drainbamage Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 just wondering if anyone has any easy/beginner bass songs? i haven't played in several years and i'm pretty much back to square one. thanks in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocky McDougall Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 Are you wanting a solo type or as an accompanyment to recorded music? "Democracy is two wolves and a lamb, voting on what to eat for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb, contesting the vote." Benjamin Franklin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slowfinger Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 Gloria - 3 notes Stand By Me (the Lennon version)- 4 notes These are the 1st songs I learnt - no practice at home, just straight into it at rehearsal. I already knew my way around a geetar (or so I thought until I saw what experienced played do), so it was just an adaption. Just thumped away till I got the feel of it, then experimented playing at different positions, octaves, I,III,IV etc. Epi EB-3 G-K Backline 600 2 x Eden EX112 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duff beer Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 Anything by AC/DC or U2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy c Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 Gimme Some Lovin' Feels Like Teen Spirit Hot in Heere Achy Breaky Heart (I thought I'd cover a few different styles...how are we supposed to know what music you like?) Start with songs you know and love. Free download of my cd!. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil W Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 "Start with songs you know and love." Yeah, ditto. Don't start with something new. Start by listening to some tunes that you love and identifying what sound to you like simple bass parts. If you already know the song 'backwards' just to listen to, it'll be a lot easier to work out. http://philwbass.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidMPires Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 Turn in tune on cop out, Freak Power easy and groovy. and good excersice for rithm as well Paradise from Sade, Like above. www.myspace.com/davidbassportugal "And then the magical unicorn will come prancing down the rainbow and we'll all join hands for a rousing chorus of Kumbaya." - by davio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EddiePlaysBass Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 One of the first songs I learned was Nirvana's unplugged version of Leadbelly's "Where Did You Sleep Last Night". You can play it entirely on the low E. Another one was Uriah Heep's "Hanging Tree". I picked that one because a befriended Heepster had sent me the chords, and because I wanted to learn it. I think you should define for yourself "What do I want to learn?" And if you say "The tapping solo in Dream Theater's Metropolis pt 1" I'll slap you silly "I'm a work in progress." Micky Barnes The Ross Brown Shirt World Tour Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drainbamage Posted October 13, 2006 Author Share Posted October 13, 2006 thanks for the replies guys. im basically looking for anything that's rock and easy to play. i listen to a lot of rage, audioslave, nivana, tool, that kinda thing. i know some of their stuff is easy and some is hard so its kinda hard to pick things out. i'll b sure to check out what's here already though, thanks and keep em coming plz. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcbn Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 For most of the Rage/Audioslave stuff you are going to need a low B string. Other than that, it isn't really that *hard* to play once you get a few months of playing under your belt and learn a few blues scales. Tool tends to be a bit mor difficult. "For Whom the Bell Tolls" by Metallica can be an easy one. The bass line sticks out well when you listen to that one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul K Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 Smoke on the water.... ....a fire in the sky.... Things are just the way they are, and they're only going to get worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RABid Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 I was about to look for just such a thread. Ideal for me would be maybe 10 songs to progress through. Don't know that I want to do "Smoke on the Water" again though it might be a good first song. Hmmmm. 1. Smoke on the Water - Deep Purple 2. Money - Pink Floyd 3. Immigrants Song - Led Zepplin 4. Spirit in the Sky - Norman Greenbaum 5. Sushine of Your Love - Cream 6. Magic Carpet Ride - Speppenwolf 7. "Oye Como Va" or "Batuka" or "Para Los Rumberos" - Santana 8. Train, Train - Blackfoot 9. Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo - Rick Derringer 10. Betty Lou's Getting Out Tonight - Bob Segar That might be a rough draft for my starter set. A bit of variety in style, and gradual increase in difficulty. Substitutes for me might be... New Year's Day - U2 Take Me to the River - Talking Heads I Go Swimming - Peter Gabrel La Grange - ZZ Top And if I want to push a bit to practice slides and vibrato ... I Love it When You Call Me Names - Joan Armatrding Robert Edit - I bet that I'm showing my age. This post edited for speling. My Sweetwater Gear Exchange Page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
... Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 The best beginner songs are songs that you personally like. Regardless of the degree of difficulty you will be inspired to practice them because you like the songs. You'll want to practice them until you can play them. Originally posted by RABid: 3. Immigrants Song - Led Zepplin"Immigrant Song" is hardly an easy beginner tune to get under your fingers - especially if played properly. Those quick ascending scales in the "chorus" bit are difficult to execute properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
... Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 Originally posted by drainbamage: thanks for the replies guys. im basically looking for anything that's rock and easy to play. i listen to a lot of rage, audioslave, nivana, tool, that kinda thing. i know some of their stuff is easy and some is hard so its kinda hard to pick things out. i'll b sure to check out what's here already though, thanks and keep em coming plz. Learn the entire Nirvana catalog then. The Rage and Audioslave stuff is also fairly basic riff rock - with a few twists to keep it interesting. There are also a number of transcription books available for any of those bands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RABid Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 Originally posted by Bumpcity: ... Originally posted by RABid: 3. Immigrants Song - Led Zepplin"Immigrant Song" is hardly an easy beginner tune to get under your fingers - especially if played properly. Those quick ascending scales in the "chorus" bit are difficult to execute properly. Thanks. That's the kind of feedback I need. Other than Money, these are songs I played in bands as either the drummer or keyboardist. Smoke on the Water and Money were the first songs I learned on base first time around. The rhythm I can handle. Bass walks will be what I really have to practice. That is why I put Betty Lou last on the list. Robert This post edited for speling. My Sweetwater Gear Exchange Page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BargeOn Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 Want to try some jazz: Herbie Hancock's Cantaloupe Island -- Nice jazz groove Milt Jackson's Bags Grove -- Minor blues, simple changes Benny Golson's Killer Joe -- Nice groove, fun to noodle, easy bridge If not: Hendrix' Little Wing -- Fully harmonized scale in the riff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lug Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 I though the guy was crazy, but my kid's guitar teacher started them off on Damnit by Blink 182. Turns out it's easy enough to grasp but does have you hope around on three strings and works your coordinantion pretty well. You can stop now -jeremyc STOP QUOTING EVERY THING I SAY!!! -Bass_god_offspring lug, you should add that statement to you signature.-Tenstrum I'm not sure any argument can top lug's. - Sweet Willie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EddiePlaysBass Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 Originally posted by NUTT: it isn't really that *hard* to play once you get a few months of playing under your belt and learn a few blues scales I thought there was only the blues scale "I'm a work in progress." Micky Barnes The Ross Brown Shirt World Tour Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wade_g Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 Metallica's Black Album was the first thing I learned. Pretty easy stuff and I knew the songs by heart. Others could be: Would - Alice in Chains Money (already mentioned) Soul to Squeeze - RHCP Play that Funky Music Fire - Jimi Hendrix rock on There is a difference between Belief and Truth. Constantly searching for Truth makes your Beliefs seem believable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric VB Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 Originally posted by Paul K: Smoke on the water.... ....a fire in the sky.... Yeah, this one crossed my mind, too, as it is one of the first rock songs I learned to play on bass. I would just worry that it's about as relevant to someone wanting to play stuff like Nirvana and Tool, as "Jimmy Cracked Corn" and "Turkey in the Straw" was to me when I was starting out. (Yes, I actually had a book with those songs in it.) Secondly, I originally learned SOTW from a heavily simplified transcription. When I finally spent some time listening to the original recording I could hear a lot of busy stuff going on. So, not sure I'd recommend this one as a "beginner" song anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric VB Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 Originally posted by RABid: Originally posted by Bumpcity: ... Originally posted by RABid: 3. Immigrants Song - Led Zepplin"Immigrant Song" is hardly an easy beginner tune to get under your fingers - especially if played properly. Those quick ascending scales in the "chorus" bit are difficult to execute properly. Thanks. That's the kind of feedback I need. Other than Money, these are songs I played in bands as either the drummer or keyboardist. Smoke on the Water and Money were the first songs I learned on base first time around. The rhythm I can handle. Bass walks will be what I really have to practice. That is why I put Betty Lou last on the list. Robert For Zepp, I learned the entire LZ II album when I was getting started. As long as you approach something like "Lemon Song" as improv instead of trying to nail JPJ note-for-note, it's not too bad. At least, I can't remember anything on that album that requires blazing speed (like the "Immigrant Song" runs). "Ramble On" is a favorite of mine from the album; not that many guitarists seem to know it, though. From the first album, "Communication Breakdown" isn't too bad. From III I like "Gallows Pole". Nice and simple, and I think the bass doesn't even come in for half the song. From IV a good beginner song is "Rock And Roll". "The Song Remains The Same" from Houses of the Holy. Anyway, you get the idea. Lots of stuff by them I'd try to tackle first before going after "Immigrant Song". (Besides, isn't it rather difficult to find a singer for that bad boy?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric VB Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 Originally posted by drainbamage: ti listen to a lot of rage, audioslave, nivana, tool, that kinda thing. I have to start learning this stuff for my nephew (he's learning guitar). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenny B Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 Robert [/qb]For Zepp, I learned the entire LZ II album when I was getting started. As long as you approach something like "Lemon Song" as improv instead of trying to nail JPJ note-for-note, it's not too bad. At least, I can't remember anything on that album that requires blazing speed (like the "Immigrant Song" runs). "Ramble On" is a favorite of mine from the album; not that many guitarists seem to know it, though. LZ II - I learnt so much from that album. That, Abbey Road and Blood Sugar Sex Magik have lasted me a long time. The bass player's job is to make the drummer sound good - Jack Bruce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drainbamage Posted October 14, 2006 Author Share Posted October 14, 2006 i've pretty much got turn on, tune in, cop out down as well as gloria and paradise so i'm just going to keep going from there. if you guys could post some more so i'll have a little reference area to work from it'd be great and thanks for everything so far, guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidMPires Posted October 16, 2006 Share Posted October 16, 2006 Hey You seemed to enjoy my sugestions. So here it is a couple more, now a bit more difficult. Corazon espinado - Santana. This may sound bad, but try to get "always with me, always with you" Joe Satriani. The bass is tapped but forget that and use psicatto or use the techich used on an acustic guitar, (I don't know the name) This song is good to improve your concentration as you are doing the same for 4 minutes, and improves your agility on your both hands, Try it www.myspace.com/davidbassportugal "And then the magical unicorn will come prancing down the rainbow and we'll all join hands for a rousing chorus of Kumbaya." - by davio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slowfinger Posted October 17, 2006 Share Posted October 17, 2006 Originally posted by EddiePlaysBass: Originally posted by NUTT: it isn't really that *hard* to play once you get a few months of playing under your belt and learn a few blues scales I thought there was only the blues scale Strangely enough, although I love the blues, I find it hard to play (I'm pretty much a noob) except for slow, very basic stuff. When I play stuff with a 'blues scale' in it eg much of Chuck Berry or the Stones versions of CB, I get lost trying to play what I hear. In the Stones live version of 'Carol' I can hear the bass running up and down behind the gits and vocals, but can't for the life of me do it. grr. (I know that all I have to do is sit down with headphones, pencil and paper for an afternoon or 6 and try to transcribe it) Epi EB-3 G-K Backline 600 2 x Eden EX112 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bass_god_offspring Posted October 18, 2006 Share Posted October 18, 2006 "Hot in Heere" hahahahah nice one jeremy. i remember the tab for that...goes kinda like this: E|----0-----00-----| (repeat) -BGO 5 words you should live by... Music is its own reward --------------- My Band: www.Myspace.com/audreyisanarcissist Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stackimo Posted October 18, 2006 Share Posted October 18, 2006 Real Easy: Kryptonite Counting Blue Cars Creep Takin' Care of Business Zombie Clocks A bit more involved with the bass taking a more upfront position: Holiday by Greenday Heartbreaker by Pat Benetar Plush by Stone Temple Pilots If you want some fun Flea stuff(new albumn): Heya(Snow) She's only 18 (easier than it sounds, check the tabs) That is a good start "Some people are like "slinkies". They're not really good for anything; but they still bring a smile to your face when you push them down a flight of stairs." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buddy-Rey Posted October 19, 2006 Share Posted October 19, 2006 Anything by the Pixies. The basslines are so easy to play, yet they're always interesting. It may sound dumb, especially since Kim Deal has her detractors, but her work with the band was what first made me want to take up the bass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruuve Posted October 19, 2006 Share Posted October 19, 2006 Originally posted by Phil W: "Start with songs you know and love." Yeah, ditto. Don't start with something new. Start by listening to some tunes that you love and identifying what sound to you like simple bass parts. If you already know the song 'backwards' just to listen to, it'll be a lot easier to work out. +1 Also, I'd suggest "Godzilla" by Blue Oyster Cult. It's a cool but easy bass line, and there's even an easy bass solo IIRC. I think the first song I learned on bass was "Like A Negro" by Mother's Finest (well, except for the slapped bass solo in the middle ) The song has a great groove and the runs follow the pentatonic blues scale IIRC. "Stop" on the same CD ("Black Radio Won't Play This" was the CD) also uses that same pentatonic blues scale. It ain't blues though...heavy and groovin...check 'em out. Wyzard (MF's bassist) was a big early influence. HTH, Dave Old bass players never die, they just buy lighter rigs. - Tom Capasso, 11/9/2006 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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