jgmh315 Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 i use a mixture of tabs, youtube, and just playing along with it over and over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulconnolly Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 (edited) Lots of listens, Tab (I often use this one [url="http://www.bigbasstabs.com/j/jethro_tull_bass_tabs.html"]http://www.bigbasstabs.com[/url]) and lately been picking up stuff on you tube. I'd love to be able to "read the dots" but I'm too old to learn that trick. oh and The White Pages too Edited January 7, 2014 by paulconnolly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icastle Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 For me, it really depends what the song is and what it's being used for. If it's a simple tune then I'll just learn it by ear and not stress about it. If it's something where the bass line is distinctive then I'll break it down into logical sections and learn it note by note. If it's for a recording, then I'm generally given the freedom to write an appropriate bass line which I'll keep notes of in case I happen to forget it - it's never happened yet, but you never know. I don't bother trying to download tab for new material any more, it rarely resembles what it's purporting to be a representation of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mottlefeeder Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 Interesting to hear all the opinions, but I have a question for those who feel you have to get it absolutely right - are you in a covers band or a tribute band? Apart from the distinctive riffs, if there are any for that song, surely a covers band needs to play something that sounds tight, good, and recognisable in total, while a tribute band has to be as close to the original as they can get. My background is in playing generic songs from chord sheets - it is only now that I am having to think about how 'accurate' my bass lines should be. David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 [quote name='Mottlefeeder' timestamp='1389130199' post='2330519'] I have a question for those who feel you have to get it absolutely right - are you in a covers band or a tribute band? [/quote] Neither. Playing covers frustrated the crap out of me, because (in my opinion) no-one else bothered to learn [size=4]the material properly.[/size] [size=4]So I'm in an originals band.[/size] [size=4]It's a good point, though - perhaps I should have been in a tribute band instead of a covers band. More accuracy required, as you say.[/size] [size=4]But then I wouldn't want to play one band's material all night, so...[/size] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bassman7755 Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 [quote name='Mottlefeeder' timestamp='1389130199' post='2330519'] Interesting to hear all the opinions, but I have a question for those who feel you have to get it absolutely right - are you in a covers band or a tribute band? Apart from the distinctive riffs, if there are any for that song, surely a covers band needs to play something that sounds tight, good, and recognisable in total, while a tribute band has to be as close to the original as they can get. My background is in playing generic songs from chord sheets - it is only now that I am having to think about how 'accurate' my bass lines should be. David [/quote] The answer is "it depends" This is one area where a decent knowledge of theory really helps because it helps to identify those parts of a bassline which are harmonically significant and which bits are not. Also theres a lot of general experience and common sense involved in where a line can be varied without undermining the feel of the song and where it cant. Its also not necessarily true that playing in a tribute band requires reproducing everything note for note, in our Deep Purple tribute act I probably do about 50/50 note for note and what ever I feel like playing in the heat of the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4000 Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 [quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1389091030' post='2329684'] Listen to the recording. Work out the chord changes and any important tunes in the bass line and wait to see what the rest of the band are play at the next rehearsal. As Happy Jack says trying to work out the bass line exactly as it is played on the record is quite often pointless, unless your band have the same instrumentation as on the recording and all the other musicians have got their parts down note-perfect as well. All it needs is for the drummer to play a slightly different rhythm and your carefully prepared bass part will sound terrible. Same with the guitarists if they don't have every run down perfectly a lot of the passing notes on the bass will sound wrong. And a lot of the time if your band doesn't have a keyboard player you'll find yourself having to modify the bass line to allow for that missing left hand. During the last year the Terrortones have been playing a number of covers to fill out the sets where we are expected to play for longer than our customary 30-35 minutes. On of the songs we leant was "Prime Mover" by Zodiac Mindwarp. It's a pretty straight forward rock song with 4 chords, but having played it with 2 different drummers and 5 different guitarists, I've had to adjust the baseline slightly to allow for the various variations each change in line up brought in order for the song to still sound right. For me learning to play a song by ear is the next most important skill a bass player can have after learning how to fret and pluck the strings. It opens up a whole new world of music that hasn't been written down, removes the reliance on bad tabs and dodgy YouTube play-alongs and allows you to start coming up with your own musical ideas. I don't worry if I can't make out what is being played at any point in the song. Usually from what other things the baseline has been doing it is simple to make something up that fits. And my philosophy is that if I can't hear what the baseline is doing very few other people can either - certainly no-one in the audience. Also if I can't tell what the baseline is what makes it any more likely that any of the internet transcribers or YouTube players will have got it any more right? (Unless of course they actually played the bass part on the original recording). [/quote] Great post. I'm always amazed when people need tab etc, but then ear is all to me. Our mandolin player can't learn stuff by ear and it just baffles me; it's like being a painter who can't see colours and needs to have them written down in order to paint. I don't mean that to be derogatory, I simply struggle to grasp how it works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mornats Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 [quote name='Mottlefeeder' timestamp='1389130199' post='2330519'] Apart from the distinctive riffs, if there are any for that song, surely a covers band needs to play something that sounds tight, good, and recognisable in total, while a tribute band has to be as close to the original as they can get. [/quote] Even though I'm in an originals band, I do tend to agree with this. I've seen a few bands "rock-up" classic covers which is nice to hear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvin Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 I use Guitar Pro and listen to the original. Quick and works for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hollywoodrox Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 Tux, guitar pro, ear or from chords, I tend to find I play some songs simpler than others play them if I transcribe them myself Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HMX Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 Listen to it again and again, play along with it, stop playing, listen a few more times. It's gotta be perfec' too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 I'll write a chord chart out after a few listens and that is it. Not interested in any parts until I know what everyone else is doing with it...waste of time otherwise. My bass parts will change with a different drummer anyway........ and since we use a few drummers atm, then I need to be fluid in order to make it work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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