Songs every Bassist should know/learn....

[João Bourgard]

ok so...
Ill try to name a few songs from various styles:

Pink floyd - Money (this one was my holy grail )

Rush - YYZ (this one is very hard (at least for me) but with practice its possible (i still can´t play it flawlessly)

pantera - 5 minutes alone (killer bass solo)

metallica - seek and destroy (great chromatic scale based riffs)

Megadeth - peace sells (awesome intro and groovy chorus very fun to play)

For the songs you named in your last post i figure this is close to your style (it's my style at least)
If you want some more suggestions i can give a couple hundred more (eheheheheh) just PM me

 

[Peepaleep]

Groove : Sade

Anything at all from Sade, really. Paul S. Denman will teach you discipline, groove, and timing. The man is brilliant with those 4 strings of his.

 

[PimasterPearson]

Pick any 25 of these songs:

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[brotherbassj]

I cant believe no one has mentioned some of the STP stuff? Wicked Garden is fun and busy........Rob is under rated in the bass world it seems? And he isn't my favorite. I agree with Rush stuff and The Meters. What about some Alex Webster Material? Or maybe some Dream Theater?

Old school, I like The Meters and Tower of Power.......try running what is hip......good luck. You will find tons of thread info on the whole cover band versus original band..........you have hit a prime example of why I am glad I learned covers and theory. Not knocking original music bands as I had a pretty long run of it at one great one........good luck. I think its great you are going back to learn covers and pick up on different technique and styles!

 

[R&B]

Noob here. Great thread!! Right now working on:

Wild Thing - The Troggs (a classic for the ages)
The Walk - Mayer Hawthorne (great groove, cool hammer-on)
Rivers of Baylon - The Melodians (reggae mon)
I'm a Man - Chicago Transit Authority (mentioned earlier--inspired me to love the bass)

Someday when I get some chops:

The Clean Up Woman - Betty Wright (perhaps the most danceable bass line ever?)

Plenty more great bass lines out there. That's five off the top of my head. YMMV!


SL

 

[João Bourgard]

What about some Alex Webster Material? Or maybe some Dream Theater?

I think he wants to learn tunes... not shoot himself in the head after the 367th time he tryed to play a Alex webster riff at full spedd
Webster is a frickin monster...
So is Myung from Dream theater...
There is a cool instructional DVD from Myung...
"Progressive bass concepts" i think...

 

[Smit_Dogg]

some of the favourite basslines Ive learnt in cover bands over the years are:

Made of Stone - Stone Roses (Mani)
Dandelion - Audioslave (Tim Commerford)
Day We Caught The Train - Ocean Colour Scene (Damon Minchella)
Moving To New York - The Wombats (Tord Overland-Knudsen)
Too Young To Die - Jamiroquai (Stuart Zender)

 

[Definitely]

I'm a beginning base player and the 1st song I learned was Kicks by Paul Revier and the Raiders. Fun to play.

Please tell me "base" was a typo....please....

 

[bigmuff113]

Sliver-Nirvana

 

[Russell L]

It is better to get into Rush late than not at all!

I tried, but NO can do. I just can't get into them.

I do know a LOT of Allman Brothers, though. So, I'll suggest In Memory of Elizabeth Reed, and Jessica.

 

[Definitely]

I tried, but NO can do. I just can't get into them.

I think that's grounds for banning...


There's the door.

 

[tarafran]

lemon song Led Zep

 

[Chewi Manilli]

A couple of my favorites would be:
The Camera Eye-- Rush
Into the Mystic-- Van Morrison
Save a Prayer-- Duran Duran
Spirits of the Material World-- the Police
Walkabout-- RHCP

All have cool melodic lines that I find interesting .

 

[rtslinger]

Are you ready MUSTANG SALLY ha ha ha oh no he didn't!

 

[bassmanford]

If you are up to tackling some Jaco, then Come On Come Over is probably the closest thing to entry level. Where the bass line is relatively simple, the right hand tech takes some work..especially transitioning between verse and chorus. Have fun..

 

[Maquisbass]

+1 on I'm a man - CTA
Also Woman from Tokyo - Deep Purple

 

[Bassbubble11]

Here are 5 of my favorite "bass" albums. There are more
but these I can always seem to cop Ideas and styles from.

Beatles - Abbey Road
ABC - The Lexicon of Love
Ben Folds Five - Whatever and Ever Amen
Joe Jackson - I'm the Man / Look Sharp
STP - Shangri-La Dee Da

 

[Ken J]

Tracy Chapman - Talking about a revolution. I think this is great for a beginner it keeps you on the “E & A” strings but has you working most of the neck it’s an easy one that has you Waa,ing from the 12th to the 3rd position on the “E” string. It’s repetitive and allows for the payer to move around and express yourself without losing your place.
Grand Funk Railroad - I'm Your Captain/Closer to Home
This piece is a lot harder but if I was able to learn it I think anyone can. There is some Waa in this piece but why I think it’s a good one to learn it brings you all over the neck. I love paying this one on my short scales. The fast neck helps a lot with my slightly deformed fingers.

 

[Maquisbass]

+1 on Grand Funk Railroad - I'm Your Captain/Closer to Home

 

[AndrewFord]

Depends on what you are trying to accomplish. Learning 5 songs can be a starting point but if you don't consistently build on that you will still be quite shallow. If you are trying to be a well rounded versatile bass player I would start listening to these artists or styles versus particular songs so much
Chic, Jimi Hendrix, Beatles, Motown-James Jamerson, Sly and the Family Stone, Rush, Miles Davis, Paco D'Lucia, Weather Report, James Brown, Stones, Earth Wind and Fire, Milton Nascimento, Cachao, B.B. King
That is how I became comfortable and confident in any style