Never mind.
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I think this is more true for the guitar.
The challenge with playing the bass is that, for the most part, unless you are playing an iconic line, no one really knows what youāre playingā¦! So Iād put 10 songs in the context of what are you trying to achieve?
Iāve covered something like 40-50 songs now - basically since the beginning of the year. Other than those that weāre playing as a band (where I continually practice them), Iād be hard pressed to just be able to pick the bass up and play the majority of these songs, straight through, without a mistakeā¦but have Iāve learnt things from each and every one of them? Yes. And could play them again, with a few run throughs beforehand? Yes.
From a band perspective, we think we need to get to about 30 songs - weāre currently at about 10ā¦
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Never mind.
Agreed.
Iād refer you to your first point. You also missed off my qualifier, that I could play the songs up again with a bit of a run through. To answer your question directly, though, I do it for a) fun, b) to learn stuff - sometimes I push myself. Although, sometimes I play easy stuff just for the hell of it, c) to try things out before suggesting them to my fledgling band, or d) because another member of the band wants us to learn it (I posted Twist and Shout yesterday - this was one of our guitaristās choices).
Equally, Iād find sticking to 10 songs incredibly dull. When did āmodernā pop / rock music get doing? The 50s? (Not sure, but donāt really want to debate this point) So letās just say there is 70+ years of pop and rock, all available on iTunes, YouTube, etc. How many thousands of songs is that? Having taken up the bass less than a year ago, my ear is reinvigorated - I hear stuff and think wow, I want to play that! There is stuff Iām nowhere near being able to play (like Duran Duranās Rio) but Iāll get thereā¦!
So 10 songs? Hell no, life is too short for just 10 songs!!
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Never mind.
Iām not @JustTim, I just donāt agree. As I mentioned, for me, lifeās too short for just 10 songs, plus for the band, we are targeting 30 - that means being able to play them, straight through. Funnily enough, we are currently at about 10, but are working on a bunch more. Trying to agree a set list, now thatās an entirely different subject!
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Never mind.
Dude, Iām out.
I know what you are saying. Itās almost like a 10 warm up list. I have a couple more than 10 that I know it inside out and muscle memory ready. Itās like a bugout bag of playlist. Not only I can play it blind, half on the list I can play it in any keys.
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Everyone comes at playing bass for a jillion different reasons. And each player is at a unique place on his/her journey. With so many Buzzers here, that means that playing goals will align sometimes, and often maybe not.
B2B is a great equalizer for every player who studies it. Of course, it is designed for bass beginners, but itās interesting to think about where all students come from when they start the course.
Some, like @soulman, are experienced guitarists who have played in bands for years. Others are folks who approach bass with zero musical experience at all. While still others have had some playing experience, whether a lot or a little, with other instruments such as keyboards, woodwinds, horns, etc.
The point is, we are all Buzzers, but we each have distinct goals and experiences to share. Thatās what really makes this place special.
I hope you repost your original question, @JustTim. It was an interesting thought experiment. 
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Yeah. This is an illustration that different people have different goals. My goal is producing an end product. Out of the 10 or so full covers we have done, my bandmate and I could probably play 4 or so right now - and this doesnāt bother me at all. Rote memorization wasnāt the goal; producing the end result was. I go back and listen to them all the time - some because I like the job we did, and some because I donāt and they highlight things I needed (or still need) to work on. In that sense, they are still super useful even if I no longer play them.
Iāll never really care about this until I decide I want to play live again, which I wonāt, so itās all good 
I would flip this one around to ask āwhatās the point of any artistic endeavor?ā
Some would say itās an expression of self likes and desires that you want to put to tangible form and share. Does it matter if it is repeatable? Itās not science.
Bingo.
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80s reference for our older listeners.
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Whatchu talking about @Barney ?
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Different strokes for different folks 
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Iāve been playing some of my songs nightly for a good 2 months and I still canāt get the damn things memorized. Itās bloody close on some of them, and while I can play individual rifts and sections by heart, I can never make that final leap to get the whole song together.
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Play just one song over and over and over until youāre sick of it.
Then play it some more. Thatās how I get it to stick with me.
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I like this. My wife asks āwhatās the point?ā all of the time, then she saw us play 2 or 3 weeks ago and kindāa got itā¦!
I also agree with the point regarding repeatability - given my science background, Iād add to that and reproducibility, but thatās just me being a pedant . The stuff that we are learning for the set list needs a reasonable degree of R&R, I need to know the songs well enough to play with other people, for other people. For the straight covers, I need to know them well enough to record them - they are committed to memory, but that memory fades without continuous repetition. My daughter is a good example of this. She is learning piano and sitting grade exams - she got a very good mark in her last exam and progressed up a level, but ask her to play the exam pieces now - three months after the exam - and she makes small mistakes, despite the music being in front of her. Does that take away the achievement of the exam pass? Of course not, itās just the way the brain works.
So yes, the covers are an expression of likes and desires. Iāve ridden the mountain roads that that the Tour de France riders ride - I could never ride like them, but so what? Now Iām playing baselines written by McCartney and McCluskey (last two covers) and Iām learning one written by McKegan (thatās quite hard, so gonna be a while before that one is videoed!).
Itās fun, itās an education, itās self expression!! And the are thousands and thousands of songs out there to listen to, to take something away from!
Anyway, rock on, sisters and brothers of the low end! 
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This is very true. While there are songs whose bass lines are so iconic they virtually have to be played as recorded or very close to it thatās far from the majority of them. And in any event how often does any band ever play a tune exactly like the original recording. Hell, very few of the bands who recorded it play it that way note for note during a live concert.
So donāt sweat 100% accuracy when whatever you play will need to be adapted to how your band is playing that tune. Iāve been playing bass for over 50 years and have played more gigs than I can count. I was constantly creating my own versions of bass lines to fit what the band was doing. This is why IMHO itās far more important to learn the fundamentals of playing the instrument than memorizing bass lines note for note. You need those skills so that you can improvise what youāre playing to fit an arrangement.
Spend more of your practice time on timing and those fundamentals and remember your role as the keeper of the groove. If a bass line is too difficult to execute and keep the groove intact then create a way to play it so you can keep the groove intact. Thatās your job #1 and as SunDog points out no one really knows or cares what youāre playing as long as it works. Itās only when it doesnāt that they notice.
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Glad I found this @soulman . I was going to start a new thread on this topic and ācoveringā songs in general but you answered my questions.
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