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Can anyone here play YYZ note for note?

#61
musicman5string said:
I used to know this tune and recently started re-learning it. It is really tough.....:)
anyone have luck with it?:bassist:
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Only one I've ever heard play it correctly note for note is Geddy Lee... and even he makes mistakes here and there on the live performances.....

The parts of it I can play I find a little easier on fretless - on a fretted bass it's pretty much hopeless for me.

LS
 
#62
Big John66 said:
Back in the early 80's my prog cover band could nail YYZ. It took me awhile but I got the bass part down by ear. While I can play it pretty much how Geddy does, there is NO way I could ever write something like that. Those guys have always had a knack for writing rocking tunes that were complex and intricate while being accessible. I'm still in awe of the whole band especially of Geddy.
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I agree that, as technically challenging as YYZ may be, the real challenge would be to write something as complex and enjoyable as Geddy's bass lines. (Listen to the bass line during the guitar solo on "Emotion Detector" from Power Windows.)
 
#65
They may not be as pyrotechnic, but Jamerson's lines on What's Going On, Darlin' Dear, and For Once in my Life will make a grown man cry... I'm honestly far more impressed with the guy who took the time to master those gems.
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+1 I learned Teen Town note for note when I was like 21, other than that I think it's better to learn how to play like yourself(NOTE FOR NOTE). T.E.H.O.
 
#71
It's really not that difficult of a song note for note. I struggle a lot more with the timing of the main riff...I always either seem to rush it or drag behind the beat. Fun as hell to play though.
 
#73
I used to be able to play it 6 months after I started. Then my technique got better, and I tried to pick it up again recently. The song is "incompatible" with my current Flea-ish technique. I wonder how the hell I used to play it so well.
 
#74
Yes, along with pretty much all of Rush's catalog.

That said, "note for note" isn't exactly what I do. I don't simplify the part at all, but I don't worry myself with playing every note exactly the same, just like Geddy and Alex shake things up when they play live. So I don't play the studio track note perfect, but yes, I can and often do play YYZ.

One of the first songs I learned, actually.
 
#75
For some reason I have never had a problem playing Geddy's or Entwistle's bass lines. I think its because they really stand out in the mix. There are some others that I struggle with mainly because they are harder to hear. Aerosmith for example. Many of their early songs are simple yet the bass is buried to the point that it sometimes difficult to hear what Tom Hamilton was playing.
 
#76
My bass teacher taught me back in high school, so i had been playing maybe 3-4 years. It ain't that tricky. We were more going over it because of the theory: diminished stuff, and wacky changes and modes and stuff. It's a cool song for many reasons. But I forgot how it all goes these days (been over a decade and I haven't been helping my memory! since then).
 
#77
TOOL460002 said:
My bass teacher taught me back in high school, so i had been playing maybe 3-4 years. It ain't that tricky. We were more going over it because of the theory: diminished stuff, and wacky changes and modes and stuff. It's a cool song for many reasons. But I forgot how it all goes these days (been over a decade and I haven't been helping my memory! since then).
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That's sort of one of the reasons that I don't feel I need to be a music major, as many of my peers think I should. None of those guys attended college, at least, I don't THINK Neil did. And I could be wrong, but did Alex and Geddy drop out if high school to perform?

Either way, one doesn't need to study music academically to write complex, interesting music. You can learn theory without being taught it.
 
#78
I could and have played it note-for-note or lets say this JUSt as close as Geddy does live, the question for me now, is I don't want to or need to. I still debate to this day exactly what notes are in the main riff part. Geddy varies up his fills in this live, because I have seen him do it 5 times live.
Speaking of Tom Hamilton, does anyone have a correct tab or transcription of Uncle Salty, now THAT is a VERY hard bassline to get the feel right.
 
#79
Ezmar said:
That's sort of one of the reasons that I don't feel I need to be a music major, as many of my peers think I should. None of those guys attended college, at least, I don't THINK Neil did. And I could be wrong, but did Alex and Geddy drop out if high school to perform?

Either way, one doesn't need to study music academically to write complex, interesting music. You can learn theory without being taught it.
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Nobody said you need to learn theory to write good music. Theory just lets you know whats going on and why its going on, or something.
 
#80
Epitaph04 said:
Nobody said you need to learn theory to write good music. Theory just lets you know whats going on and why its going on, or something.
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That's what I'm saying. I HAVE been told that, more or less. I have a good understanding and background in theory, but when I tell people that I quit being a music major, they act like I've quit music as anything more than a passing fancy. I learn music and musical ideas better on my own than from trudging through classes I have no interest in, so why waste my time? I still play in the jazz ensemble and combos, and I sing in the choir, and literally play my bass for hours every day.

And they act like if I'm serious about playing music, (I am) I should really take all these classes. There's no reason that I can't be twice the musician as someone who's a full music major. I got a really strong foundation when young, and I can do the rest on my own, thank you very much.

I'll get a degree that's worth something instead. :P
 

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