# Bass Players: Recommend songs to me! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 17, 2004, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bass-players-recommend-songs-to-me/240484 "2004-04-17T04:14:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Bruce\_Daddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Bruce\_Daddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bruce_Daddy)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2004, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bass-players-recommend-songs-to-me/240484/21 "2004-04-18T13:38:42Z")
46 & 2 - Tool. Love Buzz - Nirvana Lemon Song - Zeppelin What everybody else said. ---
**Author:** ![vibrotronica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a9a28c/32.png) [@vibrotronica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vibrotronica)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2004, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bass-players-recommend-songs-to-me/240484/22 "2004-04-18T17:13:31Z")
If you’ve only been playing bass for a couple of months, a lot of these suggestions are going to be way too hard. Any of the Primus stuff, for instance. > [@](#): > > Higher Ground, Red Hot Chili Peppers (Flea is fucking awesome!) You are aware this is a Stevie Wonder song, aren’t you? Get the Police album _Zenyatta Mondatta_ and learn the whole thing. ---
**Author:** ![Skwerl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Skwerl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skwerl)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2004, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bass-players-recommend-songs-to-me/240484/23 "2004-04-18T23:33:34Z")
Green Day has a lot of good ones, I think. “Longview” is fun for me. ---
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2004, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bass-players-recommend-songs-to-me/240484/24 "2004-04-19T02:52:25Z")
As I read down the list, I see that all my favorites have been mentioned: Jaco Victor Wooten Sting Maynard Les and anything from Yes James Brown Stevie Wonder Dream Theater seems most of the bases have been covered. I envy someone looking for some good bass riffs and hearing the above mentioned for the first time. ---
**Author:** ![Already\_in\_Use](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9adbd/32.png) [@Already\_in\_Use](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Already_in_Use)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2004, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bass-players-recommend-songs-to-me/240484/25 "2004-04-19T04:38:42Z")
I’m a beginning bassist, and I think the first bassline I taught myself from listening to the song was Jack Casady’s bassline in Jefferson Airplane’s “It’s No Secret.” Simple yet beautiful. I also like Paul Jackson’s bass work on Herbie Hancock’s album _Thrust_. I don’t think I was really able to play a lot of it, but it was inspiration that I was after anyway. Gotta get that proper funky attitude. ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2004, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bass-players-recommend-songs-to-me/240484/26 "2004-04-19T04:58:02Z")
Good suggestions by everyone! I’ve been playing bass since 1969. The best advice I can come up with is to play along with music you know and love. You’ll already be familiar with it, and learning to play it won’t be as difficult as for songs you don’t know yet. Make a mix tape or CD of all songs you like, and play them until you know them, and keep doing it until you get to progressively more sophisticated songs and can handle those as well. I gotta say, it feels really cool to be able to play along with Paul McCartney on songs like “Come Together” or Chuck Rainey or Walter Becker on Steely Dan songs. The first time you get done and say to yourself "Holy crap, I just played “Deacon Blues!” (without making any mistakes) is almost better than sex. Since I grew up in the late '60s and early '70s, sometimes I just put on a Time-Life compilation CD and play all the songs I know. I was pleasantly surprised to find I could keep up with the studio guys on stuff like The Fifth Dimension’s “Wedding Bell Blues” and Barbra Streisand’s “Stoney End”, songs you’ll never hear bar bands cover. I think the point I’m trying to make is that songs that are etched into your consciousness from constant hearing will be easier for you to learn to play because you know what’s coming up next. I’d wait to figure out Jaco until you’re significantly more experienced. _Mama let that boy play some rock and roll, jazz is much too crazy, he can play it when he’s old, he’s too young for the blues, he’s still inside his first pair of shoes_ - Jerry Doucette ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Clanger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@Small\_Clanger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Clanger)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2004, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bass-players-recommend-songs-to-me/240484/27 "2004-04-19T10:07:09Z")
> [@Ender\_Will](#): > > I’ve been playing bass for a couple months… _Portrait of Tracy_ - Jaco Pastorius A couple of months and you’re playing _that_ Holy crap you must be talented. 🙂 I’m a guitar player, but when I feel like playing bass I usually go for One of These Days (Pink Floyd), You need some FX (delay, fuzz, tremelo) but it’s a hoot to play. And what everyone else says (Peaches/Ace of Spades/Money) plus the Beatles **Rain** (and let’s not start another discussion on this please). ---
**Author:** ![Cinnamon\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@Cinnamon\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinnamon_Girl)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2004, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bass-players-recommend-songs-to-me/240484/28 "2004-04-19T14:42:19Z")
> [@vibrotronica](#): > > You are aware this is a Stevie Wonder song, aren’t you? Well. Duh! I love Stevie Wonder, but as far as covers go, wouldn’t you say that this is one of the most kick-ass? Honestly, I think I like it better than the original. And _that_ I find _very_ unusual. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bass-players-recommend-songs-to-me/240484.md?page=1)