Si600 Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 I asked about learning basslines by ear the other day and I was pointed in the direction of Audacity which I then got. Has anyone any tips on how to best isolate the bassline in a track? I've tried slowing it down and messing with the equalisation but all I seem to get is a muddy mess which is worse than trying to learn from the original. Am I on the right lines or is there some other function in the program that I haven't found yet? TIA Simon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geek99 Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 Pitch it up one octave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanAxe Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 [quote name='Geek99' timestamp='1375439872' post='2161279'] Pitch it up one octave [/quote] Then slow it down if you need to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Si600 Posted August 2, 2013 Author Share Posted August 2, 2013 Thank you, I'll try that when I get home. If I can get a handle on this then I think my confidence in learning new songs will go up. How much would you slow it down by in % (as that's the option there is)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jellyfish Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 Have you tried a program called Transcribe? I was shown it by my bass teacher and never looked back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulWarning Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 [quote name='Si600' timestamp='1375442368' post='2161371'] Thank you, I'll try that when I get home. If I can get a handle on this then I think my confidence in learning new songs will go up. How much would you slow it down by in % (as that's the option there is)? [/quote] slow it down as much as you like, there's a slider, +1 for pitching it up an octave, it seems perverse but it really makes the bass line stand out, I found out what Glen Matlock was up to in Anarchy in the UK the other day, a bit of an eye opener. Audacity is a brilliant bit of kit, and it's free, who says you only get what you pay for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thurbs Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 Wont do all the notes but gets you going: http://chordify.net/ Just improvise over those chords to the rhythm or work out what the progression is... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mornats Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 [quote name='Thurbs' timestamp='1375448962' post='2161548'] Wont do all the notes but gets you going: [url="http://chordify.net/"]http://chordify.net/[/url] Just improvise over those chords to the rhythm or work out what the progression is... [/quote] Just tried that on a couple of my band's tracks and it's about 80% there, not bad! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Si600 Posted August 2, 2013 Author Share Posted August 2, 2013 Heehee, Pitch up and slowed down sounds weird It makes Ken Casey sound like a chipmunk on He, and also shows how busy he is on what on first listen sounds a simple song. Well, it sounded simple to me [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPAiddHu6KQ[/media] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scoobystig Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 I use an app called songster on my iPad It's a mere £6.99 but has over 500,000 guitar and bass tabs, the iPad also plays the track for you so you can learn by ear, but glance at the tab if you can't work out the notes I think you can slow it down as well if needed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judo Chop Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 [quote name='scoobystig' timestamp='1375471814' post='2162030'] I use an app called songster on my iPad It's a mere £6.99 but has over 500,000 guitar and bass tabs, the iPad also plays the track for you so you can learn by ear, but glance at the tab if you can't work out the notes I think you can slow it down as well if needed [/quote] I think Songsterr's a great app too, good at showing you the basics but some tracks are lacking the detail Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricOnBass Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 [quote name='Jellyfish' timestamp='1375445725' post='2161474'] Have you tried a program called Transcribe? I was shown it by my bass teacher and never looked back. [/quote] +1 for Transcribe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AussieBassman Posted August 3, 2013 Share Posted August 3, 2013 I found one called BestPractice which is free, but be careful not to try the software of the same name which is used to manage a G. P.'s surgery-it gives you a nasty rash around your meat&2 veg... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobbass4k Posted August 3, 2013 Share Posted August 3, 2013 I find the audacity eq quite useful for learning stuff, isolate about 50-160hz depending on the register of the bassline. It's hardly a magic wand but it really helps define the rhythm. Personally I've never found pitch shifting that helpful, I find if it sounds muddy in the original octave it sounds like mud in any octave. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBeatNut Posted August 6, 2013 Share Posted August 6, 2013 [quote name='Thurbs' timestamp='1375448962' post='2161548'] Wont do all the notes but gets you going: [url="http://chordify.net/"]http://chordify.net/[/url] Just improvise over those chords to the rhythm or work out what the progression is... [/quote] That's awesome, thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldman Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 Try Practice Pro for iPad ( if you have one) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.