Hardest songs to play on bass in your band?
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While we're looking for a bass player, I'm sometimes filling in on bass at rehearsals where keyboards can cover things, and we just about can get away without guitar. And I've learned the bass lines to all the songs.
To answer your specific question:
It's not particularly hard (in fact fairly easy), but I'd say the hardest one in my current band is 'I Feel Good'. So that's the one we'll include to check out bass players at auditions
To answer your specific question:
It's not particularly hard (in fact fairly easy), but I'd say the hardest one in my current band is 'I Feel Good'. So that's the one we'll include to check out bass players at auditions
Unless you play in a funk or metal band most stuff is pretty easy.
Things that spring to mind that I've gigged included
Hysteria by Muse
Girls on Film by Duran Duran
No One Knows by Queens of the Stone Age which is quite easy but has a bass solo.
Hit me with your rhythm stick
Can Can by Bad Manners for sheer pump/stamina and not getting a tired hand (hybrid picking for the octaves) and the same with 'Mirror in the Bathroom'
There's a number of Madness songs which need you to be on it, like 'House of Fun', 'In the Rain' and Specials' ones, too, like 'Monkey Man', 'Too Much, Too Young'
Can Can by Bad Manners for sheer pump/stamina and not getting a tired hand (hybrid picking for the octaves) and the same with 'Mirror in the Bathroom'
There's a number of Madness songs which need you to be on it, like 'House of Fun', 'In the Rain' and Specials' ones, too, like 'Monkey Man', 'Too Much, Too Young'
As above Rhythm Stick seems to be the one feared by bass players, when I was playing bass in bands they never did anything remotely like that so I've never been called on to try it.
If I did though, I'd burlesque it up by doing it in a mix of Lemmy/JJ Burnel style :)
If I did though, I'd burlesque it up by doing it in a mix of Lemmy/JJ Burnel style :)
Highway Star - Deep Purple.
Barracuda- Heart
The bass is very busy throughout, fast and lots of patterns
Barracuda- Heart
The bass is very busy throughout, fast and lots of patterns
Those 8th note pumping bass lines, when played fingerstyle, can be deceptively tricky for me.CaseOfAce said:
...Post early 70s it's generally standard driving 8th / quaver notes (that's a gross over simplification but sort of true...
I've developed an ingrained habit of raking (i.e. a follow through rest stroke) when descending to a lower string. So I start off leading with my first finger, then I'm leading with my second finger when moving to a lower string. Which was fine, until I discovered that strict alternate is the more correct approach, and now my brain sometimes gets in a muddle, when I start to think about it.
?stratman3142 said:Those 8th note pumping bass lines, when played fingerstyle, can be deceptively tricky for me.CaseOfAce said:
...Post early 70s it's generally standard driving 8th / quaver notes (that's a gross over simplification but sort of true...
I've developed an ingrained habit of raking (i.e. a follow through rest stroke) when descending to a lower string. So I start off leading with my first finger, then I'm leading with my second finger when moving to a lower string. Which was fine, until I discovered that strict alternate is the more correct approach, and now my brain sometimes gets in a muddle, when I start to think about it.
raking is the "correct" technique when moving down to a lower string isn't it? So if I've just played a higher string with my second finger then I'll play the lower string with the same finger if I need to play a note on it...(and vice versa).
If not I've been doing it wrong!
Green Day
I’m not sure exactly which song but it’ll be Motown or disco…
I don’t play hard songs… it’s mostly garage punk. The most complicated one is probably Holiday In Cambodia, but once you’ve learned it it’s easy enough to actually play.
I first noticed this when I was having trouble maintaining a solid consistent pulse when playing 'Just What I Needed' fingerstyle, and my fingers were getting into a bit of a twist. The trouble is, once I started thinking about it, things got worse. So I did some research.CaseOfAce said:?stratman3142 said:Those 8th note pumping bass lines, when played fingerstyle, can be deceptively tricky for me.CaseOfAce said:
...Post early 70s it's generally standard driving 8th / quaver notes (that's a gross over simplification but sort of true...
I've developed an ingrained habit of raking (i.e. a follow through rest stroke) when descending to a lower string. So I start off leading with my first finger, then I'm leading with my second finger when moving to a lower string. Which was fine, until I discovered that strict alternate is the more correct approach, and now my brain sometimes gets in a muddle, when I start to think about it.
raking is the "correct" technique when moving down to a lower string isn't it? So if I've just played a higher string with my second finger then I'll play the lower string with the same finger if I need to play a note on it...(and vice versa).
If not I've been doing it wrong!
I think bassbuzz addressed this well (see link below)
https://youtu.be/VS0nUyMKYBQ?si=OmGAaGINe43-46jy
The first one that comes to mind is For Once In My Life by Stevie Wonder. As a guitarist converting to bass I didn’t have the skills to improvise a part in Jamerson’s style in real time so I learned his part on the record note for note - which I thought would be a useful learning experience. It’s busy, quite fast and continually varying. Even though the record is short it’s quite a lot to remember.
I Wish is a bugger to get up to speed.
Anything Motown/Jamerson requires study.
Rumours-era John McVie is often fretless. A good test of intonation accuracy.
Anything Motown/Jamerson requires study.
Rumours-era John McVie is often fretless. A good test of intonation accuracy.
Colorado Bulldog is a challenge.
I spent ages getting that nailed and then the band split up.
I spent ages getting that nailed and then the band split up.
Mind you, there's a lot of tunes that are easy to play physically but a nightmare to make sound right with everyone else.
About 99.9% of Stevie Wonder springs to mind.
About 99.9% of Stevie Wonder springs to mind.
What a Fool Believes - Doobie Brothers. (Well, it was hard for me anyway, but I've got the hang of it now).
Soul to Squeeze by RHCP is also a b!tch to play (for me).
Soul to Squeeze by RHCP is also a b!tch to play (for me).
Tiran Porter plays some fantastic basslines on Doobie Brothers songs.LionAquaLooper said:What a Fool Believes - Doobie Brothers. (Well, it was hard for me anyway, but I've got the hang of it now).
Soul to Squeeze by RHCP is also a b!tch to play (for me).
Regarding RHCP, I have to cheat on Higher Ground and blag my way through it, with a combination of hammer ons and simplifying things somewhat. It's tantalisingly close, but I just can't get the speed. And it's probably regarded as a starting point for you slapping bass players out there.
Yep and here's Guy Pratt demonstrating it beautifullyCaseOfAce said:?stratman3142 said:Those 8th note pumping bass lines, when played fingerstyle, can be deceptively tricky for me.CaseOfAce said:
...Post early 70s it's generally standard driving 8th / quaver notes (that's a gross over simplification but sort of true...
I've developed an ingrained habit of raking (i.e. a follow through rest stroke) when descending to a lower string. So I start off leading with my first finger, then I'm leading with my second finger when moving to a lower string. Which was fine, until I discovered that strict alternate is the more correct approach, and now my brain sometimes gets in a muddle, when I start to think about it.
raking is the "correct" technique when moving down to a lower string isn't it? So if I've just played a higher string with my second finger then I'll play the lower string with the same finger if I need to play a note on it...(and vice versa).
If not I've been doing it wrong!
https://youtu.be/pSHVqOYjaDI
James Jameson Motown...
https://youtu.be/kAT3aVj-A_E?si=mp6ISqsRmZ_1FjPa
Kebabkid said:Yep and here's Guy Pratt demonstrating it beautifullyCaseOfAce said:?stratman3142 said:Those 8th note pumping bass lines, when played fingerstyle, can be deceptively tricky for me.CaseOfAce said:
...Post early 70s it's generally standard driving 8th / quaver notes (that's a gross over simplification but sort of true...
I've developed an ingrained habit of raking (i.e. a follow through rest stroke) when descending to a lower string. So I start off leading with my first finger, then I'm leading with my second finger when moving to a lower string. Which was fine, until I discovered that strict alternate is the more correct approach, and now my brain sometimes gets in a muddle, when I start to think about it.
raking is the "correct" technique when moving down to a lower string isn't it? So if I've just played a higher string with my second finger then I'll play the lower string with the same finger if I need to play a note on it...(and vice versa).
If not I've been doing it wrong!
I'm not saying raking is wrong by the way. In fact it's my default approach, and I rake most of the time when descending.
Interestingly, I discovered an issue with those pumping 8th notes patterns at fretboard jams, in certain situations, where I ended up playing bass, because nobody else volunteered. And it was on songs I wouldn't normally play, so I might have remained blissfully unaware of it. The songs I found tricky to maintain a very consistent even pulse were the following:
Just What I Needed - The Cars
Lil Devil - The Cult
Talk To Me - Poison
Of course these are songs that were originally played with a pick. But I find it uncomfortable to play with a pick on bass for extended periods, even though I'm fine using a pick with guitar, so I prefer to play fingerstyle on bass if possible.
That's when I started looking into it. Try playing 'Just What I Needed' fingerstyle and see how it works for you. You can get away with accepting that the leading finger changes or by doing consecutive hits with the same finger. But then I started Googling things and decided I'd try to learn to be able to use alternate or raking, depending on the situation.
Alternate seems to work best for me for certain specific cases, such as those simple 8th note pumping patterns of the type in the songs I mentioned above, when my brain doesn't get muddled
. Raking remains my default approach in most cases.The reason I mentioned, it in the context of this thread, is sometimes apparently simple bass lines can catch me out.
In any band....Something by Harrison
McCartney could have phoned this in since it was not his song, and why be arsed, but he come up with a stonker of a bassline....good for him :)
What song is that bass line to? I fancy a go at learning that!Kebabkid said:Yep and here's Guy Pratt demonstrating it beautifully
https://youtu.be/pSHVqOYjaDI
I’m pretty sure it’s just Guy Pratt having a bit of fun, influenced by ‘Nard.
There’s some great “under the radar” bass eg. The Smiths.. I can play it, but it was harder than I thought.
Mr Pink Level 42
Those years spent in Hamburg paid off.CaseOfAce said:Top 3 for me I've found trickiest.
Number 3 - McCartney's I saw Her Standing There part- relentless and fast... fingerstyle or plectrum. Same basic pattern throughout but damn... what a player he is on the instrument.
I'm learning this one but it's a bit harder than I thought.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdXgFZ2VhHk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdXgFZ2VhHk
It's not a particularly hard bassline, but the rhythm is key and the song starts on bass, so plenty of time to mess it up. It's No Roots, by Alice Merton:
https://youtu.be/PUdyuKaGQd4
https://youtu.be/PUdyuKaGQd4
Chris Squire's bass part on Going For The One is a bit of a bugger to play BUT he had to sing support vocals at the same time.
Quite revealing.
Post early 70s it's generally standard driving 8th / quaver notes (that's a gross over simplification but sort of true... although Nathan East's Footloose was fiddly). Even the Abba we do is manageable walking bass lines. 50s stuff is fairly standard rock and roll patterns (again over simplification but...).
Anything from the 60s / early 70s generally needs to be approached with oh ok... maybe I've got to put in the effort to get this down (classic case is the bass line in I'm A Believer - so so much more interesting than the guitar part).
Top 3 for me I've found trickiest.
Number 3 - McCartney's I saw Her Standing There part- relentless and fast... fingerstyle or plectrum.Same basic pattern throughout but damn... what a player he is on the instrument.
Number 2 - Stuck In The Middle With You - stretchy and damn awkward in the cash register of the bass fretboard. My fretting little finger is falling off at the end.
Number 1 - Son Of A Preacher Man - it's just ...weird. 7th -> 9th fret or so lines outlining the chord tones... I have to keep repeatedly going back to this one...still not got the changes going on it.