markdavid Posted September 27, 2015 Share Posted September 27, 2015 Hi After a long break from playing i have started playing again One of the basslines I wanted to nail is Mccartneys bass playing on the song Something by The Beatles. To try and learn the bass part I have been playing along with the isolated bass track and stopping and notating. Ive got to say that anybody who ever thought his playing was overrated really needs to try and learn this part, I had to stop and have a break after about the 2 min mark it was wearing me out lol and just when you feel that your getting close to nailing the bass part he throws in a new syncopation,deliberately skips a note and just basically plays something completely unexpected, pure genius. And to think George Harrison didn't like his part part on this song. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted September 27, 2015 Share Posted September 27, 2015 Not bad at all, especially given that he'd been dead for two years by then ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wateroftyne Posted September 27, 2015 Share Posted September 27, 2015 Apparently George never really liked the bass part - he thought it too busy. I agree, tbh... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colgraff Posted September 27, 2015 Share Posted September 27, 2015 This has always been one of my favourite bass lines to play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colonel36 Posted September 27, 2015 Share Posted September 27, 2015 Love it Markdavid. It took me ages to crack it, but it's a beauty and so is Macca. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogerstodge Posted September 27, 2015 Share Posted September 27, 2015 I can understand a guitarist saying it's too busy but not a bass player, how dare you sir Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coilte Posted September 27, 2015 Share Posted September 27, 2015 Yes, it is a busy bass line. We hear a lot about playing.."what the song requires." IMO McCartney's lines fit the song perfectly...i.e. busy...but not just for the sake of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Nada Posted September 27, 2015 Share Posted September 27, 2015 If you think it's challanging to play, can you imagine how difficult it is to create such a bass line? Macca was, and is, incredible! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubit Posted September 27, 2015 Share Posted September 27, 2015 I can't stand him , or the Beatles! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4-string-thing Posted September 27, 2015 Share Posted September 27, 2015 [quote name='ubit' timestamp='1443374299' post='2874209'] I can't stand him , or the Beatles! [/quote] He always speaks very highly of you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wateroftyne Posted September 27, 2015 Share Posted September 27, 2015 [quote name='rogerstodge' timestamp='1443368339' post='2874162'] I can understand a guitarist saying it's too busy but not a bass player, how dare you sir [/quote] Ha... I'm very much with GH on this one. It sounds to me like an early take that Macca's hoyed all his ideas in, and hasn't got around to editing what's needed and what isn't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highfox Posted September 27, 2015 Share Posted September 27, 2015 [quote name='ubit' timestamp='1443374299' post='2874209'] I can't stand him , or the Beatles! [/quote] I think we have been here before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogerstodge Posted September 27, 2015 Share Posted September 27, 2015 (edited) [quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1443375678' post='2874227'] Ha... I'm very much with GH on this one. It sounds to me like an early take that Macca's hoyed all his ideas in, and hasn't got around to editing what's needed and what isn't. [/quote]it fits the song perfectly I think, the way I hear it there's not much else going on and fills the song out perfectly Edited September 27, 2015 by rogerstodge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wateroftyne Posted September 27, 2015 Share Posted September 27, 2015 [quote name='rogerstodge' timestamp='1443377536' post='2874250'] there's not much else going on.... [/quote] Which is why the bass is so wrong, IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorks5stringer Posted September 27, 2015 Share Posted September 27, 2015 [quote name='4-string-thing' timestamp='1443375348' post='2874219'] He always speaks very highly of you! [/quote] So does Joe Pasquale Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coilte Posted September 27, 2015 Share Posted September 27, 2015 [quote name='ubit' timestamp='1443374299' post='2874209'] I can't stand him , or the Beatles! [/quote] I'm sure he'll be devastated to learn about this !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobbayne Posted September 27, 2015 Share Posted September 27, 2015 Have you ever heard the version from the Concert For Bangladesh? - Klaus Voormann does a great job with it although he simplified the A minor twiddley bit. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ei6VyjlgxZU Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slipperydick Posted September 29, 2015 Share Posted September 29, 2015 [quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1443379547' post='2874274'] Which is why the bass is so wrong, IMO. [/quote] Perhaps you had to be there at the time... I played it at my first ever gig about a hundred years ago - twice. Thought I'd more or less nailed it at the time, but I heard the tape recently and I aint so sure now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wateroftyne Posted September 29, 2015 Share Posted September 29, 2015 [quote name='Slipperydick' timestamp='1443485656' post='2875231'] Perhaps you had to be there at the time... [/quote] The bloke who wrote it was, and he doesn't like it either :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Adams Posted September 29, 2015 Share Posted September 29, 2015 [quote name='Hobbayne' timestamp='1443389444' post='2874377'] Have you ever heard the version from the Concert For Bangladesh? - Klaus Voormann does a great job with it although he simplified the A minor twiddley bit. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ei6VyjlgxZU [/quote] Wow, that's quite Something! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slipperydick Posted September 29, 2015 Share Posted September 29, 2015 [quote name='Phil Adams' timestamp='1443506729' post='2875257'] Wow, that's quite Something! [/quote] Its in the way he move isnt it ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted September 29, 2015 Share Posted September 29, 2015 [quote name='Hobbayne' timestamp='1443389444' post='2874377'] Have you ever heard the version from the Concert For Bangladesh? - Klaus Voormann does a great job with it although he simplified the A minor twiddley bit. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ei6VyjlgxZU[/media] [/quote] [quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1443506229' post='2875254'] The bloke who wrote it was, and he doesn't like it either :-) [/quote] So there's a source that tells us that Harrison thought Macca's line "too busy" (though I'm pretty sure that comment has nowhere been directly attributable to Harrison), yet when he gets the chance to re-do the song and with an old and trusted friend on bass, what does he ask Klaus to do? Replicate Macca's bassline. This is just another of the myths to emerge from the acrimonious Beatles break-up. Things may (or may not) have been said that were over the top and not really meant. Incidentally, don't all the musicians playing with George in that clip look deliriously happy to be there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wateroftyne Posted September 29, 2015 Share Posted September 29, 2015 [quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1443512560' post='2875299'] So there's a source that tells us that Harrison thought This is just another of the myths to emerge from the acrimonious Beatles break-up. Things may (or may not) have been said that were over the top and not really meant. [/quote] Paul McCartney should really stop spreading nonsensical Beatles myths :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coilte Posted September 29, 2015 Share Posted September 29, 2015 [quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1443506229' post='2875254'] The bloke who wrote it was, and he doesn't like it either :-) [/quote] It always puzzles me as to why Harrison, as he did not like Macca's lines, did not insist that he (Macca) make the lines less busy. It was his composition after all and I would have thought he had an input as to how it eventually sounded. Perhaps Beatles experts will verify if Harrison eventually changed his view on the bass lines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted September 29, 2015 Share Posted September 29, 2015 [quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1443512867' post='2875310'] Paul McCartney should really stop spreading nonsensical Beatles myths :-) [/quote] [size=4][color=#252525][font=sans-serif]"I think George thought my bass-playing was a little bit busy."[/font][/color][/size] [size=4]I suspect that's the quote you have in mind, neh? It's from an interview he gave in 2000, 30 years after the song was recorded, 20 years after it had become a commonplace for people (especially critics) to claim that Harrison thought the line too busy.[/size] Macca never said anything like this during the 70s, neither did Harrison. You might want to check out "I [color=#ff0000][i][b]think [/b][/i][/color]George [color=#ff0000][i][b]thought [/b][/i][/color]..." as a piece of logical positivism. Paul has always been the custodian of his own and the Beatles' legends. When the legend becomes the truth, print the legend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.gif.9ad672bb8b84505709f76b39c8c256ec.gif)
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.