As someone trying to learn bass (only began last week) it looks like this might be something I can play, at least the part before the chorus where it becomes trickier. Thank you!
@@jackshittle Hey, thanks for asking. Well, I can truthfully say I'm better than I used to be, although I haven't really had a consistent practice schedule between sometimes being distracted by other stuff and other times simply not feeling motivated enough. Finally got the hang of muting after not even knowing it was important in the beginning, for one thing. I'm able to play through AC/DC's "Shot Down In Flames" without screwing up (at least as far as I can tell), almost capable of playing "Rain" by The Cult, gave Billy Idol's "Dancing With Myself" a try starting today and I think I can handle that with a little practice, to name a few. And there are other songs that I may not have the ability and/or the familiarity with them to play all the way through; I guess I'm at least better than Sid Vicious was on bass since I can actually play the first few bars of "God Save The Queen" and apparently he couldn't. But a lot of what I'm used to playing isn't really complex; of the three songs I listed above, you might notice the basslines are typically playing the same note 8 or 16 times before playing a different note many times in a row before shifting to something else. And I've also been playing stuff that mostly uses only the E and A strings, meaning I'm not really used to using the other two. I've noticed that Tom Petty's "I Won't Back Down" mostly uses the D and G strings and doesn't look *too* tough, though, so I might tackle that next....
@@Trustme77 You're welcome and that's awesome, good for you! I love "Rain" (the same bassline is used in one of their other songs called "Sanctuary" so if you can play Rain you should be also able to play Sanctuary :). Don't give up and try not to get frustrated. After 30+ yrs of playing and never taking a lesson or learning how to read sheet music, I would give the advice of learn some scales. That's the magic key which tells you what notes go within the key so that you can start making your own bass lines & melodies (you don't need to be able to read sheet music to learn scales and you'd be surprised how they are not that hard). Another song you can play on just the E string is "With Or Without You" by U2. Another one I can think of is Anureysm(sp?) by Nirvana. Don't be intimated by the speed of the one minute intro - it's like 4 notes (you can get the tab on Songsster). But after the one min intro the song slows way down and is just bass & drums and is basically two notes & with some practice you'll get good at it which in turn makes bass fun which is the point in the first place. I never held a bass or guitar until I was 18. My roommate in the Navy had both a bass & guitar. He gave me the bass (which I didn't even know how to hold) but he showed me what to do and how to play just the chorus to "For Whom The Bell Tolls" by Metallica. Of course It was awkward & clunky but I could recognize what I was playing & from that point thought "I can do this". Once school was over & I shipped up to Maine I bought a $99 pawn shop beater bass and was learning songs out of Guitar Player & Guitar World magazine (tabs) This would have been in 1991. While sitting in the barracks one day I was determined to figure out one of my favorite bass lines by ear instead of relying on tabs. i could tell it was only a few notes and repeats for like 7 minutes (no changes whatsover, same repetitive bass line). The song is "Lucretia (My Reflection)" by the Sisters of Mercy. I challenged myself to learn it and I did learn it within a few minutes and was so proud of myself & you should check the song out (E & A string only and you can figure it out too). One last (long) song is another one that starts on bass and is repeated for like 9 mins or something (there is one minor change later in the song but don't focus on that right now). The song is "I Will Possess Your Heart" by Death Cab For Cutie (don't worry, they are radio friendly pop and noto death metal lol). I heard the song at a bar and the bass hooked me instantly. I don't think I heard one word from the person that was talking to me. I had to get up and go to the jukebox to see what the song was. You can get the tab for that too on Songster. Once I learned that I couldn't stop playing it. You should check that one out also. Cheers!
I am a new bass player (just over a month), and I find that there are a couple of tricky parts. The E#, E#, E#, C at 2:31 and 2:35 I can't seem to get the timing right on.
