Evan Mariens Eternals and Apathetics

I remember finding the first videos of Evan Marien on YouTube and I was amazed from the first moment. I found that while he is one of the pioneers who steps out of the ‘traditional’ bass role, and keeps pushing the boundaries of music by exploring the world of electronica and effects, he still has melody at the heart of his playing. I really love how he is simplistic and complex at the very same time, and i really think you can learn a lot just by listening to his music. Evan recently decided to release educational videos on his channel, check him out, it is very worthwhile!

So, this time we go quite technical on the 5 string, you’ll probably have to sit down for weeks to get this under your fingers! Eternals and Apathetics is an improvisational piece and it is played freely as well I chose this little intro riff-kinda-thing since it stuck in my ears, and i really wanted to learn it ….but during learning it, i noticed that besides being technical it really makes you think about every single note and in that sense it is quite a musical lesson as well. I’ll hope you’ll get what i mean when you learn it 😉

The riff incorporates the usage of the open G string – you really have to pay attention to it, it should not stand out, it should not be choked (like i did once on the slow version) It should be flowing – begin slow, and gradually build up speed so your left and right hand can learn to co-operate perfectly. The chords are played with three fingers (thumb-index-middle)

As it is a free piece, harmony is approximate, i did my best, better ask Evan about the exact ones 😉 The time signature is also kind of tricky, but for the sake of simplicity, the notation shows you a time signature of 4/4 and every fourth bar there is a 1/4 bar. So here’s how you should think about it – the metronome is set on straight 4s, and when you picked the last G note in the third bar, you should hold it for two fourth notes, and then it begins again. More simply, after you picked that G note, cound together with the metronome 1…2.. and on 3, the line begins again. Dig? 🙂

So have fun, if you have any questions or requests, shoot!

The video does not intend to violate any laws or copyrights, it is to be used for educational purposes (fair use). The original song is available for purchase and listening at:

itunes.apple.com/us/album/ete…
evanmarien.bandcamp.com/album/…
youtube.com/watch?v=vU8O5E…