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What is the hardest song you have learned or are learning on bass?

I'm trying to learn Anesthesia (pulling teeth)
I am new to bass so it is very challenging for me
milo88
Posts: 3
From the songs i've learned the hardest one was ‘great awakening’(rise against). Now I try to learn thís hard ‘Orion’(metallica).
mwiit
Posts: 26
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.
linkinpark232
Posts: 1593
If you've learned it, it's not hard and either Love Trilogy by RHCP (their best song) or Lunchbox by Marilyn Manson. Learning those two right now
LoudLon [moderator]
Posts: 1938
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…
linkinpark232
Posts: 1593
Quote:
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…

I have troubles with the 5
LoudLon [moderator]
Posts: 1938
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.
Marko1960
Posts: 3143
Y Y Z by Rush, lots of fast triplets and lots of frustration
johnny [staff]
Posts: 1013
Lon have you considered doing it like this:

Tabs:
G|-------------------|
D|------04*----------|
A|-------------------|
E|-/7-------2---3-2--|
1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &

slide to the E7 then move your whole hand and play the open D and then D7 with your ring finger
LoudLon [moderator]
Posts: 1938
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.

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