help me learn to count!

[thunderbyrd]

hello: i've been playing bass for church for several months. i love it and have a blast with it. but playing for church hasn't been very demanding cause i just invent my own lines and can play whatever i want, as long as i stay harmonically correct. i can do that fairly well cause i've played guitar for years, trying to play lead and never getting very good at it, but understanding how chords are built well enough to bang along on bass.

but i'm trying to improve by learning some classic rock songs note for note. the 3 songs i'm working on are funk 49, free ride by edger winter, and johnny winters version of rock and roll hootchie koo. i've got tab for these and none of them are real hard technically, but i don't know how to count them off right. i guess i don't know where "one" is! i want to know how to play them exactly right.

somebody teach me how to count to 4.

[carlthegroover]

First things first: if you have access to the drum part, the kick/ bass drum is most often found in beat 1 (and 3), snare in 2 and 4. If you can follow the most basic rock drum pattern (kick, snare, kick, snare; often with closed hi-hat strummed as 8th notes) you can easily find your place in the song.

Granted, that's the basic/ archetypical pattern and there are many, many variations, but the kick drum (to my knowledge) almost always falls in beat 1 at the very least.

Either that, or use a metronome and count with it, maybe tapping your foot to each beat, try to synchronize and then do it on your own. Repeat as necessary to get the 4 beat count almost instinctively.

P.S. The easiest way to find the drum part (although perhaps not the most accurate) is to download Guitar Pro tabs off the web and either download Guitar Pro (need to pay for it) or Tux Guitar (free). You can isolate the drum part there easily.

[sammyp]

a couple free tools for pc you can use are Tempo Perfect Metronome and PC Drummer ...the trial version is free and works great ...you just can't save any changes you make to a groove.

Start practicing with either of these tools ...preferably the drum machine ...once you know a bass line like funk 49 see if you can play it yourself with only you and the drummer machine....this will require you to find the tempo of the tune and type in the 1/4 note pulse ala 100 BPM.

Playing a groove with only you and the drum machine will require you to know the tune better than just playing with the mp3 because you don't have any guitar or vocal cues ...and ofcourse i'm not suggesting you try and play the song form throughout just by yourself but the main grooves so you can really show yourself whether or not you have it down or still need work.

The songs you listed are great tunes with boppin bass lines so if you feel these are relatively not technical you must have some facility on bass.

The guitar part for Free Ride starts on beat 4 ....the bass punches on beat 4 1st then the + of 3 the 2nd time ...so it 4 ---------- + 4

The lead in bass lick to the groove is + 4 e + - so you start on the + after beat 3 with 3 16th notes on beat 4.

Rock n roll hoochie is a straight count into the tune with everyone in on beat 1.

Funk 49 the guitar begins on beat 1 ....bass' 1st notes are on beat 4 + ....so 2 8th notes on beat 4!

hope this helps!

[Spino]

Go for a walk and use your body as a metronome .The swinging of your arms and your moving feet are a perfect metronome .Innit ?

[Vakmere]

Vun --- Tuuu --- Trreee --- Four......

[thunderbyrd]

thanks to all you guys for these suggestions. my computer has been shot for the past couple of weeks so i didn't have a way to get back here very much.

for years, i played (well, ok, TRIED to play) guitar and for a long time, i had it in my head that bass is "easier" to play than guitar. but now that i'm seriously working at it, i find that it is not all that easy, at all, not if you want to do it well!