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Extreme – ‘Cupid’s Dead’

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This song was recorded by Extreme back in the nineties and features the band’s unique mix of rock and funk. The piece is known for its extended unison riff section, which occurs late in the song in place of a guitar solo. Extreme bassist Pat Badger plays with a plectrum, making this song an excellent study piece for anyone who is looking to fine-tune their pick playing.

This song features complex plectrum lines which are based around sixteenth notes. There is an extensive amount of syncopation in this piece and in order to get together the required picking chops, I recommend working through the Plectrum – Intermediate course on this website. You should find that the course will solve any problems that you run into when learning to play this song with a pick.

Don’t forget to hit the Download Resources button above to get hold of the PDF transcription and backing track for this piece (available to subscribers only).

This course contains the following videos, each of which can be selected from the video player above:

1 – ‘CUPID’S DEAD' PLAY-THROUGH

This video is a demonstration of the song, performed on a Mayones Viking 4-string bass. The track features Jamie Hunt on guitar and Will Beavis on drums.

2 – OVERVIEW

In this video I’ll be talking about some things you’ll need to consider before working on this piece.

3 – INTRO (PART 1)

This video covers the first part of the Intro section of the song, which is very simple to play. This lesson covers bars 1-16.

4 – INTRO (PART 2)

In this video we’ll be working through the second part of the Intro, which introduces a riff that is played in unison with the guitar. This is an important riff to learn as it is also used throughout the Verse sections of the track. This lesson covers bars 17-20.

5 – BRIDGE

This lesson covers the six-bar Bridge section, which occurs twice in the piece. We’ll be looking at both Bridges in this video as there are some subtle differences in each one.

6 – CHORUS

In this video we’ll be working through the Chorus of the song, which features another riff that is played in unison with the guitar.

7 – MIDDLE 8

This short lesson covers the Middle 8 section of the song, which is very simple to play.

8 – INSTRUMENTAL SECTION (PART 1)

In this video we’ll be looking at the opening eight bars of the Instrumental section. This lesson covers bars 90-97.

9 – INSTRUMENTAL SECTION (PART 2)

In this lesson we’ll be covering the second eight-bar section of the Instrumental section. This part contains some tricky syncopated phrases. This lesson covers bars 98-105.

10 – INSTRUMENTAL SECTION (PART 3)

This is the third part of the Instrumental section. This is a longer section, but it does include some repetition. This lesson covers bars 106-123.

11 – INSTRUMENTAL SECTION (PART 4)

This lesson covers the final part of the Instrumental section, which is mostly based around two repeating riffs. This lesson covers bars 124-147.