I think this is GI, im not sure though...

I have decided to learn 2 new songs, they are YYZ by rush and orion by metallica (specifically the solo). I have gotten the tabs off powertabs(i know, im a cheater, oh well), as far as i cant tell they are both 99.9% correct. Once i looked at the tab i kinda said 'whoa' and realized that this was a bit of a task i had just undertaken.

I've been playing for about 6 months, give or take, and was wondering to those of you who know these songs how long you had been playing for when you learned them, and how long it took you to learn them. Also, i can tell im going to need yo get faster pretty much all across the fretboard, i was wondering some good techniques for that? If im way out of my league please let me know.

Any other tips/advice you have would be much appreciated

Peace

If you're very very talented and very very dedicated to learning bass, you might be ready for YYZ within 2 years of playing.

Most players would be getting to YYZ in 3-5 years. Some phenoms could do it in 1-2 years.

It's not that realistic a goal for a 6 month player. It has fast riffs, up and across the neck, and has odd time signatures. It's the kind of song you absolutely have to be able to play precisely and with confidence or the whole thing will just sound like sloppy flailing.

If Rush appeals to you, I would advise that you might focus on something with similar musical richness and interest but without the need for such a well developed technique. Try The Police - very good bass lines, great musical ideas, and enough syncopation and timing offsets to you prepared for more difficult parts like YYZ. I would suggest Voices in My Head, Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic, and Spirits in the Material World as good starting points. Those parts have direct correlations to many of Geddy's classic lines.

The Orion solo (I think we're both talking about the interlude one here) Isn't as intimitating as it looks/sounds. I was able to play most of it with just 2 months under my belt. But everyones different. Just practice, and practice often and hard

I was only discussing YYZ. Never heard Orion to my knowledge.

I learned Orion and the rest of Puppets after playing bass about 2 months. I'd already been playing guitar 5 years at that point though.

The key is to stay focused on ONE song, one riff at a time until you have it. With the solo take it phrase by phrase. Its not that difficult. If you find yourself getting overwhelmed just stop and work on the phrases you already know. They build on eachother too,

I've been playing bass now for 12 years and guitar for 17 and I still can't play YYZ :)

thanks everyone, i figured orion was a good one to start with, when i say the solo i mean the part that starts at about 06:35. I think thats after the interlude

hmm, i knew YYZ was a challenge, but i hope it doesnt take me 12 years. Im taking both songs into my teacher next week, and ill see what i can do. YYZ might have to wait though

sorry for the double post, but does anyone know good exercises to build dexterirty for these songs? I'm going to look into the police, but i was thinking more practice techniques than songs

I mentioned those songs because the basslines are similar to many of Geddy's parts, though slower and less demanding. Some of the syncopations can be hard to feel when starting out, so they're good "training" for YYZ.

Other than that, work on clean eighth notes while your left hand does 'one finger per fret" patterns across the neck. Play 1 2 3 4 on the low E then 2 3 4 5 on the A then 3 4 5 6 on the G, etc. Then go down instead of up. Get that very steady with each note played clearly up and down the neck.

You can play ANYTHING if you slow it down enough. I remember trying to learn 'soul to squeeze' by the peppers. I've forgotten half of it by now, but the feeling I got when I could play that... It's been motivating enough to keep me trying to play things that are 'beyond me'.

I've never learned a bass line to a song note-for-note. I've always charted out the song, learned the recurring bass "riffs", and then winged the rest, mostly due to laziness on my part :)