Songs you learned that resulted in big improvement

[bassramos]

Giant Steps was helpful, actual proof, Con alma, nothin but a G thang

 

[grendle]

Side one of Hemispheres by Rush.

 

[Portobello_Road]

Maxwells Murder by Rancid! Learn a couple rancid riffs and you will be extremely excited to play more bass!

 

[Psycho]

The Phantom Of The Opera by Iron Maiden.

I thought I had semi-fast fingers. This song showed me otherwise, then immediately showed me how to get actually fast fingers. It's a massvie chore on the plucking fingers, the the intro is still giving my fretting hand hell. Part of it is my 35" fretboard spacing out the frets ever so slightly.

Master Of Puppets, really taught me how to alternate strings rather quickly when fretting.

I think the one that gave me the big boost from playing bass as a hobby to looking at it as a profession would be Hammer Smashed Face, it being my first glimpse into Alex Webster's insane speed.

 

[cheapbasslovin]

Whole notes, as they are considered in this discussion, aren't hard. Whole notes are boring.

That is why they are hard. They aren't hard to play, they are hard to stay focused on the groove and play tight. This is especially true when a song is lacking in other rhythm support.

Try playing Blue Jeans Blues (especially with a drummer that doesn't have the chops to hold it together for you). It's easy to play, but it'll sound like ass unless you got your time and patience together.

 

[baileyboy]

"Long Train Runnin", Doobies

 

[baileyboy]

There are quite a few that have done this for me. First, speaking of Rush, was many years ago when I learned that bass riff in "Tom Sawyer" in the guitar solo section. I used that to build several fills off of that I still use.

Another was "What's Going On" by Marvin Gaye. That one I learned at a time when I was trying to lighten up my touch (getting older, you know). That line taught me more about finesse than any amount of formal training ever could. Jamerson was the man............

"Glamour Profession" by Steely Dan helped me to realize that there are ways to groove without actually having to play a standard groove.

I never was quite able to get fast enough for the solo section of Tom Sawyer. Nice job!

 

[Portobello_Road]

Listen to the Music by the Doobie Brothers...Not very technical but super fun!!

 

[Jarrett]

Jaco - Come On Come Over
great one for speed, agility, and muted notes...but not sure i can groove it quite like Jaco

I work on that one every now and then for that reason. I also had to finally work up What is Hip? for a funk band recently. My natural tendency isn't to do the Jaco/Rocco thing, but its nice to have it in the arsenal.

Also learning some 50s-60's RnB/Motown recently really helped me out. Reminded me to slow down and also make it melodic.

Overall, every time I get a new set list with 40 more tunes on it, I learn something.

 

[chokeslam512]

Holiday by Vampire Weekend. Taught me speedy runs don't have to be difficult.

 

[pepsiblue32]

Definitely So What by Miles Davis. Good example of dialog between two instruments and playing off each other. Also, I think that really got me going as far as walking bass lines.

Oh and on the worship side of things...there's this song by Marcos Witt called Grande y Poderoso, (you can youtube it, it's the one with a little over 100,000 views) and that was the first song that really got me into groovin instead of just throwing down roots on every beat.

 

[Admpres]

I'd have to say Aeroplane and Can't Stop by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. They opened me up to the slap/pop techniques that I use pretty much In everything I play. Aeroplane especially opened me up to the funky/groovy not to mention soloing side of bass. Both amazing songs, and taught me to do my 'signature' double slapping/popping I use constantly.