Spawny learns a song

[spawn]

It is 8:45pm on Saturday April 14th the year is 2001.

I have just downloaded the tab to Angel Of Death by slayer and am going to learn to play it.

How long will it take me? Possibly years, but i shall get there one day, this i vow...it will be mine, oh yes it WILL be mine...

So when i eventually can play it (if ever) i shall post again and work out the exact amount of time it took.

Im posting this because its saturday night, im at home as usual and bored, so wish me luck haha!

P.S. No doubt some bastard will post that he can play it already and he finds it easy......if that is you, please refrain, i dont wanna hear it you smart ass

 

[ironcross]

Its 8:51pm on Saturday.. and im telling you I can play it hahaha! It is pretty hard when you can't do those speeds though. Its not an easy task you set yourself. Perfect Enter Sandman first mate

 

[spawn]

I KNEW someone would say that haha, ive got enter sandman pretty well down, minus kirks solo of course (one day at a time and all that )

I know AOD is hard (well to me it is!) But the idea is that it will help me build up my picking speed/hand synchronisation etc. eventually

As i said, it will be a while before i can play it at proper speed, does it count if i drop it down to 20 bpm and play it??

(Hey wheres the little laughing smiley? Im lost without it!!)

 

[ironcross]

Spawn, try using different picking techniques on a single note. Do :
1. Simple down strokes |VVVV|
2. down up down up.. |V^V^|
3. down, down up down... |V_V^V|
4. down up down (Triplets) |V^VV|^VV|
5. down up but in twice the time as the first.. |VVVVVVVV|

So :
V = down
^ = up
_ = leave a note
| | = a bar.. so 4/4 is 4 notes in a bar

If you do this on one note.. and then attempt it with the bar pattern on a scale.. you'll get better hand co-ordination and faster at it.

Im not saying im that great at it.. but all this stuff helps!

(Ps. don't bag me if ive made a mistake guys haha)

 

[spawn]

Actually, ive been doing some of that, but ive found it keeps me more interested if i learn a song rather than just doing exercises, though im sure id get better quicker if i did the exercises! My mind just seems to drift off when im doing them though, even though i dont intend to!

So i usually just write riffs and record them etc. That ntracker thing is very handy! But i have to get my technique to be a lot better, thats why i figured id try and crack angel of death, if i can play that, ill have made myself a much better player!
Thats the idea anyway

 

[TRrEiTxIxRiE DTrash]

Angel of Death is so much fun to play. Hehehe learn some Iced Earth though if its picking you want to improve, seriously. Since I have been playing Iced Earth it has improved HEAPS! The Path I Choose is a good one to try

Oh and hey... I agree, improve your technique through songs, not exerices. More fun, and more useful.

 

[dreamwatch]

I spent a month learning the bass line from Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner. I was SOOO proud of myself.

When I bought the CD I realised that the tape deck I had been using was slightly slow and I was playing it in the wrong key.

That was the day that I realised my career in rock was over.

 

[spawn]

Iced Earth is even faster than slayer troops, are you mad??
Have you heard him play that bit just before the solo in travel in stygian on alive in athens?
Maybe i should have called this the "Songs spawny SHOULD learn" thread, it sounds like i could have picked better

Dreamwatch: Just say that steve was playing in the wrong key and youll be right

 

[MERLYN]

you've gotta keep the interest there, unlike me who somehow lost interest...

... It all started when... ...

Back at school I decided I wanted to bass!!!
I wanted to be as good as STEVE (fuckin' legend)!!!
That was 1988/89... I'd just heard my first IM albulm... Seventh Son of a Seventh Son... I was spell bound... then I listened to Powerslave ( I had borrowed both from CROWLEY)... I fell in love!!!!! The music, his voice, the duel guitars, solos, and especially that driving bass!!! IRON MAIDEN ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!

1990 (yr10).... music class, picked up and plucked my first bass, oh yeah, the exhileration!

1991 (yr 11)*for those of you not paying attention*
started to play bass in music class ... songs like Smooth Operater by Sade, and shit like that...
had my own bass, had learn to play bass music books, had IM Powerslave & Somewhere In Time music/tab for bass...
I sat in my room for hours each day, trying to play MAIDEN songs... I had to be like STEVE, I had to play like him... my finger tips start to callus...

took no notice of the learn to play books, I dove straight into MAIDEN... I was thinking - "If I can play this I can play anything!!!"
I wanted to perfect - Losfer words
- The Duellists
- Rime...
- Stranger in a Strange Land
- Wasted Years
- Heaven Can Wait
- Alexander the Great
plus metalica's - Orion
- Thing That Should Not Be (had to tune down, loved that!!)
and Megadeth's - Peace sells....
- Symphony of Destruction

this lasted about 5yrs maybe more,
only problem was... that was all I could play!!!!! and I still hadn't perfected them! I could play most of each song.. but not all... I could never be as great as STEVE!!!

I used to go to mates places to jam, but couldn't play any of the songs they knew and they didn't know the songs I knew

Now 10-12 yrs later...
I still have my bass, but it just collects dust.... I still pick it up everynow and again to play a few bars from losfer or stranger... but I've got really fuckin' rusty, I get the shits and put it back in the corner!!!

Sorry to bore you all, with this miserable story...

The Point Is...

Spawn ... don't be like me.. don't be impatiant and short tempered.... Above all DON'T GIVE UP!!! you'll regret it if you do!!
So do the exercises and learn the music! Let your music take you places!!

Sorry again for the bordom...

CHEERS

 

[spawn]

Actually merlyn (or should i say RAMSAY! you cant fool me ), it wasnt boring at all, but you know what this means dont you? If IM doing it, so can you

Go on, pick it up and start playing again, you know you want too! No excuses this time


Im actually guilty of the same kind of thing myself, but ive never actually stopped playing completely. It would be easier if i was in a band or something i guess, it would give more incentive to practice (i.e. everyone would yell at me if i didnt
But, im determined to be able play well sooner or later!

 

[MERLYN]

you're right!!!!! thanks for the confidence boost spawny, maybe I'll start back at it tomorrow!

 

[Lord Tim]

Originally posted by ironcross
Spawn, try using different picking techniques on a single note.

Good idea!

The only thing I would add to that is watch how you're picking the fast stuff.

I've seen a lot of guys play with their pick on a 45 degree angle to the string to get more speed. Sure - you get a heap more speed but it sounds scratchy and sloppy!

You should always play with your pick parallel to the string as much as you can so you get a really tight, clean attack. What that means is you don't get initially the same kind of speed as the other way, but if you spend the time building it up, your playing will sound 1000 times better!

Trust me, I'm nearly a doctor! HAHAHA!

 

[spawn]

NO merlyn, start TODAY!!!

Tim: I play nearly at a 90 degree angle when i do that, the same for when im doing fast leads, it feels more natural to me, and it means my hand can get into a better position for muting etc. and i havent noticed that much of a difference (so far anyway!) I have no doubt that you are right though
I think george lynch plays the same way i do (only a hell of a lot better, but you know what i mean So im not too discouraged haha!

 

[Lord Tim]

Originally posted by spawn
I play nearly at a 90 degree angle when i do that, the same for when im doing fast leads, it feels more natural to me, and it means my hand can get into a better position for muting etc. and i havent noticed that much of a difference (so far anyway!) I have no doubt that you are right though
I think george lynch plays the same way i do

When you say 90 degree angle is it like this (facing down):

| |

(The first line being the edge of your pic, the 2nd one being the string)

Or this:

-- |

So, like the pick is cutting across the strings like a saw would?

If it's the 2nd way, it's DEFINITELY not what George does! I have his video and am a desciple of the temple of George (as well as being a doctor)... HAHAHAHA!

If it's the first way, which I assume it is - the other way just doesn't seem possible without it sounding and feeling horrible - you're doing everything right!

 

[spawn]

I meant the good way (what you said was the good way anyway, you wouldnt lead me astray would you tim???)
Im not perfect at it, my pick is still on a bit of an angle but it doesnt seem to affect the sound as far as i can tell.
Do those instructional vids actually help? Ive never bought one as i couldnt see the point!

 

[TRrEiTxIxRiE DTrash]

That riff before the solo in Travel In Stygian is easy compared to their triplet based riffs Hehe.

The ultimate test is the verse riff of Pure Evil, and the riff in the last verse of The Path I Choose!

 

[Lord Tim]

Originally posted by spawn
I meant the good way (what you said was the good way anyway, you wouldnt lead me astray would you tim???)

Who? Me? Muuhahahahahahaahahaha!

Im not perfect at it, my pick is still on a bit of an angle but it doesnt seem to affect the sound as far as i can tell. Do those instructional vids actually help? Ive never bought one as i couldnt see the point!

Actually, the 2 Vinnie Moore videos are really good and give you a great theory background, especially in modes and arpeggios. I can't remember if he goes much into picking but it sounds like you've got that happening already...

 

[Lord Tim]

Aw, you can't have been that bad really...!

..... right? HAHA!

 

[spawn]

Well moony, with a voice like yours you can get away with just strumming a c chord, most of us guys need distortion and high volume to cover that we cant sing haha!

Tim, i wouldnt say ive got the pick stuff happening yet, im still a crap player, but im told that the more you practice the better you get (apparently )

Troops, iced earth is much harder than slayer, you have to be so damn accurate with the triplets and stuff, it drives me mad, i stick to the easy stuff like watching over me, i died for you, and the acousticy bit at the end of question (what a song!!)

 

[Dave_Mustaine84]

ok spawn we gave you two years, you should be able to play the song back to front by now.