I have a collection of songs for which I know the basslines so well that I can play them straight out of my head. Every time I warm up, practice, or just noodle, I play at least one of them without fail. Here’s my list of those songs:
For Those About to Rock (We Salute You), AC/DC
Have a Drink on Me, AC/DC
Hells Bells, AC/DC
I Hate Myself for Loving You, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts
I Love Rock n’ Roll, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts
King Without a Crown, Matisyahu
Lovefool, The Cardigans
Renegade, Styx
Let’s Groove, Earth Wind & Fire
Do you have any number of songs like that? That you play so often you can just pick up a bass and play them right out of your head? If so, what are they?
Probably less specific songs than certain patterns that are used very frequently in Motown and Memphis Stax recording. But there are a few that are song based like Van Morrison’s Caravan, Moondance, Wild Nights, Domino, etc.
It varies a lot depending on which bass I pick up and what’s in my head at that moment. A lot of it is stuff I’ve played for many years or I’ll play varied walking bass lines too. They’re always good warm up tools.
I have a “setlist” of songs I know well to play when faffing around with effects, settings, etc and for which I have one or more recordings from rehearsal to test the sound in the (our) mix.
But it also works well to warm up or just noodle around to have fun.
It’s something along the lines of:
Basket Case, Green Day
American Idiot, Green Day
God Save the Queen, Sex Pistols
Breaking the Law, Judas Priest
Along comes Mary, Bloodhound Gang
You shook me all Night long, AC/DC
Whiskey in the Jar, Metallica
Psycho Killer, Talking Heads/cover
Rebel Yell, Billy Idol
Everything Zen, Bush
My two cents. Or ten songs
(I also wanted to add something more in the spirit of the original post, but it probably doesn’t make much sense anymore)
Edit - for the original post, if I remember it correctly: I think it’s a nice goal for a new musician to expand its repertoire and 10 makes for a round number, easy enough to reach but also meaningful. But IMHO the moniker “real bassist” (or musician in general) is well and truly unlocked when you can start playing along to a new/barely known piece of music just following ears and instinct (=lots of experience accumulated over time). Am I there yet? Pfff, ofc not, but that’s the end goal for me.
Still, a “baggage” with 10, 100, or 1000 songs that can be played on demand is an invaluable tool and very satisfying on the occasion one of them turns out to be exactly the right song
To be honest I have never heard another Journey song and I don’t think I even heard it before B2B, now I kinda like it.
Different songs get played in Oz, usually AccaDacca, Daryl Braithwaite (and his bloody Horses) etc.
