I Like To Rock...but am having trouble

[Swampish]

@Swampish

@kevindahl is on the right track

There is a pickup that leads to the down beat just before 2:42 in the video. From the down beat, if you count out |4/4|3/4|4/4|4/4| four times it works out.

My notation sucks and I don't claim this is 100% accurate, but hopefully it will get you in the ballpark.
View attachment 3744321

Very cool! Thanks, will give this a try this morning!

 

[Swampish]

Fun band. Part of the soundtrack of my teens.

Excellent tutelage. TB at its best.

Agreed!

 

[GreggBummer]

Looks like they filmed that at Le Studio in Quebec. Rush recorded Moving Pictures there, the Tom Sawyer video is shot in the same studio... I wonder if all that goofy timing has something to do with the room.

Great song. Definitely worth putting the reps in to learn. Good luck!

 

[Madhouse27]

Be careful, a lot of crazy sh!t happens with April Wine playing in the background.

 

[Skillet]

Bass player trying to cut through in a three guitar band. No wonder he's playing a stingray.

 

[knigel]

I had never heard this song but it is great! Good luck with that middle part--it's a bear!

 

[bfields]

Have been doing that, but I keep anticipating and punching a beat or so early and bugger the count. Just such wonky timing.

When that happens to me I step away from the bass and practice counting out on my own, e.g. tapping the beat with my foot and clapping the bass part. Verrrry slowly at first.

 

[HolmeBass]

@Swampish

@kevindahl is on the right track

There is a pickup that leads to the down beat just before 2:42 in the video. From the down beat, if you count out |4/4|3/4|4/4|4/4| four times it works out.

My notation sucks and I don't claim this is 100% accurate, but hopefully it will get you in the ballpark.
View attachment 3744321

Definitely some dropped beats in there, this darned close if not right on it.

That studio is ridiculously cool!

 

[devnulljp]

The whole thing seems to have bars varying between 4/4 and 7/4. Add to that the deliberately crooked accents.
Slow it down, count it, practice it a lot.

 

[Wasnex]

Very cool! Thanks, will give this a try this morning!

I would suggest reading through my draft of the bass hits a few times and making any necessary revisions. Then rewrite the entire thing neatly, so the sub divisions receive proper spacing. You might also lightly shade in evenly spaced vertical lines to show where the beats fall in each bar. Shading in vertical lines to show the beat is something I frequently do with difficult rhythms.

Something else that can really help you integrate how the syncopations fit together is to write out both the guitar and bass parts. You could use a grand staff, but it's probably better to just write everything out in the same octave in bass cleff, since your most interested in rhythmic accuracy. The idea is for you to learn to hear the entire line instead of just the bass hits. I.E. Think of it as one melody instead of separate parts.

Even if you don't write out the guitar parts, I suggest at least memorizing them by ear. Basically you should imagine them as you are playing, regardless of whether you are practicing alone or gigging with the band. Doing this will greatly enhance your ability to memorize the bass hits over a long time frame, especially if you don't play the song frequently.

Even when I am playing all tunes by ear, I often take notes. I might write down the form, key, the notes of an iconic bass line, or a hard syncopated section like this one. Keep the notes for future reference, and over time you can build up a nice reference library.

Good luck!

 

[Robscott]

If you nail this you will be ready for Black Dog! Loving this thread, TB at its best! Good luck...…….

 

[Swampish]

If you nail this you will be ready for Black Dog! Loving this thread, TB at its best! Good luck...…….

It's funny you mention that! Black Dog just got added to our set list! LOL! And, yes, funny timing each time the main riff starts. Seems like some bands throw in the wonky timing and say, "Let's make it difficult for cover bands to do this song!"

 

[Swampish]

Thanks for the excellent suggestions. Have been working, especially with the slowing down and counting out in conjunction with the time signatures that you guys have taken the time to map out and it is helping A LOT. It's not automatic yet, so if I get too into the groove of the song and forget to count that bit off, I'm buggered!

Problem is, now we're not practicing as a band for a bit as our singer has a fever and we're all essentially self-quarantining.

 

[Swampish]

Looks like they filmed that at Le Studio in Quebec. Rush recorded Moving Pictures there, the Tom Sawyer video is shot in the same studio... I wonder if all that goofy timing has something to do with the room.

Great song. Definitely worth putting the reps in to learn. Good luck!

That's such a beautiful studio! Our dream back in the day was to record there. If it's the cause of the timing issues, it could be that thin mountain air...or something else in the air...

 

[Swampish]

I had never heard this song but it is great! Good luck with that middle part--it's a bear!

Yeah, we are likely going to play Roller too. An awesome and underrated band.

 

[consectaneus]

I have the feeling if one could isolate all but the drums we could get the feel---it seems like it's what the guitar(?) is doing (sounds like someone singing da da da...da da da) that makes it confusing.

 

[kevindahl]

Hopefully you can understand this. The Bold notes are the shots

3& 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3& 4
1 2 3 4 1 2 3& 4
1 2 3 4 1 2& 3 4
1 2 3 4 1 2& 3
Guitar riff starts
1 2& 3 1 2 3& 4
1 2 3 1& 2 3 4&
1 2 3 1 2& 3 4&
1& 2 3& 4 1 2 3 4

Good luck. This is the way I would count it, not too sure if it is correct.

 

[eddybuzzard]

A long time ago, we had turntables with 16 RPM, then Ibanez came out with a small cassette player that had a half speed switch called the Rock and Play. Those gave way to the Tascam CD-GT1 guitar trainer, and after a few years it became a MP3 version.
Nowadays, we can just use the gear icon on youtube, and slow down any song to quarter speed if necessary...at the same pitch even!
I tell ya, younguns got it so easy, LOL!
As for that song section, it sounds as if the bass guitar hits are exactly on the bass drum hits, as he keeps 16th ticks on the hi-hats. I would slow it way down, and play along till I got it, then move up to the next speed, and get it there, and so on...
Counting it out definitely works, but IMHO, it's more important to feel it out, otherwise it seems more like math, LOL!