Do You Practice the Easy Songs?

[BassFishingInAmerica]

Do you find yourself only practicing the really difficult songs, or do you occasionally take the time to go over even the simplest tunes?

I realized that I had unknowingly been only practicing very difficult songs. I heard The Who's, "Listening To You" at the end of "We're Not Gonna Take It." The last time I played this song was 20 years ago. Why? This is a great, powerful song. But, just because it's simple, it died from my repertoire, as did many other great songs.

So, I took some time to run over a list of what I considered "easy songs" and learned how beneficial these songs can be to one's playing skills and technique.

Some things I found myself really focusing on more:

Tone (from guitar, amp and fingers)

Plucking style (not so much fingering, but force and position)

Timing (this more than anything else)

Feeling (this is what really makes those simple songs great)

Power and Volume (another part of the song's emotional impact)

Practicing these songs also gave me a much wider range in variety. Everything was fresh again. Playing more for fun than work.

I strive to be technically good (playing lots of notes, super fast), but sometimes it's good to lay back and relax.

 

[BrotherMister]

I agree whole heartedly. It is easy to get caught up working on more 'difficult' music but I actually find I have the most difficulty when it comes to the simplest of things. I've found myself caught up for hours in playing charts that are comprised entirely of semibreves or similar and really digging deep on the tone and, as you have said, the timing especially. Often overlooked but certainly some of the most beneficial stuff to look at as you can't hide anywhere with it.

 

[CatSquare]

Yeah I do. I feel that I can always throw in things to make a simple song difficult to play, and if it ever becomes boring then that's on me; there's always something to improve upon.
Playing through an entire Ramones record is a great way to drill yourself on endurance, better still if you've never tried to play the tunes before, then you're also working on ear training.

 

[BAG]

I love doing the easy songs. It allows you to be a bit more inventive, or alternatively, more basic with great timing and feel.

One of my current favorite songs to play with my kids is The Cranberries "Ode To My Family". It's just a four chord wonder but with good timing of the kick and bass, the vocal harmony interplay between the two girls, the nice little lead guitar fills etc it is just a pleasure to play time and time again.

Another favorite with my other band is "4 & 20 Blues". Just a good rockin' fun blues with fun lyrics and we play it almost every gig and rehearsal.

 

[Gravy4001]

Although I spend much more time running through the new stuff and the difficult tunes, I still try to touch on everything before a gig no matter how easy. Never seems to fail that the thing I forget at a show is something fairly easy that I've played for many years...and decided I didn't need to practice lol!

 

[zontar]

I play them all, but I don't always practice them--if you get the distinction.

But I know I should.

 

[johnReeve]

On the BG, not so much. On the upright... geeze. Yeah. Every time I pick up the instrument it is long scales with the bow, then easy tunes before practicing what I need to work on.

OT: it is difficult for me not to read your posts in Keith's (from Trout Fishing in America) voice.

 

[BassFishingInAmerica]

On the BG, not so much. On the upright... geeze. Yeah. Every time I pick up the instrument it is long scales with the bow, then easy tunes before practicing what I need to work on.

OT: it is difficult for me not to read your posts in Keith's (from Trout Fishing in America) voice.

You are the first person to get the reference to the name.

 

[JaredBT]

Not always and sometimes the easy songs get troublesome... I try to convey to these hard heads I play with the set list should always be rehearsed in its entirety no matter how many rehearsals it takes to complete.

 

[fearceol]

"Easy" and "difficult" are very general terms. Playing R/5 can be "difficult" for a beginner. Ideally you practice what you are having trouble with.

 

[SteveCS]

1: Hard and Easy are, of course, relative.
2: Holding a steady deliberate '4 to the floor' right in the pocket, dynamically as well as rhythmically, can be harder than a fast slap done on reflexes.
3: Our ability to play the hard stuff is built on a foundation of 'rudiments' like timing, feeling, groove, swing and scales. Slaps, sweeps, taps, shreds and polyrhythms are really only possible if you have the fundamentals ingrained on the brain and your muscles.

IMHO, the 'simple' songs give you the opportunity to absorb and assimilate the rudiments within the context of composition whilst being able to relax a bit and appreciate the music's melodies, harmonies and, in the case of songs the lyrics, on a deeper level. In short, I think the simple stuff gives you an opportunity for organic growth as a musician, not only as a bass player.

 

[interp]

Simple does not equal easy. Listen to Paul McCartney's bass line on Get Back. Extremely simple. I've never heard anyone play it right.

 

[BassFishingInAmerica]

1: Hard and Easy are, of course, relative.
2: Holding a steady deliberate '4 to the floor' right in the pocket, dynamically as well as rhythmically, can be harder than a fast slap done on reflexes.
3: Our ability to play the hard stuff is built on a foundation of 'rudiments' like timing, feeling, groove, swing and scales. Slaps, sweeps, taps, shreds and polyrhythms are really only possible if you have the fundamentals ingrained on the brain and your muscles.

IMHO, the 'simple' songs give you the opportunity to absorb and assimilate the rudiments within the context of composition whilst being able to relax a bit and appreciate the music's melodies, harmonies and, in the case of songs the lyrics, on a deeper level. In short, I think the simple stuff gives you an opportunity for organic growth as a musician, not only as a bass player.

Definitely all relative. And I'm realizing that there can be "difficult" or interesting things with nearly every song.

 

[SirMjac28]

I have a virtual set list on my iTunes and I keep it on shuffle so I never know what's coming up next some easier and some harder. I approach it like I would physical exercise I want to push myself but I also don't want to get frustrated by pushing too hard.

 

[ArtechnikA]

You are the first person to get the reference to the name.

I'm certain this is not true...
Been a TFIA fan since at least 1995.
Just saw no reason to comment...

 

[jjmuckluckjr]

I don't care how easy a song might be, but if you're going to play it in front of a paying crowd you'd better have practiced it! I can't stress this enough, I've seen some very talented cover bands just bite it on the 'easy' stuff. Like bands that can do a spot on version of YYZ, then screw the pooch on Paranoid (Jez, did I just date myself ). And it almost always has to do with timing. Instead of a nice tight rhythm section, you've got 3-4-5 or more horses galloping at different speeds. You can go from rock god to garage band hack pretty quickly. Sometimes it'll be a simple part of a longer song that can bite you in the keyster. Like Allen Iverson says, "We talkin' 'bout practice?" Yep.

 

[rtslinger]

I run through our set list in it's entirety, so yes I practice easy as well as difficult. I also trying to play songs in different positions and with least amount of open strings. Proper fingering use that pinky

 

[static0verdrive]

When I'm solo I like to use easier stuff to warm up and cool down, although I rarely bother to cool down. At band practice we tend to do the easier ones, but less takes... i.e. we'll do an easy one once or twice but a harder one three or four times (usually). If it's a really short practice, we might skip the ones we already know best and keep the harder ones to one or two takes.

 

[Panther]

Playing a lot of notes super fast is rarely musical in any way.

 

[Sav'nBass]

I practice everything I am going to play. I have found that very often I can get into a comfort mode that allows me to get lazy on some songs.. so I make sure that when I am playiong somewhere I go over every song at least once or twice.. the hard ones more.