Munurmunuh Posted July 29 Share Posted July 29 Just learnt, sorry, just started to learn 'You Keep Me Hangin On' and oh my days, now I know what fiddly means. Kinda surprised that I've made any progress at all, I didn't know my fingers would take to being parked on the 1st and 4th frets at the same time 🤟 It's giving the lyrics a fresh layer of meaning for me, "you're just using me, hey abusing me" and all that 🥵 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted July 29 Share Posted July 29 For 'fiddly' bass lines, use a Hofner 'violin' bass. ... 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicbassman Posted July 30 Share Posted July 30 (edited) There's so many versions of this song by so many different artists. Which one are you learning ? Love your user name by the way ! 🙂 👍 Edited July 30 by musicbassman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjones Posted July 30 Share Posted July 30 (edited) The Supremes version is not so fiddly. It was the Funk brothers playing on it but it doesn't sound like James Jamerson (then it would be fiddly but in a good way). It sounds like the bass was played with a pick, so may have been Carol Kaye. The Rod Stewart version has a bassline that is extremely fiddly, so stay away from that one. Edited July 30 by gjones Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonesy Posted July 30 Share Posted July 30 53 minutes ago, gjones said: The Supremes version is not so fiddly. It was the Funk brothers playing on it but it doesn't sound like James Jamerson (then it would be fiddly but in a good way). It sounds like the bass was played with a pick, so may have been Carol Kaye. The Rod Stewart version has a bassline that is extremely fiddly, so stay away from that one. Carmine Appice (also of Vanilla Fudge) played drums on that Rod Stewart album, I wonder if that influenced covering it in the first place? The Vanilla Fudge version is my favourite version of this tune and also has a great bassline. Tim Bogert is one hell of a bassist! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Munurmunuh Posted July 30 Author Share Posted July 30 1 hour ago, musicbassman said: There's so many versions of this song by so many different artists. The Supremes version, so in Ab 1 hour ago, gjones said: The Supremes version is not so fiddly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted July 30 Share Posted July 30 (edited) You Keep Me Hanging On, recorded in 1966, is Jamerson changing the world of bass from a supporting role to a feature at the front of the mix. It's not really "fiddly", he took that to another level with songs like Darling Dear and For Once In My Life, but it's busier than bass lines were up to that point. If you're having trouble with any bass line you can slow the YouTube video down, go to settings, or check out the "how to play" bass cover videos. Edited July 30 by chris_b Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted July 30 Share Posted July 30 (edited) This bloke runs through it; does that help..? ... The decorations are basically the chord tones and chromatic runs. It would be totally admissible to play around with those two concepts, and it will sound (and be..!) fine. I would recommend looking into those concepts, which will help a lot when working on so many songs of the sort. That's what playing music is about, in the end, playing with one's own knowledge rather than learning by rote, 'parrot'-style. Edited July 30 by Dad3353 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Dare Posted July 30 Share Posted July 30 2 hours ago, gjones said: The Supremes version is not so fiddly. It was the Funk brothers playing on it but it doesn't sound like James Jamerson (then it would be fiddly but in a good way). It sounds like the bass was played with a pick, so may have been Carol Kaye. The song was recorded in 1966, when Motown was still in Detroit, so almost certain to have been Jamerson. It could have been Bob Babbitt (the "other" Motown bassist, but it sounds like a Jamerson part). Carol Kaye played on some Motown records after the company relocated to California, but not whilst they were in Detroit afaik. It doesn't sound like pick playing to me. The pick sound is probably due to the fact that Jamerson used dead strings (with foam under the bridge), a high action and damped with his right hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itu Posted July 30 Share Posted July 30 You keep me hanging on From the 1967 Supremes album The Supremes sing Holland-Dozier-Holland (recorded in 1966). Bass: James Jamerson Source: Standing in the shadows of Motown, 1989. The book contains the bass score, which is half a page long (29 measures). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Munurmunuh Posted July 30 Author Share Posted July 30 Browsing through the YouTube tab videos I notice that some notes are frequently considered optional, and that the only one that has all the notes is tabbed way up the neck. Playing it down near the nut, with all the notes, is giving my pinkie plenty to think about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted July 30 Share Posted July 30 2 hours ago, Munurmunuh said: Browsing through the YouTube tab videos I notice that some notes are frequently considered optional, and that the only one that has all the notes is tabbed way up the neck. Playing it down near the nut, with all the notes, is giving my pinkie plenty to think about. You'll find errors, especially in tab, but some of the videos are accurate. You can get a general idea off some of them and build up the rest yourself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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