I want to learn Teen Town

DarkMagnifico · #1 10-20-2010, 10:51 PM

I have been playing bass for 2 years. My first year i spent going to a music school, even though i have improved im not really that good. I tried taking on teen town but its too fast. Im just wondering if you guys can give me a list of songs so i can build speed and also get better, because i really dont know any songs. Please dont point me to the list of songs by difficulty because those songs are mostly rock and i hate songs that just stick to the root or are just poor musically. thank you!

jsbarber · #2 10-20-2010, 11:18 PM

Try My Girl. It's a great tune and it's not real hard.

Jim

yeggi · #3 10-20-2010, 11:20 PM

jamorquai

Hoover · #4 10-21-2010, 11:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DarkMagnifico

I have been playing bass for 2 years. [snip] I tried taking on teen town but its too fast.

Just hang in there. I have been playing bass for 36 years and I still can't quite nail "Teen Town"!

T-MOST · #5 10-21-2010, 12:32 PM

There is a guy who posted a You Tube vid of himself playing Teen Town at a turtle's pace. It's dead accurate but so freakin' slow (which is the point) Search for it.

**BullHorn** · #6 10-21-2010, 12:34 PM

I usually learn songs by first slowing them down and playing them slowly but as accurately as possible. Speeding it up will come naturally.

John Wentzien · #7 10-21-2010, 12:36 PM

Slow it down and learn it section-by section.....Listen to it until you have the whole arrangement in your head and can sing it first!

Edit: get the sheet-music for it too!

Stick_Player · #8 10-21-2010, 12:45 PM

Practice "Teen Town" SLOW!

And very importantly, have good fingerings. The less you shift, the faster you will be able to eventually play.

Quote:

I have been playing bass for 2 years.

As for attempting to play "Teen Town" at this point in your playing experience - why? This is a virtuoso piece. Do you understand the harmony, the note selection? This is a somewhat sophisticated piece of music. Of course it is difficult.

Muaguana · #9 10-21-2010, 12:46 PM

All Along the Watchtower - Jimmy Hendrix cover. A lot more musical of a bass line than Teen Town anyway.

jsbarber · #10 10-21-2010, 12:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by T-MOST

There is a guy who posted a You Tube vid of himself playing Teen Town at a turtle's pace. It's dead accurate but so freakin' slow (which is the point) Search for it.

I think this might be the one you're referring to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzMogHD0MMI

Jim

bottomzone · #11 10-21-2010, 01:11 PM

That's cool! Brian Bromberg remade Teen Town at a slower tempo.

A Groove is a Terrible Thing to Waste!

Rudreax · #12 10-21-2010, 01:29 PM

If you have a LOT of time to shed the tune (such as a week's worth) it isn't terribly difficult. I had to learn it for a concert, and I've only been playing for just over 2 years. The key issue is being able to apply yourself to learning it, and having enough time to allow that application.

singlemalt · #13 10-21-2010, 01:33 PM

Notice the guy in the video is reading the part! He does a great job of giving the notes full value, and the whole thing has a pretty funky feel. Nice. I'll take his slow version over any number of fast crappy sounding versions.

There are transcription books for Jaco's solos. Note for note. Read the music along with the tune. Check out how the melody works with the chords. Try to sing the part, at least the rhythm.

That's how you do it, one phrase at a time, if your reading is slow like mine, and slowed down to where you can play it without any mistakes. Then you bump up the metronome or drum machine 10 BPM at a time until you fall apart. Then you work some more.

Try to read it at each new tempo, don't be looking at you fingers.

Are you going to do it at Jaco's clip? Maybe not for a while. But working like this will pay huge dividends.

Get a Real book and do the same for other jazz tunes you like.

FWIW I'm currently abusing Dizzy's Grooving High at a snail's pace 110 bpm. You get a lot of cool ideas from the masters, its worth it. Am I going to bust it out in public? Not any time soon, but I'm having fun with it.

**251** · #14 10-21-2010, 02:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Wentzien

Slow it down and learn it section-by section.....Listen to it until you have the whole arrangement in your head and can sing it first!

Edit: get the sheet-music for it too!

+1. You just received a 1st class music lesson. Remember to thank John!

jsbarber · #15 10-21-2010, 06:33 PM

I remember reading an interview with Jaco where he said it took him a very long time to learn Donna Lee - I think it was 7 or 9 years. Not to play it, but to play it cleanly. BTW, for improving dexterity check out this book of exercises. I must admit, I've only ever worked on the first few. But I always go back to them when I feel like my hands need a work out.

http://www.amazon.com/Bass-Fitness-E.../dp/0793502489

I should invest some more time with it, I'm sure it would pay off.

Jim

SLaPiNFuNK · #16 03-26-2011, 11:13 PM

Hope this helps:

YouTube - How to play TEEN TOWN by Jaco Pastorius

**bassybill** · #17 03-27-2011, 07:14 AM

Transcription of "Teen Town"

When I was in my early stages as a bass player, I often tried to play the most difficult stuff I could find and learned a lot from attempting that. Have fun, don't get too frustrated if it's hard as that's what makes the challenge fun and worthwhile!

dvh · #18 03-28-2011, 01:48 PM

Keep in mind that learning a song doesn't necessarily mean learning it note for note the way someone else did. I recognize that it's Jaco's song and his version is the definitive one.

IMO, as valuable as it might be to learn that song note for note, it is even more valuable to understand why those notes work. Bill provided a chart (above).

Don't just memorize someone else's bass line. Understand the music and create your own. That's the challenge.

SLaPiNFuNK · #19 03-28-2011, 04:01 PM

any song you learn / any bass line you learn you should learn it based on the chords and why the notes are working within that chord. this way, you could apply that to other chords in other modes and play in other keys...

If you learn a tune by a progression ii V I IV iii vi ii V I, you could play it in any key... D G C F E A D G C, F# B E A G# C# F# B E, etc...

puddin tame · #20 03-28-2011, 08:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DarkMagnifico

I have been playing bass for 2 years. My first year i spent going to a music school, even though i have improved im not really that good. I tried taking on teen town but its too fast. Im just wondering if you guys can give me a list of songs so i can build speed and also get better, because i really dont know any songs. Please dont point me to the list of songs by difficulty because those songs are mostly rock and i hate songs that just stick to the root or are just poor musically. thank you!

who says playing a simple line rock line is musically poor? does it sound good? then it is musically good!

it is 'poor musically' to overcomplicate things and get hung up on lines that require excessive technique.

That said, teen town is probably about as advanced as a non-solo bass song would get. I've been playing for about 8 years and only maybe in the last 6 months have I been able to play teen town and have it sound professional (it's much better to play a slower piece well than fumble through something that is too fast for you).

there's no one thing that will necessarily improve your speed more than anything else, because speed is about muscle memory, and you get that from just playing. play, play to your abilities, and gradually work up. teen town should be the destination, and you have a loooong journey