How Does Geddy Do That???

[ShlappinDahBass]

I've always been amazed by his talent in Anthem. Such a powerful song whilst singing to incredible heights.

[OGr8imL84AD8inF8sBlackSedan]

I think it would be harder to list the song that Geddy doesn't kill it in. He really is amazing. Playing (not to mention writing) the bass lines he comes up with, singing, and bass pedals or keyboards....remarkable. Edited October 7, 2012 by OGr8imL84AD8inF8sBlackSedan

[CygnusGal]

QUOTE (GeddyRulz @ Oct 5 2012, 02:21 PM)

The fact is, often a bassline is 'contrapuntal' and will go against the melody of a song.  Therefore, singing while playing bass is harder than singing while playing any other instrument.  It's even easier to sing while DRUMMING than it is to sing while playing bass.  With bass, it's quite hard. Bass Player magazine once asked Geddy, Chris Squire, and Will Lee (studio musician, and from David Letterman's band) how they can sing while playing bass.  They all pretty much said the same thing: first learn the bass part, continue practicing it until it becomes "automatic" to you... and then you can sing at the same time without having to think about the bassline any more.

Yes, I still have that Bass Player issue. The muscle memory has to be there; only then you can work on the vocal part. Singing while playing bass is a challenge.

 

Another trick is to simplify the bass parts while singing and vice versa. Geddy makes it look easy but it isn't.

 

 

[trenken]

QUOTE (dakota2112 @ Oct 4 2012, 11:28 AM)

Nobody mentioned Turn the Page yet?  (sorry if they did and I missed it) That might trump them all!  The bassline and vocal line have absolutely nothing to do with each other in that song.

That bassline is very linear, meaning he is just playing straight notes that follow the tempo without any pauses or sustained notes at awkward times, so once you know how to play the part well its actually very easy to sing over it. Try it out, just learn the part well and let your fingers do their thing. I think what happens to a lot of people is they THINK about the bassline while trying to sing and that will mess you up every time.

 

A REALLY great example of someone else who is awesome at this is Dave Matthews. He does the exact same thing Geddy does, except on guitar of course.

 

Here's one. Have fun playing this on guitar and singing over it in the verses. It's a lot harder than Turn the Page. It's a serious mind f**k. Really awkward pauses that dont match the vocals at all. Singing starts at around 0:40. Dave has tons of songs like this.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-PPDPaBOhk

 

He has another song called Tripping Billies where the again the verses are seriously difficult to play on guitar and sing over. Dave is definitely as good as Geddy at this, and I would almost say he's better because some of what he does is really awkward, tougher than most Rush songs ive played and sung over.

Edited October 7, 2012 by trenken

[Torgo Satyr]

[ShlappinDahBass]

[Snyder80]

I'm no bass player but my father used to be. Together, here are some of our votes.

 

1. Vital Signs

2. Circumstances

3. Digital Man

4. The Big Money

5. Kid Gloves

6. Middletown Dreams

7. Prime Mover

8. Caravan

 

[Del_Duio]

In no order:

 

1) Hemispheres

2) Digital Man

3) Turn the Page

4) Open Secrets

5) Circumstances

6) Anthem

7) The Trees (sure it's popular, but listen to that bassline!)

8) Show Don't Tell

9) Analog Kid

10) Marathon