Whats the hardest song you play?

Probably haven't heard of it, but "Pire" by Rolando Vazquez can be pretty tough.

 

Dune tune level 42 hard as heck but I love it

 

Without a doubt Portrait of Tracy, Kuru/Speak Like A Child, Teen Town, etc. But honestly Kuru is all stamina and pure plucking speed, Tracy has that ridiculous sixth fret harmonic stretch, and Teen Town has some real tough passages.

Other than that, I always thought Digital Man was much harder than YYZ, same goes for the Analog Kid. The head from Donna Lee has always been something I've never been able to play, however, maybe this thread should be called "Songs I could never learn", could be interesting

 

On electric, for me, it is definitely Jaco's take on Bach's fantasia "Chromatic Fantasy". Can't get through it without having my eyes glued to the fingerboard.

On upright, it is Return to Forever's "Spain". The bottom half of that lick is murder & the timing has to be spot on to pull it off.

 

I don't necessarily try to learn "chops" stuff; I like to learn guitar, piano, vocal, and orchestra and symphonic themes by ear. David Gilmore's parts on "Echoes" and solo arrangements of other pop songs from the Beatles and Queen and the classical and jazz literature (I'm learning and transposing the F Clef Real Book for mandolin right now, chords and themes). I'm a better all around musician, composer and arranger because of this. I'm not Jaco, and I'm not trying to be. I'm a musician, not a bass player, and that's what separates me from the bass-centric approach that a lot of people take to the instrument.

 

on electric bass, Girls Talk by Elvis Costello in C#

on upright, Orphan Girl by Gillian Welch in G#

just some tough fingerings on those songs.

 

I'm working on Bernadette by the four tops. It's not that the notes are hard...the fingerings were a little difficult in the beginning but not too bad, it's the length of the notes.

 

I always have trouble playing the middle section (aka the "battle scene") of The Gates of Delirium by YES. I can nail nearly all of the rest of the 70's YES material, but Chris Squire leaves us wannabes in the dust during certain "busy" passages in Gates.

 

The video you are PROBABLY looking for is ZUMA!
‪Duran Duran - Rio - bass lesson‬‏ - YouTube
He's the only person I've seen on YT that has got those ghost notes DOWN!

 

Circumstances - Rush

 

seems I don't play anything difficult... these songs you guys are listing I wouldn't even attempt ... eh everyone is at a different level.

Carry on my wayward son is giving me heck playing at regluar speed... at least some of the breakdown and runs... but i can fake it most of it it is my plucking hand.

 

Ok is the original question supposed to mean whats the hardest song you play in public as part of a setlist for a band, or the hardest song you learned to play at some point in your life?

There is a difference, as part of my band I would say its a tie between Sweet Child O Mine, Carry on our wayward son, and Spirit of Radio. None of them is hard to play on their own, but those are the hardest in our classic rock cover band setlist. I embellish other songs and can make them as hard as I want to.

 

uh....I CAN play In Dying Days by As Blood Runs Black but barely :/

 

Problaby Teen Town, or anything by Planet X, that stuff is just ridiculously difficult.

 

Calibri by Incognito - so much fun, and then live it's even faster.

Recorded version: ‪Incognito - Colibri‬‏ - YouTube
Live version: ‪INCOGNITO Colibri‬‏ - YouTube

Uprising by Muse - notes and progression aren't difficult, this is more about stamina and endurance. The bassist has a nice Status.

‪Muse - Uprising Live on Later with Jools Holland‬‏ - YouTube

 

In the Tony Island band I played in from 1996-2001, there was a song called "Turpentine" (original piece) that had a cool unison figure that you could not do in your sleep. I still play it to this day (became a song I used to test fretted basses with).

For fretless, I occasionally take a stab at Brand X's "Ghost of The Mayfield Lodge", that is NOT an easy piece, especially that middle section!

 

Another One Bites The Dust. That song kills me every time I play it.

 

Sometimes the band doesn't even start until I've messed up. Every now and again, the fail is so epic they even hold up scorecards (points based in difficulty, execution, and hilarity factor).

 

"Dance of Eternity" - Dream Theater

NO DOUBT.