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Need some help with Wild Nights

T

Tony Canevaro

Jan 4, 2004
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#1
Hi All,

Beginning bassist here. I'm trying to teach myself "Wild Nights" by John Mellencamp. I have a tab here and I have the recording as well as "amazing slow-downer".

My ear isn't very good at all but when I play from the tab:
G__________________________________!
D__________5_______________________!
A________7___7___5_____5___________!
E___________________7______________!

It doesn't sound like the right pitch for the song. The notes the tab is asking for are: F on the A string, A on the D string, F on the A string, E on the A string, C on the E string, E on the A string. Of course, the tab doesn't give me a time signature to work with (I am 33 and really new at reading and playing music so this is really stretching my brain right now) but the song seems to use 1/4 notes and 1/8th notes but I can't make heads or tails of which ones are which.

Anyone have an MP3 of this song handy and can help me with some ear training?

Many thanks!
 
#2
Where did you get the tab? Hopefully not online. If you are new, you might not know yet that almost none of the tab on the internet is 100% correct. Almost every tab that you can find online has mistakes. Some of it (a lot) is just garbage. Very little is good. A lot of the tab posted to the web was done by kids less than half your age with no more experience than you have right now - only you seem to know what notes you are playing and know the difference between a 1/4 note and an 1/8 note so you are probably more advanced than a lot of the kids posting tabs on the web. If your ears think the tab is wrong - it probably is. Play what's right.
If the tab wasn't from the web, and rather was from a legitimate music book such as those published by Hal Leonard or something, then disregard my post entirely. Good luck.
 
#3
Yep, I got it online.
However, I have already discovered what you are warning me about Matthew, thanks! -edit- Now if I could just get my 15 year old who is learning the guitar to realize this and get him to realize that he would benefit from learning to read some music there would be a lot less stress in our house :rolleyes: -end edit-
My current situation makes it very difficult to get tab other than from the net. I am in a small town with no sheet music shop and I haven't been able to find a decent source in the next largest community either. I have been trying to develop my ear and learn something besides the excercises in my Hal Leonard Bass#1 book so I can actually play a song. I like this song and it has a recognisable & (seemingly) simple bass line...it is just frustrating that I can't put the two together yet.

So I come here to see if some of these very experience bass players can help me out.

Thanks!
 
#4
Well, just don't be led astray by a bad tab.
You say you can hear the bass part in the recording.
Can you "hear" it in your head without the recording?
Can you sing it?
If so, then you just have to match each pitch - go slow, and make sure each note is right. Practice it slow, then bring it up to speed and see how it sounds. When you think you've got it figured out, play along with the recording.
Get rid of the tab, it'll only confuse the issue.
 
#5
Matthew Bryson said:
Where did you get the tab? Hopefully not online. If you are new, you might not know yet that almost none of the tab on the internet is 100% correct. Almost every tab that you can find online has mistakes. Some of it (a lot) is just garbage. Very little is good. A lot of the tab posted to the web was done by kids less than half your age with no more experience than you have right now - only you seem to know what notes you are playing and know the difference between a 1/4 note and an 1/8 note so you are probably more advanced than a lot of the kids posting tabs on the web. If your ears think the tab is wrong - it probably is. Play what's right.
If the tab wasn't from the web, and rather was from a legitimate music book such as those published by Hal Leonard or something, then disregard my post entirely. Good luck.
Click to expand...


I have 'The Police' bass sheet music book (there's only one) and while the sheet music is correct, the tab isn't. So it's not just tabs on the internet, but tab in general.
 
#6
Tony Canevaro said:
Hi All,

Beginning bassist here. I'm trying to teach myself "Wild Nights" by John Mellencamp. I have a tab here and I have the recording as well as "amazing slow-downer".

My ear isn't very good at all but when I play from the tab:
G__________________________________!
D__________5_______________________!
A________7___7___5_____5___________!
E___________________7______________!
Click to expand...

That looks almost right to me.

I do the initial "thonk" on the open E and then start the walking lick at the 5-on-D you see above. Lemme see if I can ASCII-tab how I play it... each dash will be an 8th note...

G --------|--------|---12----|---12----||
D ---5----|---5----|----[trill]|----[trill]||
A ----75-5|----75--|--------|--------||
E 0-----7-|0-----70|3------0|3-------||

NOTE:the trill indicated, I can't remember right now if it's a 10/12 trill or an 11/12 trill on the D. In the original version of the song there's another walk, but Me'Shell plays the trill most of the time I *think*.

Lemme know if this helps =0)
 
#7
Tony Canevaro said:
Hi All,

The notes the tab is asking for are: F on the A string, A on the D string, F on the A string, E on the A string, C on the E string, E on the A string.

Many thanks!
Click to expand...

I just noticed this as well - you've got your notes incorrect! 7th fret of the A string is an E, and the 7th fret on the E string is a B - you sure you're not playing the 8th fret?

=0)
 
#9
A trill is just a rapid hammer-on and pull-off action (as relates to guitar and bass, at least) - you're playing two notes back and forth quickly.

In this example, it's right after the high G... it goes [12th fret G] followed by a fast [10-12-10-12-10-12-10-12 on D] done by holding the D string down at the 10th fret and then bouncing a free finger on and off at the 12th fairly fast (they're only 16th notes in this example). As indicated above, this might be 11 and 12 instead of 10 and 12, I dont have a bass with me at the moment.
 
#14
Yes, an old thread bump, but very relevant for me.

Does anyone happen to have, or know where I can find the full tab for this song? Seems everywhere I have checked online only has the main lick which none seem to sound correct except for jammadave's version (belated thank you for that even though im new here). But I would like to be able to play along with the song in its entirety from start to finish.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.
 
#15
Does anyone happen to have, or know where I can find the full tab for this song? Seems everywhere I have checked online only has the main lick which none seem to sound correct except for jammadave's version (belated thank you for that even though im new here). But I would like to be able to play along with the song in its entirety from start to finish. [/QUOTE] it's in an old gw mag oct 94 iirc.....i have it somewhere but i'll have to dig
 
#16
I'm glad you reminded me of that! I completely forgot that GW includes bass tabs along with the guitar tabs, and I have a whole stack of them. Unfortunately Oct. 94 is one of the ones I don't have. But ill keep checking through the stack anyways just in case.
 
#17
Sky71 said:
I'm glad you reminded me of that! I completely forgot that GW includes bass tabs along with the guitar tabs, and I have a whole stack of them. Unfortunately Oct. 94 is one of the ones I don't have. But ill keep checking through the stack anyways just in case.
Click to expand...
i sent someone a copy of van morrison's version,but i don't recall who....maybe try that...it's more difficult,but fun'n'ner imho....
 

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