Songs that were a major pain for me to learn on Bass
Since I started playing the bass guitar there have been plenty of opportunities for me to learn new songs. Usually I can pick them up pretty quickly but there have been a few songs that really had me scratching my head. Either because of my lack of experience or the sheer complexity of the bass line this songs were a challenge for me. Here are 5 songs that really kicked my butt.
Written and Performed by Stevie Wonder as a tribute to Big Band Jazz Composer Duke Ellington, this tune highlights that classic sound with a powerful horn section. The tune is very upbeat and catch and the chorus is sometimes followed by this extended unison run that dances all the way up the fret board and walks back down to a solid landing right before either ending the song or heading back into the main groove. Its not something you can fake because the whole band is playing the line at the same time. For me it was just as fun as it was challenging to learn.
Salvation is here! - Hillsong United
This was a new praise song we were doing at Keystone. Hillsong put out songs that just seemed different and had more interesting guitar parts that our lead guitarist at the time really enjoyed. After really listening to this song a couple of times while the guitar part was really rocking. It was the bass line that kept me up at night. Pretty much driving 16th notes sprinkled through out the song were bad enough but, the bridge nearly did me in. This song will remain a nemesis song just for the bridge. The bridge drops to focus on just the bass and drums with the bass line doing some 14th fret string crossings with an up-tempo 16th note pattern. Jumping from string to string until it walks down an octave and repeats the pattern before landing with a big final chorus of Salvation is here! If I could actually perform the riff right and land in the right spot I would usually flub the easy 8th note driving final chorus because I would be too excited about actually pulling it off. I will note that Lincoln Brewster redid the song and the bridge section is a bit more chill than the original. Doesn't have the same effect to me
This prog rock classic features odd time signatures and interesting rhythmic shifts through out the song. The church band got together to play this at our drummers senior recital at Cornerstone University. This was an intense song to learn but it was amplified when we were doing it for his grade. Sure the highlight was his drumming prowess but, I didn't want him to get a ding because I lost count in the middle of this well known song.
Blue Sky -The Allman Brothers Band
This is a true Guitar jam song, but the bass line isn't boring by any stretch. The bass line moves all over the place and flows like a long solo. The key was realizing that the pattern was a series of arpeggios moving from chord to chord. I think the time crunch to learn this song didn't help either. I know playing this at church helped because most people would be focused on the dueling guitar solos and not notice that I didn't "exactly" play the bass line note for note, but lets keep that quiet.
Monster - Edge From Falling
If you look at the liner notes for the EP this song was released on you'll notice that the bass player for this song is called out as Yours Truly. That might lead you to wonder why that bass line is on this list. Honestly I would really need to get in the shed to even play it again. I used to be an active member of Edge From Falling but I stepped down to focus more on family. The band continued on and had rotating bass players for a bit. When it came time for them to head into the studio again I was asked to write and record a fitting bass line for this new track. When I first heard the bass less track I could not "hear" a bass line. I was stressed. I asked for a chord transcription of the guitar parts to try and spark ideas but I was coming up blank. As the studio date approached my stress level increased until I hit some kind of Zen level of calm and made up the beginning bass line days before the recording. We made adjustments during the session and finally the lead guitarist had to play the final riff because I couldn't quite match the rhythm of his guitar solo. He played his part on my bass for the last two bars of the song and the rest is history. If I was ever called to sub for the band I would definitely need to sit in the shed with it for a good while to pull it off live. They might want to prep the recording just in case.
What challenges have you had to over come in your journey? How did you feel when you finally climbed that mountain. Do yo still struggle with them or are they child’s play now. Leave a comment and let me know.
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