beginner song suggestions,??

[Relayer71]

The Police - Message in a Bottle

 

[marsquake]

"I miss you" by Blink-182 is silly easy, and a great song!
"Dreams" by Fleetwood Mac
"A Forest" by The Cure
"Good" by Better Than Ezra

 

[thisheregiraffe]

Really depends what your musical influences are... Having said that I have a list on Spotify I like to play along to... The best songs to play bass to, a playlist by James Bird on Spotify

"Echo Beach" is a fun one to play along with

 

[lfmn16]

It depends on the genre. A country band, blues band, classic rock band, variety band would all have different "must know" lists.

 

[MCF]

Lots of good suggestions above. You don’t mention what music you like and ultimately hope to play. For beginners, Creedence, Fleetwood Mac, Booker T and the MGs, the Temptations, the Clash and the Ventures are just some of the bands with multiple easily recognizable bass lines. Learn Down On the Corner, change the rhythm and you’ve got Time is Tight by Booker T. and the Clash pretty much down. And nothing beats learning Ramones songs to gain speed.

 

[Basslice]

Find some easy blues songs and practice your I IV V patterns over 8 bars. Use a drum machine or metronome. I used to do this for hours on end. Songs? Pride and Joy. I saw her standing there. Louie Louie. Fun and simple. Get used to the changes. Play the roots and work towards patterns.

 

[dangevans]

Just turn on a "Best of CCR" album, play along by ear and I bet you can figure some stuff out. Simple great bass!

 

[Malcolm35]

I apologize in advance to OP for any hijack, but can you clarify if this book shows the bass clef? I assume it's written for piano and has both? Thank you!

It is in lead sheet format and that does not give a bass clef, however, the active chord name is shown and you use notes of that chord for your bass line. Glad to go into more detail, if needed.

 

[TheReceder]

Not necessarily "easy" but if you learn this slow, then work up your speed you'll find it a good song to advance your skills. There's a lot of riffs that are repeated but it's very tasty. A lot of scale work, and a lot of opportunities to work on technique.

 

[Dincrest]

Here's a few songs I think are worth starting out on, and why.

"Hella Good" by No Doubt (it's only about 5 notes, but it's all about feel/stank. Get into that smooth groove.)

"Blitzkrieg Bop" by The Ramones (great for practicing pickstyle or building finger speed)

"Feel Good, Inc." by Gorillaz (great for working on slides)

And if you're looking into playing metal, punk, or any sort of "heavy" music with novice musicians, I think "Breaking the Law" by Judas Priest is a great song to learn and jam on first. It's simple yet really fun to play in a band context, making it a good song to build band chemistry and get everyone jamming tight. And when it's time to gig, it's a cover that will get any crowd jumping.

 

[Eli_Kyiv]

Have You Ever Seen The Rain - Creedence Clearwater Revival

Cool bass parts within.

Both original and Boney M's versions. The latter has quite a different bass line, but totally cool and fun to learn and play.

 

[Chicken Wing]

Brain stew

 

[ComicBass]

First song I learned was Smoke on the Water by Deep Purple.

 

[Honkey tonk]

` My shorona `
Fun with triggers

 

[MVE]

If you want to learn bass, you should learn to funk!

Parliament- Flashlight (funkiest song ever written)

Chic - Goodtimes (maybe the greatest bassline ever written)

Jackson 5 - I Want You Back (more RnB than funk, but still a must know bass line)

 

[sawzalot]

Comfortably Numb by Pink Floyd.

 

[xposaune]

Another vote for Psycho Killer - learn to sync with the drums exactly. Hear the space between beats - staccato and muting.
Also another vote for zz top (tush or lagrange)

Some others (not that these are my ffav songs but i found them helpful for various techniques)
She Sells Sanctuary - for eighth note steadiness - easy but be rock solid. Try to accent the off beats with the drums.
Gloria (branigan version) - octaves and left hand strength builder. Muting and cleanliness on the little bridge.
I know i'm losing you - can be tiring in the left hand.
Some Kind of Wonderful - most of the song is just bass and drums - be steady. lock in.
Everybody Needs Somebody to Love (blues brothers) - anything by duck dunn - time, articulation etc.

 

[farmertom]

Have You Ever Seen The Rain - Creedence Clearwater Revival

Cool bass parts within.

Band I’m in plays that song. Man I hate playing it lol! It does have some cool parts though

 

[JonathanG]

No Other Baby - Paul McCartney
Baby - Ariel Pink
Bodies - Sex Pistols
Low Rider - War

 

[farmertom]

TNT
Used to love her
Foxy lady (if you just Play the root notes and leave out the fancy IN between Stuff.