So, a friend of a friend is looking to start a Tool cover band and needs a bassist. I’ve been playing for about two years, though not very seriously and never with a band. I don’t think I’m very good using a pick and the only bits of Tool that I know (despite liking the band a lot) are the begining to “Schism” and the intro/harmonic bit to “Opiate”
Any of the bassists in the SDMB know about Tool’s bass lines? How easy/hard/impossible will it be for me to learn enough to convince this guy that I’m the man he’s looking for? Also, what songs should I concentrate on learning?
All I know is Tool is known for complicated songs - and pretty much the newer the song, the more complicated it is. They use unique chord progressions and stuff, so it will be different than playing other songs.
I suggest just surfing some Tool websites - there is one really good one out there, Toolshed. Start there. They did take down a lot of their tabs because they were crap, though. But read around, the FAQ maybe, and try and learn the more technical aspects of their songs and figure out what you’ll be able to play.
They also use a lot of weird time signatures and change time sigs within a given song.
I’d strongly recommend listening to a lot of Aenima and Lateralus. Well, really, there’s only three albums and an EP, so you can get through the entire catalog pretty quickly.
All I can say is good luck finding a drummer that can handle that duty. A lot of their drum lines are really complicated and off-beat, and as myskepticsight said the newer the song, the more complicated it is.
As a Tool fan and bass player of … (holy shit) 10 + years, here’s my 0.02. You’ll have a hard time learning and mastering the complete bass lines of either Paul or Justin, I would focus on the parts everybody knows (the intro to 46&2, etc) and just knowing the roots and how the song goes. Nobody (hardly) will ever say “Oooo!! There’s supposed to be a trill followed by a false harmonic right there!” but if you match the root of the songs and don’t fuck up too much, nobody will care as long as the singer can pull it off, and it’s loud and heavy.
