What are some good, relatively easy songs for a beginning Bassist to master?

[The_Tooth]

Lots of songs by Talking Heads, Bob Marley, Burning Spear, The Police, and The Band are easy to pick up by ear. It’s what I learned on; the very, very first song I learned on the bass was “Walking on the Moon”.

[WordMan]

@Marley23

If WordMan’s going to go to the trouble of posting the notes in Take Me to the River, I think I have to give it a shot, too. It’s not my favorite Talking Heads song but it never hurts to learn another.

Finding the groove on that song - playing it slowwwwwly but moving it along in a sexy way? Sublime.

Life During Wartime is fun and fast. Tina Weymouth knows what she is doing.

[Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela]

What about ‘On Broadway’?

[RitterSport]

@WordMan

Tina Weymouth knows what she is doing.

Word, man. Does she ever. She’s just incredible.
I can’t think of a way to get my user name in there.

[WordMan]

@WordMan

I have mentioned this in other starter bass threads: Talking Heads’ version of Take Me to the River. 3 freakin’ notes pretty much the whole song - E G A. Now - can you make them groove? Can you be the ENTIRE FOUNDATION that the song is constructed on? That is like the ultimate chef’s challenge - can you take so few ingredients and own the recipe? It’s not as easy as it sounds.

Victor Wooten is one of the - if not THE - best bassists around. In his book The Music Lesson he goes on a story/parable/journey which can get a little “mystic” at times, but his first point is clear and true: the groove comes first.

How about some Red Hot Chili Peppers? **Give It Away **has a simple bass riff during the verses that is the essential center of that groove. Can you sell that when you play?

:smack::smack:

Would help if I actually played the thing; I finally got around to revisiting the Talking Heads song while grabbing an hour. Oy - it’s E F# G, E F# G-A; so you cycle through the same E F# G grove twice, but pop up to A to close it off every other time. Great riff, especially when you describe it correctly.

It’s such a slinky feel - like Peter Gunn through molasses.

[An_Arky]

Just hit it on the 1, then go from there, according to Bootsy Collins .