What are your 'Must Know' bass lines?

[Petrov]

Hey all,

I'm looking for opinions on what rock/pop/r&b bass lines you personally feel every bass player should know.

I've been playing bass for a couple of years now with two original bands. This has led to the majority of my repertoire being originals.

So, help me broaden my horizons. What should I be learning to give myself a good foundation of bass lines?

-Peter

[Folmeister]

1. "Brick House" - you will probably never actually play in a band that has the right instrumentation for it, but you WILL play it

2. The Barney Miller theme (this is for annoying non-bass players)

3. The Seinfeld thing (this is for annoying non-bass players)

4. "Money"

5. "My Girl"

6. "Another One Bites the Dust"

7. "Day Tripper"

8. Many others that will be revealed in the following posts

[AmplifyYourBass]

Power - Marcus Miller (suggested to me by the friendly people here )

Amazing Grace - Victor Wooten

Country Music - Stu Hamm

Aeroplane - RHCP

Jungle Man - RHCP (very simple but fun)

I'll think of more later.

[Zirc]

I always say every bassists knows:

Greenday - Longview
Tool - Schism

And Jungle Boogie is fun to play too.

[geoffkhan]

Seinfeld basslines are a must for any slapper.

[WillPlay4Food]

Big Bottom - Spinal Tap
Radar Love - Golden Earring
Pink Panther Theme - Henry Mancini
Bouree - Jethro Tull (still haven't nailed this one yet. )

Already mentioned songs (giving out the +1s)
Another One Bites the Dust - Queen
Money - Pink Floyd

[Juneau]

The Imperial March is fun and easy hehe

Ill also 2nd Jungle Boogie, Kool is da man! hehe

[Chris A]

This isn't really instructional, kinda general info. Let's go to Misc.


Chris A.

[bryan bailey]

Classical Thump. Most important thing you'll ever need to know at a gig.

X 1,000,001

[LiquidMidnight]

I've always disagreed with the "just learn songs and you'll become a better player" method of teaching. Playing songs will approve your timing and ear, but you need to woodshed on the concepts of music.

My advice wouldn't be to learn songs for the sake of becoming better. Instead, learn styles and feels of playing. Be able to play polkas, waltzs, cha chas, jitterbugs, swings, shuffles, walking lines, ect. Whenever someone calls out a tune and a key, be able to put something to it. Learn theory. Understand the relationship between harmony, melody, and meter. Play in different time signatures. Study the relationship between bass and drums, ect.

[Aaron Saunders]

Originally Posted by LiquidMidnight

I've always disagreed with the "just learn songs and you'll become a better player" method of teaching. Playing songs will approve your timing and ear, but you need to woodshed on the concepts of music.

My advice wouldn't be to learn songs for the sake of becoming better. Instead, learn styles and feels of playing. Be able to play polkas, waltzs, cha chas, jitterbugs, swings, shuffles, walking lines, ect. Whenever someone calls out a tune and a key, be able to put something to it. Learn theory. Understand the relationship between harmony, melody, and meter. Play in different time signatures. Study the relationship between bass and drums, ect.

Yes, that's all well and good, but he never said he's learning songs to "get better", just to broaden his horizons. If you're auditioning for a band, a large repretoire of original music you played with your last band is not going to impress. Besides, one of the best ways to learn the relationships between harmony, melody and meter, how to play in different time signatures, and how to study the relationships between drum and bass, is to learn and analyze the lines of those who came before and understand what you're learning much better than you do.

That said...

ACDC - Hells Bells
The Beatles - Come Together (and anything else)
Cream - White Room, Sunshine of Your Love
GNR - Sweet Child 'O Mine
Rolling Stones - Don't Stop, Paint it Black
Pink Floyd - Money
And any of the BIG Motown hits -- What's Goin' On, Shoparound, Shotgun, Stop! In the Name of Love, and definitely My Girl.

[shizack]

Must-know, huh? For me it was (in no particular order):

Money - Pink Floyd
Money - The old R n' B one
Rapper's Delight/Good Times - Sugar Hill Gang/Chic
Under The Boardwalk - Drifters
Stand By Me - Ben E. King
Another One Bites The Dust - Queen
Limelight - Rush

And MANY other ones I can't think of right now.

[heath_the_great]

the jam - graham central station, the one song you should know, know it inside out, love it, live it, sleep with it..its a great opener song and band introduction song to

higher ground - either RHCP or Stevie wonder's
sir duke - stevie wonder
chameleon - herbie hancock, simple but extremely simple and funky
fly away - lenny kravitz
under the bridge - rhcp
suck my kiss - rhcp
sir sycho sexy - rhcp
any james brown song especially its too funky in here and i feel good, not to mention sex machine
are you in - incubus
black dog - led zeppelin
drive - incubus and many more
fire - hendrix, rhcp
voodoo chile slight return - hendrix
anything parliament/funkadelic/george clinton

but i mainly focus on the older rock, soul, rnb standards, songs that everyone knows..kinda makes sense

[heath_the_great]

Originally Posted by LiquidMidnight

I've always disagreed with the "just learn songs and you'll become a better player" method of teaching. Playing songs will approve your timing and ear, but you need to woodshed on the concepts of music.

My advice wouldn't be to learn songs for the sake of becoming better. Instead, learn styles and feels of playing. Be able to play polkas, waltzs, cha chas, jitterbugs, swings, shuffles, walking lines, ect. Whenever someone calls out a tune and a key, be able to put something to it. Learn theory. Understand the relationship between harmony, melody, and meter. Play in different time signatures. Study the relationship between bass and drums, ect.

i believe that you should learn in the most natural way to you, there is no set way to learn to become better, we all become better a our own pace and in the way we are accustomed to, i beleive that in order to become a better player, for me this is my regeime, is that i focus on 3 parts of a pie (graph) equally seperated into 3rd's, one is labeled technique, the 2nd is labeled theory and the 3rd is labeled songs/chops, i beleive that these should be focused on equally because if you focus more technique your chops/songs and theory will suffer and become less important to you than your technique....i want to become a better all round player, to me theres no point in being able to play fast but not slow, to be able to shred but not groove......but i dont stick to a set amount of hours a day to each slice of the pie, i might one day focus on technique next day theory etc etc, then next time i might spend an hour or 2 on each aspect that day...it all comes down to devotion and moderation not to mention restraint

[cosmodrome]

if you want me to stay - sly & the fam or rhcp
cosmic slop - funkadelic
special secret song inside - rhcp
dolphin - prince
amos moses - jerry reed or primus

[JimK]

Originally Posted by shizack

Must-know, huh? For me it was (in no particular order):
Money - Pink Floyd
Money - The old R n' B one

Which 'old R&B' version of "Money"....the '60s tune covered by The Beatles?
Or the one by The O'Jays(w/ a flanged Anthony Jackson on bass)? If it's the latter, then be aware that it's 'newer' than Pink Floyd's "Money".

FWIW, I agree with Liquidty At Midnight-
...using a simple 12-bar Blues in F as a template, attempt to play through it in varying styles & time signatures.
Example: Play it in a Rock feel, a Soul feel, a R&B feel, a Bossa feel, a Reggae feel, etc.

Granted, one must have a vocabulary of songs at their disposal...IMO, working on feel & theory will enable one to play Kravitz' "Fly With Me" on the fly if asked to sit in or sub with a band.

[Matt Till]

Originally Posted by AmplifyYourBass

Jungle Man - RHCP (very simple but fun)

I forget who did that originally, wasn't it the Meters?



I don't think there are any MUST KNOW basslines. You could write your own and make a career out of it.

[Whafrodamus]

Originally Posted by WillPlay4Food

Big Bottom - Spinal Tap

AMEN.

[jive1]

All I needed to learn about bass, I learned from Smoke on the Water.

[McHack]

Alot of good ones I see posted are ones I always go with...

Brick House, Money, Longview, Paradise City, Tom Sawyer, Suck My Kiss, Californication, ReArranged,,,,,

Basically, the list is too long...