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Brown Eyed Girl

#81
My band mates give me room for an 8 bar solo, in BEG. The first 4 bars I play close to Van's version, the second set of 4 I'll play it a kinda reggae style; it's now become more fun for me.

I like learning the notes the way the original bass player played it, like walking in their footsteps (and possibly learn something by doing this) and then make it my own.

If the OP is fairly new at this, I think he's having a good attitude for making bass a life time instrument.

If you don't learn a tune right in the beginning, then (at least for me) it'll get shuffled to the background and it'll never be learned properly.

Sure, you can just wing a bunch of tunes, and most of us do, but if you are just starting out, then this is where you pay your dues.
 
#83
As with any song that has an easily recognizable bass part featured, I think you have to play it correctly.

I do a lot of substitute gigs and BEG and Moondance are songs you "have to" be able to play (and altered keys if needed).

Sometimes I get with cover bands who send me the song list. I review then songs and go over them for refresher, then, at rehearsal, I find out half the songs are either re-arranged or played incorrectly.

It really sucks when they just aren't playing a song right. Especially a band that's been doing it wrong for years. I show up, play it on the nuggets, and then some old crusty keyboard player tells me I'm doing to chorus wrong (and I know full well I did it exactly per the recording).

This is another reason that I ask "which version" when I get a list of covers. That way I have everything right.

Sorry for rambling.

My advice: learn to play it correctly, but be prepared to play it differently (or even wrong).
 
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#84
I agree that this isn't a super-easy song to nail. After butchering it an open jam a zillion years ago- I endeavored to learn it and a number of oldies from a local singing bassist.

He showed me some great "tricks" for applying the Nashville system to these sort of tunes and locking down my fingering so I can concentrate on vocals.

This tune still gives me sweaty palms- but my "Brown Eyed Girl" -wife- has approved of all recent performances!

IMG_0494.JPG
 
#85
Pretty much mystified by this thread, that somehow "Brown Eyed Girl" is a hard song. Even note for note being as picky as possible the only difficulty would be the memorizing which wouldn't be that hard either. Of course I learned it a long time ago when I was just beginning to play bass, but even then it didn't seem that hard. And it's SO easy to hear on the recording. ??????? What else do you guys/gals play then?

I like the idea of slapping the bass solo. Fantastic idea.
 
#87
Robroy said:
Yeah. Try singing "When I saw her standing there" while playing the bass. :D

On a side note, I sing "I Fought the Law" and it has the exact same bass riff during the chorus and solo.
Click to expand...

It is very close. What I play is a little different but they are similar enough that you could probably play the Beatles riff for both. The difference is that you get a break when you are playing "I Fought the Law." "I Saw Her Standing There" is a complete workout! At least it is for me. And, there's no chance I will ever even think about trying to sing while playing that riff. I'm a mere mortal.
 
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#88
A lot of interesting posts here, but I hope none of them have discouraged the OP from his admirable approach to learning.

As bass players we can "fake" songs on the bandstand. But to learn to be great players we can transcribe the parts of the players we admire. They are really two different activities that are not mutually exclusive.

Besides the ear training benefits of transcription, we learn how the original musician approaches a song (which can in turn inform our faking).

In the case of the OP transcribing and learning BEG note for note, there's a lot to learn:

As previously noted, the bass player on the track was Russ Savakus, a jazz musician who played upright bass and did not pick up the electric until 1965, two years before BEG was cut.

The line has a lot of chromaticism for a pop bass line, no doubt from Savakus' jazz background. In some ways the line has a lot in common with the approach of another upright jazz player who turned to pop: James Jamerson. It makes a good study of how to add chromatic notes to a line without making it sound "out."

It's also an interesting study in how to take a busy line (both melodically and rhythmically) and make it GROOVE.

So to OP: keep up the good work.
 
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#89
Years ago I used to auto-pilot this tune. I'd make sure it grooved properly, but beyond that it was just a chance to kick back and cool my heels for a few minutes. Then sometime in the early 90s I was playing this tune on a gig, and I don't really know why, but I just started doing crazy stuff that worked. I played through the first G-C-G-D passage pretty close to original, then the second time around I did something more melodic with a couple chromatic passing tones and a slipperier feel, then something a little bit syncopated and edgy with the Em change, then something linear and non-repetitive for the solo...gave myself complete liberty to goof off. The rest of the band, and the audience, reacted immediately. We all found new life in a tired tune, and it was requested a second time later on that night. We had many stronger tunes, but this turned out to be one that moved people. I'd have never thought it possible. It was like snatching whimsy from the clenched jaws of boredom, then making a run for it.

Latitude, that's a neat bit of history on Mr. Savakus. I didn't know that.
 
#91
BEG is about the groove. It is not a tune that needs to be overthunk!
Did I learn it note-for-note? Yes.
Do I ever play it note-for-note? No. And I never play it exactly the same way. I take a lot of liberties with it (sometimes quite extreme) but the groove is always there and all I have ever gotten is thumbs up.
 
#92
DWBass said:
I'm a Certified Cover band bassist. My policy is that I learn songs the way they were played (if at all possible). Then, depending on how the band plays the tunes will determine how I'll play them. I don't have a problem playing either way. No way am I gonna half @$$ learn a song though. Not in my DNA.

I've been playing that song for years. Pretty much note for note. But everyone has their own learning curves. Now Darling Dear is a song that just gives me fits but if it's the last thing I do, I'm gonna learn that damn song note for note! Can't believe Jamerson played that with one finger! I think he secretly used another finger and hid it somehow. SMDH
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James had a huge callous on his finger and did an up and down stroke with it. He played with a light touch. I have the Standing in the Shadows transcription and I still stumble through parts of it. With two fingers.
 
#93
I've probably shared this story before, but bears repeating....

I used to play in a Blues band that did Cream's version of Crossroads. I'm not a big fan of Jack Bruce, but I can respect his playing. I never learned the jam part note for note or even close, but I did listen intently for his style for that song and played a similar style which was Dorian mode with alot of chromaticism. We killed on that jam, and often after a gig, I was told that I sounded just like Jack Bruce, or that I was heavily influenced by him, or that I nailed that song note-for-note. This wasn't always from run-of-the-mill drunks, but from people who were real big fans of Cream that probably listened to Wheels of Fire way more times than I ever have.
 
#94
Jive I get what you're saying but I'm a stay at home dad with both kids in school. I've told him like to pick up the pace. He recognizes what I do though. I nicely pointed out all the spots in maneater he had the chords wrong. Next week He commented on how well I had it down and all tha time he spent fixing his mistakes. I'm in another band too. play multiple instruments. And my music time is nothing compared to my bicycling or strat o matic time.
 
#98
I played it at my wedding on guitar. I did backing vocals, the rhythm part, and comped a lot of the lead licks when I wasn't singing.

If you think the bass part is hard, stay away from the leads. They're not technically demanding, but they're played SOOOO loose, and almost never follow the same pattern, that it's tough remembering what goes where without stepping on the vocal.
 
#99
Gaolee said:
It is very close. What I play is a little different but they are similar enough that you could probably play the Beatles riff for both. The difference is that you get a break when you are playing "I Fought the Law." "I Saw Her Standing There" is a complete workout! At least it is for me. And, there's no chance I will ever even think about trying to sing while playing that riff. I'm a mere mortal.
Click to expand...

Both tune's basslines filtered down from Chuck Berry's 1961 "I'm Talking about You"

The Beatles' 1962 live...

The Rolling Stones version from 'December's Children'(the flanging is not on the original recording)
 

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