Yonit's 20 must-know Pop/Rock/R&B basslines for the beginner and intermediate Bass Player

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Yonit Spiegelman
Yonit Spiegelman
Yonit's 20 must-know Pop/Rock/R&B basslines for the beginner and intermediate Bass Player

Hey everyone! 

Here's my favorite popular basslines to play and learn from! (not in order of preference)

1. The Beatles - Something 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXRvmkQLyTc

Paul McCartney is my personal musical-hero. It's not surprising to me that such an amazing songwriter will revolutionize bass-playing the way he did.  He manages to somehow balance the importance of keeping things"grounded" and at the same time be beautifully and lyrically creative with his basslines.

2. Earth, Wind and Fire - September

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gs069dndIYk

Showcasing the power of the bass! The magic of getting people up and dancing in every wedding is definitely within the bassline of this all-time hit.  Verdine White's punchy, consistent and minimal yet not simple style is definitely a must-know for any inspiring bass player who wants to get people up and boogie.

3.  Queen - A Kind of Magic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0p_1QSUsbsM

Every bassline by John Deacon is mind-blowing in my opinion. But as much as he can play the most incredible fills, he will keep it super steady and consistent and then... take you away with an amazingly strategic and intelligent bass fills. Also every now and then he came up with a very unconventional bassline that became.. historical.You know who knows his music theory? John Deacon does.  Using it sparingly enough so we don't get too much or too little. And you can find it in almost every Queen song!

4.  Abba - The Winner Takes it All

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyIOl-s7JTU

You may be surprised if you only know "Dancing Queen" or perhaps saw a trailer for "Mama Mia" but the truth is Abba is one of the most impressive bands speaking as a songwriter but also- basslines masters! Take a second to get to 1:03 where the bassline comes in and be prepared to lose your mind.  Rutger Runnarsson's technique and flawless groove over the sometimes non-conventional Abba chord changes is a true ear candy, and one that you'll have to shed a bunch to perform yourself. 

5. Stevie Wonder - For Once in My Life

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imsB543zqSM

Because I'm still not sure who's leading this song - Stevie or James Jamerson.  Jamerson is the master of "How to take pretty much only the root and fifth and make it sound absolutely unbelievable". 

6.  D'angelo - Brown Sugar

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaV7oCyFXaY

Or really anything by Pino Palladino. Anything. The groove, the space, the pocket.

7. Muse - Unnatural Selection

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PL6jwxw9T3c

I love Muse! And it's a total "gym" for any bass player who wants to work on their technique and consistency. Chris Wolstenholme is one of the best rock-supporting (pun intended) bass players I can think of, and trust me, it's not going to be easy to play this one.

8. Vulfpeck - Half The Way (Feat. Theo Katzman)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rr6f26I2cBI

There's a really good reason why Vulfpeck is not exactly "hiding" Joe Dart. You may know "Dean Town", but my favorite Joe Dart basslines are actually the ones he's not "starring" in. He is very "responsible" in his playing and has this really cool way of really developing his lines - starting out pretty simple and by the time the song is about to finish to really bring it! Now that's great playing!

9. Jamiroquai - Too Young to Die

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_7ghTAY_L0

This is personally the first crazy bassline I learned as a kid, and I remember after playing it I thought "Oh my god, that's it, that is the greatest thing one could ever do". And well, the rest of history. So how can I not share this with you?  The great work is of Andrew Levy.

And let's have a surprise for the end:

10.  Gidi Gov - Tov Shebat

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wT5TmvDnC04

Well it's probably not a must-know for everyone? But I remember hearing this bassline of Alon Nadal and many others from the Israel Prog-Pop music scene of the 70's

and discovering a whole world of groove! Also as a little bonus - there's an amazing guitar solo by Gil Dor (Both Alon and Gil were recent Berklee grads when they recorded this!)

Here's some more:

11. Tower of Power - Soul with a capital S

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSCz31lcSxI

12. Steely Dan - Reeling in the Years

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bwHK1xkgJA

13. Aretha Franklin - Oh Me Oh My

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXimlwrVHTc

14. Chaka Khan - Like Sugar

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RecY5iZn6B0

15.  Carol King - It's Too Late

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkKxmnrRVHo

16Wham! - Wake Me Up Before You Go Go

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIgZ7gMze7A

17. Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell - Ain't No Mountain High Enough

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xz-UvQYAmbg

18.  Jethro Tull - Bouree

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2RNe2jwHE0

19. Camel - Rhayader 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7esW6StGSI

20.  Avishai Cohen - It's Been So Long

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_aZ5OQ9ooo

There's obviously a lot more to it, and so many more amazing basslines and bass players to learn from! Just to name a few more of my favorite artists  and influences to listen to:  Sting, anything Carol Kaye played on,Toto, Eryka Badu, Angie Stone, The Roots,  anything Nathan East, Led Zeppelin, Fleetwood Mac, David Bowie, Prince, Emily King, Esperanza Spalding,  Skunk Anansie and I could name so many more...

Respond here and you tell me - what's your top 10/20?

Yonit.

Carmen Rocha
Carmen Rocha

Thank you, I will look into this after the workshop!! =]

Roger Ellero
Roger Ellero

Yonit that is such a great list, with great writeups. So many fantastic players, some of which I knew, and some of which were new to me.

Also I feel vindicated that our awesome bass instructor Yonit is a Rutger Gunarsson fan as well.  :) For my fellow students, check out the bass part on "Knowing Me, Knowing You" some time.

 

One of my favorite of the new generation of bassists is Nick Movshon. He has such great timing and feel and is playing with many of the contemporary greats. I think he is a good role model for those of us that are trying to learn good soul bass style. Ryan Madora at Notreble.com did a good write of him a while ago for her "Bass Players to Know" column. A really good album to get introduced to his style is Charles Bradley's "Changes", the bass parts are really prominent on that record. He's got many other things as well.

https://www.notreble.com/buzz/2017/10/20/bass-players-to-know-nick-movshon/

I'm a big fan of Bridget Kearney as well, from Lake Street Dive. She plays an upright bass through an amp rig, and I'd be lying if I thought I could get anywhere near her level of virtuousity in my lifetime. I have a fretless bass and it's fun to try to get the feel of what an upright player can do. I'm a long way from being any good at it. :)

Good luck and fun practicing everyone. Hope you are all making progress in your lessons.

Carmen Rocha
Carmen Rocha

Hey Roger! Thank you for sharing I looked up Bridget Kearney haha you know it's like everyone has a different path as long as you love playing and you never stop playing we're all going to be fine haha. Again I remember your final from the rhythm workshop that was really good and how Yonit noticed the 2 bars at the end 6/4 that was awesome! 

Other: I know this is not bass related but how cool is this guitar! 

Gittler Guitar Demo - YouTube

Also from the songs I was able to pick 2/20  haha #17 and 20 not that it matters but I did check out the songs.  

Have great weekend!!! 

What brand is your fretless bass ? 

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