Chords for 10 Songs that Taught Me Bass (Easy to Effin’ Hard)

So I was alone with my laptop [Ab] and I'm ashamed to [Dm] admit that I was watching guitar videos on YouTube.
I watched Paul David's 10 Awesome Riffs video and it got me thinking,
[C] what are 10 songs that taught [Bb] me how to play bass?
So here they are [N] from super easy to ow my hands are burning!
You know that feeling the first time you picked up a bass and your hands are just like,
uh no?
We've all been there and that's how I was feeling at age 13 when my dad showed me this,
my first song on bass ever. _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ It was only a few notes but getting the right one at the right time was still really challenging
and I was probably plucking the wrong string half the time, you know, like you do when you're
starting out on bass, but I didn't care.
It was really exciting because I was playing bass.
These notes aren't very fast so at this point I didn't need much plucking speed
and if you're just starting out, beginner songs like this with minimal plucking are great
because you can focus on building your basic coordination without getting overwhelmed.
That all changed for me when I learned my second song which was maybe not a great choice
because it was way way [B] faster.
_ [E] _ _ [A] _
_ [B] _ _ [E] _ _ [A] _ _ [B] _
_ [E] _ _ _ _ Keeping up with those plucks was like so impossibly hard when I first tried this,
but I really loved the Ramones so I took it as a challenge,
[A] which meant I had to work on my alternating plucking a lot,
just starting really really [Am] slow and then gradually working it up with a [E] metronome.
And yes this song is supposed to be played with a pick,
but I just learned everything with my fingers back then,
which I think was good for my growth even if it wasn't the [Em] right tone for this song.
The next song, number three, [Dm] wasn't as fast,
but it taught me some more complex rhythms that I hadn't dealt with before. _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
This song wasn't a huge challenge, but it was good for me to get used to playing those offbeat
rhythms because I would need that skill when we get to the funky songs later down the list.
But also Cliff Williams doesn't come in with the bass until right before [D] the chorus,
which gives the song an exciting energy boost.
So I learned that sometimes being a good bass player means [Cm] knowing when to shut [B] up. _ _
I [C] learned those three songs all in my first couple months of bass playing,
but it's all stuff I could have learned even faster if I traveled into the future
and taken my own beginner to badass course. _ _
_ _ [Gm] Song number four brings us to the next step in my journey,
which was playing in a Motown and Soul cover band with my mom.
This one taught me some funk fundamentals.
Funk-dimentals?
The classic, the very overplayed. _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Now, of course, if you're a Headhunters nerd,
you know that this isn't even really the bass line.
Paul Jackson was actually playing this.
[Am] _ [Bb] _ _ [G] And this [N]
is the synth part.
But if you're playing this in a band and the keyword player is not covering that part,
then it is the bass line.
This might have been the first line I ever learned with this great walk-up pattern,
where instead of just hitting your root note, you start three frets below and walk up.
And you can find more easy patterns like that in my walk-ups video.
But this pattern is so killer for us bass players.
You can use it for funk.
You can use it for disco.
_ You can use it for gospel. _ _
[Bb] And of course, for slapping.
[Ab] _ [A] _ [Gm] _ _
_ _ Can't let you leave without liking and subscribing, son.
Do it.
All right, we need to [N] change basses for song number five.
All right, that's better. _
This is another one from those early days in that cover band
that showed me a more melodic side of bass playing.
And it's still one of my favorite soul bass lines. _ _ _ _
_ This _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
was one of my first encounters with this classic soul fill shape.
We call that the major triangle in my killer bass fills video.
And we've also got this super yummy bass solo in this tune,
which was really great shifting practice for me when I first learned it.
And also, there's so many nice long notes in the solo,
which I love because us bass players tend to play way too staccato.
_ Just fine sometimes, but if you get some long notes in there,
it sounds nice and melodic, more like a singer.
Speaking of killer melodic playing,
our next bass line, number six, still totally blows me away. _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ Regrettably, I don't have a Hofner around,
so we're just faking this on the P bass.
But isn't this an incredible bass line?
It's one of Paul's coolest bass lines ever,
which is really saying something.
Something.
This one taught me a lot about how to play with a singer,
which is a skill every bass player needs to be really good at.
Paul's line is pretty juicy throughout,
but he's most active here when the voice is resting,
which creates a cool call and response effect.
I can't play the original track for you without getting copyright blocked,
so listen to it on your own after this video
and check out how the bass and voice interact.
I even made you a Spotify playlist with all the songs from this video,
plus even more songs that taught me bass,
and the link is in the description.
All right, let's go back to the J bass.
Ta-da!
So as I learned harder and harder songs and I kept improving my technique,
I actually started having a new problem with my playing,
which afflicts many intermediate bass players.
I'll explain what I mean more after you hear this,
but this next song, number seven,
helped me to tame this new issue
and make some slightly more mature choices for my bass lines. _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ After learning songs like Something and I'll Take You There,
I developed a taste for this active melodic bass playing,
but in my teenage foolishness,
that often degenerated into extreme overplaying.
So this bass line taught me another way to play melodically
without overplaying by using repetition.
So the first two beats of each bar are actually the same every time.
It's the same rhythm,
boop-boop-diddle-dum-dum-dum-dum-dum-dum-dum-dum-dum-dum.
And the same note relationships,
even when there's a chord change,
do-do-do-do-do-do-do.
And then the last two beats of each bar have some changing notes,
but the rhythm still stays the same every time.
Do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do.
And bars one and three [Gb] even have the [F] same notes there.
So Nikolai's bass line supports the song with a cool counter melody,
but it doesn't sound like a big [Bbm] distracting bass solo
because of this repetitive structure.
But bass playing isn't all about lovely melodies.
Sometimes you just have to lay down the funk.
So song number eight is from my early days
of playing in funk jams around Sonoma County, California,
where I grew up.
And if you've ever been to funk jams,
you've definitely heard this tune maybe too many times. _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ [N] _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ It took me some practice to nail that swung 16th note feel.
So in this song, instead of the 16ths going evenly,
like one e-and-a, two e-and-a, three e-and-a,
they're a little bit lumpy,
like one e-and-a, two e-and-a, three e-and-a.
Here's what the song would sound like
if they were straight 16ths. _ _ _
One e-and-a, two e-and-a, three e-and-a, four e-and-a.
So it feels really different, right?
It's not bad, it's just different, a little more robotic.
But if we swing those 16ths,
you get a little bit more grease on it.
_ _ One e-and-a, two e-and-a, three e-and-a.
_ _ _ So I was learning a ton about rhythm
and creating engaging bass lines,
but I was also becoming a huge bass nerd
and working on my technique,
getting faster and more efficient.
So song number nine takes us back
to the hard rock department
for another major plucking challenge.
[D] _ _ [E] _ _ _
[F] _ _ [Gb] _ _ _ [G] _ _ _
[F] _ _ [E] _ _ _ [Eb] _ _ _
[A] _ _ I'd been playing bass for a few years already
when I first tried learning this,
so keeping up with the speed [D] wasn't that hard.
What really challenged me was [Gm] the endurance element
of [F] keeping those 16ths powering forward
[Em] for like a minute or two.
It was like five minutes straight.
[Eb] So besides just training my [Am] muscles up with repetition,
this song also [C] forced me to focus more on my breathing,
[G] because when we're playing [D] fast for a long time,
we tend to start holding our breath,
but [E] you can actually play longer and faster
if you keep those inhales [F] and exhales flowing.
The last song on [Gb] my list, number 10,
[G] also had a huge impact on my technique.
[F] And again, we need to change bases.
Ta [E]-da!
[Eb] So I used to come home from school
and [A] play along with this album just straight through,
but this song [C] stands out the most [N] to me. _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [C] _ [G] _ _
_ [E] _ _ [G] _ _ [D] _ _ [G] _
[Gb] Ooh, this one was f***ing hard.
[C] It's a similar speed and endurance challenge
[Am] to Stockholm Syndrome, but in a way,
even harder to pluck because [G] of all the triplets,
[A] which makes the [Ebm] string crossing [C] harder
and there's [Am] faster note changes.
Plus there's like 10 or 11 different riff changes
through the song.
It's just nuts.
And just to close this out,
here's the [Gb] last thing I was [G] working on [Eb] recently,
which is even more nuts.
_ [Db] _ _ [F] _ [C] _ _ _ [Cm] _
[F] _ _ _ [C] _ _ [B] _ [Ab] _ _
_ [D] _ _ _ _ _ [Ab] _ [D] _