I Want You/She's So heavy

[(coolhandjjl)]

So I've begun to tackle I Want You/She's So heavy.

I've got Rain, Come Together, Tax Man, and some of the early Beatles standards under my belt, but take a look at the tab for the G string in the attachment! Holy Cow!

Anyone know if Miguel Bass has a YouTube for this, or do I just have to practice, practice, practice?

[(woodyng)]

wherein Mr.Macca doth truly shred on the bass.....good luck with that one,John! I've messed about with that song for years,some of the "runs" are just crazy,Chris Squire territory.....!

[(jps)]

...take a look at the tab for the G string in the attachment! Holy Cow!

That's just a descending chromatic scale, should be easy enough for anyone.

[(coolhandjjl)]

...take a look at the tab for the G string in the attachment! Holy Cow!

That's just a descending chromatic scale, should be easy enough for anyone.

Sure, I can do it taking three seconds, but Macca takes just one second and it sounds like fluttering wings.

[(jps)]

...take a look at the tab for the G string in the attachment! Holy Cow!

That's just a descending chromatic scale, should be easy enough for anyone.

Sure, I can do it taking 3 seconds, but Macca takes just one second and it sounds like fluttering wings.

Most likely he was just doing a glissando, not picking each note separately.

[(coolhandjjl)]

Most likely he was just doing a glissando, not picking each note separately.

Not knowing what that is, but it doesn't sound like any continuous tone or any sliding. On the Beatles recording, I can hear individual notes.

[(jps)]

With a fretless bass, yes it would sound like a continuous tine going down in frequency, but a fretted bass will allow each note to sound if you are smooth with the glissando, which is just a slide from one note to another note, in this case it is just a smooth slide from the B♭above the octave G down to the A at the 2nd fret on the G string. This is a common playing technique; I recall the bassist with Joe Denizon once talking about how he was amazed at a run that Stanley Clarke played on something and spent a considerable amount of time trying to learn it until he found out that Stanley just play a glissando!

[(coolhandjjl)]

With a fretless bass, yes it would sound like a continuous tine going down in frequency, but a fretted bass will allow each note to sound if you are smooth with the glissando, which is just a slide from one note to another note, in this case it is just a smooth slide from the B♭above the octave G down to the A at the 2nd fret on the G string. This is a common playing technique; I recall the bassist with Joe Denizon once talking about how he was amazed at a run that Stanley Clarke played on something and spent a considerable amount of time trying to learn it until he found out that Stanley just play a glissando!

Looks like I've a new technique to practice. I've been trying the slide with various pressures, etc. When the sound from slide seems just about to die out, I've been lightly plucking the string again very very lightly, perhaps two or three times along the run. That's gotta be it.

I read Keith Richard's latest book last year and he describes a chord progression from another guitarist that he just couldn't get. He wrote that he watched the guy in concert, studied slowed down videos, etc., but still could get it. I guess there will always be some alchemy to all of this.

[(woodyng)]

as you said,John, it's the speed that its played at that makes it hard to pull off....smoothly. i haven't really applied myself to learning it,mostly just mucking about with it from time to time.

[(wolfgang)]

It IS a really nice bass part Paul played on I want You.
To me the glissando (at 4 minutes 08seconds) starts at the 14th fret.
Just slide down to the 2nd fret and try to play every note with the pick - up and down strokes- although I think McCarney
played only nine notes instead of 13. And he almost missed the following note (D). So don't worry too much.

Bill Wyman did a similar glissando on "19th nervous breakdown" (but on the D-string and not that fast), look at the Ed Sullivan video on YouTube

Wolfgang

[(coolhandjjl)]

During the outro (no tabs on this), he does it again & again, and up & down if I'm hearing it correctly.
So I'll have lots of opportunities to work on it.

Thanks for all the great suggestions!

[(nukebass)]

I'm pretty sure the run in question is articulated. It is very similar to what he played on Soily off of Wings Over America and those nots were all picked.

[(jps)]

I'm pretty sure the run in question is articulated. It is very similar to what he played on Soily off of Wings Over America and those nots were all picked.

I had a listen, and yes, it is picked all the way down. Now I have to go work on it! Does not sound all that hard to do.

[(jps)]

Okay I think I have it figured out, but I was just using youtube, going over it again and again and again and again and again and again and again until I got it (I think).

It is chromatic from the 14th fret A on the G string to the D at the 7th fret on the G string, playing two of each note going down the scale (skipping the E♭) except for the D which is hit once and then the open D string to start the next measure. it is easier to play it by playing the G♭to the octave D on the D string from the 16th fret on the D string (remember, skip the E♭), and playing the octave D then let go of the string to play the lower D at the start of the next measure.

So.........

A (twice)/A♭(twice)/G (twice)/G♭ (twice)/F (twice)/E (twice)/D (ONCE), then the open D string.

[(wolfgang)]

hello,
just for the record: in my post I did not made a difference between glissando or playing single notes going up or down a scale.
Fretted or not or even on keyboards, to me it`s always a glissando. But you made a difference here. Sorry for my inexactitude..

Wolfgang