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Which songs helped you most to develop a better technique??

M

Music_for_life

Aug 6, 2010
627
9
#1
What are those special songs that made your fingertyle or slap better
Mines are
What is hip: playing straight roots with perfect time, in an agressive way and with strenght, giving that roots swing and total control. Also a very good line to practice alternating strings.
Classical thump: Learn this and your thumb will develop speed, accuracy and a better tone.

Wich are yours??? Why??
 
#6
'U Can't Hold No Groove' (victor wooten)

It's got it all - finger tapping, slapping, thumbing, fingerstyle, simultaneous thumb and finerstyle, chords, funky ass rhythms and phrasings

I didn't really realise how much that song had helped my technique until after i'd been playing it for 2 years
 
#8
Tommy The Cat /Primus
99% of the youtube vids you'll find demonstrating this bass line are crap. It took me a while to break it down, slow it down to get it right and really hear what made it groove and move so well. There's a bit more to this slap groove than most people think but when I finally got it going it made other slap tunes easier to learn.
+1 for the originality of Les's basslines!
 
#11
(We Are) The Road Crew- Motörhead
This song forced me to develop a good galloping technique, without being as fast as Steve Harris. I don't use it all that frequently, but it is a nice trick for fills or songs like this.

Take the Power Back- Rage Against the Machine
The first song I was able to slap properly. It's still not a principle part of my technique, but again, it's nice to have it in the toolbox.

Bastille Day- Rush
The chorus riff in particular helped me keep my speed up for short bursts. Also, this is one of the first songs where I realized that rather than play exactly as the original bassist is playing, it's simple to substitute the same note on a different string and move my hand less.

Paranoid- Black Sabbath
A friend suggested that I try using a index-middle-index-ring technique for playing fast. This song seemed like a good one to practice on since it's mostly straight notes. I'm still working on this one, but it is a great way to practice endurance while being more interesting than a metronome.
 
#15
For slap technique, Primus' cover of Silly Putty really helped me develop good technique especially with fretting-hand muted palmslaps. Mark King's solo before Mr. Pink on the Level 42 Live @ Reading Concert Hall DVD helped enhanced it even further. Finger style, I'd say that YYZ by Rush really helped with that technique.
 
#17
Sir Duke - Stevie W, for swing funk feel,

Darling Dear - Jamerson, for feel, syncopation and time, note values, feel.

Only so much Oil in the Ground - Tower of Power, for right hand stamina and left hand muting.

The head for Donna Lee - Charlie Parker, string crossing, left/right hand fluency and four finger technique.

Bonin' in the Boneyard - Fishbone, for thumb/index accuracy, stamina, close index and thumb stuff.

The Necessary Blonde - Gary Willis/Tribal Tech, I had to play this with the solo for assessment in Uni : intonation, touch, vib, fluidity, timing, a lot involved.

Just a couple of warmup's off the top from back in the day, I've have many different 'barometer' tracks I practice to show up stuff I need to get on top of, or totally rethink how I approach it ; )
 
#18
ANYTHING & EVERYTHING that was on the radio in Aus in the 70's & mine & my ol' mans record collection.

So- mainly glam- Bowie, G.Glitter, Slade, Sweet etc.. Disco- Chic et al, Kool & Gang, Fatback Band, Parliament etc.. Punk- Pistols, Clash, Joy Div, Wire, B'Day Party, etc..

& country- like REAL country (IMO) Buck Owens, G. Jones, C.Rich, J.Cash, to H.Williams, Texas Playboys etc...
To Soul, RnR & RnB of the day- Aretha, J.Brown, Otis, Motown... C.Berry, Joe Turner, Etta James, Lavern Baker,
Thru to Stones, Beatles, Monkees, Archies, 1910F.G. Co. :-)
 
#19
My band's own songs :) It's nice to study various songs & techniques, but the ones that really pushed me into finding a way to make 'em sound better were the ones we've created in the rehearsal room, because if you can't put some magic into your own compositions, how would you expect to convince others that you have something good going on, right? :)
 

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