I am become...Geddy

the_hook · #1 09-13-2011, 12:39 PM

It wasn't that long ago I bought a bass (SX Jazz), learned how to play on my own, found a few guitarists willing to learn and play some Rush (favorite band since I was a teen)....yada yada...fast forward to this year and I'm in a tight band with a really good guitar player and drummer and I'm playing not only bass...but keyboards and pedals! When did that happen?

Worse yet...they picked some non Rush songs to learn...and I can't get into them. The bass playing is so 'standard', keeping up the bottom end...I can't even remember the notes.

Throw me a song like Xanadu or Natural Science and I can memorize them all and play live...give me some Van Halen tune or ACDC...can't remember a thing...it's like there are 3 notes played for 5 minutes and one blurs into the next.

Heck...for my next tune I'm analyzing Cygnus X-1, I'll even throw in some synth parts...pedals...my brain must be shifting into Geddy zones...if I start singing it's over.

EagleMoon · #2 09-13-2011, 05:33 PM

LOL! I'm with you. Rush has always been my favorite band and Geddy my favorite bass player. Playing AC/DC can make your mind numb if you can stay awake. It's funny, I love to listen to all sorts of music, but when it comes to playing, Rush is still my favorite stuff to do.

mboogiemanusa · #3 09-16-2011, 06:44 PM

It's harder then you think to play repetitive simple bass lines because the mind does wander and the urge is always there to want to rip it up. Sometimes you just have to do what serves the song best. Now I like having lots of simpler bass lines in the set because I use those songs to check out the attractive women shaking it on the dance floor. All the stuff you miss seeing when concentrating on doing the Geddy Lee thing.

Ubersheist · #4 09-18-2011, 10:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mboogiemanusa

It's harder then you think to play repetitive simple bass lines because the mind does wander and the urge is always there to want to rip it up. Sometimes you just have to do what serves the song best. Now I like having lots of simpler bass lines in the set because I use those songs to check out the attractive women shaking it on the dance floor. All the stuff you miss seeing when concentrating on doing the Geddy Lee thing.

I LOVE playing simple bass lines. LOVE IT. It allows me to work on my stage show. The simpler the bass line I play, the better the band is on stage. I also like changing it up with a more complex song, too, though.

I'll NEVER complain that a bass line is too boring to play. If it's what makes the song sound better and fits, then I'll surely get more into the song and groove more with the song as a whole.

Rockmusician · #5 09-18-2011, 10:28 AM

I always seem to learn Rush and Who easier than anything else. I think it's because the bass is constantly moving not just playing the root.

Fassa Albrecht · #6 09-18-2011, 10:36 AM

I love playing Rush songs on both guitar and bass, and I'll add some synth if I can do so. Man, I'd love a set-up like Geddy Lee's.

Papa Dangerous · #7 09-18-2011, 10:39 AM

I do not think I have ever listened to Rush on my own accord. Great band for sure, but his voice just gets to me. I have been telling myself that I should listen to them just to try and learn a bass line or so. Just something technical so I can keep trying new things.

Its been a while since I looked up tabs (I do not like to learn full songs via tabs, I like to check em out, and get a feel and thats about it)

Last night I decided to check out the Cello Suites by Bach after there were so many comments on the thread about them here on TB. I grasped how to play it quickly, was able to play the notes, just not as smoothly as needed at a decent speed. It seems that through memorizing the notes and sounds, I ended up thinking less about the approach to it (1-2-3-4, 1-2-1-2) I would not say that is the actual rhythm in note values or anything, but if you listen to it, and check out the tabs, you can see what I mean by approaching it.

I also listened to Classical Thump by Wooten, and ended up playing Bach to the Wooten rhythm. They seem very similar.

Any recommendations on a Rush song that is simple, yet complex to try out? The song I heard the most by them is probably Tom Sawyer, and maybe a few others.

**jmattbassplaya** · #8 09-18-2011, 10:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Papa Dangerous

I
Any recommendations on a Rush song that is simple, yet complex to try out? The song I heard the most by them is probably Tom Sawyer, and maybe a few others.

Simple, yet complex? Hmm. Limelight is fairly easy while still being interesting. Red Barchetta is another. Cold Fire is pretty fun as well.

electracoyote · #9 09-18-2011, 10:51 AM

I think "Xanadu" was one of the first Rush songs I learned note-for-note. That was a long, long time ago, but I still remember thinking how unique this Geddy guy is, and I must learn more of his stuff. His lines are clever and creative but still accesable. For some of us, it's pretty infectious.

Papa Dangerous · #10 09-18-2011, 10:53 AM

Awesome, I do know of Limelight and will check that one first. I guess simple, yet complex was kinda of a vague statement. I meant to add that I seen the Cello Suite 1 - Prelude as simple, yet complex. The first 4 notes of the bar can be seen as certain phrase, then the next four as another phrase. Repeat this process twice and have a sequence thats probably like 2 bars long. The same idea is repeated in the next few bars before there is a change.

sohamorrohit · #11 09-18-2011, 11:03 AM

Happened with me too man. I was turning into a bad copy of Flea. I think you need to branch out on your influences. That's what worked for me. A year ago, everything I played sounded like a machine gun. Now I love playing Soul and RnB and old school funk. Lesser notes. But each one holds much more value. Doesn't mean I won't still play a little Nobody Weird Like Me though.

Ubersheist · #12 09-18-2011, 10:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by electracoyote

I think "Xanadu" was one of the first Rush songs I learned note-for-note. That was a long, long time ago, but I still remember thinking how unique this Geddy guy is, and I must learn more of his stuff. His lines are clever and creative but still accesable. For some of us, it's pretty infectious.

I think my first note-for-note song attempt was "School Days" by Stanley Clarke, but after failing that, I learned "Red Barchetta." I haven't played it in years, but it got so ingrained into me as a teen, that I bet I could still bust it out note for note without practicing it... I like to think so, at least.

the_hook · #13 09-19-2011, 09:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ubersheist

I think my first note-for-note song attempt was "School Days" by Stanley Clarke, but after failing that, I learned "Red Barchetta." I haven't played it in years, but it got so ingrained into me as a teen, that I bet I could still bust it out note for note without practicing it... I like to think so, at least.

I learned Red Barchetta recently (adding some Keys/pedals intro as well).

It's become one of my favorite songs to play on bass, lot's of really nice bass work, and I like the structure of the song, flows so well from beginning to end. It truly puts me in the story and hits the high points of the car racing along the countryside.

Schizo Sapiens · #14 09-21-2011, 08:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by the_hook

The bass playing is so 'standard', keeping up the bottom end...I can't even remember the notes.

Quote:

Originally Posted by the_hook

Throw me a song like Xanadu or Natural Science and I can memorize them all and play live...give me some Van Halen tune or ACDC...can't remember a thing...it's like there are 3 notes played for 5 minutes and one blurs into the next.

Can't play simple bass parts but cope with more complex? Sounds familiar.
I played with two bassists who were like that (and it was painful for me as a band leader). Riffs or complex fills - they play it. Simple root parts - they're often lost. It looks as if they learn just the notes (or tabs) not really understanding what's going on with harmony.

I think that you may need to work on ear training and harmony understanding. You don't really need to memorize simple parts as long as you remember how it sounds and are capable to transfer things you hear (or anticipate to hear) from your head to your instrument.

Maybe you should just continue to learn simpler music, and it'll come with practice.

stepswork4me · #15 09-21-2011, 09:41 AM

I can learn and play simple parts but they bore me to tears so I refuse.

Eugene Festus · #16 09-21-2011, 10:17 AM

I see where you're coming from. But music is music, complex or not. Every note has its place and I treat every one with equal importance. Sometimes its about how you play and not what you play.

stepswork4me · #17 09-21-2011, 10:33 AM

If I can play it with my toes I have no interest in playing it.

EagleMoon · #18 09-21-2011, 10:38 AM

There's a difference between overplaying and adding something interesting to the music. I try not to play notes just to be playing notes, but to be stuck only playing roots and nothing else is boring. I think the bass can add a lot of wonderful flavor to music if used tastefully.

Catbuster · #19 09-21-2011, 09:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EagleMoon

There's a difference between overplaying and adding something interesting to the music. I try not to play notes just to be playing notes, but to be stuck only playing roots and nothing else is boring. I think the bass can add a lot of wonderful flavor to music if used tastefully.

+100,000,000.

By the way, I try to stay away from one particular style of playing, as it really closes everything else out. I.E I can do any Guns/ Velvet Revolver song (interesting pick parts), most Rush, most DT (complex fingerstyle) and AC/DC (thumping the root). I still can't do 'Money.' I'm just not much on walking baselines all over the freeboard that low.

the_hook · #20 09-22-2011, 06:20 AM

I was only partially kidding about doing less busy bass lines; I can do both. I just find when I do more complex stuff I can 'see' the different note patterns (like pieces on a map) better than some plain flat country road that goes on for miles and lulls you to sleep..

I agree you need to play for what the song requires. When I play new songs (we have a few we've created) I pay careful attention to the playback (video/audio). If I sound too busy I go back and rework the bass to fit the song better and other instruments.

I just happened to start with Rush (not the best way to start learning bass) and just love playing their big Prog songs. We're also venturing into early King Crimson, Genesis and some Porcupine Tree.

The funny part was that the guitar player said ‘we need a synth/keyboard player now to do some of those Rush tunes and other Prog band songs’. I tried to find one, but no one stepped forth. So I bought some used gear (software, midi) and learned some piano (video) and now I play keys and pedals on a few songs.

But I won’t sing…

We're looking around for either a skinny guy with a huge schnoz, long hair and high vocals or a girl that looks the same and actually likes Rush songs....