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Easy Songs to Sing While Playing Bass

#41
+1. One of the songs I found easy was Stuck In The Middle by Steelers Wheel, and I pretty much play that note for note and know it very well.

When I looked over the list I played that one second to last assuming it would be a killer, but currently I find it easier to sing than Nirvana's Teen Spirit, for example.
 
#44
I have a real hard time singing and playing bass. It really makes me appreciate the talent when it can be done effortlessly.

Two song that I have worked on and I now feel somewhat comfortable singing lead are:

Beverly Hills - Weezer
Stacy's Mom - Fountains of Wayne

Currently working on:

I'm Not Over - Carolina Liar

So, I'd consider these easy songs to sing while playing bass.
 
#45
My suggestion: to start with learn the vocals/bass separately, then very slowly when you attempt to combine the two (slow enough so you limit your mistakes).

Perfect practice make perfect.
 
#48
Chrisk-K said:
Yes, early Police songs have simple, yet catchy bass lines. But only a very few male singers can sing them. Sting routinely hit the high C note with his chest voice. One could transpose them down but the killer bass lines would be screwed up.
Click to expand...

Roxanne??????????
I don't think so.

First off, can you sing?
If the answer is yes then look for a song that is easy to play bass to while you sing it. ...... So, just turn the problem around. .....
All songs are built up or made from two key factors, root movement and melody. ..... Chords are harmony from the root and drums are just you tapping your foot. .....
Can you sing Happy Birthday, in tune, hopefully? ...... Now can you sing Happy Birthday while not touching an instrument to get your first note? .... Now can you envision playing Happy Birthday on you bass without touching it? ..... What's the first scale tone you start the song off in? ..... When the songs gets to the part "happy birthday dear Adolf" what's the scale tone at that point in the song.
Now Happy Birthday may seem like a low-brow way/place to start but I'd bet $100. that 90% of the people reading this post can't answer or do that simple exercise with a song as easy as Happy birthday without touching their instrument. And then they still may get it wrong and stop doing it cause; "That's just stupid man!"
To sing and play and instrument "well" you have to split yourself into two things 1) a singer and 2) a player. ....... Until you do that you're really just a hack.
 
#49
I play bass on about 75% of our set list and sing lead on about half of those. The easiest songs - and ones I recommend - are:

"Good" - Better Than Ezra (eighth notes!)
"Back In The USSR" - The Beatles (eighth notes again, but harder timing)
"Somebody to Shove" - Soul Asylum
"I Need To Know" - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (but I cheat on bass line behind " 'cuz I don't know how long/I can hold on...")
"Twilight Zone" - Golden Earring

Some other easy songs (I sing harmony but can also sing lead):
"Mary Jane's Last Dance" - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (and I play harmonica on that, too)
"The One I Love" - R.E.M.
"I Want You To Want Me" - Cheap Trick
"Don't Change" - INXS
"The Middle" - Jimmy Eat World

"Desire" - U2 (I actually sing lead/harmonica here and don't play bass, but only three notes, count 'em)

The toughest are:
"Vertigo" - U2 (that bassline does not sync with lyrics in verses at all)
"Day Tripper" - The Beatles (again, a distinctive bass line with phrasing changes between choruses)

And, I sing harmony on these for a reason (can't sing lead and play bass line):
"Blood and Roses" - The Smithereens
"China Grove" - Doobie Brothers (very hard for me to get that cool, funky bass line and sing)

I still like playing the tough songs as I think they're great training, but they're not one's I'd recommend to start playing out.
 
#50
Great advise from all.
I have pulled of boys are back in town by thin lizzy at gigs a few years back. It took many hours of practice to get it right. Sadly the band struggled to play it tight so we dropped it.
It felt amazing to do though.

I will try the songs suggested as I want to front a band one day.
 
#51
SydneyBounceBas said:
I have pulled of boys are back in town by thin lizzy at gigs a few years back. It took many hours of practice to get it right. Sadly the band struggled to play it tight so we dropped it.
It felt amazing to do though..
Click to expand...

Holy crap, we were in the same band!

Joking aside, my last band had a somewhat diverse setlist - melodic, rockin', country, bluesy, 8th notes hammering, shuffles, two steps and some swing. I managed to sing and play bass on all of this, convincingly. By sing, I mean more of a bluesy growl a la Billy Gibbons (in a way that generally suited the song). And by play bass I mean pulling out a suitably convincing bass line that conveyed the essence of the song rather than a perfect note-for-note rendition.

Not sure I could pull off Stuck in the Middle - pretty specific bassline therem but perhaps pretty easy vox?

Before we went southern rock/outlaw country, we had the classic rock staples, like Thin Lizzy, Box Scaggs (Lido Shuffle), Skynyrd, Black Crowes, STP - that was some of the more challenging stuff to play.

My secret: play with a pick and approach bass like a rhythm guitar. Not strumming chords per se, but using the same mechanics of attack on the strings. I had a pretty hard time playing finger style and singing back in the day. Now that I'm doing mostly backing vox and bass, I can play fingerstyle and sing. but it took a lot of work.
 
#58
Zombie Thread!!
I recall singing and playing Turning Japanese back in college and thinking it wasn't hard. Then when I was in a new wave band and listened closely, I realized the bass part was WAY more detailed than what I had been doing! I eventually got up to speed on both but the drummer really wanted to sing lead. Fine by me.

Generally, I find learning the music much easier than learning (and memorizing) the lyrics, especially in songs that describe something rather than tell a story and have a logical sequence. Getting confused over the words can negatively affect my bass playing.

Yes, The Cars was a great suggestion. Ditto Ramones and Green Day. J. Geils was fun and The Eagles hits we did weren't bad.
 
#59
One thing I find that works well is to write your own songs. That way the vocal part and the bass part evolve together and you find ways to have them co-exist. I can sing parts that are rhythmically different from the bass line but it's a challenge. You have to disconnect part of the brain to get it to work, but it's no different from playing the piano with contrasting left hand and right hand parts. Another trick is to write (or pick) songs that have the singing pick up in between a busy bass part that alternates with space or a simpler line. There are some tunes where it's just impossible for me, like when both the bass line and vocal line are swinging off the beat in different ways.
 

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