Hardest Maiden song to play?

Mega

Ancient Mariner
I've been thinking about it for several days.
I've been playing guitar for almost two years, and I don't find any Maiden song hard, including the solos.
I mean there are exceptions like Adrian's soloo on Wasted years and Moonchild, but nothing I can't play if I work on it.
What do you think?
 
When I read such posts I always immediately think:
Nice to read, but why not show us that you don't find it hard? I'd like to see and hear that.
 
Difficulty varies widely by instrument and personal ability...

I'm a fair drummer, but I can't come close to most Maiden drum parts (Clive or Nicko, though Nicko is slightly harder).

I'm an extremely good bassist and most Maiden basslines are easy for me, but a few are hard - "Caught Somewhere In Time" is a good example, because it's both very fast and very long. I can only keep up that speed for about half the song. (This only applies to 2-finger plucking like Harris does. I can do it easily if I use 3 fingers on the right hand, but that's cheating because Harris doesn't do that.)

With guitar, I can see most Maiden songs becoming easy if you put a fair bit of time into it. Once you can nail the gallop, you're more than halfway there. As to solos, it might depend on how close your personal style is to the 3 Amigos. Just a guess, but I think Janick's solos would be the hardest to duplicate.
 
I didn't know that about Harris.
As for Janick, I usually improvise the solos when I'm playing along, so I just go crazy when there's a Janick solo!
 
Just a guess, but I think Janick's solos would be the hardest to duplicate.

Hm, i can't agree with that. Not even remotely. He has a quite generic sound with a lot of imprecision going on. He is quite fast, but not fast and precise.
 
SinisterMinisterX said:
I'm an extremely good bassist and most Maiden basslines are easy for me, but a few are hard - "Caught Somewhere In Time" is a good example, because it's both very fast and very long. I can only keep up that speed for about half the song. (This only applies to 2-finger plucking like Harris does. I can do it easily if I use 3 fingers on the right hand, but that's cheating because Harris doesn't do that.)

Why cheating? I find it as fair as it gets. As far as you can reproduce the sound and the bass line, you use your abilities and that's all
 
If you really love an artist and his music you wanna learn his techniques.
It's amazing that he can pick that fast with only 2 fingers!
 
Sign of the Cross is one of the hardest to pull off. It's because of the breakdown in the middle section. It's beautiful, but also quite challenging. It requires total concentration from the band if it's going to be pulled off properly.
 
I agree with Will-I-Am's comment, well said.

As for Maiden songs, I can't say I find many of them very difficult to play. And for the ones that are difficult... many are only so mainly because I just haven't bothered to sit down and commit myself to learning them.

I find Iron Maiden's songs among the most enjoyable to play. Just as I rarely get tired of listening to Maiden's music, I rarely get tired of playing their songs on my guitar.
 
Hmm. If I had a video camera, I'd rip his audio and make my own version. I've played most of those songs, the most notable exception being BOTWH. And though he's quite good, I'm significantly better. (Then again, I probably started playing 20 years before him.)
 
It's our duty as guitar players to always assume we're better then other guitar players :p

I'm sure someone said it before me, but if no one did I'm talking it.
 
Exactly. You ain't a real musician unless you look at 99.9% of other musicians and think: "I could do that better than him."

And it doesn't matter what instrument is involved. I've never played an oboe, but I bet I could kick ass on it. :bigsmile:
 
Hey guyz,

I have been playing bass now for 8 years and I worship Steve. According to me, there isn't one song that is impossible to play. There are certain parts in certain songs which are tough, but once you have successfully leaned his fast-picking style, you've almost made it. Among the toughest ones, I'd say to tame a land, the part just before the solos, Invaders, back in the village and maybe rime of the ancient mariner just because of its length and its intensity. BTW, someone wrote that he is cheating because Steve only plays with 2 fingers: no offence, but maybe you weren't paying attention but he plays with 3 fingers. Even Steve couldn't play stuff like caught somewhere in time, trooper or run to the hills with 2 fingers! like I said with all due respect but your statement is wrong, 3 finger picking is NOT cheating. Just check out the Paris bootleg from the somewhere on tour.
Cheers and up the Irons!
 
Pilgrim84 said:
Hey guyz,

I have been playing bass now for 8 years and I worship Steve. According to me, there isn't one song that is impossible to play. There are certain parts in certain songs which are tough, but once you have successfully leaned his fast-picking style, you've almost made it. Among the toughest ones, I'd say to tame a land, the part just before the solos, Invaders, back in the village and maybe rime of the ancient mariner just because of its length and its intensity. BTW, someone wrote that he is cheating because Steve only plays with 2 fingers: no offence, but maybe you weren't paying attention but he plays with 3 fingers. Even Steve couldn't play stuff like caught somewhere in time, trooper or run to the hills with 2 fingers! like I said with all due respect but your statement is wrong, 3 finger picking is NOT cheating. Just check out the Paris bootleg from the somewhere on tour.
Cheers and up the Irons!
That's not what Steve said. See here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4K4Xzud8pw at 2:34.
 
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