So, I can elarn songs very quickly since most music made now is verse, chorus, bridge, maybe an interlude.... however the structure may be, the verse chorus etc does not change form one to the next.

Now I'm tryign to learn "Digital Man" by RUSH, 6 minutes of not a single repetitive bar...

Since I am using guitar pro (Not in the mood to personally figgure out that song out) I generally learn how to play a section at 3/4 speed a few times then play it at full speed till I am comfortable with it. On to the next section, learn it play it then play the first and second sections together. It's a long tedious process and ****** thing is I am only half memorizing how to play it, I still need to look at guitar pro to be able to play it.

So i guess my question is, does anyone have any tips/tricks to learn/memorize a non-repetive bass part.

I don't know the song, but listen to it over and over and over so you know every change, riff and whatever else... Then learn all these individual parts and commit them to muscle memory - maybe look at the tab for a small section, then play it over and over till your fingers will play it by themselves without you having to worry about them... repeat for all the different parts and that'll be it! Might take time though...

I generally learn how to play a section at 3/4 speed a few times then play it at full speed till I am comfortable with it. On to the next section, learn it play it then play the first and second sections together. It's a long tedious process.

Thats exactly what I do. I just got a five string and I've been learning Dream Theater songs in the same fashion.

I don't know the song, but listen to it over and over and over so you know every change, riff and whatever else... Then learn all these individual parts and commit them to muscle memory - maybe look at the tab for a small section, then play it over and over till your fingers will play it by themselves without you having to worry about them... repeat for all the different parts and that'll be it! Might take time though...

a big +1 to that. I love progressive/non-repetitive songs and I listen to them do death. I normally know songs and every change in them before even coming within feet of my bass.

Yeah, knowing the song inside-out is the key. I know that with Rush, I spent most of my high school years listening to Geddy's basslines before trying to play them. I can now hear some of his variations and nuances in my mind before they come up. It's important to have a good audible memory of the lines you're going to play, especially if you're going to read them from tab. If you know what Geddy's about to play, by ear, you can use something as simple as tab to figure out the rhythm he's going to play it in.

I typically break them up into parts like I am learning multiple songs. I look for a section where there is a noticeable change and make that section one and learn it, so on until I may have three or four mini songs and string them together that way.

Yeah, knowing the song inside-out is the key. I know that with Rush, I spent most of my high school years listening to Geddy's basslines before trying to play them. I can now hear some of his variations and nuances in my mind before they come up. It's important to have a good audible memory of the lines you're going to play, especially if you're going to read them from tab. If you know what Geddy's about to play, by ear, you can use something as simple as tab to figure out the rhythm he's going to play it in.

IMO you hit the nail on the head.
Also if you can, isolate the bass parts or determine the synth or bass pedal parts. make a mental note of this also.
Also Geddy likes to play in the middle of the neck

You should be able to sing the whole bass line before you even try to play it. :)

You should be able to sing the whole bass line before you even try to play it. :)

That definitely makes it a lot easier!!

I've been learning quite a bit of prog stuff lately, due to a guitarist and drummer I frequently jam with knowing a ton of that stuff. Mostly a lot of Rush, Yes and King Crimson stuff. I am very familiar with that type of music, as it's long been a favorite of mine, I just never learned a lot of it because I had no one to play it with.

Knowing the basslines in my head first makes it much easier to learn and remember, but you still have to break the songs up into parts to learn them efficiently. And even with that, it can be tough to remember them sometimes. I still have trouble remembering all the parts from Xanadu (darn 12 minute songs. lol...) when we jam it if I hadn't played through it recently. lol... :eek:

best of luck!

I like to match the bass line to the lyrics. Makes it easyer for me and It gives me lots of landmarks :)