Playing Rage Against the Machine for practice

[Ryan Mohr]

I have been playing bass over the summer and I have gotten better, but a couple weeks ago I realized my speed and playing stamina was lacking so I started playing through Rage's first album, especially Wake Up and Bullet In The Head. This has helped me a lot as opposed to practicing any other bands. Does anyone else do this and is this a good way to practice?

[jaebee]

rage was the first band i learned how to play. its fun bass lines.

playing lines is always a good way to practice.

another thing you can do is trying keeping a rhythm over multiple notes for an extended period of time. like 16ths on all 4 strings for 5 minutes. that will build endurance

[metalbass777]

I prefer Maiden.

[Happynoj]

Rage's first album was what really inspired me to practice bass and get better. I learnt the entire thing, and then moved on to The Battle Of Los Angeles. I then became obsessed by Rage and own all of their albums, and have at some point learned every single RATM song that I am aware of (I have forgotten most of them now - this was a 3 or 4 years ago). But I think that it really helped me.

[Valerus]

Originally Posted by metalbass777

I prefer Maiden.

+2

[Audiophage]

I used to do that a lot in high school. Of course, I had to have OCD and learn entire albums. I'm not sure if that was really necessary, but good ear training nonetheless.

Also, are you from the southern hemisphere?

[PocketGroove82]

I think it's good to mix in some karaoke playing into your practice routine. It acts as a nice break between practice more boring/serious things like sight reading or 2 octave scales in all keys, and if you actually pick out the whole bass line by ear then it counts as ear training. Gotta love practicing what you like and getting something out of it.

[metallist]

Originally Posted by metalbass777

I prefer Maiden.

Not meaning to hijack the thread - what are some really good Iron Maiden songs to learn to improve ones playing?

[Rickett Customs]

The difference with maiden and RATM is one less guitarist (among the obvious), puts the bassist role in a different perspective (IMO). Both bands are excellent.
Tim Commerford definitely was the foundation in RATM and Audoslave.

[karl e. hungus]

dude, rage is the same thing i started learning on. the dude has cool lines. in fact i believe the very first song i ever learned was People of the Sun.

i thought it was great. most of the stuff is basic and built off of riffs and the like, not to say that the dude isnt good or anything but its good simple stuff to start with, and still rock out.

[CLOWNDEACAN]

I'd say working on repertoire and really listening to what the bassists are doing is as integral to practice as technique exercises and theory based material.

if you pay attention, you'll always discover things about style and composition. not only do you work on playing in time and getting harder lines down (provided you actively pursue harder pieces), you also expand your own style and musical vocabulary.

Theres a reason a good description of a musician is his/her influences; consciously or not, what you learn and digest becomes you in a way.

Concerning RATM vs maiden... maiden will definitely test your speed and endurance. RATM... depending on the song, is more rhythm based... getting into the groove of the song

[droskobass]

Rage has some great syncopation. it is very creative playing and possibly the first real marriage of Hip hop with metal. Tim evolved his style from "funk- Punk" and Funk metal which was all the "rage" in the very early 90's. he actually abandoned slapping altogether after the first album in order to find a more distinctive voice on the instrument.

I highly recommend anyone check out any of Tim’s playing as an example of how strong repetitive lines can be extremely effective and original. Keep it up.

[Gubna]

Originally Posted by metallist

Not meaning to hijack the thread - what are some really good Iron Maiden songs to learn to improve ones playing?

anyone of them. Steve Harris is really good.

I even had a drummer friend of mine tell me once, "if I was a bass player, that's the guy I would emulate to get good."

Not that Timmy isn't any good...

[Infernal Affair]

Harris and Commerford are definitely apples and oranges. For Maiden songs, a lot of people like to learn "The Trooper" or "Aces High." The former is a good way to see those machine gun triplets he's known for. However, I'd say "Flight of Icarus" is a good one to start with since it's very musical and not as focused on speed. The thing with Maiden is a lot of people play Harris' lines with three fingers, but he only uses two. At least that's what he claims.

[dalconthenovice]

when i first read this i just then finally really listened to the bass of RATM and its pretty impressive, so now i'm learning the album too

[Phe]

I too learned RATM tunes. Bullet in the head, Killing in the name of etcetera. Good stuff.

[christophergenz]

Originally Posted by Alembicplyr

The difference with maiden and RATM is one less guitarist (among the obvious)

Except for the obvious fact that Maiden have 3 guitarists, and yet Harris locks it down as well as, if not better than Commerford.

Bombtrack is a great warm up song to get your chops going. Any songs off the self-titled get you up to speed

[Etbass]

I think Killing in the Name taught me how to play triplets... just because of the intro. And the core groove in the verse is what made me decide to learn the diminished blues scale.
But seriously, you have to admit that Rage released 3 albums of the same stuff... It's all mainly minor pentatonic in either E, D, or F#, all the same volume and dynamics etc. Not saying it's not mind blowing and hugely inspiring, but come on dude... their origininality definitely doesn't rely on the notes they choose. That being said, I reckon Tom Morello is a gun.

[christophergenz]

Originally Posted by Etbass

It's all mainly minor pentatonic in either E, D, or F#, all the same volume and dynamics etc. Not saying it's not mind blowing and hugely inspiring, but come on dude... their origininality definitely doesn't rely on the notes they choose. That being said, I reckon Tom Morello is a gun.

Yeah i agree bro. I think the best part about Tim's playing is the fact that he can power those minor pentatonic groove's whilst Tom is working his shred craziness. The overall power of Rage and Audioslave's riffs is a good enough excuse to practise on them for me

Respect to you dude, Tom Morello is a gun

[sublime0bass]

calm like a bomb was one of the first things i ever learned

i can still see the tab now......