the best

[The Ozzman]

Steve Harris doesn't use pedals, so you are talking out of your ass.

How do you not hear bass lines that stand out? Listen to the first two Maiden albums or Somewhere In Time. You can hear his bass all the time on those albums

 

[razoredge]

I think you are talking out your ass, do you know what a pedal is ? Dut da da "its an effect device"... no its a note pedal, triplets, steady 8ths, 16ths, ect... good lord, you have walking bass lines, pedals, abstract bass lines, bass runs, geeze, whos the bass player here ?

So name me one Maiden song that Im supposed to hear a bass line that doesnt follow the guitars 99% of the time. Im not downing him, thats not easy stuff to play, I just prefer a different style.

 

[The Ozzman]

I googled 'note pedal' and the only thing that came up was something about 'pedal points' which I have never heard of before today

 

[razoredge]

you never heard of pedals and you call yourself a metal head.... Ha... lol Metals all about pedals. You can look up "note pedal" if you want, I only added "note" to get you on the right page. But nevermind it will only lead to another one of those conflicts like the power cord one. We only pedal bicyles, never notes or power chords, all one of them... lol

Heres some good Harris bass lines, Sun and Steel, the song never drew me much due to the repetitive chorus but its got great bass lines, full of little runs, very good, I see what you mean now, some good pedals in it too.

 

[The Ozzman]

You didn't confirm that it's actually called a note pedal, though.

I go about 10 pages into google and there's nothing that definitely calls it a 'note pedal'.

In tonal music, a pedal point (also pedal tone, pedal note, organ point, or pedal) is a sustained tone, typically in the bass, during which at least one foreign, i.e., dissonant harmony is sounded in the other parts. A pedal point is a "non-chord tone", which puts it in the same musical categories as suspensions, retardations, and passing tones. However, the pedal point is unique among non-chord tones "in that begins on a consonance, sustains (or repeats) through another chord as a dissonance until the harmony" not the non-chord tone, "resolves back to a consonance." [1]

Is this what you mean???

 

[razoredge]

No, what we have always called a pedal it taking the root note and driving it, pedaling it, you know like a bicycle, be it triplets as per much of Maiden is, steady 8ths, 16ths, ect, or possibly these things you guys are now calling "blasts" I'm uncertain of that term, only the double bass blast beats... which I really dont like, I like accents. I still use Maiden-esk triplets here and there in my own riffs, these are pedals.

Perhaps this is a slang to my local but the term is old to me.

 

[razoredge]

I dont know, maybe it stems from the same and I cant think back far enough to remember where I got it from, but I found this which seems to stem from your pedal point finding.

Metal basslines vary widely in complexity, from holding down a low pedal point as a foundation to doubling complex riffs and licks along with the lead and/or rhythm guitars.

We refered to it as a rhythmic technique rather than tonal

 

[The Ozzman]

So, just taking the root and playing it fast a bunch of times?

That's triplets. I have never heard anyone call it 'note pedaling'

 

[ParsonsMatt]

So, just taking the root and playing it fast a bunch of times?

That's triplets. I have never heard anyone call it 'note pedaling'

"That's triplets". Hilarious.

In music theory, there is something called a pedal tone, where an instrument holds a note out consistently while other instruments play off of it. It is a valid terminology.

 

[The Ozzman]

Look, I'm only beginning to wrap my head around theory, so you can go fuck yourself. You're coming off as an arrogant prick in this forum. I thought he was talking about triplets, which he wasn't. A simple correction saying 'He's actually talking about this' and explaining what it is rather than going LOL HILARIOUS YOU MADE A STUPID COMMENT is just fucking inconsiderate.

Pedal tone was what I found, but I thought it was just sustaining the note by fretting it and playing it once and not plucking the strings over and over

 

[razoredge]

Dont worry about it Ozz, its probably just a slang and maybe my group of people around here are the only ones that used it. To literally mean pedaling a note, the root of what ever chord and not a set pattern such as triplets, it could be any rhythmic variation.

I would guess pedal tone stems from possibly the pipe organ or even the sustain pedal of a piano (if thats what its called), where composers might want that particular note or chord sustained for substance.

Sorry I busted on you about it before, it does appear to be an elusive term as far as finding it on the net and I am surprised. I have talked about "pedals" a few times around this board, always assuming everyone would know what I meant, I see I'm wrong and understand your origional confusion.

 

[The Ozzman]

It's fine if you use it for slang for something, just be sure to try and incorporate the original definition when talking about it. That way I'm able to look it up if I choose to do so

 

[ParsonsMatt]

Look, I'm only beginning to wrap my head around theory, so you can go fuck yourself. You're coming off as an arrogant prick in this forum. I thought he was talking about triplets, which he wasn't. A simple correction saying 'He's actually talking about this' and explaining what it is rather than going LOL HILARIOUS YOU MADE A STUPID COMMENT is just fucking inconsiderate.

Pedal tone was what I found, but I thought it was just sustaining the note by fretting it and playing it once and not plucking the strings over and over

Here's a good wiki article on pedal point, which is what I meant when I mistakenly wrote pedal tone: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedal_point

I laughed at your assumption because it was funny. "Playing notes really fast? Yup, triplets". Just like I'm going to laugh at people with poor grammar making funny sentences unintentionally. And of course, why I will laugh at myself if I ever do something dumb. If that gets your butt hurt, I'm sorry. Maybe you should grow a thicker skin before coming on the internet.

I would help you out and explain the theory behind triplets and other rhythm notation a bit more but I think I'm going to go fuck myself instead. In the mean time you can use any of the freely available theory resources on the internet to figure out what you're talking about.

 

[razoredge]

It's fine if you use it for slang for something, just be sure to try and incorporate the original definition when talking about it. That way I'm able to look it up if I choose to do so

I have no idea what the "origional" definition of pedaling would be. Its kind of specific to metal, its earliest use I can think of would be Uriah Heep. Probably some rock band used it earlier, just not so heavy. Like maybe that song by The Doors, dun..da dun..da dun..da dun "keep your eyes on the road and yer hands upon the wheel" da dun, da dun

The bass player for Foreigner used steady, 1/4 or 8th note pedals so much I nearly killed myself decades ago just to relieve the agony... pity... no ?

here the dude from Foreigner boogiein' to his bass parts... :Smokin: yer as cold as ice :Smokin:

 

[The Ozzman]

Here's a good wiki article on pedal point, which is what I meant when I mistakenly wrote pedal tone: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedal_point

I laughed at your assumption because it was funny. "Playing notes really fast? Yup, triplets". Just like I'm going to laugh at people with poor grammar making funny sentences unintentionally. And of course, why I will laugh at myself if I ever do something dumb. If that gets your butt hurt, I'm sorry. Maybe you should grow a thicker skin before coming on the internet.

I would help you out and explain the theory behind triplets and other rhythm notation a bit more but I think I'm going to go fuck myself instead. In the mean time you can use any of the freely available theory resources on the internet to figure out what you're talking about.

It's a bit more irritating when it's dealing with something serious like music theory given that different people know different degrees of it. If you actually posted outside of this forum, you'd see that I'm not serious 80% of the time.

 

[waif]

Ya know, I might be an asshole but you two are like hemorrhoids. Not my favorite band but I have my time in, little recently. Maiden is all about pedals, the Kings of triplet trot pedals, the only thing I noticed that stood out bass wise above the pedals was the slapping sound he got by fretting out. A technique I grew to dislike because my bass player used it ALL the time. He was a Harris/Dickenson nut. But yes, as I said I rarely listen to anything but the guitars, most lyrics even excape me. However there have been bass parts over the years that stand out from the music and I dont hear that in Maiden. I'll put some on now if it makes you happy, then maybe my ass will stop itching....

I'm skipping over the theory part of this discussion (It seems you were right, although you could have been more clear about what you were talking about), but I disagree about Harris's bass playing as far as quality - I think his technique works great and creates interesting music - but it's a matter of opinion.

 

[Alcaline]

When people say Iron Maiden's 'triplets', do they mean the 'galloping' rhythm?

If so, thats two sixteenths and one eighth, not triplets. Triplets are even.

Don't even have a clue what people are talking about when they reference iron maiden and pedals.

 

[razoredge]

When people say Iron Maiden's 'triplets', do they mean the 'galloping' rhythm?

If so, thats two sixteenths and one eighth, not triplets. Triplets are even.

This is true, but what if the third note is not rung out too an 8th and is cut off at a 16th and rest a sixteenth ?

 

[The Ozzman]

Yeah, I refer to his bass lines as 'galloping'

 

[Vacant_Planets]

Ok, yeah, totally. Like pretty much all slam death ever.
As for basslines, I think writing a bassline that fits into the song is the most important thing. I've found that any bassist who does more than hammer the low e will develop a following and be hailed as a virtuoso.

For the bass player part I think that's because of the lack creativity in metal bass playing more than skill. As for the drum bit, I did give an example.