Creating Great Bass Lines is Easy (Just Steal 'Em)

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All great bassists steal, so if YOU wanna come up with your own killer bass lines…also steal. I’ll show you how to do it without being a hack.

EXTREME IRONY ALERT - YT was blocking this video because I used a (legal and fair use sized) slice of Brain Stew by Green Day… so a video about how that song stole ideas from other songs got blocked… for “stealing” the song… even though it’s fair use… and it was stolen in the first place… my head hurts. (I updated the vid with a custom made track to replace Brain Stew)

If you’re doing the Beginner to Badass course, this lesson would fit any ol’ time for your general education. If you wanna play these riffs or use these methods, having some of the bass line creating knowledge from Module 11 onward would be helpful.

What other famous bass lines were stolen? :ninja::guitar:

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Holy hell, first! :smiley:

This was a really interesting video for me. Everyone knows that this stuff happens all the time in music, but it was eye-opening to see the, eh, theory of it codified.

I really laughed out loud at the mashed-up song names.

You know what this video really made me think of, @JoshFossgreen? And forgive the derail, but…

…we still can’t get BassBuzz shirts. Or hoodies. Or hats. Or socks. Ok, maybe not socks. Even so. :smiley:

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A BassBuzz sock would be the perfect thing for hiding an ugly headstock. :rofl:

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Good idea for all those Sires :+1:

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Here’s hoping you get to play one some day. You’ll likely find you never look at the headstock. Then again… :face_with_peeking_eye:

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I even see an opportunity for sponsorship.

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BassBuzz KrotchKozy™

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You hear this a lot with drums. Hey, add a few TR-505 claps and it’s not stealing

I actually like Twin Tribes and am a little surprised they went with that choice. She’s Lost Control is an iconic and instantly recognizable song for most fans of post-punk, and that drum pattern is incredibly well known from it. They are taking a chance with this, the pattern works well in their song too, and this definitely fits with the Picasso quote, “Good artists copy; great artists steal.”

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@JoshFossgreen That line “…so you can steal like an artist instead of copying like a cat” is hands down my favorite line you’ve ever said in a video.

I’m stealing it.

Like an artist.

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@JoshFossgreen this was an amazingly awesome video! I’ve run through it a few times already, and plan at least a few more! You missed the Pachebel’s Cannon in D minor though, I’m disappointed… lol.

Funny part of Cannon in D minor is that it’s been copied so many times in power metal songs that it’s almost become a game of “find the cannon” in that genre…. example playlist compiled by Reddit users: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAtNwsNf88dnOBPMmKaJ-usKpU73uH0b3&si=nBn8Nu5YYvzR-oHx

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The funniest part here (for the power metal) is Pachelbel’s Canon in D is actually in D Major :slight_smile:

I love that the Reddit list starts with Galneryus though :metal:

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Whoops, you are right, the original piece was in D Major. I misremembered when posting. I’m not bothering to edit my original post.

Also, in regards to the topic at hand, I recently created a composition that has a chorus riff that was “was inspired by” (cough cough stolen) from the very beginning part of Bach’s Invention number 2. I just changed the key, changed note durations and riffed it up a bit. I loved the result so much that that became the beginning of a complete song. I’ll post it some day, if I can ever get it recorded with real instruments instead of midi guitars and drums.

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No concerns with your post at all! I was mostly thinking it would be funny if the metal bands were reading it wrong :rofl:

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I actually said “copying like a hack”, but I REALLY wish I’d said what you wrote instead, that’s so much funnier.

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So I guess I used Method 2 and, debatably 4?

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Actually I’m pretty sure the chord progression from Pachibel’s canon in D has been borrowed/copied by quite a few of classical composers including Handel, Haydn and Mozart. So it’s been going on for a while.

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