Showing posts with label ROTD. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ROTD. Show all posts
Monday, July 9, 2012
Riff of the Day: Tom Sawyer synth "growl" (Rush)
I'd been wondering for a few days how Geddy Lee got what he calls the "growl" in Tom Sawyer--the first thing you hear after the drum hit:
Andy Skuse has a writeup of his attempts to figure out the growl, a set of .WAV files of his results, and a demo of the Digital Men playing "Tom Sawyer" with the resulting growl:
Not too shabby. Singer sounds more like Rik Emmett of Triumph than he does Geddy Lee--but Geddy Lee doesn't even sound like his 1981 self anymore.
As a bonus sound, Keyboard Magazine has the info for programming the "lead synth" sound for the song using a MiniMoog.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Riff of the Day: ...And Justice for All (Metallica)
Since I made this the Song of the Day, I might as well put up one of the riffs that always used to give me picking trouble. Nineteen years ago (when I was a Metallica virgin), I couldn't hack it with Hetfield's chunky down-stroke picking on the pre-chorus ("The ultimate in vanity / exploiting their supremacy..."):
___F#__________________G_F#__E___(F#)G_______(F#)G
___q___e_e_e_e_e____|__e\e___e____e==q________q
|-------------------|-------------------------------|
|-------------------|-------------------------------|
|o------------------|------------------------------o|
|o-4----------------|--5\4---2---(4)/5-------(4)/5-o|
|--4----------------|--5\4---2---(4)/5-------(4)/5--|
|--2---2-2-2-2-2-2--|-------------------------------|
_______*_*_*_*_*_*
Had to put underscores in to keep Blogger from screwing up the formatting.
To play it cleanly, you need to be able to play the palm-muted (*) notes at speed, all down-strokes at 160 beats per minute.
My copy of the guitar/TAB "...And Justice for All" book has the riff written this way:
___F#__________________G_F#__E___(F#)G_______(F#)G
___q___e_e_e_e_e____|__e\e___e____e==q________q
|-------------------|-------------------------------|
|-------------------|-------------------------------|
|o------------------|------------------------------o|
|o-4----------------|--5\4---2---(4)/5-------(4)/5-o|
|--4---4-4-4-4-4-4--|--5\4---2---(4)/5-------(4)/5--|
|--2---2-2-2-2-2-2--|--3\2---0---(2)/3-------(2)/3--|
_______*_*_*_*_*_*
...and it works both ways; I've just always left the root notes off.
Definitely a "wooohoo!!!" moment--after 22 years of not being able to play fast, it seems like something just clicked into place, like maybe wrist position or some other bit of picking technique that I suddenly got right after all this time.
Still a long way to go before I'm up to the ending of "One" or any of "Damage, Inc.," but now there's some incentive to work a little harder on it.
___F#__________________G_F#__E___(F#)G_______(F#)G
___q___e_e_e_e_e____|__e\e___e____e==q________q
|-------------------|-------------------------------|
|-------------------|-------------------------------|
|o------------------|------------------------------o|
|o-4----------------|--5\4---2---(4)/5-------(4)/5-o|
|--4----------------|--5\4---2---(4)/5-------(4)/5--|
|--2---2-2-2-2-2-2--|-------------------------------|
_______*_*_*_*_*_*
Had to put underscores in to keep Blogger from screwing up the formatting.
To play it cleanly, you need to be able to play the palm-muted (*) notes at speed, all down-strokes at 160 beats per minute.
My copy of the guitar/TAB "...And Justice for All" book has the riff written this way:
___F#__________________G_F#__E___(F#)G_______(F#)G
___q___e_e_e_e_e____|__e\e___e____e==q________q
|-------------------|-------------------------------|
|-------------------|-------------------------------|
|o------------------|------------------------------o|
|o-4----------------|--5\4---2---(4)/5-------(4)/5-o|
|--4---4-4-4-4-4-4--|--5\4---2---(4)/5-------(4)/5--|
|--2---2-2-2-2-2-2--|--3\2---0---(2)/3-------(2)/3--|
_______*_*_*_*_*_*
...and it works both ways; I've just always left the root notes off.
Definitely a "wooohoo!!!" moment--after 22 years of not being able to play fast, it seems like something just clicked into place, like maybe wrist position or some other bit of picking technique that I suddenly got right after all this time.
Still a long way to go before I'm up to the ending of "One" or any of "Damage, Inc.," but now there's some incentive to work a little harder on it.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Riff of the Day: The Enemy Within (Rush)
In the 20 years since I started playing guitar, there have been quite a few bits and pieces of Rush songs I've never been able to play, usually because I can't play fast. A great example of this would be that damned intro riff from "The Spirit of Radio." I can play it maybe half as fast--but I have never been able to break whatever speed barrier it is that keeps me from playing much of anything speedy.
Then there are riffs that I've tried to work out over the years and failed, usually because I was going about it all wrong, such as the 12-string pattern Lifeson plays under the " To stand within the Pleasure Dome decreed by Kubla Khan / To taste anew the fruits of life, the last immortal man" part of Xanadu, which turned out to be a lot simpler than I was making it out to be.
The intro to "The Enemy Within" (from Grace Under Pressure) is another one that eluded me for years. The last time I tried to work it out was maybe a decade ago. Couldn't get it, probably because I was making it too complicated. It became one of those elusive "I'm gonna have to figure that one out someday" things that pile up and never see brain cells again.
A couple of nights ago, I got bored and gave it another try...and this time it took maybe 15 minutes total.
I'm kind of pissed at myself because it turned out to be so simple:
.Bm...............Bm/E.............???..............A/D
-q--e-e-q--q--e---q--e-e-q--q--e---q--e-e-q--q--e---q-e-e-q--e-q
|---------------|-----------0----|--------2-------|-------------|
|-------0--3----|--------3-------|----------------|-------3--2-0|
|o----4---------|------4---------|------2---------|-----2------o|
|o--4---------4-|----4---------4-|----2------2----|---2--------o|
|---------------|----------------|--------------2-|-------------|
|R--------------|-R--------------|-R--------------|-R-----------|
Perf. note: Bass plays the root notes as whole notes--B, F#, E, A; the guitar fills in the "space" of the rest of the measure. Think "minimalism."
For the first two measures, form the basic 2nd-fret Bm chord, but don't barre it. After you finger the 3rd fret 2nd string in 1st measure, use that same shape to play the 2nd measure. You don't even need to move your fingers.
For measures 3-4, bar the top 4 strings at the 2nd fret. That's all--just skip the 2nd string in the 3rd bar. For the 4th bar, all you have to do is hold that chord and drop your middle finger on the 3rd fret.
Then there are riffs that I've tried to work out over the years and failed, usually because I was going about it all wrong, such as the 12-string pattern Lifeson plays under the " To stand within the Pleasure Dome decreed by Kubla Khan / To taste anew the fruits of life, the last immortal man" part of Xanadu, which turned out to be a lot simpler than I was making it out to be.
The intro to "The Enemy Within" (from Grace Under Pressure) is another one that eluded me for years. The last time I tried to work it out was maybe a decade ago. Couldn't get it, probably because I was making it too complicated. It became one of those elusive "I'm gonna have to figure that one out someday" things that pile up and never see brain cells again.
A couple of nights ago, I got bored and gave it another try...and this time it took maybe 15 minutes total.
I'm kind of pissed at myself because it turned out to be so simple:
.Bm...............Bm/E.............???..............A/D
-q--e-e-q--q--e---q--e-e-q--q--e---q--e-e-q--q--e---q-e-e-q--e-q
|---------------|-----------0----|--------2-------|-------------|
|-------0--3----|--------3-------|----------------|-------3--2-0|
|o----4---------|------4---------|------2---------|-----2------o|
|o--4---------4-|----4---------4-|----2------2----|---2--------o|
|---------------|----------------|--------------2-|-------------|
|R--------------|-R--------------|-R--------------|-R-----------|
Perf. note: Bass plays the root notes as whole notes--B, F#, E, A; the guitar fills in the "space" of the rest of the measure. Think "minimalism."
For the first two measures, form the basic 2nd-fret Bm chord, but don't barre it. After you finger the 3rd fret 2nd string in 1st measure, use that same shape to play the 2nd measure. You don't even need to move your fingers.
For measures 3-4, bar the top 4 strings at the 2nd fret. That's all--just skip the 2nd string in the 3rd bar. For the 4th bar, all you have to do is hold that chord and drop your middle finger on the 3rd fret.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Song/Riff of the Day: Heartbreaker (Led Zeppelin)
After a few years of not hearing this song at all (thanks to the lame-ass playlist on my local "rock" station), I've been hearing "Heartbreaker" a few times a week--and mentally hearing a pair of Rush songs that were strongly influenced by it.
Amazingly enough, I'd never heard--or at least paid attention to--"Heartbreaker" [Led Zep II, track 5] before listening to Number Two's copy of the Zep 4-disc Box Set. As soon as this track came up, I thought I was hearing the Rush song, "What You're Doing"--the riffs are very similar, both based on your basic Blues pentatonic.
The opening (verse) riff:
--|------|--------|-------|--------|
--|------|--------|-------|--------|
--|------|--------|-------|--------|
--|------|0-1-2---|-------|0-1-2---|
--|0--3--|--------|0000-3-|--------|
--|------|------3-|-------|------3-|
==|H==H==|Q.E=E=Q.|EEEE=H=|Q.E=E=Q.|
[I'm using the "=" marks as place-holders; for some reason Blogger's computers look at blanks and think, "We need to save some screen space here. I'll just take those out." I don't like having to clutter it up...but oh well]
And here's the opening/signature riff of "What You're Doing"
--|------|--------|------|--------|
--|------|--------|------|--------|
--|------|--------|------|----0---|
--|------|----0-2-|------|------2-|
--|-----0|1-2-----|-----0|1-2-----|
--|0--3--|--------|0--3--|--------|
==|H==Q.E|E=E=Q=H=|H==Q.E|E=E=Q=H=|
[...and while I was listening to the song, figuring out the TAB for it, I remembered that I wrote about it before, as one that depends on the "Immigrant Song" drum riff]
Nah, they're not an exact match, but the Zep influence was especially strong on this song.
The next bit--and the next Rush tune--comes in just after the first guitar solo, when the entire band goes off on a little jam:
--|-----------------------|
--|-2---3---5-/-7---5---3-|
--|-----------------------|
--|-2---4---5-/-7---5---4-|
--|-----------------------|
--|-----------------------|
==|=E.==E.==E.==E.==E===E=|
Jimmy Page leans on this progression for a few bars before going into the second solo.
Alex Lifeson plays it pretty close in "Beneath, Between and Behind," from the second Rush disc 'Fly By Night'. From the verses:
--|---------|------------|
--|-2--3--5-|------7--8--|
--|---------|------------|
--|-2--4--5___(5)--7--9-\|
--|---------|------------|
--|---------|------------|
==|=E.=E.=E_|_(S)==E.=Q==|
Faster tempo, but the feel is the same, even with the riff stretched over two bars.
This is how you do it, if you're going to rip off a riff! One riff, one song--not the same riff in four songs (see the "Immigrant Song" post).
Amazingly enough, I'd never heard--or at least paid attention to--"Heartbreaker" [Led Zep II, track 5] before listening to Number Two's copy of the Zep 4-disc Box Set. As soon as this track came up, I thought I was hearing the Rush song, "What You're Doing"--the riffs are very similar, both based on your basic Blues pentatonic.
The opening (verse) riff:
--|------|--------|-------|--------|
--|------|--------|-------|--------|
--|------|--------|-------|--------|
--|------|0-1-2---|-------|0-1-2---|
--|0--3--|--------|0000-3-|--------|
--|------|------3-|-------|------3-|
==|H==H==|Q.E=E=Q.|EEEE=H=|Q.E=E=Q.|
[I'm using the "=" marks as place-holders; for some reason Blogger's computers look at blanks and think, "We need to save some screen space here. I'll just take those out." I don't like having to clutter it up...but oh well]
And here's the opening/signature riff of "What You're Doing"
--|------|--------|------|--------|
--|------|--------|------|--------|
--|------|--------|------|----0---|
--|------|----0-2-|------|------2-|
--|-----0|1-2-----|-----0|1-2-----|
--|0--3--|--------|0--3--|--------|
==|H==Q.E|E=E=Q=H=|H==Q.E|E=E=Q=H=|
[...and while I was listening to the song, figuring out the TAB for it, I remembered that I wrote about it before, as one that depends on the "Immigrant Song" drum riff]
Nah, they're not an exact match, but the Zep influence was especially strong on this song.
The next bit--and the next Rush tune--comes in just after the first guitar solo, when the entire band goes off on a little jam:
--|-----------------------|
--|-2---3---5-/-7---5---3-|
--|-----------------------|
--|-2---4---5-/-7---5---4-|
--|-----------------------|
--|-----------------------|
==|=E.==E.==E.==E.==E===E=|
Jimmy Page leans on this progression for a few bars before going into the second solo.
Alex Lifeson plays it pretty close in "Beneath, Between and Behind," from the second Rush disc 'Fly By Night'. From the verses:
--|---------|------------|
--|-2--3--5-|------7--8--|
--|---------|------------|
--|-2--4--5___(5)--7--9-\|
--|---------|------------|
--|---------|------------|
==|=E.=E.=E_|_(S)==E.=Q==|
Faster tempo, but the feel is the same, even with the riff stretched over two bars.
This is how you do it, if you're going to rip off a riff! One riff, one song--not the same riff in four songs (see the "Immigrant Song" post).
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Riff of the Day: Low (Cracker)
Time for a non-Rush riff. This is the intro/verse guitar part.
It's a neat little two-bar strum, good for working on string-skipping with the right hand:
___s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-|
e|-0-0-0-0-0---0-0---0-0---0-0-0-0-|
b|-0-0-0-0-0---0-0---0-0---0-0-0-0-|
g|-7h9-9p7-9---7-9---9-9---7h9-9p7-|
d|---------------------------------|
a|---------------------------------|
e|---------------------------------|
___|_______|_______|_______|_______
________________________vib.
___s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-|
e|-0-0-0-0-0---0-0---0-0-------0-0-|
b|-0-0-0-0-0---0-0---0-8~~~~~~-0-0-|.
g|-7h9-9p7-9---7-9---9-9~~~~~~-7p9-|.
d|---------------------------------|
a|---------------------------------|
e|---------------------------------|
___|_______|_______|_______|_______
Key:
~ vibrato
h hammer-on
p pull-off
Most of the work in the riff is on the right (picking) hand; keep it going in a steady 16th-note strum and focus on keeping it loose. Keep in mind that you're not hitting strings on every stroke and let the two open strings ring cleanly.
It's a neat little two-bar strum, good for working on string-skipping with the right hand:
___s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-|
e|-0-0-0-0-0---0-0---0-0---0-0-0-0-|
b|-0-0-0-0-0---0-0---0-0---0-0-0-0-|
g|-7h9-9p7-9---7-9---9-9---7h9-9p7-|
d|---------------------------------|
a|---------------------------------|
e|---------------------------------|
___|_______|_______|_______|_______
________________________vib.
___s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-|
e|-0-0-0-0-0---0-0---0-0-------0-0-|
b|-0-0-0-0-0---0-0---0-8~~~~~~-0-0-|.
g|-7h9-9p7-9---7-9---9-9~~~~~~-7p9-|.
d|---------------------------------|
a|---------------------------------|
e|---------------------------------|
___|_______|_______|_______|_______
Key:
~ vibrato
h hammer-on
p pull-off
Most of the work in the riff is on the right (picking) hand; keep it going in a steady 16th-note strum and focus on keeping it loose. Keep in mind that you're not hitting strings on every stroke and let the two open strings ring cleanly.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Riff of the Day: Vital Signs (Rush)
This is the final cut on Rush's 'Moving Pictures' disc and a high point for Geddy Lee's bass tone.
The verse bass riff is one of the toughest to play if your left hand is weak. You need a solid, strong pinkie on this one, unless you cheat by stretching your ring finger to hit the 8th-fret notes:
___Cm _____Ab________Cm
G|-5---------------|-5---------------|
D|---5---5-6---8-6-|---5---5-6-5-----|
A|-----6-----6-----|-----6-------8-6-|
E|-----------------|-----------------|
___e e e e e e e e___e e e e e e e e
This is a good one for building strength and dexterity in that left hand. Hold your index finger across all four strings at the 5th fret (you can cheat by just fretting across the D and G strings, but you'll strengthen that finger by working it harder). Your middle and pinkie fingers do all the work.
The verse bass riff is one of the toughest to play if your left hand is weak. You need a solid, strong pinkie on this one, unless you cheat by stretching your ring finger to hit the 8th-fret notes:
___Cm _____Ab________Cm
G|-5---------------|-5---------------|
D|---5---5-6---8-6-|---5---5-6-5-----|
A|-----6-----6-----|-----6-------8-6-|
E|-----------------|-----------------|
___e e e e e e e e___e e e e e e e e
This is a good one for building strength and dexterity in that left hand. Hold your index finger across all four strings at the 5th fret (you can cheat by just fretting across the D and G strings, but you'll strengthen that finger by working it harder). Your middle and pinkie fingers do all the work.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Riff of the Day: "Rush," John Rutsey, and John Bonham
Time for a little comparison of John Bonham's massive drumbeat in Led Zep's "The Immigrant Song" versus a few songs from the debut self-titled Rush album.
I've been listening to "Rush" for maybe 20 years. I think I found it in the bargain bin at a truck stop. I really didn't like it at first, given that my first Rush album was "Moving Pictures." It's easily the most un-Rush-like of all their works. A big part of their sound and style comes from drummer/lyricist Neil Peart, who introduced fantasy, science and science fiction, literature, mythology and psychology as themes for songs and entire albums. Through Peart, Rush quickly got a rep as the "thinking man's rock band."
"Rush," on the other hand, had a guy named John Rutsey as the drummer. Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson shared lyric- and songwriting duties on such songs as "Need Some Love":
I'm runnin' here, I'm runnin' there, I'm lookin' for a girl
'Cause there's nothin' I need there's nothin' I want more in the whole wide world
Well, I need it quick and I need it now, before I start to fade away
That's why I'm searching, that's why I'm lookin' each and every day.
Oo, I need some love! I said I need some love!
Oo, yes I need some love...this feelin' I can't rise above!
Yeah, yeah!
Well I been hustlin' here, I been hustlin' there, I been searchin' for about a week
And I started feelin' this strange sensation--my knees have started gettin' weak!
Well I need what keeps a young man alive--I'm sayin' I need it now
I'm gonna get my message across to you somewhere and somehow!
If this had been my intro to them, I probably wouldn't have gone any further. The guitar and bass chops are solid and as impressive as anything from their later efforts, but I tend to prefer something less hormonal in my lyrics. Yeah, yeah, I know, I know, it's "Sex, Drugs, and Rock 'n' Roll"--but sex and drugs are way overrated. Actually, so is most Rock 'n' Roll, now that I think of it.
Years went by, interest waned, until a couple of years ago when I was listening-without-listening to the album on my iPod. I heard something in Rutsey's drumming that I hadn't paid attention to before: in several songs, he's playing an almost complete lift of Bonham's drum track from the main verse part of Zep's "Immigrant Song."
"Immigrant Song"
h_h |s.sss.sss.sss.ss|s.sss.sss.sss.ss|
snr |.---q---.---q---|.---q---.---q---|
kck |s.ss.s.ss.ss.s.s|s.ss.s.ss.ss.s.s|
A period is a rest--for clarity, I'm just leaving it at that.
The first song I noticed Rutsey's "lifting" in was:
"Before and After" (track 6)--main verses
h_h |e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-|e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-|
snr |.---q---.---q---|.---q---.---q---|
kck |s.ss.s.ss.ss.s.s|s.ss.s.ss.ss.s.s|
He's slowed it down and it playing a straight-8th on the high-hat, but there's that Bonham bass drum thumping out from the back of the stage!
...then I heard it in this one:
"What You're Doing" (track 5)--main verses
h_h |e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-|e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-|
snr |.---q---.---q---|.---q---.---q---|
kck |s.ss.s.ss.ss.s.s|s.ss.s.ss.ss.s.s|
Again, Rutsey's playing it note-for-note on everything but the high-hat, just like the previous song (Bonham was running a 16th-note pattern with a skip).
Then I noticed it one night while I was learning the bass line for a really good Bluesy song:
"Here Again" (track 4)
slow, triplet 16ths
h_h |e--e--e--e--e--e--e--e--|e--e--e--e--e--e--e--e--|
snr |.-----q-----.-----q-----|.-----q-----.-----q-----|
kck |s..s.s..s..ss..s.s..s..s|s..s.s..s..ss..s.s..s..s|
Hope I got that right. Music notation isn't my first language, and if things go very far past straight 8th notes I get lost. Kind of funny, me wanting to put little riffs up for review.
Anyway, for this one, Rutsey slowed the pattern down almost to a crawl, but now he's running triplet 16ths (blues, eh?) and giving the Bonham bass a little swing. I'd really rather he'd kept this one and done something different for the other two songs.
So here I am, listening to the album while I put this writeup together, and damned if I don't hear the Bonham beat again as the main riff in the verses and choruses of the final cut, "Working Man". I've never noticed that until now! It's slowed down almost as much as for "Here Again," but played straight like in the other two examples.
Sheesh. Almost the entire second half of the CD:
Finding My Way
Need Some Love
Take a Friend
* Here Again
* What You're Doing
In The Mood
* Before & After
* Working Man
...but the cassette version was arranged this way:
A:
Finding My Way
* What You're Doing
In The Mood
* Working Man
B:
* Before and After
Need Some Love
Take a Friend
* Here Again
Much more spread-out, much less obvious. This riff's the foundation for the entire Zep song--the guitar and bass follow the bass drum. Very distinctive, and something that shouldn't be lifted for more than one song on an album--and even then, not for the whole freaking SONG. Rutsey was a competent drummer; I'm disappointed--and amused--that he did four out of eight this way.
I've been listening to "Rush" for maybe 20 years. I think I found it in the bargain bin at a truck stop. I really didn't like it at first, given that my first Rush album was "Moving Pictures." It's easily the most un-Rush-like of all their works. A big part of their sound and style comes from drummer/lyricist Neil Peart, who introduced fantasy, science and science fiction, literature, mythology and psychology as themes for songs and entire albums. Through Peart, Rush quickly got a rep as the "thinking man's rock band."
"Rush," on the other hand, had a guy named John Rutsey as the drummer. Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson shared lyric- and songwriting duties on such songs as "Need Some Love":
I'm runnin' here, I'm runnin' there, I'm lookin' for a girl
'Cause there's nothin' I need there's nothin' I want more in the whole wide world
Well, I need it quick and I need it now, before I start to fade away
That's why I'm searching, that's why I'm lookin' each and every day.
Oo, I need some love! I said I need some love!
Oo, yes I need some love...this feelin' I can't rise above!
Yeah, yeah!
Well I been hustlin' here, I been hustlin' there, I been searchin' for about a week
And I started feelin' this strange sensation--my knees have started gettin' weak!
Well I need what keeps a young man alive--I'm sayin' I need it now
I'm gonna get my message across to you somewhere and somehow!
If this had been my intro to them, I probably wouldn't have gone any further. The guitar and bass chops are solid and as impressive as anything from their later efforts, but I tend to prefer something less hormonal in my lyrics. Yeah, yeah, I know, I know, it's "Sex, Drugs, and Rock 'n' Roll"--but sex and drugs are way overrated. Actually, so is most Rock 'n' Roll, now that I think of it.
Years went by, interest waned, until a couple of years ago when I was listening-without-listening to the album on my iPod. I heard something in Rutsey's drumming that I hadn't paid attention to before: in several songs, he's playing an almost complete lift of Bonham's drum track from the main verse part of Zep's "Immigrant Song."
"Immigrant Song"
h_h |s.sss.sss.sss.ss|s.sss.sss.sss.ss|
snr |.---q---.---q---|.---q---.---q---|
kck |s.ss.s.ss.ss.s.s|s.ss.s.ss.ss.s.s|
A period is a rest--for clarity, I'm just leaving it at that.
The first song I noticed Rutsey's "lifting" in was:
"Before and After" (track 6)--main verses
h_h |e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-|e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-|
snr |.---q---.---q---|.---q---.---q---|
kck |s.ss.s.ss.ss.s.s|s.ss.s.ss.ss.s.s|
He's slowed it down and it playing a straight-8th on the high-hat, but there's that Bonham bass drum thumping out from the back of the stage!
...then I heard it in this one:
"What You're Doing" (track 5)--main verses
h_h |e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-|e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-|
snr |.---q---.---q---|.---q---.---q---|
kck |s.ss.s.ss.ss.s.s|s.ss.s.ss.ss.s.s|
Again, Rutsey's playing it note-for-note on everything but the high-hat, just like the previous song (Bonham was running a 16th-note pattern with a skip).
Then I noticed it one night while I was learning the bass line for a really good Bluesy song:
"Here Again" (track 4)
slow, triplet 16ths
h_h |e--e--e--e--e--e--e--e--|e--e--e--e--e--e--e--e--|
snr |.-----q-----.-----q-----|.-----q-----.-----q-----|
kck |s..s.s..s..ss..s.s..s..s|s..s.s..s..ss..s.s..s..s|
Hope I got that right. Music notation isn't my first language, and if things go very far past straight 8th notes I get lost. Kind of funny, me wanting to put little riffs up for review.
Anyway, for this one, Rutsey slowed the pattern down almost to a crawl, but now he's running triplet 16ths (blues, eh?) and giving the Bonham bass a little swing. I'd really rather he'd kept this one and done something different for the other two songs.
So here I am, listening to the album while I put this writeup together, and damned if I don't hear the Bonham beat again as the main riff in the verses and choruses of the final cut, "Working Man". I've never noticed that until now! It's slowed down almost as much as for "Here Again," but played straight like in the other two examples.
Sheesh. Almost the entire second half of the CD:
Finding My Way
Need Some Love
Take a Friend
* Here Again
* What You're Doing
In The Mood
* Before & After
* Working Man
...but the cassette version was arranged this way:
A:
Finding My Way
* What You're Doing
In The Mood
* Working Man
B:
* Before and After
Need Some Love
Take a Friend
* Here Again
Much more spread-out, much less obvious. This riff's the foundation for the entire Zep song--the guitar and bass follow the bass drum. Very distinctive, and something that shouldn't be lifted for more than one song on an album--and even then, not for the whole freaking SONG. Rutsey was a competent drummer; I'm disappointed--and amused--that he did four out of eight this way.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
ROTD: Tom Sawyer (Rush)
Most of the bass line in "Sawyer" is straightforward, easy to figure out, but the one that gives me fits is the figure Geddy Lee plays under the guitar solo. I have trouble with it mostly because I don't practice like a proper musician should.
Tuning: Standard
G ----------------------------|
D -7---6----------7---6-------|
A ---9---7-5--------9---7-5---|
E ------------7-r-----------7-|
...e.e.e.e.e..e...q.e.e.e.e.e.|
................e.............|
The entire solo is in 7/8 time. The bass figure is articulated in descending thirds (A-F#, Ab-E, D-B). Most of the motion your fretting hand will do is lateral, with your index finger on the A, down a fret to Ab, then jumping down a string and over a fret to the D. Your middle and ring fingers are hitting the thirds in between.
You could do the riff in standard "walking" with your picking hand, or you can just use one finger or the other in a "drag" (pluck the [D] string, then continue that motion and pluck the [A] string). I end up doing it that way because I suck at "walking" on adjacent-string stuff.
The bass tone Geddy gets in this part of the song is by far my favorite--punchy bottom-end with a snarl.
Tuning: Standard
G ----------------------------|
D -7---6----------7---6-------|
A ---9---7-5--------9---7-5---|
E ------------7-r-----------7-|
...e.e.e.e.e..e...q.e.e.e.e.e.|
................e.............|
The entire solo is in 7/8 time. The bass figure is articulated in descending thirds (A-F#, Ab-E, D-B). Most of the motion your fretting hand will do is lateral, with your index finger on the A, down a fret to Ab, then jumping down a string and over a fret to the D. Your middle and ring fingers are hitting the thirds in between.
You could do the riff in standard "walking" with your picking hand, or you can just use one finger or the other in a "drag" (pluck the [D] string, then continue that motion and pluck the [A] string). I end up doing it that way because I suck at "walking" on adjacent-string stuff.
The bass tone Geddy gets in this part of the song is by far my favorite--punchy bottom-end with a snarl.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Riff of the Day: Territories (Rush)
Another bass riff; this one's from track 5 of "Power Windows" (1985). It's one of my favorites, because it took a while to figure out how Geddy Lee was getting the percussive "double" notes in the first part of the pre-chorus riff--and if I remember correctly, I figured it out from watching some disco or funk video or other.
It's easy once you get the basics, and he's used it before in songs like 'YYZ' ("Moving Pictures"). All you do is hit the first note with your middle finger, then quickly follow with the index finger--not in the typical "walking" style of finger-picking, but more like you're dragging your fingers, going for a percussive "pop," then muting the string with the fleshy part of your left-hand ring finger (which is already sitting on the A-string 7th fret, ready for the next note). Continue your right-hand motion by having your index finger pluck the A-string 7th fret. The next "double" is fingered with your left pinkie, but the right hand just does the same percussive "drag." It's not quite the same sound as simply playing a pair of clean 16th notes.
The entire basic riff is 2 bars, and there are two variations--the "A" and the "F" (for which note the riff ends on). The 14-bar pre-chorus just alternates between them--A, F, A, F, A, F, A.
I really like the sound Geddy's getting from his bass on this entire album; as I remember it, this was his first time recording with a Wal bass. It doesn't have the solid growling tone that his Rickenbacker has in the "Moving Pictures" album (which is by far my favorite bass sound of his), but it works for the song--and that's the important thing.
Tuning: Standard
Bass TAB
.......E...G.G.E.A.A.E.C.D.G.A...(A)
G--------|---------------------|------------|
D--------|-5-5---7-7-----------|------------|
A-----/7-|-----7-----7-3-5-----|------------|
E--------|-----------------3-5-|-(5)--------|
...........*.*...*.*..........~|~~
.......e.|.s.s.e.s.s.e.e.e.e.q.|.w
.......E...G.G.E.A.A.E.C.D.G.F...(F)
G--------|---------------------|------------|
D--------|-5-5---7-7-----------|------------|
A-----/7-|-----7-----7-3-5-----|------------|
E--------|-----------------3-1-|-(1)--------|
...........*.*...*.*..........~|~~
.......e.|.s.s.e.s.s.e.e.e.e.q.|.w
key:
/ slide up
~ tie
* accented/percussive note
s sixteenth note
e eighth note
q quarter
w whole
It's easy once you get the basics, and he's used it before in songs like 'YYZ' ("Moving Pictures"). All you do is hit the first note with your middle finger, then quickly follow with the index finger--not in the typical "walking" style of finger-picking, but more like you're dragging your fingers, going for a percussive "pop," then muting the string with the fleshy part of your left-hand ring finger (which is already sitting on the A-string 7th fret, ready for the next note). Continue your right-hand motion by having your index finger pluck the A-string 7th fret. The next "double" is fingered with your left pinkie, but the right hand just does the same percussive "drag." It's not quite the same sound as simply playing a pair of clean 16th notes.
The entire basic riff is 2 bars, and there are two variations--the "A" and the "F" (for which note the riff ends on). The 14-bar pre-chorus just alternates between them--A, F, A, F, A, F, A.
I really like the sound Geddy's getting from his bass on this entire album; as I remember it, this was his first time recording with a Wal bass. It doesn't have the solid growling tone that his Rickenbacker has in the "Moving Pictures" album (which is by far my favorite bass sound of his), but it works for the song--and that's the important thing.
Tuning: Standard
Bass TAB
.......E...G.G.E.A.A.E.C.D.G.A...(A)
G--------|---------------------|------------|
D--------|-5-5---7-7-----------|------------|
A-----/7-|-----7-----7-3-5-----|------------|
E--------|-----------------3-5-|-(5)--------|
...........*.*...*.*..........~|~~
.......e.|.s.s.e.s.s.e.e.e.e.q.|.w
.......E...G.G.E.A.A.E.C.D.G.F...(F)
G--------|---------------------|------------|
D--------|-5-5---7-7-----------|------------|
A-----/7-|-----7-----7-3-5-----|------------|
E--------|-----------------3-1-|-(1)--------|
...........*.*...*.*..........~|~~
.......e.|.s.s.e.s.s.e.e.e.e.q.|.w
key:
/ slide up
~ tie
* accented/percussive note
s sixteenth note
e eighth note
q quarter
w whole
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Riff of the Day: Wicked Garden (STP)
Since "Wicked Garden" is stuck in my head now, I'll pick a bass riff from it for Riff of the Day and try mapping it out in TAB (tablature) format. Can't do music notation on this POS computer.
Today's riff is the main verse line--the one that hooked me the day I HAD to learn the song.
Tuning: Standard
G -------------------|---------------|
D -------------------|---------------|
A ---5-4-------------|---------------|
B -------5-3-r-0-3-5-|-r-5-5-0-3-3-5-|
.....e.e.e.e...e.e.e.|...e.e.e.e.e.q
.............e.........e
G -------------------|---------------|
D -------------------|---------------|
A ---5-4-------------|-----3-3-------|
B -------5-3-r-0-3-5-|-r-5-----5-5-3-|
.....e.e.e.e...e.e.e.....e.e.e.e.e.q
.............e.........e
Notation:
r rest (any)
e eighth note/rest
q quarter note/rest
periods are there to make the note length lines line up properly.
Notes:
This is a four-bar riff played twice in a verse. It's a straightforward, simple riff, but that's really all you need if it kicks the song along the way this one does.
Today's riff is the main verse line--the one that hooked me the day I HAD to learn the song.
Tuning: Standard
G -------------------|---------------|
D -------------------|---------------|
A ---5-4-------------|---------------|
B -------5-3-r-0-3-5-|-r-5-5-0-3-3-5-|
.....e.e.e.e...e.e.e.|...e.e.e.e.e.q
.............e.........e
G -------------------|---------------|
D -------------------|---------------|
A ---5-4-------------|-----3-3-------|
B -------5-3-r-0-3-5-|-r-5-----5-5-3-|
.....e.e.e.e...e.e.e.....e.e.e.e.e.q
.............e.........e
Notation:
r rest (any)
e eighth note/rest
q quarter note/rest
periods are there to make the note length lines line up properly.
Notes:
This is a four-bar riff played twice in a verse. It's a straightforward, simple riff, but that's really all you need if it kicks the song along the way this one does.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
