People would ask me if I can play “Smoke on the Water”, because they hear the easy sounding guitar riff. They don't realize that the bass does not mimic that riff. Roger Glover was a very “busy” bass player who liked to vary his patterns throughout a song. When I got to the guitar solo, I gave up - too many notes packed into a small space.
I can't think of very many off-hand but I remember one which gave me the major fits when I first tried to learn it back in the day was Lounge Act, by Nirvana. It's an easy enough riff, but this note (asterisked)…
…was the bane of my existence. It felt like no matter how hard I tried I couldn't hit it cleanly. I literally spent days on that thing, trying to build the speed for it. Mind you I was a rank amateur at the time and it was one of the very first songs I tried to learn, before I knew anything about economy of motion and all that, but still…
I can't think of very many off-hand but I remember one which gave me the major fits when I first tried to learn it back in the day was Lounge Act, by Nirvana. It's an easy enough riff, but this note (asterisked)…
Tabs:
G|-------------------|D|-------4*----------|A|------5------------|E|-/7-------2---3-2--| 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &
…was the bane of my existence. It felt like no matter how hard I tried I couldn't hit it cleanly. I literally spent days on that thing, trying to build the speed for it. Mind you I was a rank amateur at the time and it was one of the very first songs I tried to learn, before I knew anything about economy of motion and all that, but still…
The way I figured it out was to slide up to the E7 with my ring finger, then hit the A5 with my middle finger and the D4 with my index, then quickly drop my index down to the E2. That's that whole “economy of motion” thing. Basically, I shaped my hand like I was holding a C-chord on guitar. I can play it in my sleep now but when I first picked up a bass some seventeen or so years ago, not so much.
I don't recall trying that back then but it's all good; like I said, that was pushing twenty years ago and I can play that song quite easily now. But at the time it sure did drive me up a wall trying to hit it.
and either Love Trilogy by RHCP (their best song) or Lunchbox by Marilyn Manson. Learning those two right now
