Songs that make you feel uncomfortable - Part II

[Al Krow]

Great tune, but playing this one riff for 5 mins leaves my fingers knackered! Jackie Wilson - (Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher And Higher (Best Quality) - YouTube

And don't even get me started on Rhythm Stick! 

What about you, what songs leave you feeling distinctly uncomfortable having played them?

[steantval]

Same as the other thread for me.

Anything by Level 42.

I can’t play slap to save my ars*

[Lfalex v1.1]

My Sharona.

RSI set to music.

[Al Krow]

2 minutes ago, steantval said:

Same as the other thread for me.

Anything by Level 42.

I can’t play slap to save my ars*

But does your arse need saving? 😁

[Graham]

The middle section of Dazed And Confused, really makes my hand ache

[Lozz196]

12 minutes ago, Graham said:

The middle section of Dazed And Confused, really makes my hand ache

Def, the actual part isn’t that difficult on its own but it repeats so much and if you fall slightly out with the drums it sticks out like the proverbial. And the bit where it changes from the A riff to the E always catches me out.

[casapete]

‘You can call me Al’ by Paul Simon.  Played this for years and never did it justice, especially the bass break. Worst bit was, I had to play guitar with the band on one gig when our usual guitarist was ill, and the (superb) bass dep absolutely nailed it. ( I had him try and show me how afterwards, but never got it down properly). 🥴

[Al Krow]

@casapete - hopefully no one noticed other than you that the dep nailed it? 😁

Oh btw - you can call me Al any time you like.

[casapete]

1 minute ago, Al Krow said:

@casapete - hopefully no one noticed other than you that the dep nailed it? 😁

Oh btw - you can call me Al any time you like.

The band never let me forget it of course so just made it worse. Got my own back when the trumpet player was on holiday though. He used a dep who was really good, so I told him a lot of his parts had sounded so much better when played an octave higher. 😅

[Al Krow]

1 minute ago, casapete said:

The band never let me forget it of course so just made it worse. Got my own back when the trumpet player was on holiday though. He used a dep who was really good, so I told him a lot of his parts had sounded so much better when played an octave higher. 😅

Bloody deps, eh? Just turn up and steal the show! My regular bass dep is also a fabulous lead vocalist and she's 20+ years younger than me.

But I own the band PA and have transport. Phew!

Except she's got a PA and a set of wheels too,

Hmmm....😁

[casapete]

2 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

Bloody deps, eh? Just turn up and steal the show! My regular bass dep is also a fabulous lead vocalist and she's 20+ years younger than me.

But I own the band PA and have transport. Phew!

Except she's got a PA and a set of wheels too,

Hmmm....😁

I have transport, some PA, and sing backing vocals! This seems to be a rarity with bass players around here, and I think sometimes gets me dep gigs over better players than myself. 

Always hard to find a dep good enough to do the job but just not too well isn’t it?!! We had some unbelievably good deps over the years, and the band always seemed to raise their collective game accordingly. 

 

 

[Al Krow]

9 hours ago, casapete said:

I have transport, some PA, and sing backing vocals! This seems to be a rarity with bass players around here, and I think sometimes gets me dep gigs over better players than myself. 

Always hard to find a dep good enough to do the job but just not too well isn’t it?!! We had some unbelievably good deps over the years, and the band always seemed to raise their collective game accordingly. 

Being able to sing and play bass is a minority skill full stop, not just on BC. I've got a LOT of admiration for folk who can do both. 

I'm just relieved that my dep hasn't discovered bass pedals yet. Obviously when she starts using a pedal board compressor, I'm going to be totally screwed! 😁

Edited June 25, 2021 by Al Krow

[PatrickJ]

Perhaps a more obscure song than most but Fear of a Blank Planet (Porcupine Tree, not Public Enemy 😁) causes me severe discomfort to play to the point I just can't hold it together and my playing and timing just go to poop.

[uk_lefty]

13 hours ago, Lfalex v1.1 said:

My Sharona.

RSI set to music.

Billie Jean does that to me too. Tried it in an old band, and think I've still got the recording of me stopping and shaking my hand going "aaaaaaaahhhhhhhh f***!" then starting again and it all falling apart. Luckily in rehearsal. But we couldn't gig that song. This is what loop pedals are for. If only I knew how to use one... 

[ubit]

Girls and Boys by Blur. If I play that properly ie. F-Fsharp -G to G octave it is such a stretch. I can duff it easily E- F sharp-G to G octave but my pinky stretch is struggling doing it the right way. I need to practise that one. It's not hard just a big stretch.

[Cat Burrito]

Initially anything on the upright bass was a problem but I built up my stamina and it's never an issue now.

Recently I was struggling with the three note constant repetition of The Mission's Wasteland but again practice solved that. I was literally removing my hand mid verse with hand cramps and I haven't had that in years.

[ubit]

44 minutes ago, Cat Burrito said:

I was literally removing my hand mid verse with hand cramps and I haven't had that in years.

We used to finish with a fast version of the Last of The Mohicans theme tune. The bass part was easy but it was repetitive double finger plucking. I used to always get cramps in my fingers. One or both would develop trigger finger and I was helpless. I started playing with a pick for that one. All was well until I dropped the pick!

Edited June 25, 2021 by ubit

[Paul S]

I was in a rock covers band a few years back and a couple of songs we played I found hard at first until I practiced enough not to worry.  The triplets in in the chorus of UFO's 'Lights Out' I found took some stamina, especially  as the drummer would invariably speed up.  Also the bit after the breakdown in Iron Maiden's 'Hallowed Be Thy Name' at around 4.20-ish took a bit of practice until it flowed.

[Al Krow]

2 hours ago, ubit said:

Girls and Boys by Blur. If I play that properly ie. F-Fsharp -G to G octave it is such a stretch. I can duff it easily E- F sharp-G to G octave but my pinky stretch is struggling doing it the right way. I need to practise that one. It's not hard just a big stretch.

2 hours ago, uk_lefty said:

Billie Jean does that to me too. Tried it in an old band, and think I've still got the recording of me stopping and shaking my hand going "aaaaaaaahhhhhhhh f***!" then starting again and it all falling apart. Luckily in rehearsal. But we couldn't gig that song. This is what loop pedals are for. If only I knew how to use one... 

Interesting about the F^# octave stretch on the Blur song as, just to make things worse(!) that's actually also the correct start on Billie Jean. But I wonder how many of us actually play the F^# octave at the start of BJ rather than just a single note?

(Or how many of us don't play MJ tunes anymore because they were written by him and that makes us uncomfortable for a very different reason - but that's a subject for a whole 'nother thread, right? 😁)

Edited June 25, 2021 by Al Krow

[ubit]

9 hours ago, Al Krow said:

Being able to sing and play bass is a minority skill full stop, not just on bass chat. I've got a LOT of admiration for folk who can do both. 

I am/was the singer in our band as well as being the bass player. I found I could eventually do both to a decent level in most songs. It takes lots of practice. You have to learn the bass part until it is pure muscle memory, then learn the lyrics until you know them back to front and finally you have to slowly marry the two. As I say most songs but All These Things I've done by The Killers always stumped me. Just the verse. Listen to its offbeat rhythm. I simply couldn't get it right. None of the band members noticed that I simplified it and nobody in the audiences cared but I cared and I was always ashamed to play that. it used to go down a storm too.

[Al Krow]

9 hours ago, casapete said:

I have transport, some PA, and sing backing vocals!

2 minutes ago, ubit said:

I am/was the singer in our band as well as being the bass player. 

Right gents, I've already shared that I'm slightly in awe of fellow bass-players who can both sing and play - so please don't be shy and feel free to post a clip of your bands with you singing & playing in action! 

[ubit]

5 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

Interesting about the F^# octave stretch on the Blur song as, just to make things worse(!) that's actually also the correct start on Billie Jean. But I wonder how many of us actually play the F^# octave at the start of BJ rather than just a single note?

Yeah, have a look at this. Dead easy but I find the pinky stretch hard to do fluidly. Im used to doing higher octaves with my pinky held against my ring finger. In this your fingers are all in a wide claw and I find I have less control over my pinky that way. For years I had never thought my pinky was weaker as I have used it comprehensively over the years, just never in this stretch.

 

 

[peteb]

9 hours ago, Al Krow said:

Being able to sing and play bass is a minority skill full stop, not just on BC. I've got a LOT of admiration for folk who can do both. 

 

That was always my problem and was the reason that I missed out on a few gigs.

Ironically, my BVs seem to be have improved considerably these days - just 35 years too late...! 

Edited June 25, 2021 by peteb

[Al Krow]

2 minutes ago, peteb said:

That was always my problem and was the reason that I missed out on a few gigs.

Ironically, I seem to be have improved as a singer these days - just 35 years too late...! 

The inspiring bit, Pete, is you're reminding us aging rockers that it's never too late! 😊👍

(PS you obviously need to have some vocal talent in the first place, which sadly rules me out...)

Edited June 25, 2021 by Al Krow

[peteb]

1 minute ago, Al Krow said:

The inspiring bit, Pete, is you're reminding us aging rockers that it's never too late! 😊👍

That's a nice sentiment, but I'm afraid that for me it is way too late! 

The secret is confidence and not trying too hard. Just give it a go and don't be too hard on yourself when you miss notes. The turning point for me was a guy from a well known band (renowned for their harmonies) said that he thought that I had a good voice (or at least, 'one that he could work with'). In fact, he seemed to prefer my voice to my bass playing, which was a first!