How fast can you play melodically

Ducksual · #1 08-04-2003, 10:59 AM

Having seen the 'how fast are you' thread I decided that it really wasnt that helpful in how fast you can actually play a piece rather than just how fast can you play one note. The piece sounds like fast classical sorry if you dont like that style.

The file attached is a powertab file (Powertab can be obtained from www.power-tab.net).

[The piece is part of a bass solo I've been working on (edited for four string bass)]

Post a recording (if you can) and/or declare your BPM (played relatively cleanly, not messily).

Ducksual

P.S. You dont have to record the end bit cleanly but if you can...BONUS!

[Edit: feel free to transpose this to a different key/string if you cannot play it on your bass (ie: you have a 20- fret bass)]

Wrong Robot · #2 08-04-2003, 11:52 AM

Firstly, your whole thread is incompatible with mac-users. No power-tab on mac, and that .zip won't open for me(yes I have many programs to extract .zips) could you repost that clip in .mp3 form? as long as it's under 324kb you can post it.

Secondly, it's really not that important how fast people can play, technically by your thread question I could just rip out any old solo at 200+ BPM and call it playing melodically, just because I'm not playing harmonically(multiple notes at one time)

Since I haven't been able to view this piece you are talking about I will refrain from questioning it's structure, but I wonder if it would be harder to play at slower tempos than blazingly fast?(as many things are)

if you post the tab in your thread and your recording in .mp3 then more people will be able to participate, with far less work(not everyone wants to download programs they may never use just for one silly little game)

Ducksual · #3 08-04-2003, 03:24 PM

I apologise for overlooking the mac users (I don't know anyone around me who uses a mac so i just didnt think of them).

Sure you could bash out a small snippet or run at 180bpm (or multiple small runs). I am talking about a consistant piece. (this one is just single notes at a time but there are other parts to the whole solo)

I dont believe it is easier to play at high speeds without it sounding messy, but go ahead and prove me wrong. (As I'm sure some people will).

I cant record a clip ATM because of my computer setup and other things. (There's the fact that I cant play it cleanly at a speed I'm happy with, but I've only been playing for under a year so give me a chance).

I have edited the topic title (though that doesnt change how it is listed) to something more accurate.

Ducksual

Ducksual · #4 08-05-2003, 01:17 AM

Here's a midi of it, i still had to zip it as it's not a valid attachment filetype.

This should be at 120bpm.

Ducksual

Wrong Robot · #5 08-05-2003, 01:53 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Ducksual

Sure you could bash out a small snippet or run at 180bpm (or multiple small runs). I am talking about a consistant piece. (this one is just single notes at a time but there are other parts to the whole solo)

I dont believe it is easier to play at high speeds without it sounding messy, but go ahead and prove me wrong. (As I'm sure some people will).

Is that a throwback to my teen town clip? because I assure you I can play the whole song at 180 BPM.

AS for the second bit, do I have to prove you wrong? or can I let famous bassists do it? jaco pastorius plays a song called "chromatic fantasy" it is a bach piece, and he plays it perfectly clean, and very fast, while still remaining perfectly articulate.
I have also seen Michael manring play songs insanely fast.
and then there are cats like victor wooten, using thumb techniques, who can thump out whole songs at break-neck speeds perfectly clean, just with thumb stuff.

I have an old and,admitadly, sloppy version of chromatic fantasy on the web, It is far from perfect, but it's also not THAT messy all things considered(one take recording, no warm-up, only a few weeks of practice) www.xaqtly.com/Fantasy.mp3

I'll take a look at this powertab piece, and report back to you if I can play it faster than 120BPM.

Ducksual · #6 08-05-2003, 02:37 AM

I wasnt jabbing at your teen town bit because it was just small snippets of the beginning, I was jabbing because the tone of your first reply which irritated me. Sorry.

'This should be at 120bpm' was referring to the speed the midi was played at, not the maximum speed I expected anyone to be able to play it at, I apologise for any misunderstanding.

I have seen people slam out amazingly fast solos such as JM playing the DOE solo and it is impressive. However, that is not the topic of this thread.

Ducksual

P.S. Can we please lighten up a bit?

[Edit: fixed a typo and made myself clearer]

Bruce Lindfield · #7 08-05-2003, 02:43 AM

Well you seem to be trying to turn music-making into some kind of competitive sport!

Whereas the very reason a lot of us like music, is exactly because it is not like this and the best music can often be the easiest to play!

If you want a race then maybe you should be at TalkAthletics.com ?

Ducksual · #8 08-05-2003, 02:49 AM

Oh, sorry, it wasnt meant to seem like a competition.

More just a question of how fast you can play a piece to give an idea of how fast you can do fingerwork rather than just how fast can you bash out root notes.

I figured giving a set piece gives more of an idea of how fast you can play than just the question.

I agree that some of the best music is slow music, (eg: One Time by King Crimson). But I was not trying to make an arguement that it was, I was just asking how fast the people on here can actually play.

Ducksual

P.S. First one to 6000bpm wins!

P.P.S. By slow I was referring to the pace of the bass (ooh rhyme).

fallon · #9 08-09-2003, 11:21 AM

Ducksual,

I understand your post and from a Scotsman
to an Englishman a bit of advice when posting on American boards is to expect a bit of mis-understanding.I've found that our friends across the pond 'speak English'but will take different meanings from the written word!
I like Wrong Robot and his opinions.We exchanged a few e-mails and links....I had a listen to his stuff but I do not yet know if he got round to listening to a track I produced..be that as it may!
Anyhow to get back on topic,I think a great example of an effective slow solo is that of Jaco in the track "A remark you made".Off the c.d."Weather Report the collection",his melodic solo is complimented by a beautiful piano solo,live.The track clearly demostrates just how effective it is to play the right notes at the right time and tempo.The thing I have found out about speed in any bass-style is that the faster you go,the more people you begin to leave behind..it promotes negative terms like 'fret-wanking' 'flash' 'showing off' etc.I disagree with all these negative terms applied to bassists who can play at crazy speeds...I love it..I could listen to it day in,day out! The trouble is,that no matter how much stick these guys recieve,the facts are simple..they can also play slow.That aside,these aforementioned comments are simply my opinion.Stay cool(it's difficult to do just that in Scotland just now..current temperature is 26c....melting me man!!)Scotland's slap bassist,"Fallon".

Ducksual · #10 08-09-2003, 12:04 PM

'tis damn hot here aswell. I get what you're saying and I agree with it and I understand that people can also play nice slow melodic pieces and I enjoy them (though I haven't heard that Jaco piece yet).

It would also be nice if you paragraphed your text because it makes is much easier to read.

Thanks.

Ducksual

fallon · #11 08-09-2003, 12:29 PM

Man,it's too hot for me to concentrate on the lay-out of my messages!! Sincerely,I use a few message boards so I probably have used a style that suits another board.I tried to download your stuff but it would not open with real player or windows.
Roll on winter! We Scots are not used to this heat..it does your strings no good and rehearsing is a nightmare 'cause we don't have air-con.That said my man,hope you and your band do well.Scotland's slap bassist,"Fallon".