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Most difficult bass song ever!!

#161
I'd agree that classical thump is tricky, it uses loads of variations on the double thump technique which all have to be learnt individually... i'm getting there- slowly! Norweigian Wood isn't as hard as many people think, the tapping sits very nicely under your hands and if you're used to tapping sus2 chords (root, fifth, ninth, tenth) with two hands it's fairly easy for the tune. The beginning has a really tricky double thumb pattern though. Cherokee (Indian Love Song) I've found is Wooten's hardest- i just can't get it. Adam Nietti is also very difficult, first you have to learn how to sweep, which isn't that easy, and then the patterns he uses are tricky too. Dream Theater is definitely hard... try the fast ending to the interlude bit in Metropolis Part 1 in unison with a (very good) guitarist and you'll see. Donna Lee is certainly a great work out. The hardest things I've tried to do are playing Rush lines while singing, the lines themselves are hard to learn, especially to make them work properly, but I dont have the musical ability to sing and play such a part. Actually some really technical death metal is often a pain to learn, check out anything by Erlend Caspersen, he's got it sorted (i most definitely haven't).
But yeah, whatever that guy said earlier about the next song being the hardest is good advice.
 
#163
Hardest bass song to play? Easy...."In the Mood" for the bazillionth time...you ever tried to play that walking line and slit your wrists at the same time....everytime that one comes out of the book, I find it harder and harder to play.
 
#165
Seriously a lot of Cannibal Corpse stuff is pretty dificult. Combination of speed and weird fingering. If you dont listen to them or if you think their music is rubbish check this out (and keep in mind the tempos is insane):

intro x3
A B
|--------------------------------|-------|
|--------------------------------|-------|
|--------------------------------|----4-3|
|1-1-1-1/31-1-1-1/31-1-1-1/31-|0-1----|

just gitar for one riff

bass solo (tomb of the mutilated) x4 / bass solo (live) x4
|-----------------| |----------------|
|-------3---------| |7-----4---------|
|-2---2---3---3---| |--6-5-------5-4-|
|---0-------1---0-| |--------5-4-----|

riff 1 x4
|----------------|
|7-----4---------|
|--6-5-------5-4-|
|--------5-4-----|

riff 2 x4
|----------------|
|5-----2---------|
|--4-3-------3-2-|
|--------3-2-----|

riff 2 x4

riff 3 x8
|-----------|
|-----------|
|-------3---|
|4--5-4-----|

riff 4 x2
|-------------------------------------------------|
|7h10p7-6h9p6-------------5h8p5-4h7p4-------------|
|-------------0-0-5-0-0-4-------------0-0-4-0-0-3-|
|-------------------------------------------------|

riff 5 x2
|--------------------------------------------|
|5h8p8-4h7p4-------------5h8p5-5h8p5---------|
|------------0-0-0-4-----------------0-0-0-4-|
|--------------------------------------------|

riff 4 x2

riff 3 x8

intro A

intro B x 16

riff 2 x4

riff 1 x4

riff 3 x8

riff 4 x2

riff 5 x2

intro A

intro B slowed down x12

riff 4 x2 fast!

riff 5 x2 fast!

riff 3 x8

outro
|----------|
|----------|
|----------|
|1-1-1/31-|
 
#166
Alex Webster is a BRILLIANT bassist!!!
Alex_1.jpg
 
#171
Canni Corpse isnt really that hard, its just a bit more faster than older style metal. Dream Theatre have a certain degree of difficulty, mainly because they change the riffs every bar and so remembering what to play is the hard part. John Myung has a good writing sense in that he uses economy of motion (open strings, riffs that roll nicely). Necrophagist is defently some of the hardest stuff to play (in metal) mainly because of that economy of motion isnt there and the tempo is fast. But yes most songs by Jaco i would say are the hardest to get, not jsut the notes, but also the actual sound and style that Jaco does as well.
 
#176
Mark Wilson said:
You don't see talent in Manring, but you see talent in dream theater?
Don't get me wrong, Dream Theater are very talented, but so is Manring.
I'd like to see ANY member of Dream Theater play something like Manring. Speed isn't everything buddy. Infact, Speed isn't anything.
Click to expand...

Speed plays a big part in music, composition does it too.

In fact, if you say speed isn't everything, watch Petrucci play Acid Rain live.

Or watch Rudess do his fast improvs on stage.

And, if speed was not "anything" then chromatic fantasy would be a waste of time.
 
#177
Steve Vai - I'm the Hell Outta here (only if you do it with the three guitarists and play each others instruments!!!!!)

Fun song to watch, though I don't think I could play that fast (with or without precision) yet!

I'm sure there are harder, but thats just one that pops up, if only for speed.
 
#179
cadduc said:
geez

i forget the author but it was almost 40 years ago when i was in high school jazz band we were doing stuff in 19/4
that was a challenge to count
let alone play

at that time and for that gig i was playing guitar
and our double bassist went onto become a professor and chair of the music department here at cal state

u know that mastering any of it just takes practice
and lots of it
Click to expand...


In my freshman year of college, I remember my music theory professor playing us a recording of a song in 19/8 (maybe it was 19/4). THat was difficult to listen along to. I can imagine how difficult it would be to count and play.
 
#180
Playing fast is challenging but there are other types of challenging too besides fast songs like YYZ, Tommy the Cat, and various Victor and Jaco songs.

Songs that really get me are Pink Floyd songs. The basslines arent fast, in fact they're slow but getting the timing just right and the accents perfect is a real challenge.

Right now I'm stuck on YYZ, John the Fisherman, Schism (those hammer ons are crazy) and Echoes.
 

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