Skinnyman

Looking gooood there, Stubz

Only if you’re dancing to it

Surely it doesn’t make any difference what tempo you (don’t) play it at - it’s 120 bars*. The only difference the tempo makes is that it will take you more or less time (not) to play it than the 4’33” of the title. *Or however many bars are in the piece.

The string spacing on that tab is a bit narrow for my fat fingers…

Not tab, just the score…. 😁

It’s one of those catchy little tunes that just get stuck in your head. An ear worm I think they’re called… 😁

I nailed 4’33” after just two listens.

5ths??? What are they?

I give it one go - if I get it, that’s fine, if not I just play the riff to Wishing Well with suitable timing* No-one ever notices. Well, no-one whose opinion I care about, anyway. *This is a joke. I don’t really do this. I play 7 Nation Army.

In fairness, even I managed to nail the verse on first listen. Took a bit longer for the chorus, but the verse? Easy

It can be done. Bill Bruford tells this story in his autobiography (paraphrased here on another site…) It's 1983, and Bruford and his King Crimson bandmate, bassist and Chapman Stick player Tony Levin had been hired by DiMeola to play on his latest album and had travelled to a residential studio in Nebraska for the session. They'd been told that DiMeola liked to start his sessions fairly late, so they arrived at the studio at midday as agreed in advance. No Al. They set up the drums and got ready to record. Still no Al. Bruford, who says that the grossest insult one musician can give another is to keep them waiting, is not amused. Nor is Levin. Four hours later than agreed, just as Levin is wondering aloud how it might affect his otherwise sterling reputation as a session player (seriously, look him up) if he were to just leave, DiMeola arrives and proceeds to small-talk with Bruford, Levin and the studio engineer while changing his guitar strings. Eventually, he starts to run through the songs he wants to record. Bruford sits at his kit, Levin sits silently in a corner, his bass still in its case. Bruford and DiMeola run through the songs, repeat a few tricky sections, discuss exactly what is needed. Eventually, they arrive at a fast run that Al wants the bass to play in unison with his guitar, so he urges Levin to, maybe actually get his bass out so he can play it once or twice before they record. Levin declines. When it's time to record a take, Levin gets his Stick out and plugs in, not playing a note. They play, Levin plays his part flawlessly, tricky run and all, then overdubs a perfect double-track. The process begins again for a second song. Again, Levin plays and double-tracks his part perfectly. It's getting late, and the agreed time for the session is over so Levin packs up his gear and heads for the door. Just then, the engineer somehow manages to erase a two-bar section of Levin's part. Suitably embarrassed, he begs Levin for five more minutes to re-record the missing part. Levin agrees, and again puts the part on tape flawlessly, packs up and makes for the door again. Oh crap, says the engineer, we're two notes short of what I erased. Tony, can you just... But he's out the door. Now Al DiMeola is going to have to pay his engineer to review the tape of the session (and it *is* tape- this is 1983 and Pro-Tools is distant sci-fi fantasy) to find duplicates of those two notes, copy those sections of tape and splice them in to the gap. Which is probably going to take like, four hours. Yeah.

That’s me out then. That was my lockdown project and I’m still struggling with it

In fairness, if you have the chord sheet and you’re happy to stick to root notes, you can cobble something together pretty quickly. If you want to emulate the original (and if the original is anything more than quarter-beat root notes) then it’s likely to take most of us mortals a little longer to nail. All hail though to those who can learn anything half decent on one listen through.

I think it’s a very good idea, Ray. Ignore @Teebs, he is a very silly man and would not know a good idea if one stepped in front of him and slapped him around the face with a floppy haddock.

Nice. How’s the sound? Are you taking orders?

When you get the metal grill, you need a nice green “Twerp Elliot” badge 😁

We talking about the Teebling again?

I completely misunderstood the title of this thread. Fortunately, I checked before I posted the pictures….

Wal just bought my Zoom G5 and, as everyone else has reported, was a top man to deal with; prompt payment, quick replies to messages and as easy a transaction as they should be. Thanks again, Wal, a pleasure to do business!

Does he? Does he really? Or are you just inflicting this on him? Cruel I call it*. Psychological torture. Banned by most civilised nations, that is. Put him in a little orange romper suit and you’ve got the Manchester version of Guantanamo Bay. Poor little tyke. *Not really. I think this is insufferably cute but where’s the fun in telling you that? I do think you’re at risk of putting him off the bass for life, though. Unless your plan is for him to lie there thinking “F_ck sake, Dad, stop murdering Reach, will ya? Pass it here amd let me show you….” Oh, and shouldn’t this be Tiny Teebs’s Teeny Tiny Bass Cab?

Dear Mr Liberace, My suggestion is that you ask the same person who is going to drive you to the hospikul to pick them up for you. Or you could always ask feckin’ Alexa and watch it short circuit Yours, Lieutenant-Commander Margaret Merryweather, Women’s Institute (Paramilitary Wing), MA, Ret’d.

Great project Teebsy. I’ll watch your progress with interest. Top tip: Probably worth getting a few bags of peas in the freezer. Apparently, they’re the best thing for keeping fingers and thumbs fresh while you get down to A&E to get them sewn back on