what to do when you have to learn difficult riffs?

[mikew31]

I wanna know what a backwards hammer on is. Is that Australian for pull-off?

 

[BassmanSBK]

I really think that half-time thing is a good idea...I want one of those devices that does that. Could be really great.

And yes, coming back to it after a break: I find that very effective.

JMJ

This. And don't practice it for extended periods. Four 15-minute sessions spent on something throughout a day will advance you a lot more than one 1-hour session in a day. Give your brain time to assimilate what it is learning.

 

[niels125]

Amazing Slow Downer is cool for slowing down parts.

Audicity does the trick too (and it's free!)

 

[bdeaux]

I've been using the iRig gadget with my iPad (also works on iPod and iPhone). It allows me to plug & play along to any song or demo in my library. Separate volume for my bass and for song. Has tempo adjustment for slowing down. I used this recently to transcribe synth lines for bass guitar on our new album JMJ is producing. Plus the portability is rad for the road, or playing during a break from work or school.

 

[IAmACrocodile]

This book is full of fantastic techniques and tips on how to play accurately at great speed. It was written for lead guitarists, but the majority of the information could be applied to the bass just as easily (at least, I found that I was instinctively using these techniques on the bass, after working through this book as a guitarist!).

It is a really excellent book, and I honestly cannot recommend it highly enough!

Amazon.com: Speed Mechanics for Lead Guitar (0073999993233): Troy Stetina: Books

Best of luck, Mike!

 

[cnltb]

Just had a guitarist join the band, great player, nice guy, his playing and experience is WAY above mine.

We have started working on a song and theres a riff which i'm having an extreme difficulty with playing.

My usual approach to these situations is to just practice the hell out of the part, but this time thats not really working well.

I came up with some variations that suited the song and sounded almost identical but were easier for me to play but it was insisted by the band that it be that riff played exactly to what the guitarist is playing.

Has this ever happened to you? And what do you in such situation? Has a piece of music ever floored you but you had to do it?

Thanks

Just play it over and over, with your head switched on analyzing which part exactly it is you find difficult . Then isolate that section and run that on it's own until it "sits".
Then put the whole thing back together.