a mental block with it. I don't use a pick but that's never stopped me with any other songs but at a rehearsal one day it just clicked and ever since it just comes naturally.

The band was 2012 so was a while back but its always stuck in my mind.

LIAR by Glenn Hughes.

 

[chris_b]

I find if I listen to any song a few times without playing it, I can get the structure in my head and have an idea of the patterns before I start to pick out the notes. If you already know the geography of a song the notes will come with less effort, even on the more difficult bass lines.

[Dan Dare]

I struggled for several months with Jaco's 'Portrait of Tracy'. Then one night, there was a gas leak at my house and BOOM.

Is this what you meant...

[dmccombe7]

1 hour ago, Dan Dare said:

I struggled for several months with Jaco's 'Portrait of Tracy'. Then one night, there was a gas leak at my house and BOOM.

Is this what you meant...

Stay of the curried beans. 

[Stub Mandrel]

19 hours ago, BillyBass said:

For me, relentlessly grinding away at a song is often a waste of time; taking breaks every now and again helps.

It's well proven that repeating mistakes is bad, always take a break if this happens.

Changing something about how you are playing helps too, so try the rhythm on a different melody, speed up or down, play the melody to a different rhythm or play in a different position. These halpcement the bits that stay the same.

Also, sleeping on it is good, you may well come back and  find it easier because the practice has had a chance to 'fix' in your longer term memory.

[Greg Edwards69]

3 hours ago, chris_b said:

I find if I listen to any song a few times without playing it, I can get the structure in my head and have an idea of the patterns before I start to pick out the notes. If you already know the geography of a song the notes will come with less effort, even on the more difficult bass lines.

I find that easier with older songs - pre 'protools' era. Song structures tended to be simpler.  These days there's song much chopping up and rearranging of song structures done after the recording process, song rarely adhere to a simple structure. Similar to my post above - the bass lines of modern songs are usually technically easy to play, but remembering the structures is the most challenging part.