Question about Grateful Dead - Uncle John's Band

rydin4lifebass · #1 03-02-2013, 07:42 PM

I'm working on Uncle John's Band by the Grateful Dead and have two questions.

1) I've attached an image showing the 1st and 2nd verse (see below). The first verse is used as "Bass Fill 1". Under the first two bars of the second verse is the note "Play Bass Fill 1 Simile". The first two bars of verse 2 are different though. Am I supposed to substitute these for the first two bars but keep the rest the same?

2) Basically, I've having trouble following the rhythm here and staying on track. Any suggestions like listening to the vocals, etc?

FretlessMainly · #2 03-02-2013, 10:02 PM

I'm getting a headache just looking at that, and I've been reading music since 1975. My advice? Listen to the track and play along with it. It's not a terribly difficult bass part. And furthermore, if there's ever a band you can improv to, it's the Dead.

So, I know you want to learn it straight, and good on yer for that, but who knows if that transcription is even correct? Why not learn it from the record and determine that yourself? Most of the tune is syncopated fairly consistently, while the bass adheres to and/or floats over that syncopation.

Clef_de_fa · #3 03-03-2013, 07:10 AM

hum your tab isn't very clear ... But I think in this particular case the first two bars of the second verse are different from the first verse but the rest is exacly the same. So you subtitute the first two bars of the verse you already learned for those and the rest is the same.

Mushroo · #4 03-03-2013, 08:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rydin4lifebass

Any suggestions like listening to the vocals, etc?

Yes. And the guitarist. And the drummer. etc.

If you are not willing to listen to the other musicians, then Grateful Dead is not a musical path you want to start down.

rydin4lifebass · #5 03-03-2013, 10:20 AM

Thanks fretless & clef. I took a pic of the song with my cell phone so the pics aren't great. Ill try to get better pics later.

@mushroo...I was just asking for tips, nothing major. I have the original 1970 record and was asking for advice, not to be told not to bother.

Mushroo · #6 03-03-2013, 10:23 AM

According to Deadbase the Dead played Uncle John's Band at least 334 times, and I doubt Phil played it the same way twice, so IMHO a good place to focus is feeling the chord progression and "pulse" and then, depending on the ability level of the musicians you are playing with, "dancing" around the beat a bit. If you are not playing with Jerry/Bobby/etc. then you might want to "dumb it down" a bit. Grateful Dead had a unique rhythmic concept; it is all about how the instruments weave together, not necessarily a single part keeping strict time. I encourage you to play along with your original 1970 record over and over again to really nail the feel and execution, and then explore some of the live performances to hear how the part can be varied.

Mushroo · #7 03-03-2013, 10:30 AM

Maybe this will help? (bass appears on the left side of the screen, and is mixed very prominently)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1g-tuaGSax8

HolmeBass · #8 03-03-2013, 10:37 AM

I think listening to the vocals and internalizing the melody is the way to tackle Uncle John's band. For me getting hung up on exactly what Phil is playing may be missing the point, since it is pretty much guaranteed he didn't play it the same exact way ever again, so the point is to learn the tune, including all of the dropped beats and (IIRC) measures of 2. The easiest way to do that is to internalize the melody/vocals.

rydin4lifebass · #9 03-03-2013, 10:40 AM

The first question was just asking why it was written like that..seemed confusing so I wanted to ask before assuming differently. The second question was just general, asking if there was anything about that specific song.

HolmeBass · #10 03-03-2013, 10:44 AM

I would say yes, for that specific song there are places where beats are dropped, and knowing the melody cold saves you from a stifling hell of having to count out the whole thing.

As for the music/tab, the first two bars are different as shown, then return to riff 1 after that, as indicated. Notations like that usually appear above the staff they apply to, not below it.

rydin4lifebass · #11 03-03-2013, 11:01 AM

Thanks for the help. I know Phil lesh was way more then a "time-keeper" so ill try to follow the melody. This is different that most songs I usually try to tackle so its a good challenge for me!

rydin4lifebass · #12 03-03-2013, 07:27 PM

Been working on this for a while this evening. This one is gonna be a thorn in he side for a while. I'm used to very "riff-driven" songs and root-fifth country stuff so this is definitely a challenge. The melodic playing is not something I'm used to but this is a great song and just gonna take a lot of practice...thanks all for the comments.