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Songs that should be easy but are deceptively tricky


markdavid

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Hi All

Due to be playing with a band that does a cover of Don't stand so close to me by the Police and I thought it would be a piece of cake, started to learn the bass part and whilst it is not technically complex I just cannot nail the feel of the bass part , the pre-chorus and chorus of Getting better by the Beatles also caught me out in a similar way although I have now nailed it, any songs that you have tried to learn and thought would be easy but caught you out?

 

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2 hours ago, Lozz196 said:

I found getting the feel and groove of a Pump It Up by Elvis Costello took a while. Not a particularly difficult line to play, just the feeling is way different to my regular style, which is why I wanted to learn it.

Great Bassline that, used to do it in a covers band a few years ago..

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36 minutes ago, leschirons said:

Son of a preacher man by Dusty.  Not easy to hear what's happening and when you do hear it, it's bloody mind-blowing how many notes are being played yet, they all sort of sound necessary.

This!  Great bass line.  It sounds like it's improvised as there's not really much of a pattern to what he's playing.

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5 hours ago, Lozz196 said:

I found getting the feel and groove of a Pump It Up by Elvis Costello took a while. Not a particularly difficult line to play, just the feeling is way different to my regular style, which is why I wanted to learn it.

I know what you mean, the chorus part felt very unnatural to me and took a bit of getting committed to muscle memory. 

A great bassline though. 

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3 hours ago, bassbiscuits said:

Most Beatles stuff I've been trying to learn is way more complex than I first thought. 

Sgt Peppers, With a Little Help From My Friends, Getting Better etc all sound easy but the bass is all over the place and rarely the same thing twice. 

That’s what I find hard. When a song changes the verses, it gets me confused. I like regimental. Verse , chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus, chorus. I’m the singer, so it’s less to learn by muscle memory. Chuck in variations and Im like, that’s not fair! 

Edited by ubit
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1 minute ago, ubit said:

That’s what I find hard. When a song changes the verses, it gets me confused. I like regimental. Verse , chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus, chorus. I’m the singer, so it’s less to learn by muscle memory. Chuck in variations and Im like, that’s not fair! 

Same.  Give me a pattern and I can learn that and play it.  Songs which seem like just someone improvising and playing different things on each iteration of the chord structure are a nightmare and I pretty much put my foot down over those as too complicated to learn!

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On some songs i've done where bassline changes every chorus i'll just play the same chorus notes each time unless its a specific stand out bassline but that's not normal in most songs.

I'll write the full song out note for note anyway but as you say it's remembering what chorus has what bassline.

Most people don't or won't notice. Just pick the best of the chorus bass lines and if its a tricky line then do that one. You'll enjoy playing it more and if the audience does pick up on it they'll see that you learned the harder part.

Sneakiness is my forte :laugh1:

Dave

 

Edited by dmccombe7
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Took me an age to get Galway Girl where I wanted it, but the one that surprised me the most was when, after listening to it in pubs, clubs and at parties for the best part of 40 years, and playing it now and again on bands for nearly as long, I actually sat down and listened to the bass in Freebird. Blimey. Not particularly tricky, but just surprising there was so much of it I'd never heard...

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16 hours ago, geoham said:

A Town Called Malice, but The Jam. I never get any complaints from the band, but I never feel like I can get the right feel and fluidity to it.

Ditto, but I put that down to me playing finger style rather than with a pick.  Like you, band never complained though.

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17 hours ago, geoham said:

A Town Called Malice, but The Jam. I never get any complaints from the band, but I never feel like I can get the right feel and fluidity to it.

This is also my nemesis, both the "signature" riff and the verse part, it doesn't flow for me.  Either playing with fingers or with a pick. 

I learnt it some years ago but the band decided not to go with it, now I've joined another band and it's on the prospective set list.

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Reading some of these posts, you can make problems for yourselves if you insist on playing the original lines note for note on every occasion. If you really have to play a line and you can't, then the only answer is to practice it until you can!

If I'm learning a song, I check the original version, then I have a look for the original band playing live. Many times they aren't even playing the original lines themselves. I work out what needs to be kept and what I can add. I make sure I capture the gist, the feel and flavour of the original but I'm the player. It's perfectly acceptable to make these songs your own.

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17 minutes ago, chris_b said:

 I work out what needs to be kept and what I can add. I make sure I capture the gist, the feel and flavour of the original but I'm the player. It's perfectly acceptable to make these songs your own.

This 👆. You speak the truth Kemo sabe

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Is this overspill parking for the "bands who don't play covers properly" thread?? 😁

Simple but tricky... Billie Jean!

Starts with 16 bars of the tongue twister. Yeah its easy, but with absolutely nowhere to hide if you make even the slightest fluff.

She sells sea shells on the sea shore.

She sells sea shells on the sea shore.

She smells bloody hell on the sea shore!

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3 minutes ago, Ricky 4000 said:

Is this overspill parking for the "bands who don't play covers properly" thread?? 😁

 

I will say what I said on that thread. If you capture the gist of the song. Melody, swing, feeling. If you manage that and the audience enjoy it, so what if it’s not note perfect. Very few people will say , actually, in the second verse the original has a run down from an open E. You left it out. As said above. You check live versions of original songs and quite often the parts are not the same because they realise you have to simplify what you did in the studio because you have to leap about and pose, or sing , or for whatever reason. 

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