Marvin Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 On the whole, out of 10 if you feel the need for a numerical quantification, how difficult, or conversely, easy would you say Muse basslines are ? I was just wandering, that's all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vinny Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 Depends on the song, I suppose. Super Massive Black Hole = 1, Hysteria = 11. (well I can't bleedin' play it, anyway!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesbass116 Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 On the whole.... 5 or 6 out of 10 for difficulty maybe? Don't get me wrong I LOVE Chris Wolstenholme's basslines, but I've never found a bassline I couldn't figure out after about half an hour. (Not being arrogant or anything ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russ Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 They're "intermediate" level, I'd say. If you can master that whole bouncing from the octave to an open string thing he does a lot (Hysteria, Invincible, etc) then you're most of the way there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
risingson Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 (edited) I think Chris Wolstenholme's stamina is the thing that impresses me most. Some of his bass lines require just a considerable amount of strength to actually play for extended periods of time. Not a great fan of Muse but I do happen to think he's a very inventive bass player and a considerable influence on younger musicians. I couldn't quantify how difficult or easy his stuff is though, what's easy for some is difficult for others. Edited January 17, 2011 by risingson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 Personally, i couldn't care less if Chris's lines were difficult or not. Complexity aside, several of Chris's lines are some of my favourite bass lines. Despite how deceptively easy it is to play, Hysteria IMO is a superb bit of bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HMX Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 [quote name='risingson' post='1093304' date='Jan 17 2011, 11:30 PM']I think Chris Wolstenholme's stamina is the thing that impresses me most. Some of his bass lines require just a considerable amount of strength to actually play for extended periods of time. Not a great fan of Muse but I do happen to think he's a very inventive bass player and a considerable influence on younger musicians. I couldn't quantify how difficult or easy his stuff is though, what's easy for some is difficult for others.[/quote] Have to agree here. I can play Hysteria but only for a minute or so before my right hand is gone. He has tonnes of stamina. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_5 Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 +1 for the stamina - also the cleanliness that he gets when romping through lines like 'Hysteria' etc... demonstrate just how good his technique (and to some extent their engineer) is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garethfriend Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 +1 on stamina, not so much on hysteria but new born really gets me after a few times through the verse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HMX Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 [quote name='garethfriend' post='1093371' date='Jan 18 2011, 12:39 AM']+1 on stamina, not so much on hysteria but new born really gets me after a few times through the verse.[/quote] How could I forget! The verse is a b*tch to get right and up to speed (without losing my right hand). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvin Posted January 18, 2011 Author Share Posted January 18, 2011 It's not a particularly serious question. However, up until just before christmas I was practicing with a band whose set list was straight forward and shall we say pedestrian for the bass player Suffice to say technically speaking you could work the bass line out in a matter of seconds eg. Stereophonics and Undertones. and even if you got bored and forgot to change it didn't really matter. A band I'm trying to get into want to do a couple of Muse tracks and although they're not the most difficult in the world I do feel there's less margin for error. Last night I was going through Time is running out, which I thoroughly enjoyed learning, but you can't be lazy and drop notes given the bass is the only instrument playing at times. I will add it takes me ages to learn songs. For some reason it takes an inordinate amount of time for the information to bed itself in my brain I shall not be even considering to attempt Hysteria, I don't think my left hand could cope. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xgsjx Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 Dumbbells & tennis balls, that's what you need. Build up your finger & wrist strength. I've never tried playing any Muse basslines. I've got 5 of their albums so I might have a listen & try learn something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 I`ve only ever played Muscle Museum, for a covers band. When I heard it I though "how on earth will I play that" but once you sit down and work it out, it actually makes sense where each note is, and isn`t that difficult at all. I suspect that a lot of Chris Wolstenhumes basslines may be the same, in that they sound far more complicated than they really are. Which makes him a very clever bassist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheddatom Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 new born used to kill my left hand when I was young. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul S Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 (edited) [quote name='Lozz196' post='1093462' date='Jan 18 2011, 08:41 AM']I've only ever played Muscle Museum, for a covers band. When I heard it I though "how on earth will I play that" but once you sit down and work it out, it actually makes sense where each note is, and isn`t that difficult at all. I suspect that a lot of Chris Wolstenhumes basslines may be the same, in that they sound far more complicated than they really are. Which makes him a very clever bassist.[/quote] Wot he said. I am not a very technical or complicated player and when our band said they wanted to have a crack at Hysteria I nearly backed away from the start. But, yes, once you break it down into bits (there was actually a decent YouTube on this but I can't find it any more) it is actually not that difficult - I have learnt more difficult lines TBH that don't sound as complicated. I play with a pick, too - don't know if that makes it easier or more difficult?! But the easiest way to build up strength and speed is to just keep doing it. Using dumbells and tennis balls, IMO, gives you strength to use dumbells and tennis balls. Edited January 18, 2011 by Paul S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRev Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 I played a bunch of Muse songs in my old cover band. As others have said, they're not musically difficult but they do require good technique and stamina to get them sounding right. The hardest ones for me were Hysteria, which took some work to get the timing right, as the phrasing towards the end of the riff makes it difficult to find where 'one' is. The other was 'New Born' which starts fast and stays fast with no let up all the way through the track. There are also a couple of big finger stretches in the chorus due to the drop D tuning. Otherwise, stuff like 'Time is running out', 'Plug in baby' 'Muscle museum' & 'Feeling good' weren't too difficlut to get up & going & were a total blast to play - particularly 'plug in baby', I love playing that song. They're also a good excuse to break out the multi FX and have a good twiddle. I also found that you have to be very relaxed to play Muse basslines. They're busy but in a kind of meandering across the track sort of way. If you tense up, you've had it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xgsjx Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 [quote name='Paul S' post='1093480' date='Jan 18 2011, 09:08 AM']Wot he said. I am not a very technical or complicated player and when our band said they wanted to have a crack at Hysteria I nearly backed away from the start. But, yes, once you break it down into bits (there was actually a decent YouTube on this but I can't find it any more) it is actually not that difficult - I have learnt more difficult lines TBH that don't sound as complicated. I play with a pick, too - don't know if that makes it easier or more difficult?! But the easiest way to build up strength and speed is to just keep doing it. Using dumbells and tennis balls, IMO, gives you strength to use dumbells and tennis balls.[/quote] Obviously keeping playing it will make you better at it. But to strenghten up your finger muscles when you're not able to play (such as at work or watching tv), squeezing a tennis ball is a good way to build up the strength quicker than repetitive playing alone. As with doing wrist excercises with a weight such as a dumbbell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve-soar Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 [quote name='jamesbass116' post='1093289' date='Jan 17 2011, 11:13 PM']On the whole.... 5 or 6 out of 10 for difficulty maybe? Don't get me wrong I LOVE Chris Wolstenholme's basslines, but I've never found a bassline I couldn't figure out after about half an hour. (Not being arrogant or anything )[/quote]Nailed Teen Town in half an hour did you? lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michaelg Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 i played plug in baby once and if thats anything to go by, muse basslines are pretty much root notes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Bajo Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 About a 7. Not complex but definatly lots of stamina required. I'm playing Knights of Cydonia in a covers band and even though its roots its actually knackering. Really good bass lines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charic Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 Great bassist For a good forearm workout give stockholm syndrome a few run throughs Apparently he's done a gig with a broken arm before Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JakeBrownBass Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 [quote name='charic' post='1093667' date='Jan 18 2011, 11:38 AM']Great bassist For a good forearm workout give stockholm syndrome a few run throughs Apparently he's done a gig with a broken arm before [/quote] Yeh but he did the gig on keyboards. The Streets bassist (forgotten his name) played bass for the show. It was at V festival in 04 i think. I was there I've heard so many muse lines played badly i'm gonna say they're at least a 6. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mep Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 Too be sure, many of his basslines will give you a work out and are fun to play. Intermediate level is about right, but that is not dissing Chris for what he does as he does it very well, and does BV's over them. If you want to take it easy stick Feeling Good in your set. We have and it's a blast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EskimoBassist Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 More than anything, I find Wolstenholme's material very fun to play. He's no bass god or virtuoso, but he knows how to write strong, inventive and very energetic parts which compliment the band really well. Top notch player in my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJTee Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 Most of them I can get through, but Stockholm Syndrome, played fingerstyle, is beyond me. Just that little bit too quick - suppose I should knuckle-down and practice it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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