njr911 Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 (edited) Hi I joined here a few month ago when I was shopping for a bass. I bought a Squire CV Jazz Bass from a very nice member here I've been playing for a few weeks now and really enjoying it (I have played guitar for a few years so some transferable skills) I'm in a band and looking to start rehersals soon, but how do I find out how to play songs correctly. I have found the Guitar Pro tab for most of the songs we are playing but struggling with Catch The Sun by Doves. There is Tab out there but sounds totally wrong to my ears. Anyone know how to play it ? Cheers Neil Edited January 17, 2012 by njr911 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor J Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 Hi Neil, I can't help you with the tab but what I would suggest is spending the time training your ears to recognise notes. Excuse me while I transfer into old fart mode, but having auditioned players in their late teens and early twenties over the last few years, it became obvious that those who learned by tab struggled to jam, pick up riffs by ear or even tune their instrument without the aid of an electronic tuner. Some couldn't participate at all without having tab sheets in front of them. It's probably not what you want to hear but a bit of short-term pain at this point in your learning will be a lot of long-term gain in your favour. That you can already hear what you have is wrong is good and you should look at working on being able to isolate the bass track with your ears alone. If you think about it, there aren't that many notes and a little bit of graft figuring it out will do wonders for your listening skills. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njr911 Posted January 18, 2012 Author Share Posted January 18, 2012 Thanks, that's great advice. I'll spend a bit of time listening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njr911 Posted January 21, 2012 Author Share Posted January 21, 2012 Found this video on youtube but struggling to make it out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWJx_15Qzy4 the issue is they play it different each time you hear it. If that's the case i'll just make up my own version. I think my current issue is i'm trying to play all the songs note perfect and I need to add some soul to my playing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musky Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 Invariably tab isn't good for learning something note perfect. I've yet to come across one that doesn't have errors in it, even when the person tabbing it out insists it's 100% correct, been playing it 5 nights a week for 10 years, etc. Assuming you're using a PC, try Best Practice software. If you're on a Mac the Amazing Slow Downer is better but not freeware unfortunately. They'll both slow down the song and allow you to loop sections, which makes working out a song a much easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thepurpleblob Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 (edited) +1 Get some of that slowing down software (I use Transcribe! fwiw) and chip away at it. Some songs just have the bass low in the mix and you can't always hear it. Experience (and all that scale and arpeggio practice!!) will give you an idea what they probably played - or good enough anyway. Learning a song note perfect is good discipline but if you are really just talking about playing covers then 'near enough' - or rather near enough without loosing the feel - does just fine. Perhaps pick songs where the bass is easier to hear if you are struggling, oh, and avoid tab. EDIT: A 2 minute listen.. it's mostly just root 8th notes with some runs between. Something like Verse (notes not chords): B E B E B E F# Chorus: G D A E, repeated don't know if this helps you at all. Edited January 21, 2012 by thepurpleblob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njr911 Posted January 22, 2012 Author Share Posted January 22, 2012 Thanks! Will get that software for the mac Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul S Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 Even with just Windows Media Player you can alter the play speed. No loop, but useful enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rOB Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 [quote name='njr911' timestamp='1327177910' post='1507572'] the issue is they play it different each time you hear it. If that's the case i'll just make up my own version. I think my current issue is i'm trying to play all the songs note perfect and I need to add some soul to my playing [/quote] IMO this is what all players should do. Welcome to the forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thepurpleblob Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 [quote name='rOB' timestamp='1327261272' post='1508561'] IMO this is what all players should do. [/quote] ...and that's a whole other discussion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rOB Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 [quote name='thepurpleblob' timestamp='1327261781' post='1508570'] ...and that's a whole other discussion [/quote] True! Apologies for the potentially controversial comment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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