The Rhythm Bastard's Bunker: tier 1

Showing posts with label tier 1. Show all posts

Saturday, October 25, 2008

it's over!

Not ALL over, but Tier 1 is done with (the "new" Tier 1)!

Tip time!

BLITZKREIG BOP
Three chords. Three POWER chords. That's it. Hopefully you all can get that. One of the easiest songs in the world, but also the most fun to play.
A5 (577---)
D5 (-577---)
E5 (-799--)

IN BLOOM
Another Power chord driven song, but it's not that easy. Not that hard, but the only part that gave me trouble was this riff after the verse:
--1---1-1--x-0-2---2-2--x-x-----------x--------2----------0---
--3--3-3--x-0-2---2-2--x-x---8----8--x-------4-4------2-2-
--3--3-3--x-0-3---3-3--x-x---8----8--x-8--4--4-4--2---2-2-
--3--3-3--x-0-4---4-4--x-x---8----8--x-8--4----3--2-----2-
--1---1-1-------4---4-4--------6----6------6--2-------0------
-----------------2---2-2----------------------------------

This requires a bit of barre chordage. First, bridge your index finger on the bottom 5 strings of the first fret, then put your middle, ring and pinky fingers on the D,G, and B sstring respectively. Then you can either use a major barre chord shape (index bridges second fret, ring +pinky on D and G of 4th, middle on third of B) or power chord the next one.
Repeat the first shape on the third chord, only with the 6th and 8th frets, then slide it down to the fourth and second. For some reason, my fingers find themselves in the perfect postion for this: Pluck the A, D. and G strings (keeping the same shape), then the bottom three, then the D, G and B strings. Switch to an A chord and repeat the process.

ON TO TIER 2!

SETLIST UPDATED

Now, for my opinions on my DLC choices:
"Dirty Little Secret"- This is one of those songs I picked because I hear it on the radio all the time, and it's a lot faster paced than the other DLC choice for this band, "Move Along"

"Troublemaker"- That is one catchy hook, I tell you what. It's been stuck in my head all day, and sounds not that hard.I might not use this and "Buddy Holly", because under the new arrangement, Weezer is now in Tier 2.

"Buddy Holly"- Why? Blue album Weezer. I'm not one of those people to get into "OH THEY WERE BETTER WAY BACK WHEN" (apparently Blue Album and Pinkerton are the only albums Goons are allowed to like), but it's interesting to hear the difference between two eras, like Johnson and Scott era AC/DC (which was Garbage Day'd on Something Awful. Yes, the Walmart hurts me too). Plus, it's in this awesome game.

"All The Small Things"- Yeah, I like Blink 182. "The Rock Show" was among the first songs I learned.

"Cheeseburger in Paradise"- My brother downloaded this, "Crushcrushcrush" and "More Than A Feeling" for DLC. On top of that, I wanted something REALLY out there as an option.

"I Fought The Law"- Ah, The Clash. Expect a Clash related thing soon.

"Under The Bridge"- Smooth as peanut butter with a lot of soul.

TL;DR: Tier 2 y'all

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

New Hotnesses

Me and my brother got Rock Band 2 Sunday!

Sadly, I spent all day working on a lab report, but from what I played it's still the same. The only problem is that it suffers from the same fate as Guitar Hero: 1st edition, great, filled with popular songs you heard on the radio yesterday, as well as quintessential songs everyone learns why they start (to play guitar/form a band). 2nd edition goes a bit... "indie". Less popular acts, and more obscure songs by popular artists. Plus, RB2's songlist a bit more poppy and more metal than it's previus incarnations. Granted AC/DC's on it, and I got it on a system where I can make a Virtual Bastard, and play online, and download DLC, and should proabbly stop bitching. '

Anyway, on to the songs!

GIRL U WANT
There are quite a few bits that are left out of these things it seems. Still a blast to play.

For example, after the hook "Just a girl/ just a girl/ The girl u want!" there's an awesome little lick that goes like this:

E)-----------------------------------
B)-----------3--------3--5-----------
G)--4--2--3-----2--3-----------------
D)--------------------------2--------
A)-----------------------------------
E)-----------------------------------

Solo's a bitch, with it's bends and upside down power chords:

E----------------------------------------------------------------------------
B-----------6^--6^---------------8^---8^------------------8^--6^--------
G-----------8^--8^--------------10^--10^-----------------8^--8^--------
D--10^---7--------------12^---9 ---------------10^---7-------------------

E---------------8^---8^----------------------------------------------------
B---------------10^--10^-------------8^---8^-----------------6^--6^----
G----12^---9-------------------------10^--10^----------------8^--8^----
D---------------------------12^----9 ----------------10^---7--------------

E--------------------------
B-----5^-5-5-5^-5-5-5^---
G-----7^-7-7-7^-7-7-7^----
D-----------------------------

It's fun, but hard to keep track of fast. It helps to look at the fret you're going to bend next.

MISSISSIPPI QUEEN
Good southern rock song, especially to work on pentonic scales. Only caveat is that you need rhythm guitar to play properly in a real band. According to a source I didn't TOTALLY rip off, both versions try to cram in rhythm as well, Rock Band less so. The hard part is memorizing all the different licks. Another song that should have been much harder.

Pentonic scales are good because unlike GH and RB where you have to move your hands up and down the neck, you move your finger up and down the strings for a fine solo. It's mostly used for improvisation in more traditional blues. Here's the first pentonic scale I learned:

E-------5---8-----------------------------------------------------------
B----------------5-----8---------------------------------------------
G---------------------------5----7-------------------------------------
D-------------------------------------5----7-----------------------------
A-----------------------------------------------5---6---7--------------
E-------------------------------------------------------------5-----8--

SETLIST UPDATED

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Roxanne's Got The Maps

If I managed to beat "Girl U Want", then the title of the post would be "Roxanne's The Girl U Want"

These are going to be the first songs I record.

OK, let's break it down for y'all:
MAPS
This is quite a bit harder than the charts. If it were realistic, it'd be another tier up.

It starts out with a bit of tremolo picking on the 10th fret of the high E-string. This is NOT in the Rock Band note chart. I found the best way to do this is (other than practice, dummy) is rest the bottom of your hand on the bridge and try to rock your hand back and forth as you strum. I'm probably doing it wrong, but if anyone out there reading this knows better, then feel free. It accomplished the same effect, but I might pick up some bad habits (I think you're supposed to anchor your forearm on the back of the guitar). Either way, it's important to have an anchor.

Another way in which Rock Band got it wrong (or changed it for the sake of fun/challenge) is that the notes that kick in when the singer starts up are only strummed ONCE (Four times). It RB it's a quick double strum. This isn't too hard.

The first part where I had trouble going of the tabs is the chorus. The best one on Ultimate Guitar had power chords over the solo, but this little riff seemed more prominent:

E-19-19-19-19-19-19-17-17-15-15-15-15-15-15-15-15--------15--
B------------------------------------------------------------15-17------

Like "Here It Goes Again", the solo is also under dispute. The tab I showed had single notes, which sounded fine, but it didn't sound as full as the original. One version I saw had power chords, but it falls apart after the first bit.

It did have the breakdown afterwards correct. One guitar plays those two notes back and forth, the other hits those notes.

It ends with the picking.

ROXANNE
This song is created for practicing the different types of chords and switching between them. You've got bar chords and open chords in the intro, power chords for the chorus, it's perfect for practice. Again, this is a song that is on a higher tier than it should be IF were talking about playing the real guitar.

Nothing I can really tab out or explain to you here, just a good song to work on chords, and it's fun to play. Ever since I started this experiment and learned more about open chords (see this post), part of me enjoys the sound of them more (Before this, I mostly tried to learn punk and a few other songs that mostly used power chords)

Here's the tab I used.

SETLIST UPDATED

Friday, October 3, 2008

Explaining My DLC Selections- Tiers 1 and 2

I have to amend my initial post (which wasn't really the inital post at all! HA HA!) after this, but after traveling and working for school projects, and friends this weekend, I don't have anything HUGE for you. (All three of you).

For all tiers I go by this old edition of the DLC Wikipedia page
I don't know what I'll do when everything is converted to the 7-tier system that Rock Band 2 uses, but I'll cross that bridge when we get there. I'm the Rhythm Bastard; I cross bridges so you don't have to.

Where was I? Oh yeah.

TIER 1
ROXANNE- The Police
It seemed like a good song to practice switching chord shapes with, looking at the tab. I switch around which song I'm working on a lot, but this one is the current one right now as of this moment yes. THIS ONE. I WILL DEFEAT YOU ANDY SUMMERS!!!

I think it's about a hooker that Sting doesn't want to be a hooker anymore. He wants his lovin for free.

GIRL U WANT- Devo
Hey, Devo! There's a band you haven't heard in a while! Thank God the 80's are coming back! And by Thank, I mean Fuck You, and by God I mean Seth MacFarlane Now That, and by ! I mean And Therefore Ruining Family Guy.
This song has been used in recent promos for The Sarah Silverman Program, and is kinda catchy.

I've sen every episode of it, and I'm still not sure whether or not I like The Sarah Silverman Program

TIER 2
SHE SELLS SANCTUARY- The Cult
A nice, sort of airy tune in contrast to all the harder rock in the main tier. Also, a rule of thumb I TRY to go by will be to pick a song that have the same Guitar and Band difficulties. For the Reader's Choice (impressions in a later post) I just pick songs that sound cool that aren't by a band in the main tier.

Plus the lead singer in this video looks like a pirate.

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Where I Am So Far

Yeah, I started this project a few days before the blog.

Anyways, right now I have "Here It Goes Again" and "Should I Stay Or Should I Go" down pat. Here are my impressions:

HERE IT GOES AGAIN
Easy, power chord driven song. It's really fun to play, but the only part that really gave me trouble was the solo. Not because it was hard, but NOBODY has a clear idea on how to play it. It starts with D# power chord, but then I couldn't really figure out what to do next. This seems to be the best idea, combined with a tab I found and looking at the video from Rock Band:

E--------------------------------------------
B--8---8-x11---8x6-7x4----------8--8x8---6x4-
G--8---8-------7----6--------------8--8-------7----

E-----------------------------------------------
B--8--8x10---8x6-6x4--8-8x4---6666------
G--8--8-------7----7------8-8------7777------

E-----------
B--8888----
G--8888----

If anyone knows a simpler way, let me know.

SHOULD I STAY OR SHOULD I GO
If, like me, you've been used to doing Power Chords, this one is a real wake-up call. The entire song is open chords.

The progression is
D G(with four fingers) D
D G D
G5 F5 G5 <----Some tabs showed open chord, but this is the easiest, and sounds most like the original song
D G D
A
D G D

The chorus is just that, only FASTER. After the A chord strumming, it resumes to normal speed.

Also, the four fingered G chord feels much more natural when switching between it and the D because you can keep ring finger on the third fret of the B string.

That's it for now, Maps I have, a bit, right now going over Mississippi Queen.

SETLIST UPDATED

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

THE SETLIST

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