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I can't physically play Scarified

T

Tupac

May 5, 2011
2,644
366
#1
Band wants to learn it, and for once, I'm the weak link! Even at 120 BPM I really struggle to play cleanly. I've been woodshedding for two weeks and have not improved. Even those 16th note sections I just CANNOT do, and I'd say I got chops. Juan Alderete's nervous system must be something else.

And playing with a pick is out of the question. If I can play for 3 years fingerstyle and not play this song I doubt a week with a pick will do it!


Also, I noticed that Juan plays this one riff like this:

Code: 
------------------------6-
------------------6-7-9---
---------5--7--9----------
5--7--9-------------------

But I play it like this:

Code: 
----------------------4-6-
---------------4--6-7-----
------4--5--7-------------
5--7----------------------

How can he possibly reach like that? It makes the triplet easier since it's all on one string, but how does he do that?
 
#2
i'm assuming the racer x song... correct me if i'm wrong.

it's a hard song, don't be hard on yourself.

when i set out to learn hard songs, i break them into sections, go slow, and focus on playing it properly and cleanly. speed comes with time. and don't be afraid to give it time. when i first set out to learn yyz a few years ago, took something like 2 months to get the whole thing smooth and clean, and a few more weeks before i could do the whole thing at the right tempo.

hang in there, you'll get it.
 
#4
bgressman82 said:
i'm assuming the racer x song... correct me if i'm wrong.

it's a hard song, don't be hard on yourself.

when i set out to learn hard songs, i break them into sections, go slow, and focus on playing it properly and cleanly. speed comes with time. and don't be afraid to give it time. when i first set out to learn yyz a few years ago, took something like 2 months to get the whole thing smooth and clean, and a few more weeks before i could do the whole thing at the right tempo.

hang in there, you'll get it.
Click to expand...


+1. Time, patience, plus playing at a comfortable tempo, then increasing it gradually, is the way to go.
 
#5
Stick with your fingering and just keep at it. It's going to take longer than two weeks to get this one down. There's a reason there's a hundred guitar covers and two bass covers of this on YouTube.
 
#6
That stretch is fairly easy for me and I do not have large hands. 5-9 should be very do-able. That being said, there is no way I could pull off some of those runs, specifically the ones around the one minute mark. I wish you the best of luck, pushing yourself hard is the best way to learn. Just take it slow and bring it up to speed.
 
#7
He is able to play it that fast because of his groupings of 3. Makes the right hand very quick and easy to play fast lines. Paul Gilbert has a lesson on it on YouTube. Works for bass too.

Your making the line much more difficult grouping 2,3,3,2. This is much harder for your right hand.

To check it out, change key and move the line to start on the 12th fret where spacing is closer. Get it up to speed there and then just keep coming down a fret until you are at 5-7-9.

Good for you for learning this song!
 
#8
Telling yourself you can't play it will become a self fulfilling prophesy.

If your attention stays on what you "cant" do you will for sure continue not to be able to do it.
Maybe you can't play it up to speed or accurately but you CAN in fact play it. You've been at this song two whole weeks? Gimme a break...try months or even years. This is some SERIOUSLY physical **** and after a mere 14 days you haven't even scratched the surface. There are things I've been working on for over 30 years.

general practice hint:
Are you recording your practice? Do that every day and wait until the next day to listen back with fresh ears and your understanding of what's going on with your playing will skyrocket.

And consider this: maybe you shouldn't be so concerned with not being able to cop something note for note the way someone else played it. Try modifying it to what's comfortable and playing it with the best time and feel you can right now. If you cop the feel and intent effectively you'll be surprised in several months when you listen to this song again how obvious the recorded part is to you now...how much more immediate the connection between ears, brain and hands is. I guarantee this will open more doors more quickly than nitpicking and stopping and starting and obsessing over exact phrasing. It might seem unintuitive to you right now but can actually be the shortest route to playing it note for note.
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Or maybe you should just quit. I mean if it's too hard and all.....
You want something you can master in a couple of weeks? try a video game.
:hiding:
 
#10
There's tons of stuff I can't physically play, and I'm still busy 20 years in. Fortunately for me (and you?) music is basically maths crossed with art, and the limitations of the human physique are typically much less important than the limitations of the human psyche.
 
#12
I still can't play the first part of the bass solo in Phantom of the Opera because I can't stretch to play it on 1 string, although I have the rest of the song pretty much tied up. And Sanctuary? I doubt I'll ever be able to play that!!
 
#16
I've had to take a 6 month break due to an injury but before that I had a 5 fret stretch in the first position on a 6 string bass. You could cheat and play that passage using 2 handed tapping. Tap the fifth, sixth, and seventh fret notes with your left hand and the ninth fret notes with your right.

C/S,
Rev J
 
#17
Hahaha! That friggin song! When I'd been playing for probably around as long as you have, I also went after this beast of a song, and pretty much failed miserably. My right and left hands were nowhere near fast enough to play it and it's been a song I've been meaning to get back to for years now, thanks for the reminder!
 

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