Bass guitar music plays an essential part in any band’s sound, from providing rhythmical support to vocalists and other upper range instruments, to laying down rhythmic patterns synchronized with drumming beats.
Bassists have the choice of playing either with their fingers or using a pick for faster and more versatile playing styles. Picks provide greater speed and versatility in performance.
1. Green Day – American Idiot
Bass guitars provide an essential rhythmic foundation, working perfectly in sync with drums. Try any genre of music without bass guitar and you will notice its absence causes dissonance, incompleteness and weakness in sound production.
Green Day are one of the most innovative bands out there; not afraid to experiment and incorporate new techniques into their music, they don’t hesitate to change up their sound and incorporate new styles like on their seventh studio album American Idiot where primarily bass-driven tracks such as American Idiot provide lots of musical fun and enjoyment for players alike.
It features a four bar bass riff that repeats throughout most of the song, with plenty of pauses and held notes to create an interesting bassline that’s both catchy and memorable. This song can help develop both finger dexterity and picking consistency for improved results!
Green Day decided to take a more mature approach with their next album after the success of Dookie. American Idiot was an ambitious punk rock opera which depicted hopeless American anti-heroes fighting the powers that be in an epic struggle; its opening bass riff has since become iconic of this genre of music.
2. Cream – I Can’t Get No Satisfaction
Bass guitars add depth and rhythmic support to songs by connecting harmony, rhythm and melodic components together. Bass lines also often play melodic roles – particularly in funk and metal music genres. Many popular tracks such as Another One Bites the Dust by Queen or Seven Nation Army by The White Stripes feature standout bass lines which give each song character and style.
Bassists may technically be guitarists, but their role often lies closer with drummers than lead guitarists. A bassist should establish the rhythm and keep it moving while guitar and vocals provide harmony; an experienced bassist will know how to strike a balance between melody and rhythm while performing creative solos when necessary.
Bassists tend to have a great influence over the direction and sound of their bands’ musical direction and song writing process. Notable examples include Bill Wyman from Rolling Stones; Parliament-Funkadelic’s Bootsy Collins; Geddy Lee of Rush and Nikki Sixx of Motley Crue. Each bassist brings something special and distinctive when performing; whether that means funky beats, country tunes or classical pieces – the bass can add its own signature sound!
3. The Beatles – With a Little Help From My Friends
The Beatles are one of the most influential bands ever, as evidenced by this iconic track from their groundbreaking Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album. Written and performed by John Lennon and Paul McCartney with Ringo Starr singing lead vocals; its structure uses an ostinato bass motif repeated throughout; great for beginners learning bass or creating complex arrangements by adding in other notes later on! This track makes learning to play bass simple!
Ozzy Osbourne may be best known for his boundary pushing guitar playing, but this song from his album ‘Blizzard of Ozz’ shows his excellent bass skills as well. It begins with an easily recognisable bass line repeated throughout. Once you’ve mastered this riff add some blues scale notes for added variety!
4. The White Stripes – Seven Nation Army
If you want an enjoyable but challenging bass playing experience, look no further. This song contains various techniques including string skipping and octaves but remains accessible enough for beginner bassists. Furthermore, its main motif makes for an easy learning curve while offering ample opportunity to hone bass technique like using damping functions (to prevent buzzing) or perfect high note accuracy on fretboard.
One cannot imagine a rock song without its signature bass groove that compels us all to move our feet along to it. Though not often in the spotlight, bassists such as Phish’s Mike Gordon make bass an integral component of any rock tune and should never be underestimated as crucial players.
If you haven’t come across the band before, they are a Detroit Michigan power duo known for their raw and organic sound. This song from their debut self-titled album shows just how quickly they gained recognition despite only having been active for a short period of time at that point in their careers.
5. The Rolling Stones – Stand Up and Cheer
Any fan of rock music will recognize the instantly recognizable bass riff that opens this song. This makes it an excellent starting point for beginner bassists as its instantly recognisable motif can help guide them throughout. Furthermore, string skipping and octaves techniques require advanced practice for improved results – providing another challenge!
The Rolling Stones are one of the world’s best-known bands and their debut single became number 1 in many countries around the globe. This success serves as a prime example of how one bass line can propel an entire band toward international recognition – while at the same time teaching other musicians not just “heavy” players how important bass can be in supporting other instruments within a band.
Jazz saw an interesting transformation during the 1970s as many of its leading lights began experimenting with various genres outside their usual genre. This resulted in an exciting period of fusion that combined jazz, funk and progressive music; Herbie Hancock’s Chameleon provides a great example of how bass lines can provide a funked out platform for other musicians to play off of.
6. The Beatles – I Want You Back
The Beatles are one of the world’s most legendary bands. They contributed many classic rock and roll tracks that helped define rock music’s current state. If you want to start learning bass guitar, here is an excellent song from them that features simple lyrics with great rhythmic patterns – this makes an excellent starting point!
The opening verse of this song showcases John’s simultaneous guitar/vocal phrases throughout. Additionally, Paul demonstrates his extraordinary bass skills – perhaps his finest overall performance ever on that instrument – using accents to answer each lyrical phrase – a technique often employed by blues and jazz musicians who later adopted it for artists such as George Benson.
Ringo’s drumming on this track is truly outstanding, especially during the second verse. This song serves as an excellent way to learn dynamics and build up note volume; Paul and George then use Epiphone Casinos and Gibson Les Pauls to add additional guitar parts onto its final few minutes – creating an amazing piece of rock-n-roll music that is unparalleled by anyone else!
7. The Rolling Stones – It’s Only Rock & Roll
Original released in 1974, It’s Only Rock & Roll was The Stones’ breakthrough into new styles. While not as polished or sophisticated as some of their earlier albums, this release nonetheless shows an artist experimenting with different sounds and approaches to make an album which represents this time in their career.
This track features an incredible bass line that will please any fan of this legendary group. No matter your experience level with bass guitar playing, this song will surely impress. Featuring simple rhythms as well as several intervals (two different notes being played simultaneously), this tune should prove worthwhile to learn!
Notably, this song was composed by Faces guitarist Ronnie Wood who had not yet joined The Rolling Stones at its recording date. This exemplifies how tightly intertwined early music was; musicians would often collaborate together on songs and credits shared between albums and groups like Ronnie Wood’s Faces group and Jagger and co. on albums like this. Furthermore, Mick Jagger demonstrated his vocal prowess on this track at its peak performance on this record album.