Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
SIMPLE bass lines that make the song...
- Thread starter fretlessman71
- Start date
I've loved this song for some time now. Bassist is Mike Murphy who I believe posts on TB and is now a rep for Line 6. Sweet Aerodyne Jazz bass, happy bass line.
Hacha - Brown Rabbit - YouTube
Hacha - Brown Rabbit - YouTube
"Message in a bottle", you could play it at least in 1000 different ways. Still Sting would play it better 
I think I just remembered a bass line that might be the thread winner.
Twin Peaks Theme
Grammy Award winner for Best Pop Instrumental in 1991. According to Discog, bass/guitar on the Twin Peaks soundtracks was Vinnie Bell.
Twin Peaks Theme
Grammy Award winner for Best Pop Instrumental in 1991. According to Discog, bass/guitar on the Twin Peaks soundtracks was Vinnie Bell.
I'll list the first few songs I learned - none of them are tricky beyond what a good teacher can get a beginning student playing fairly soon, and I think they're all fun:
Andy Metcalfe's really lovely line from the Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians song Airscape. It's a nice one for students, because it's fairly obscure and it can be really encouraging to play something you haven't heard everyone else do a thousand times.
The Velvet Underground's song Candy Says - I think this was the very first bass line I ever learned, and I also think it's a particularly satisfying line for one so uncomplicated.
Kings of Leon's Joe's Head - very simple, but it definitely makes the song.
Pretenders - My City Was Gone. I think this one was said before, but ought to be reiterated... So satisfying!
The Soft Boys - Tonight. Great for learning to play a lot of repeated notes evenly.
Elvis Costello - Watching The Detectives. Doesn't really need an explanation, does it?
The Smiths - There Is A Light That Never Goes Out. It's not hard, but it really drives a song that would otherwise feel a bit static.
Porcupine Tree - Strip the Soul. Technically simple, but I think it has a lot to teach about how to glue a band together.
Madness - Baggy Trousers. Lots and lots of fun, great silly song for kid students.
And most of Tina Weymouth's Talking Heads lines, of course.
Andy Metcalfe's really lovely line from the Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians song Airscape. It's a nice one for students, because it's fairly obscure and it can be really encouraging to play something you haven't heard everyone else do a thousand times.
The Velvet Underground's song Candy Says - I think this was the very first bass line I ever learned, and I also think it's a particularly satisfying line for one so uncomplicated.
Kings of Leon's Joe's Head - very simple, but it definitely makes the song.
Pretenders - My City Was Gone. I think this one was said before, but ought to be reiterated... So satisfying!
The Soft Boys - Tonight. Great for learning to play a lot of repeated notes evenly.
Elvis Costello - Watching The Detectives. Doesn't really need an explanation, does it?
The Smiths - There Is A Light That Never Goes Out. It's not hard, but it really drives a song that would otherwise feel a bit static.
Porcupine Tree - Strip the Soul. Technically simple, but I think it has a lot to teach about how to glue a band together.
Madness - Baggy Trousers. Lots and lots of fun, great silly song for kid students.
And most of Tina Weymouth's Talking Heads lines, of course.
Not a massive fan but I always thought New Years Day by U2 was a great song and the bass/piano line is simple and forms the structure of the song.
And as I AM a massive fan - Wrathchild by Iron Maiden.
And as I AM a massive fan - Wrathchild by Iron Maiden.
I used to have fun playing Tommy Tutone's Jenny. It had been years since I played it and this thread got me try it again. Yep, still fun.
saskia strange said:
Great selection to teach or learn from! And I like that you say a baseline is "satisfying." So true, for many of these!
The Joker by Steve Miller (if it hasn't already been mentioned) - I can tell you that its harder to find the pompatus of love than to play this riff, and EVERYONE knows it.
