Learning the bass, need some songs to learn

Man of Honour
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Currently I can play/am learning (have the musical tabs for) for the bass guitar:

Little Green bag
Michael Jackson - Beat it
The Adams family :cool:
axel foley
oompa loompah song
peaches
californication intro + chorus
smoke on water
another one bites the dust
feel good inc
boogie swing riff
axel foley
sweet child o mine
halo2 theme tune
play that funky music white boy
simpsons theme tune
futurama theme tune
pink panther theme
king of the hill theme
mario theme
james bond


I'm looking for some more recomendations of simple songs like those above that I can play on the bass, I'm afraid my knowledge of music isn't all that hot. Cheers guys.
 
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Sweet Home Alabama - Lynard Skynard
Walk This Way - Aerosmith
Master Of Puppets - Metallica (can't say its that easy though)
Kashmir - Led Zepp
Son Of A Bitch - AC/DC
Lady Madonna/Daytripper - The Beatles

:)
 
Muse - Feeling Good, Uno, Muscle Museum etc
Blink 182 songs in general seemed pretty easy when I was learning! as long as you enjoy what you are learning then it gets easier.
 
Money - Pink Floyd
Aces High - Iron Maiden
Tom Sawyer - Rush
Rio - Duran Duran

All above bands are worth looking into for some decent bass work. I'd also mention Primus but just as an example of what a bass can do really.
 
Jaco Pastorius - Come On, Come Over
RHCP - My Lovely Man
Beatles - Come Together
Charles Wright & The Watts 103rd Rhythm Street Band - Express Yourself
Sugar Hill Gang - Rappers Delight
 
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chrisd said:
Jaco Pastorius - Come On, Come Over
RHCP - My Lovely Man
Beatles - Come Together
Charles Wright & The Watts 103rd Rhythm Street Band - Express Yourself
Sugar Hill Gang - Rappers Delight

definately attempt come on, come over, it's not the best song to start playing but once you're comfortable string skipping and playing then definately give it a go because it's a very groovy song.
 
Phalanx said:
definately attempt come on, come over, it's not the best song to start playing but once you're comfortable string skipping and playing then definately give it a go because it's a very groovy song.
That's a supurb sound. I'm playing all of my bass with just my thumb at the moment, find it really hard adapting to fingers.
 
Kreeeee said:
That's a supurb sound. I'm playing all of my bass with just my thumb at the moment, find it really hard adapting to fingers.

it's quite a bad habit to get into playing with your thumb. It will severely limit what you are able to play.

Just keep practicing, it took quite a long time for me to get very confident with 2 fingers and now i use 3.

Just keep at playing these beginner songs but make sure you play with your fingers.

One other thing which is very important. Force yourself to use alternate fingers, always, always go 1 2 1 2 1 2 with your fingers, no exceptions. If you get into the habit of using the same finger twice in a row you are again going to impair you ability to play.

Hope that helps
 
Phalanx said:
it's quite a bad habit to get into playing with your thumb. It will severely limit what you are able to play.

Wise words. I'd also avoid using a pick until you feel you've progressed using 2 fingers - when I got my first bass I went through a phase where I couldn't play without one.

As for songs, I remember learning a lot of Green Day - International Superhits when I first started. Tracks like Longview, Warning and Minority got me using all of my fret fingers rather than just my index and middle. I'd also be tempted to check out some Rage Against The Machine tracks such as Bombtrack, Killing In The Name, I'm Housin', Calm Like A Bomb etc.

Good luck and enjoy it :)
 
Phalanx said:
it's quite a bad habit to get into playing with your thumb. It will severely limit what you are able to play.
I'm well aware of that :)

Phalanx said:
One other thing which is very important. Force yourself to use alternate fingers, always, always go 1 2 1 2 1 2 with your fingers, no exceptions. If you get into the habit of using the same finger twice in a row you are again going to impair you ability to play.

Hope that helps
Thanks a lot :)
 
Pink Floyd - Money

that was the first thing i taught myself to play...

also for somthing slower check out The Jam - Ghosts

=]
 
Thanks a lot for the recommendations guys, especially about using 2 fingers alternatively. It's really helped me improve a lot!

/me goes to play some more tacky theme tunes.
 
Doesn't get more simple than With or Without You by U2 lol Gotta love 4 note songs :D

Some other songs worth looking at would be

In These Arms - Bon Jovi
Under Pressure and Another One Bites The Dust - Queen
Gimme Some Lovin' - Spencer Davies Group
Walk On the Wild Side - Lou Reed
Root Down - Beastie Boys :cool: I just love the groove in that
Take Me Out - Franz Ferdinand
Elegantly Wasted - INXS
Love Buzz - Nirvana
Walking On The Moon - The Police
My Favorite Mistake - Sheryl Crow
Hummer - Smashing Pumpkins. I love the bass in this too.

Personally i like playing bass to more acoustic type music, some KT Tunstall, Michelle Branch, various unplugged albums. Might sound strange but i love playing bass to Christina Aguilera's Beautiful. I think it has a gorgeous bass line, and the song is written by one of my favorite song writers



And the Best Michael Jackson song for bass is Billie Jean :p
 
A couple a songs i used to enjoy playing were

The Coral- cant remember the title but their main hit
Outkast - Hey ya'
Beatles - I saw her standing there
Beatles - My bonnie (great fun and fast!)
Rolling Stones - Under my thumb
Rolling Stones - Sympathy for the devil
Kinks - Plastic Man
Small Faces - Tin Solider
Beatles - Tax Man
Cream - White Room
The Jam - Start
The Jam - Thats Entertainment
 
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