bass players' stairway to heaven equivalent

fourmations

hi all

just a bit of a doss here..

if Stairway is the quintessential song
you hear teenageers playing while trying guitars
in the music stores

what is the bass players equivalent
(the song everyone plays while learning)

cheers

4

Dord

I don't think there is one song that every bass player learns when they start playing. Each one usually takes their own path. At least that's my take on it and from speaking to friends who are bassists it was the same for them.

WithCheesePlease

For me it was always rage against the machine any time I picked up a bass. But it's been years since I've held a bass so that explains that!

Hellm0

I cannot speak for other musicians but the first riffs(songs come later) I learned to play were; Smoke on the water, Ina Gadda Da Vidda, the triple hit part from Lateralus.

fourmations

hi all

for me personally it was "for whom the bell tolls" & "come as you are"

ciao

4

markesmith

Stone Roses - Fool's Gold

Also, I'd say anything Bruce Thomas did off of Elvis Costello's This Year's Model - special shout out to the middle part of 'Lipstick Vogue'. Unbelievable bass-playing.

Rigsby

It all depends on the decade in which you happen to be a teenager

For me, one of the first riffs I learned on bass was "Sunshine of Your Love" by "Cream", followed closley by Pink Floyd's "Money".

population

+1 on Lipstick Vogue

NoQuarter

Im not basist but the first song id learn to play is this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfVKkEN7CsU

Dord

markesmith wrote: »

Stone Roses - Fool's Gold

Also, I'd say anything Bruce Thomas did off of Elvis Costello's This Year's Model - special shout out to the middle part of 'Lipstick Vogue'. Unbelievable bass-playing.

I've always loved his bassline on Everyday I Write The Book. It's one of my all time favourite basslines... not number 1 but high up there in the top 5.

Nice Wal in this video too! :cool:

cedomination

I'd say "Higher ground" because most people think they're deadly because they can slap.

Fatgoogle

The lemon song by led zep is an amazing song and i suppose its johns equivalent to jimmys guitar line in stairway to heaven. Its so fluid and moving, i cant get enough of it.

Another great song that i think was just made amazing on bass was tommy was a race car driver.

Have a cigar is also an amazing bassline.

But i suppose its more about evreyones personal opinion on there songs, i get board of stairway to heaven, yet evreyday i go to a music shop i play ramble on ,some other people must get board of that aswell. Any theres loads of excellent basslines out there.

fourmations

Fatgoogle wrote: »

Another great song that i think was just made amazing on bass was tommy was a race car driver.

Was he any relation to Jerry the racer car driver?;)
Did he have a cat called Tommy?


rgds

4

Malice

Rigsby wrote: »

It all depends on the decade in which you happen to be a teenager

This is a very good point!

Most people I've met that play bass and are around the same age can usually bash out a Rage Against The Machine or Nirvana song even if they don't necessarily like the band or the genre.

I actually can't remember the first song I learnt on bass. No doubt it was something off Nirvana's Nevermind so presumably one of Lithium, Polly or Smells Like Teen Spirit.

emperor_krunchy

for me

Smoke On The Water
Seven Nation Army
Come As You Are

all very easy!

AndyWhite

Im suprised there hasnt been more chili peppers songs mentioned! Aeroplane is one of my personal favourites. It sounds cool and is less dificult than it seems! Its also great fun to play and you can throw your own licks into the verses. Dont forget walkabout either!

And of course big ten inch record by Aeorsmith! What a song!

feylya

Ian Dury - Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qh58NIRSPDw

Rigsby

fourmations wrote: »

song
you hear teenageers playing while trying guitars
in the music stores

feylya wrote: »

Ian Dury - Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qh58NIRSPDw

With all due respects to teenagers, but I very much doubt if you'd hear these bass lines been casually played in a music store (by anyone for that matter) while trying out a bass. :pac:

magicianz

Mine was 'For whom the bell tolls' by metallica! As soon as you get that start down your happy! Should try 'sex on fire' by kings of leon too its simple. And 'holy diver' by dio

reniwren

A lot of bass players I know would have "school days" by stanley clarke down
but I'm guessin every Irish bass player would hav gone through dancin in the moonlight at least once in your travels,

Dord

Actually for Irish bassists Dancin' in the Moonlight would be one of the main ones I think.

Bancini

For me it would have to be the bass solo from the Chain. Immense and very easy. Nail it and you'll turn heads!!!

-=al=-

i never learned stairway to heaven, never even liked LZ that much :pac:


id imagine that metallica bass solo wud be there too

Kenny_D

As mentioned before:

Phil Lynott - Dancing in the Moonlight

I'm not a bass player but this was the first bass riff I learned on my friends bass.

Also mentioned:

Fleetwood Mac - The Chain

Awesome baseline in a great song. Also pretty easy to play. Looking forward to hearing this one in the O2 in October :P

Obleroza

Speaking as a guitarist who CAN actually play stairway I have to say the bass playing in that tune is absolutely beautiful! The middle part is amazing.

djfattony2000

This is an easy one.

Portrait of Tracy, Jaco Pastorius

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Smp0CctKvks

Yeh right, I can play about 5 notes of it!

Victor Wooten reckons its the bass piece every bassist should learn.

Quillo

Or perhaps... Stairway to heaven !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddjP84zZL2I

Ó Bairéid 87

For me it has to be Rage Against The Machine !
Either Killing In The Name or Bullet In The Head,brilliant stuff...

Zapho

AndyWhite wrote: »

Im suprised there hasnt been more chili peppers songs mentioned! Aeroplane is one of my personal favourites. It sounds cool and is less dificult than it seems! Its also great fun to play and you can throw your own licks into the verses. Dont forget walkabout either!

And of course big ten inch record by Aeorsmith! What a song!

Definately agree, I always play the bass riff to the guitar solo from Californication when I pick up a bass. I love that riff!

We could almost start a seperate thread on "List of great songs every Bassist should know".

RossFixxxed

I've worked in a guitar shop. Stairway and Enter Sandman are now dead to me!

Bass songs that make me want to kill someone: (good songs btw, bad playing)

Money - Pink Floyd
Seven Nation... wait i can do this bit... army - White Stripes
Orion - Metallica
For Whom The Bell... For whom, wait wait, For whom the bell tolls - Metallica
Lithium - Nirvana


Awful.

Guitareaxe

I think the stairway thing is outdated, kids don't wanna learn that so much anymore (Thank god!).

Anyway, when I was learning guitar (Mid to late 90's), most bass players in music shops annoyed me with

"Peace sells" by Megadeth (not correctly though)

red hot chilly peppers, the bass line that features strongly in.... every second song of theirs

For whom the bell tolls - Metallica (worst bassline/song/(I learned it too!) ever!)

Anastasia - Metallica , Its not a class solo, its a simple arpeggio drill, its not a work of genius any idiot who learned some theory could write a progression of arps in one frickin octave, its possibly the worst excuse for a bass solo ever.

I in turn annoyed them back with (on the guitar)
Slayer and Strapping young lad riffs etc ;P
Some of which I learned mainly because it was fast and technical and used to bother beginner bass player metal heads.

I consider myself extremely lucky to have narrowly missed "bands" like Korn, Limp Bizkit, Slipknot etc and their rise to popularity. I just got out of my tweeney years in the nick of time, I feel sorry for anyone who learned guitar and bass from watching those guys, and even more sorry for the guys in music shops who had to put up with it.

Anyway, if more kids learned some Jazz in those days instead of Metallica on the bass then we would have had more successful bass players in the last 2 decades.

However if more Kids learned the faster trash metal of Metallica on the guitar instead of Nirvana and stairway then I think we would of had a lot more successful guitarists. Fricken fast baddass riffs and solos - shame about the basslines.

I truely hope that nowadays kids are learning more complicated basslines and styles now that we have the interweb everywhere. I love bass but never in music has a title been claimed by so many, and deserved by so few as the title of "Bassist"....well maybe "guitarist" !