Beginner Songs to transcribe

[Reviaul]

Hello all,
I have been playing bass off and on for the past four years. I have never been in a band but have played worship for churches frequently this year. While playing those, I realized that I have almost no ear for intervals and no ability to do fills even though I can hear something that would work in the song in my head.

Basically, I realized that I need to start developing my ear so I can play what I hear in my head and transfer it onto my fretboard. I know that it will take time and patience in order to become good at recognizing intervals and how they sound. I know well enough not to start on something so difficult I will get discouraged from continuing on this adventure.

My question is, what would be some good songs to start this process? I like almost any genre except country if that is any help.

 

[bassbrother666]

do you like metal?

 

[Bassist4Eris]

Reggae is a good genre to try, because many of the songs are based on just a single riff, maybe two. So the music is repeating a lot, saving you some rewinding. Also the bass parts are mixed right up front, so you can hear them. Bob Marley songs tend to be a bit challenging; instead, check out some Toots and the Maytals, Max Romeo, Junior Marvin, et al. Pay close attention to note length when playing this music!

R'n'B music generally has great basslines, but guys like James Jamerson and Jerry Jemmott can be daunting. Check out songs with David Hood on bass (Staple Singers' "I'll Take You There" for example) or Duck Dunn (Otis Redding's "Dock Of The Bay".)

On the other hand, simple punk rock stuff like The Ramones can be great for learning to hear chord changes, because the bass line is generally all root notes, and the only thing to figure out are the chord changes.

 

[Reviaul]

I do like metal

 

[MalcolmAmos]

For fills I would point you to chromatic runs to the next chord. Get that under your belt and new things will probably come to light. Think of the fill as walking up or walking down to where you want to go.

On the C chord and F is coming up. Target the F note, now miss it by one, two or three frets. Then walk to the F one fret at a time. For example; On C grab the C# and the D on the bottom string then jump up to the 3rd string and get the E and land on the F for the chord change. Yes you have to leave early, the timing when you need to leave and still make the chord change dead on is the hard part.

On F going to G. I back up and grab the E, then the F, then the F# and land on G for the chord change.

On G going to C. Several ways to do this run. I drop down to the 4th string and catch the D#, then the D, then the C# and land on C for the chord change.

Try this with missing your next root by one note - one fret higher or lower and have a one note chromatic run to pull you into the next chord. Then a two note chromatic run. All kinds of ways to walk, aka fill in.......

When the above becomes easy I bet other fills will reveal themselves.

 

[t77mackie]

Some easy bands to practice transcribing:

AC / DC

The Offspring

Fall Out Boy

Papa Roach

Seether

Make sure you are in tune before attempting to transcribe. You will also want to know if the song is tuned a half-step down or if they're using a 5+ string, etc.

Good luck!

 

[bassbrother666]

if you like metal,maybe a iron maiden song will be a bit hard, but the bass is one of the best "hearable" in metal world, i would recommend the tropper or the clairvoyant, give it a try

 

[DrRoebuck]

Reggae is a good genre to try, because many of the songs are based on just a single riff, maybe two. So the music is repeating a lot, saving you some rewinding. Also the bass parts are mixed right up front, so you can hear them. Bob Marley songs tend to be a bit challenging; instead, check out some Toots and the Maytals, Max Romeo, Junior Marvin, et al. Pay close attention to note length when playing this music!

+1

I'm finding that a lot of reggae/ska patterns are based on major triads with basic 1-4-5 changes. Makes them super easy to pick out and helps reinforce any theory you're learning concurrently.

Israelites, Pressure Drop, Keep on Moving, Bend Down Low, etc., etc.