trip hop bass lines

The 77 Best Bass Lines of All Time (Picked by a Bassist)

• April 7, 2024
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You’re a new bass player looking for songs to improve your skills ?

Or music lover with a thing for good bass lines?

Either way, you’ll find the 77 best bass lines of all time on this list – in no particular order.

1. Another One Bites the Dust – Queen.

Written by Queen’s bass player John Deacon, this bass line is iconic . Deacon actually recorded most of the instruments on the track too.

The song was only released as a single after the band was convinced to do so by Michael Jackson backstage at one of their concerts.

2. Money – Pink Floyd.

Cited widely as one of the best songs for bassists to learn, “Money” was released on Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon album in 1973.

“Money” and “Us and Them” were the only cuts on the album to feature saxophone .

3. Give it Away – Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Released in 1991, the song is based on the mantra “The more you give, the more you receive, so why not give it all away?”

Keidis also drew inspiration from his meeting with German singer Nina Hagen.

She gave him her jacket when she saw it interested him, saying that giving things away promotes positive energy .

Anthony Keidis sings “give it away” 68 times throughout the song.

4. Hysteria – Muse.

The bass line in “Hysteria” by Chris Wolstenholme was voted the best bass line of all time by a MusicRadar poll in 2011.

It was followed by “YYZ” by Rush and “Another One Bites the Dust” by Queen, both of which are featured on this list.

5. For Whom the Bell Tolls – Metallica.

The opening riff performed by Cliff Burton is often confused for a guitar. It’s actually bass with added distortion and a wah-wah pedal.

The song and lyrics were inspired by Ernest Hemingway’s novel of the same name.

6. Roundabout – Yes.

The original version of the song was 8 minutes long. It was edited down to 3 minutes and 27 seconds to be released as a single.

The song was written on the road , and the lyrics “Twenty-four before my love you’ll see I’ll be there with you” were a reference to lead singer Jon Anderson’s excitement to see his wife again, in only 24 hours.

7. My Generation – The Who.

Roger Daltrey’s stutter in the lead vocals wasn’t originally planned.

After trying to sing without stuttering – Daltrey later admitted to having a real stutter – the producers urged Daltrey to stutter the lyrics .

They thought it gave the track the effect of sounding like a British youth on speed.

8. Longview – Green Day.

Bassist Mike Dirnt admitted to writing the wacky bass line of “Longview” while on an acid trip.

He and lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong said they couldn’t quite remember the riff the morning after, and tried to reconstruct it as best as they could.

9. Peace Sells – Megadeath.

Frontman Dave Mustaine was homeless and living in the band’s rehearsal space when he wrote the lyrics to “Peace Sells.”

Having no paper on hand, he wrote the words with Sharpie on the wall.

Like many of Megadeath’s tracks, “Peace Sells” deals with Cold War politics and disillusionment .

10. Under Pressure – David Bowie & Queen.

Another instantly recognizable bass line from Queen bassist John Deacon, “Under Pressure” was released in 1981 in collaboration with David Bowie.

Freddie Mercury and Bowie were reported to have butted heads creatively during the recording of the track.

11. Feel Good Inc. – Gorillaz.

The featured rapper in “Feel Good Inc.” is Trugoy the Dove from De La Soul.

The windmill reference is to how love can make the world go round, and is the best way to feel good.

12. Ramble On – Led Zeppelin.

Robert Plant based some of the song’s lyrics on J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings with references to “Mordor” and “Gollum.”

The track was recorded in New York on Led Zeppelin’s first tour, and released in 1969.

13. Billie Jean – Michael Jackson.

With the kind of bass line that will stick in your head, “Billie Jean” is easy to dance to and not so difficult to play.

Jackson admitted to knowing the 1982 track would be a hit even while he was still writing it.

14. Attention – Charlie Puth.

“Attention” was the lead single from Puth’s album VoiceNotes.

Puth used an app called VoiceNotes to record songwriting memos to himself while he was on the road.

15. Ace of Spades – Motörhead.

The “Ace of Spades” refers to the dead man’s hand in poker, which is aces and eights. It was the had of Wild Bill Hancock when he was shot dead during a game of poker.

It’s also one of the most covered songs by punk and hardcore rock bands for its aggressive melody .

16. Badge – Cream.

Released in 1969 on the album Goodbye this song was written by Eric Clapton and George Harrison.

When Clapton saw Harrison’s notes for the song, he misread the title as “Badge” instead of the intended “Bridge.” They decided to name the song “Badge” instead.

17. Killing in the Name – Rage Against the Machine.

“Killing in the Name” was the band’s first single, released in 1993. It critiques the fact that many of the US police forces were members of the Ku Klux Klan .

The uncensored version of the song features the F-word 16 times.

18. Love Will Tear Us Apart – Joy Division.

The band didn’t see much commercial success but was critically acclaimed. The song was an ironic take on The Captain and Tennille’s “Love Will Keep Us Together.”

Lead singer Ian Curtis’ marriage was under strain due to an affair with a Belgian woman.

19. Walk on the Wild Side – Lou Reed.

The song, about cross-dressers who come to New York to be prostitutes, took on traditional views of gender roles in rock music.

It was released at a time when “glam rock” was popular, with male rock performers dressing in feminine styles.

20. Ain’t No Mountain High Enough – Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell.

“Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” was released in 1966 on Marvin Gaye’s United album. The track is usually recognized for its triumphant, energetic vocals.

But all that energy is underpinned by a classic bass line that every emerging bass player should attempt to master.

21. The Chain – Fleetwood Mac.

The track was spliced together from different studio recording sessions.

The bass line at around the three-minute mark was written by John McVie, who had planned to use it for another song.

Stevie Nicks wrote the lyrics about her failing relationship with Lindsey Buckingham.

22. I Want You Back – The Jackson 5.

The career-launching hit for the Jackson 5 was released in 1969, going to #1 in the U.S.

The song was originally meant to be titled “I Want to Be Free” but changed to “I Want You Back” to appear more like a love song.

23. Orion – Metallica.

“Orion” is considered one of the best performances by bassist Cliff Burton , who died 6 months after the album’s release when the band’s tour bus crashed.

The 1986 song is a reference to the star constellation Orion, as it contains imagery related to the night sky.

24. Humble – Kendrick Lamar.

Former US President Barack Obama is reportedly a huge fan of Lamar’s music.

25. Schism – Tool.

The “Schism” refers to the schism within the church , which was once holy and pure but now corrupted by self-serving people.

Tool only ever had two songs reach the Top 100 charts in the U.S., with “Schism” being one of them.

26. Super Freak – Rick James.

James wanted to write a silly song to add to the album Street Songs. He quickly put together “Super Freak” while in the studio, writing the bass line first .

MC Hammer sampled the same bass line in “U Can’t Touch This” which prompted James to sue. They settled, giving James songwriting credit on “U Can’t Touch This.”

27. Taxman – The Beatles.

Written by George Harrison, “Taxman” was inspired by the 1960s Batman television series.

It was released as the leading track on the album Revolver to show the band’s faith in Harrison’s songwriting abilities .

28. London Calling – The Clash.

“London Calling” has become a defining song for The Clash.

Singer Joe Strummer reportedly took many of the lyrics from catastrophic-sounding news stories he read so often.

The title was a reference to the BBC World Service’s opener on their international broadcasts during World War II.

29. Jeremy – Pearl Jam.

The song is based on a real person, Jeremy Delle, a 16-year-old student in Richardson, Texas who killed himself in front of his English class.

Eddie Vedder later reported that he could relate to the story, having had a classmate in middle school bring a gun to school and attempt to kill himself.

30. I Wish – Stevie Wonder.

Released as a hit single in 1976, “I Wish” is about Stevie Wonder’s childhood in the 1950s and 1960s. Wonder wrote and produced the song himself.

31. Dazed and Confused – Led Zeppelin.

Jimmy Page based this song on an acoustic version of the same name by Jake Holmes.

Page had altered enough of the melody, he felt, not to credit Holmes when Led Zeppelin released the song.

Holmes eventually filed a lawsuit , however, in 2010. They settled, and the songwriting credit now reads “Jimmy Page, inspired by Jake Holmes.”

32. Smoke on the Water – Deep Purple.

The title was inspired by an incident the band witnessed in Montreux, Switzerland during a Frank Zappa concert.

During the show, someone fired a flare gun setting the place on fire. Afterward, smoke was covering Lake Geneva, which the concert venue sat next to.

33. Rain – The Beatles.

Released in 1966 on Past Masters, Vol. 2, the song takes its unusual sound from playing a tape backwards – one of the first to do so.

Ringo Starr has also said he considers “Rain” one of his best drumming performances with The Beatles.

34. Aqualung – Jethro Tull.

“Aqualung” was based on photos vocalist and flute player Ian Anderson’s wife took of transient men.

The character of Aqualung was conceived by Anderson as a homeless man with poor hygiene, based on the photos.

The song is a commentary about the homeless population , evoking the guilt we often feel in not knowing how to treat homeless people and beggars.

35. Truckin’ – Grateful Dead.

Released on the album American Beauty in 1970, Grateful Dead members Jerry Garcia, Phil Lesh, and Bob Weir, along with their lyricist Robert Hunter, are all credited songwriters on “Truckin’.”

Members of the band were arrested in a drug bust in New Orleans in January 1970, inspiring the line in the song “Busted, down on Bourbon Street.”

36. Boom Boom Pow – Black Eyed Peas.

According to will.i.am, the song’s one note “Boom” plays 168 times.

37. The Joker – Steve Miller Band.

In 2000, Steve Miller let rapper Shaggy sample the bass line from “The Joker” for his song “Angel.”

The line “I’m a midnight toker” is a reference to marijuana use , and in 2012 Spin magazine declared the song as the most successful song about pot of all time.

38. Treasure – Bruno Mars.

The disco-inspired song is driven by the bass line. Mars has said of this track that he wanted to be free to record many different genres .

39. Riders on the Storm – The Doors.

The 1971 “Riders on the Storm” is the last song Jim Morrison recorded, as he died in France a few weeks after.

The song is said to evoke images of a lone, fearsome hitchhiker that Morrison based off of his own college experiences.

40. YYZ – Rush.

“YYZ” takes its name from the transmitter code of the Toronto International Airport. The intro to the song is also Morse code for “YYZ.”

Bass player Geddy Lee’s performance on this track has been widely acclaimed as one of the best in rock history , with some even contending that his bass playing improves when he’s not singing.

41. Can’t Feel My Face – The Weeknd.

The track was nominated for two Grammy awards and declared the best song of 2015 by Rolling Stone.

42. Jenny Was a Friend of Mine – The Killers.

Allegedly, “Jenny Was a Friend of Mine” was an early composition the band worked on together but didn’t come back to for a while.

One day, bass player Mark Stoermer started to play the chorus of the song again, and they were able to complete it together.

43. Refugee – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

“Refugee” and the whole 1979 album Damn the Torpedoes are reflective of Tom Petty’s frustration with the music industry at the time.

He and guitarist Mike Campbell initially struggled to put together the track, feeling pressure from the record company and being unable to find the right sound .

44. Seven Nation Army – The White Stripes.

Technically, this song shouldn’t be on this list – the track wasn’t recorded with a bass.

The distinctive “bass line” in the song is actually a guitar with octave effect, made to sound like a bass .

The song’s title is also apparently what Jack White mistakenly referred to the Salvation Army as when he was a child.

45. Sir Duke – Stevie Wonder.

The 1976 track is Wonder’s tribute to his musical inspiration Duke Ellington , who died in 1974.

The song also references Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Count Basie and Sodarisa Miller.

46. Uptown Funk – Mark Ronson (featuring Bruno Mars).

Mars and Ronson cowrote the song. It took over 6 months to get it finished, because Mars was on tour at the time.

47. The Guns of Brixton – The Clash.

“The Guns of Brixton” was written and sung by bass player Paul Simonon , who initially expressed concerns about handling the vocals.

The other members of the band wanted him to sing since they were his lyrics.

Simonon wrote the track about the tensions in his hometown of Brixton in South London.

48. The National Anthem – Radiohead.

Bassist Thom Yorke performed the bass line in “The National Anthem” based on a riff he developed when he was 16 .

The original title of the song was “Everyone” but later changed to “The National Anthem” since part of the British anthem is played near the end.

49. Only in Dreams – Weezer.

Released in 1994 on The Blue Album, “Only in Dreams” is about the narrator’s love for a girl in his dream. The song lasts nearly 8 minutes , Weezer’s longest cut.

50. La Grange – ZZ Top.

The song was based on a real whorehouse in La Grange, Texas, where bass player Dusty Hill said he’d visited as a young man.

The local population considered it as a respectable, time-honored institution, and were greatly dismayed when it was shut down only a few months after the song was released.

51. Good Times – Chic.

“Good Times”, with its distinctive bass line, was frequently used as the instrumental background for MCs in the burgeoning rap movement in New York City in the 1970s.

The first ever chart-topping, recorded rap single, “Rapper’s Delight” was recorded in 1979 using Chic’s “Good Times” as its foundation.

52. Cissy Strut – The Meters.

A pioneering funk band from New Orleans, the Meters immortalized their R&B bass lines, Cissy Strut in particular, on their self-titled debut album in 1969.

The song was first penned by guitarist Leo Nocentelli as the group’s opener when they played at clubs on Bourbon Street.

It wasn’t officially given the name “Cissy Strut” until they recorded it years later.

53. Sunshine of Your Love – Cream.

Bass player Jack Bruce has said that the famous bass riff in “Sunshine of Your Love” was inspired by a Jimi Hendrix concert.

He and Pete Brown, a beat poet, wrote the song after having been up all night working on it.

Bruce started playing the riff on his stand-up bass around sunrise – inspiring the title of the song.

54. No One Knows – Queens of the Stone Age.

When “No One Knows” reached #1 on the modern rock charts, Dave Grohl became the first person the hold a #1 spot from three different groups.

He was also drummer for Nirvana and frontman for the Foo Fighters.

55. Stand By Me – Ben E. King.

“Stand By Me” was originally based on a gospel hymn, but reworked as a contemporary song, released in 1961.

The track helped establish Ben E. King as a solo artist after having left the Drifters.

It saw a resurgence in popularity after the release of the 1986 film Stand By Me produced by Rob Reiner and starring River Phoenix.

56. Peter Gunn Theme.

The song, originally written by Peter Mancini for the TV series Peter Gunn, was the first theme song from a TV series to reach the Hot 100.

Ray Anthony did a cover of the song, taking it to #8. Since then, it’s been covered by my many different artists.

57. I Got You (I Feel Good) – James Brown.

“I Got You (I Feel Good)” was the only of James Brown’s 91 Hot 100 chart entries to make it to #1.

What became Brown’s signature song was reworked from a track called “I Found You”, recorded by Brown’s backup singer Yvonne Fair.

58. Livin On a Prayer – Bon Jovi.

For the 1986 track, songwriter Desmond Child was brought in to give the song a more pop sound .

Apparently, Jon Bon Jovi wasn’t convinced by “Livin’ on a Prayer”, wanting to leave it off the album Slippery When Wet.

He changed his mind after having met with some teenagers; the song ended up becoming incredibly popular with working-class young people.

59. Can’t Stop the Feeling! – Justin Timberlake.

Timberlake wrote this song with Swedish songwriter Max Martin , whom he’d worked with during his time in N’Sync.

60. Come Together – The Beatles.

The song originated as a request from Timothy Leary, a psychologist running for governor of California, to John Lennon.

Lennon struggled to write a song according to Leary’s campaign slogan “Come Together, Join the Party.”

It was Paul McCartney who suggested slowing the temp and adding the bass line.

61. My Sharona – The Knack.

The best-selling single of 1979, “My Sharona” was based on Sharona Alperin, whom Doug Fieger was trying to woo.

They eventually started dating but broke up after 4 years. Alperin is the woman posing on the cover of the track’s single, holding the Get the Knack album.

62. Come as You Are – Nirvana.

The song is based on Killing Joke’s 1985 song “Eighties.”

Killing Joke considered taking legal action after “Come as You Are” was released but refrained when Kurt Cobain passed away.

Cobain’s hometown, Aberdeen, Washington, put up a sign in 2005 reading “Welcome to Aberdeen. Come as You Are.”

63. Down on the Corner – Credence Clearwater Revival.

Allegedly, bass player Stu Cook struggled to get the bass line right on this track.

For “Down on the Corner” the group took on the persona of fictional jug band Willy and the Poor Boys.

The song was the only cut on the album that really played up the concept.

64. The Lemon Song – Led Zeppelin.

Taking from blues song “Killing Floor” by Howlin’ Wolf, the bass line of “The Lemon Song” is supposedly almost entirely improvised by bassist John Paul Jones .

65. Rude – Magic!

“Rude” was the band’s debut hit single. Frontman Nasri Atweh claims it was inspired by a rough encounter with an ex-girlfriend.

66. By the Way – Red Hot Chili Peppers.

The song was sampled for an electro-house track by Peter Gelderblom in 2007.

Despite their usual resistance to their songs being sampled, the Red Hot Chili Peppers enthusiastically supported the electro-house release .

67. Brick House – The Commodores.

When the group needed another song for their self-titled album, trumpet player William King was tasked with writing one.

The story goes that he fell asleep without any lyrics, and woke up with a pad of paper, the lyrics to the song “Brick House” written out.

His wife, Shirley Hanna-King , was also a songwriter, and had penned the song for her husband.

68. Hard Times – Paramore.

The lyrics of “Hard Times” were inspired by Hayley Williams’ personal and professional difficulties during the final stages of production for the album After Laughter.

69. Josie – Steely Dan.

From the 1977 album Aja, “Josie” is the story of a young woman in a blue-collar neighborhood that all the men are in love with .

70. Short Skirt Long Jacket – Cake.

Cake lead singer John McCrea has said the song is about wanting and looking for two opposing features in the same person.

The song was released in 2001 on the album Comfort Eagle.

71. Sweet Emotion – Aerosmith.

When creating their Toys in the Attic album, producer Jack Douglas asked if any of the bandmates had a new riff they could work on.

Tom Hamilton came up with the bass line that “Sweet Emotion” was later based around.

72. You Can Call Me Al – Paul Simon.

The song and the whole album Graceland are about Paul Simon’s experiences working with musicians in South Africa during the apartheid era.

Graceland won a Grammy for album of the year in 1988.

73. Hey Joe – Jimi Hendrix.

“Hey Joe” was originally written by singer Billy Roberts in the early 1960s, covered by several artists.

Hendrix recorded his version after hearing a slower, folk version of the song by Tim Rose.

74. Feels – Calvin Harris.

“Feels” is loaded with star power, featuring Big Sean, Katy Perry, and Pharrell Williams. It was also Calvin Harris’ 8th single to reach #1 in the UK.

75. Cake by the Ocean – DNCE.

The cake in “Cake by the Ocean” has a very noncommittal meaning – frontman Joe Jonas has said it could be interpreted, however, you like.

76. I Will Possess Your Heart – Death Cab for Cutie.

Band members considered this 8-minute track a departure from their earlier work.

The first 5 minutes of the song is instrumental, which was built on the bass line provided by Nick Harmer.

77. Voyager – Daft Punk.

“Voyager” appeared on the French duo’s album 2001 Discovery.

The music video for the song – like the rest of the Discovery album – was a scene from the film Interstella 5555 : The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem, featuring the song rather than dialogue.

There you have it – the 77 best bass lines of all time. If a list like that doesn’t make you want to rock out, then what will?

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Hip Hop Bass Lines

Create hip hop bass lines.

You may ask why i’m bringing this up.  The answer is because these styles along with others all have compositions with bass lines.  Besides, many hip hop bass lines are sampled from these genres and more.  I will get further in detail about that at another time.

There are so many hip hop producers that come up with the dopest hip hop bass lines , but one stands out to me in my personal opinion.  That guy is none other than Pete Rock .  If you take the time to check out part of his endless catalog of work you will hear exactly what i’m talking about.   As a matter of fact, take a moment and listen to an instrumental version of a track he did back in the day with Raekwon and Masta Killa called the PJ’s (very sick!)  His filtered bass sound has influenced me so much to the point that I look at him as the standard to hip hop bass lines .

One way to create a bass line if making a sample based beat is to layer the lowest note you hear in the sample with your own bass sound.  Make sure the bass note matches the sample ( vid explaining this ).  Then play that bass note along with the kick drum or the sample.  Back around April of 2012, I decided to make a video on how to create a bass line on MPC.  Because of the positive responses that I was getting, it eventually turned into a mini series.  Basically, I use  what are known as scales.  You may have heard of these especially if you ever took music lessons.  Anyway these are formulas that can be used to create melodies.  I decided to use them for hip hop bass lines .  If you happen to have a drum machine with 16 pads such as the Maschine, MV8000, or most MPCS you can use the 16 level function to accomplish this bass line technique.  The pads or notes once distributed through your drum machine can be played in any order.  How do you know what notes to play?  Use the notes in the scale that you pick.  I mainly use minor scales because they just sound more hip hop to me.   Here is the youtube video series if you’re interested.   The great news about this is even if you don’t have a drum machine you can use a keyboard with the same idea.   I illustrate that in this vid below so give it a try and thanks for taking the time to read this!

• ← Quantize: Yes or No?
• Hip Hop Songs with Good Bass →

How to Make Trip Hop Music

Imagine trip hop music as a canvas waiting for your creative brushstrokes.

As you delve into the world of trip hop production, you'll find that the genre offers a rich tapestry of sounds and textures to explore.

From crafting intricate drum patterns to weaving moody atmospheres with sampling techniques, there's a multitude of elements that come together to form the distinct trip hop sound.

Whether you're a seasoned music producer or just starting out, understanding the basics of trip hop production can set you on a path to creating captivating and immersive tracks that captivate listeners.

When delving into the basics of trip hop, embrace the downtempo vibe, characterized by a slower tempo around 95 bpm, to capture its electronic yet acoustic and trippy essence influenced by artists like Massive Attack.

Trip hop music hinges on this distinctive tempo, creating a laid-back and hypnotic feel, perfect for delving into the genre's unique sound. Understanding the trip hop basics involves immersing yourself in the intricacies of drum beat creation.

Layering kick and snare elements, incorporating hats and toms for variation, and using headphones for better mixing are crucial elements. Additionally, recognizing the influence of artists like Massive Attack is essential. Approach production with a freestyle mindset, allowing creativity to flow freely to capture the essence of trip hop.

These basics set the foundation for crafting trip hop music that resonates with its distinctive vibes and overall mood. It's about diving into the unique rhythm and style, embracing the electronic yet organic feel, and understanding the nuances that make trip hop a genre like no other.

To achieve a laid-back and hypnotic feel in your trip hop music, begin by experimenting with a slower tempo ranging from 90 to 100 bpm for your drum patterns. This tempo range sets the foundation for the relaxed vibe characteristic of trip hop music.

Here's how you can craft laid-back drum patterns:

• Layer kick and snare elements to create a relaxed yet punchy rhythm, providing a solid backbone for your track.
• Incorporate hats and toms for subtle variation and depth in the drum pattern, adding texture and groove to the overall sound.
• Consider using headphones for precise mixing and nuanced placement of drum elements, allowing you to finely tune the subtleties of your drum pattern.
• Focus on a freestyle approach to drum beat creation, drawing influence from trip-hop legends like Massive Attack, allowing yourself to play with different rhythms and sounds to find a unique and captivating groove.

Experiment with various sampling techniques to create moody atmospheres that will enhance the emotional depth and texture of your trip hop music. Start by delving into vinyl records, capturing their vintage and atmospheric sounds to infuse your tracks with a sense of nostalgia and depth.

Additionally, integrating field recordings of ambient noises, such as rain, wind, or city sounds, can add an extra layer of richness and complexity to your compositions.

Manipulating vocal samples can also be a powerful tool for creating haunting and emotional atmospheres within your music. Experiment with reversing samples and time-stretching loops to craft surreal and dreamlike sonic landscapes that captivate and intrigue the listener.

Furthermore, layering and blending multiple samples can help you build a rich and immersive sonic environment, allowing for a truly captivating and memorable listening experience.

Can I Use Similar Techniques for Making Trip Hop Music and Playboi Carti Type Beats?

Yes, you can use similar techniques for making trip hop music and Playboi Carti type beats. By following a Playboi Carti type beat tutorial , you can learn how to incorporate the signature sounds and rhythms that give his beats their unique vibe, while still adding your own spin for trip hop tracks.

Delve into the enchanting realm of dreamy melodies and soundscapes by infusing your compositions with ambient sounds and textures. To create an evocative and mesmerizing musical experience, experiment with the following techniques:

• Ambient Sounds and Textures : Layering ambient sounds such as nature recordings, vinyl crackles, or distant conversations can add depth and intrigue to your music, transporting listeners to a different world.
• Reverb and Delay Effects : Harness the power of reverb and delay effects to infuse your melodies with a sense of space and time, allowing them to linger and evolve, creating a hypnotic atmosphere.
• Lush Synth Pads and Arpeggios : Incorporate lush, ethereal synth pads and arpeggios to add a touch of celestial beauty to your compositions, evoking a sense of wonder and tranquility.
• Unconventional Chord Progressions : Explore unconventional chord progressions and harmonic structures to weave a sonic tapestry that feels both familiar and mysterious, captivating your audience with its enigmatic allure.

When mixing and mastering your trip hop tracks, utilize EQ and compression techniques to enhance the depth and dynamics of your music. Use EQ to sculpt the tonal balance, making room for each element in the mix. Experiment with compression to control the dynamics, adding punch and clarity to your trip hop tracks.

Additionally, consider incorporating reverb and delay effects to create a spacious and ethereal atmosphere. These effects can add depth and dimension to your mix, contributing to the signature dreamy quality of trip hop music.

Pay close attention to stereo imaging when mixing your trip hop tracks. Ensure that elements are well-balanced and effectively panned to create a wide and immersive soundstage. Utilize automation to introduce movement and variation, keeping the listener engaged throughout the track.

When mastering, focus on achieving a balanced and polished sound. Pay careful attention to levels, dynamics, and tonal balance to ensure that your trip hop tracks sound cohesive and professional.

Now that you've mastered the art of crafting laid-back drum patterns and sampling techniques, creating dreamy melodies and soundscapes, and mixing and mastering your trip hop tracks, you're ready to unleash your unique sound to the world.

Remember to keep experimenting, thinking outside the box, and staying true to the distinctive trip hop sound. With dedication and creativity, you'll be sure to make a lasting impact in the trip hop music scene.

Keep pushing boundaries and let your imagination run wild.

23 Easy Bass Tabs (Perfect For Beginners)

While some claim that most bass lines are easy, it turns out that finding easy bass tabs is surprisingly hard.

Some bass lines are inspiring, but too technically demanding for inexperienced bassists. Then there are the bass lines that have complex parts in them that make them that are not obvious at first. Thus, it can be a challenge for beginners to find out what songs they should learn to play on the bass.

For that reason, I made this list of 23 easy bass tabs.

I`ve thoroughly gone through every song, to ensure that they are indeed fitting for beginners. To keep the list interesting, I`ve also included different genres. Lastly, I`ve also picked bass lines that showcase different aspects of how to play the bass.

Thus, I believe every beginner will find at least some easy bass tabs that will suit them among these.

Related reading: Many famous Christmas songs have easy bass tabs and work well as solo-bass arrangments. To learn more, check out these easy christmas songs for the bass that I`ve made full tabs for .

23. AC/DC – Thunderstruck

• Genre: Rock
• Tempo: 136 BPM
• Tuning: E Standard
• Bassist: Cliff Williams

If you want to try out one of the easiest songs to play on the bass, choose Thunderstruck by AC/DC.

The reason it`s easy is that for most of the song Cliff Williams is repeatedly playing 8th note Bs. Thus, if you can hold this simple groove down for a couple of minutes, you can get through most of the song on that alone.

Through the later parts, the bass changes things up slightly, with a couple of stops and melodic changes. Still, these changes give you ample time to switch finger positions between notes. As a result, this is a great song to try for those who are completely new to the bass.

22. Foo Fighters – My Hero

• Tempo: 155 BPM
• Bassist: Nate Mendel

For an easy bass line that still has some more speed to it, I recommend My Hero by Foo Fighters.

During most of the song, Nate Mendel switches between playing an E and a C#. He also throws in a B in the chorus, as well as playing a simple bass lick towards the end of it.

As a result, you can get through this song without much issue as long as you are able to pound out 8th notes at a 155 BPM pace. The small changes in the chorus also ensure that the bass part doesn`t feel too repetitive, which also makes this a fun tune to play.

21. Arcade Fire – Rebellion (Lies)

• Genre: Indie Rock
• Tempo: 117 BPM
• Bassist: Tim Kingsbury

If you are looking for an easy upbeat indie-rock bass tab, Arcade Fire`s Rebellion is a great pick.

While the song continually builds up, the bassline stays the same throughout most of it. This line consists of an A#-D#-A#-G progression, played at a gentle 117 BPM pace.

Notably, the bass makes a small melodic change toward the end of it without increasing the overall difficulty of the line noticeably.

20. Coldplay – Yellow

• Genre: Pop/Rock
• Tempo: 87 BPM
• Bassist: Guy Berryman

Yellow by Coldplay is a fitting song to learn for bassists who are looking for something a bit more slow and mellow.

At a tempo of 87 BPM, the challenge lies more in playing it slow enough, than fast enough. Thus, it`s a great song for learning to stay in the pocket and feeling the groove of the song as your play.

The bassline itself is relatively straightforward and repeats 4 notes for most of the song. It does however have some changes in its melodic pattern. It also has a couple of octave jumps . These bump the difficulty up somewhat but are also made a lot more beginner-friendly by the slow tempo of the song.

19. Pixies – Where Is My Mind?

• Genre: Alternative Rock
• Tempo: 81 BPM
• Bassist: Kim Deal

The lyrics, Kim Deal`s backup vocals, and the low-intensity chorus are all iconic parts of Pixies` Where Is My Mind? . To me though, the best part of it has always been Deal`s bass line.

This is largely thanks to its unique rhythm, and how it switches from an 8th-note rhythm to 16th notes towards the end of it. As a result, it adds a lot of drive to the song and makes it a ton of fun to play.

This 2-bar groove is repeated throughout the majority of the song. The only changes happen at the end of the choruses and during the bridge. The chorus is similar in difficulty to the main riff, though the bridge has some 16th-note variations in it that make it slightly more challenging.

18. Manowar – Kingdom Come

• Genre: Metal
• Tempo: 176 BPM
• Bassist: Joey DeMaio

While it can be hard to find metal songs that are easy enough for a beginner to play, Kingdom Come is a great place to start.

Related reading : I have also featured this song on my list of easy metal bass tabs .

For most of it, Joey DeMaio is playing an 8th note groove that is broken up a couple of half notes. In the chorus and the later parts of the song, he switches to playing sustained whole and half notes.

As a result, the song is beginner-friendly, despite its somewhat fast tempo of 176 BPM. Also, while many metal songs will require you to tune down your bass, Kingdom Come is played in E standard.

17. The Kinks – You Really Got Me

• Bassist: Pete Quaife

Another great option for an easy bass tab with a bit more groove to it is You Really Got Me by The Kinks.

The main groove consists of just two notes; an F and a G. Though, by making great use of rests and a memorable rhythm, Pete Quaifie`s bass line on this track is beyond catchy despite its simplicity.

Through the later parts of the song, the riff is played using different notes. However, it never uses more than 2 notes at a time, which retains both the groove of the song and the ease of playing it.

16. Billy Joel – Piano Man

• Genre: Folk-Rock
• Tempo: 103 BPM
• Bassist: Emory Gordy Jr.

Piano Man by Billy Joel has a slow groove that I consider one of the best walking basslines of all time .

This means that instead of repeating the root note, it walks between different notes of the chord. Walking bass lines are a staple in jazz and blues, but you will find them in every genre under the sun.

Thus, due to being a great-sounding groove with a slow tempo, this is the perfect introduction to playing walking bass lines . This makes Piano Man a great song to learn if you are looking to play jazz, as walking basslines are a common staple in the genre.

15. Modest Mouse – Float On

• Tempo: 102 BPM
• Bassist: Eric Judy

There are few songs that sound as hopeful and upbeat as Modest Mouse`s Float On .

This is reflected in the bass line, which uses key notes of the major scale to drive home this feeling. The staccato notes of it also give it a bouncy character, which fits the optimistic vibe of the song perfectly.

During the chorus, Eric Judy switches to playing long sustained notes. Thus, the song is overall undemanding, and one of the best choices for beginner-level bassists who are looking for something upbeat to play.

14. The Ramones – Blitzkrieg Bop

• Genre: Punk
• Bassist: Dee Dee Ramone

I featured Blitzkrieg Bop on my list of easy songs to play on the bass while singing , and for a good reason.

Despite its fast tempo, the simplicity of the main riff results in the bass tab being easy and fitting for beginners. The vocals also align perfectly with the rhythm of Dee Dee Ramone`s bass line and have a simple melody to them.

As a result, this song deserves a spot on this list for a multitude of reasons. It`s a great first punk song to learn and it`s fitting for learning to sing and play bass at the same time. Lastly, it`s an iconic tune that you are likely to cover sooner or later when you find yourself jamming with other people.

13. Three Days Grace – Animal I Have Become

• Tempo: 122 BPM
• Tuning: Drop C
• Bassist: Brad Walst

Animal I Have Become is a great showcase of how a deep, and down-tuned bass groove can completely make a song.

In the intro and verse, the bass provides groove to the song by playing a simple melody and using rests. In the chorus, Brad Welst plays a combination of quarter and 8th notes to create a deep and heavy layer. The result is a heavy and dynamic song, that is also easy to play.

This song is also a great introduction to playing triplets . Walst only plays these at the end of the chorus, and due to the moderate tempo of the song, they are a great introduction to this technique.

The song is played in Drop C bass tuning. As the low C is used heavily throughout the bass line, you will need to tune down your bass in order to play this song.

12. Talking Heads – Psycho Killer

• Genre: New Wave
• Tempo: 120 BPM
• Bassist: Tina Weymouth

Talking Heads` biggest hit starts off with a funky staccato groovy by Tina Weymouth.

The bass also sets the tone for the rest of the song that follows it. It is also a great example of how a simple bassline can be incredibly catchy and impactful.

The main riff is played in A minor and is easy to play as it mainly consists of staccato notes on the open A string. However, the parts that follow it are somewhat more difficult. In the chorus, you will need to move a bit more around the fretboard while playing a somewhat melodic line at 120 BPM.

Towards the later part of the song, there is also a part where the bass switches between playing a low A and a high A and a G. Thus, while I do recommend this song for beginners, it is more demanding than most other entries on this list.

11. Eminem (feat. Dido) – Stan

• Genre: Hip-hop
• Tempo: 82 BPM
• Bassist: Mike Elizondo

While there are a ton of amazing hip-hop basslines out there, they can oftentimes be demanding for beginners. Luckily, the bassline on Eminem`s Stan is a great place to start if you want to give the genre a try.

The song mainly consists of a slow line that is mainly made out of half notes. Combine this with the slow 82 BPM tempo of the song, and you`ve got yourself a very beginner-friendly bassline.

On occasion, the bassline will make a slight rhythmic and melodic change, which does not noticeably add to the difficulty.

Note: Bear in mind that playing hip-hop on the bass can be hard even when playing simple lines. This is because how you articulate each note has a big impact on the song as a whole.

10. Jimmy Eat World – The Middle

• Tempo: 162 BPM
• Tuning: Drop D
• Bassist: Rick Burch

The Middle By Jimmy Eat World is a great showcase of how much impact intermittent rests in a bass line can have on a song.

For most of the song, Rick Burch is playing straight 8th notes. When the chorus hits, he rests for a quarter note.

However, despite him going back to playing straight 8th notes right after, the song feels like it has been rejuvenated as a result. Because of this, The Middle is a super-fun song to play, and one that I regularly recommend to beginners.

This song is played in Drop D bass tuning . As the low D is used repeatedly throughout it, you will need to tune down your bass to play this song.

9. Rob Zombie – Dragula

• Tempo: 130 BPM
• Bassist: Rob “Blasko” Nicholson

For a heavy and hard-hitting bass groove in C , try out Dragula by Rob Zombie.

During the intro and verse, the bass plays for 4 bars and then rests for 4. This makes the riff sound especially heavy when it re-enters after the vocal part.

During the chorus and interlude, the bass line mainly consists of simple 8th-note grooves. As a result, the song as a whole is undemanding to play and does not feel too repetitive.

Despite originally being played in Drop C bass tuning , the bass line can be played in E standard. Thus, the tab I`ve made above is made to be playable without tuning down your bass. For the full tabs of this song, you can either opt to transpose the tab or tune down your bass.

8. The Killers – When You Were Young

• Bassist: Mark Stoermer

When You Were Young by The Killers showcases how big of a difference it makes to play the same bassline in two different ways.

On it, Mark Stroemer plays an 8th-note bassline that follows the chord progression. However, he regularly switches to playing the entire line an octave higher. As a result, the song as a whole sounds a lot more dynamic and colorful, despite the rhythm and chord progression remaining the same.

Thus, this is a fitting song for beginners, as it teaches you where to find the octave of certain notes. This way, you won`t have to sit down and memorize the fretboard, but can instead learn it in real time while playing a killer bass line.

7. Nirvana – Breed

• Genre: Grunge
• Tempo: 159 BPM
• Bassist: Krist Novoselic

Nirvana`s Breed features a catchy bass riff that will teach you how to play slight bends .

The main riff consists of 3 notes, an E, an F#, and an A. These are however played in a groovy and clever way that makes for a hard-hitting grunge riff. Krist Novoselic also adds a slight bend to the A which adds a lot of character to the riff.

The chorus is based on the same rhythm as the riff, but here Novoselic adds some additional melody and rhythmic variations to it. At 159 BPM, this makes the song among the harder ones on the list.

Still, it is an overall beginner-friendly bass tab that I recommend if you are a Nirvana fan, or want to learn how to make use of bends in your own bass lines.

6. Queen – Under Pressure

• Tempo: 114 BPM
• Bassist: John Deacon

There is no denying that the iconic intro to Under Pressure is one of Queen`s greatest bass lines .

What`s great is that the simple rhythm of the main riff makes it fitting to learn for beginners. It only consists of a D and an A and is also a great introduction to how the higher ranges of the bass can be utilized.

With that said, this song does increase in difficulty as it progresses. Some parts retain the rhythm of the main riff but are played at a lower register. In the chorus, the bass plays 8th notes with some melodic runs in it.

Thus, this song will take some more practice than some of the other entries on this list.

Related reading: If you want to recreate the tone of the bass on the studio recording, check out my article on John Deacon`s bass tone .

5. Weezer – Undone (The Sweater Song)

• Tempo: 75 BPM
• Tuning: Eb Standard
• Bassist: Matt Sharp

Except for the guitar solo and crescendo towards the end, Matt Sharp mainly sticks to a slow 8th-note groove throughout Undone .

During the song’s later parts there are a bit of 16th notes, and even some 32nd notes thrown in there. However, due to the slow tempo of the song, these parts can still feasibly be played by beginners.

The song is played in half-step down bass tuning . However, tuning down is optional as the low Eb is never played during the song. Thus, the above tab below is transposed to fit standard tuning.

4. The Offspring – Pretty Fly For A White Guy

• Genre: Punk-Rock
• Tempo: 142 BPM
• Bassist: Greg K

Pretty Fly (For A White Guy) has a simple main riff that is equally groovy as it is easy to play.

Due to its heavy use of quarter notes, the riff is undemanding despite the song being faster than many others on this list. It also has a rhythm that is intuitive to get down, despite not consisting of straight 8th notes.

In the chorus, things get slightly more tricky. Here the bass plays several melodic fills at an 8th-note pace. Thus, this song is great for beginners who are looking for a groovy line that doesn`t just consist of 8th notes.

3. The Smashing Pumpkins – Today

• Bassist: D’arcy Wretzky

D’arcy Wretzky`s bass line on Today consists of a slow 8th note groove that spans 2 bars.

In the chorus, the rhythm is switched up a little bit, and also consists of a couple of 16th notes.

However, due to the slow tempo of the song, this groove is still beginner friendly. Thus, if you want an easy song with a deep groove that doesn`t just consist of 8th notes, Today is a fitting pick.

2. Blink-182 – Adam`s Song

• Genre: Pop-Punk
• Bassist: Mark Hoppus

Despite the somber lyrics of Adam`s song , it can be an incredibly fun song to play.

The whole song is played at an 8th-note rhythm. While the chord progression changes between the verse and chorus, the rhythm and low difficulty of it remain the same.

The interlude is slightly more challenging, as here Mark Hoppus plays a groove that switches between playing the root note and the fifth of the chord. This gives the song some nice variety. It`s also great practice, as this is a pattern you will find in lots of bass lines.

1. U2 – With Or Without You

• Tempo: 110 BPM
• Bassist: Adam Clayton

Few songs showcase the power a simple bassline can have as well as With Or Without You by U2.

This is because the song is full of bright effects and guitars that leave a lot of space for the bass to fill in the low end. As a result, the bass also fills an important role, as without it the song would sound completely powerless.

The bassline consists of a simple 8th-note groove that is repeated for almost the entirety of the song. This easy bass line grounds the song and makes it sound cohesive as it builds up. Thus, With or Without You will show you just how much impact you can have as a bass player by repeating a simple 8th-note groove.

Ian Partanen

BassOx Founder. Passionate bassist for 15+ years across a vast selection of genres, currently into indie-rock and hip-hop. Bachelor's degree in Musicology from the University of Oslo.

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Local Groove Does Good: The Story Of Trip-Hop's Rise From Bristol

Vivien Goldman

The Wild Bunch — soon-to-be Massive Attack — at the Dug Out Club in Bristol. Photo by Beezer hide caption

The Wild Bunch — soon-to-be Massive Attack — at the Dug Out Club in Bristol.

Sinuous and mysterious as a plume of drifting smoke, a new sort of groove wafted two decades ago from Bristol, a bohemian university town in the west of England. Though its prime movers — Massive Attack , Tricky and Portishead — all loathe the term, the word "trip-hop" has become synonymous with the style created by Bristol bands like Massive Attack and Smith & Mighty. The sensuous groove fulfilled a timeless human need for a bass-heavy sound to touch the secret recesses of the imagination and lure our dreamworld onto the dance floor. Trip-hop was tailor-made for the moment — and it happens every night — when a bopper wants to get tender. Or when domestic listeners seek to wander within themselves.

Not all local grooves take flight, but trip-hop most certainly did. Over the next two decades it was re-imagined as chill-out, downtempo, illbient and lounge music. Its subtle tendrils have woven into music round the world: Washington, D.C.'s Thievery Corporation , with their exotic cosmopolitan edge; drifty Brazilian sounds like Ceu , whose dulcet lilt earned her maximum market penetration (a Starbucks CD); London's Ninja Tunes' artists like Bonobo and Berlin's techno-tinged Sonar Kollektiv. As music writer Simon Reynolds notes, "People like Flying Lotus and Gonjasufi on the West Coast are doing trippy hip-hop. Though it's not quite the same thing, they probably are the inheritors of the spirit of Massive Attack, Tricky, Earthling and DJ Vadim."

To qualify as true trip-hop, music has to share the sense of opiated mystery of Tricky's tantalizing mumbles on the classic album, 20 years old last year, that launched trip-hop worldwide, Massive Attack's Blue Lines. Its magical " Unfinished Sympathy ," cast a spell over the world's clubbers. Produced by Nellee Hooper (later of Soul II Soul and Bjork , among many others) the well-timed sound was just one manifestation of a movement taking place in Bristol at that time.

Scene initiators included Smith & Mighty and the DJ collective The Wild Bunch, from which came Massive Attack and Tricky. The Pop Group's volatile post-punk added another element to the scene, later splitting into the savage free explorations of Float Up C.P. and horn-happy Pigbag.

Bristol fed off its slave port for hundreds of years; now it's one of Britain's blackest cities, culturally and socially. It's long been home to a West Indian community, and shebeens and sound systems were a way of life for all music-loving Bristolian youth. Being a port, Bristol was always awash in hashish and other plant-based mind-benders like marijuana — not to mention more macrobiotically sound, locally-grown life-enhancers like scrumpy cider and hallucinogenic mushrooms (legal back then) grown in the surrounding countryside — that undoubtedly fuelled Bristol's music scene.

Much of this musical experimentation took place at a club called The Dug Out. As Hooper has said, "The Dug Out couldn't have had a better location, at the top of the hill from St Paul's — the heart of the black music scene — and just down the hill from Clifton and the trendy punk/art scene. It was just dangerous enough for trendies to feel edgy, music cool and edgy enough to confuse and enthuse the dreads ... perfect!"

Disclosure: I got a chance to explore Massive Attack's creative process first hand over a few years. What follows is a typically incestous Bristolian saga. The links between town and gown — the students and the locals — plus the charming city's many liberal artsy types, made for a scene with a hectic social, creative and romantic dynamic.

Blue Lines was born in an upstairs bedroom of the terraced West London home of Afro-Swedish hip-hop diva Neneh Cherry and her producer husband, singer Cameron McVey. Before her solo hits began with " Buffalo Stance ," Neneh sang with Float Up C.P., and as her first husband was Bruce Smith (drummer for the Pop Group and The Slits, with whom Neneh also sang), Bristol was yet another home to her. The young Massive Attackers, Daddy G, 3-D, Mushroom and Tricky, became Cherry and McVey's protegés. They took over the small side bedroom, soon cluttered with reel-to-reels and tape machines, and a record deck on which they would earnestly sift through possible samples. A superb chef, my friend Neneh would be in the kitchen concocting feasts in between writing rhymes, with Massive Attack wandering in for cups of tea.

Years later, after the band had released Blue Lines and were preparing the album that became Protection , I visited Bristol to collaborate with them, eventually co-writing the track " Sly ." Sample-based songwriting in those pre-digital days could be laborious. I bought a child's Casio keyboard to help fill the gaps, which came in handy for "Sly," but the process often involved someone getting on their bike and cycling down to the second-hand record shop to try and locate half-remembered grooves that might be just right to fulfill the elusive conception of a song.

Bring back the bike, because the tunes the Massives assembled by hand, between cups of tea, opened a poetic, evocative, emotional vein of music, which is still connecting hearts today.

10 Key Trip-Hop Tracks

Neneh cherry on "lately" by massive attack.

From 'Blue Lines'

By Massive Attack

Sonically, it's the ultimate trip-hop track, really beautiful. When they were working on it in our house in Mortimer Road, West London, I remember lying in bed hearing it floating round the house and the feeling of being a silent witness to something really great happening. It would send me off into a beautiful dream space sleep. What I love about trip-hop is the bottom end, the sexiness of the downbeat which also gives it a blues-y sort of melancholy. It's the English interpretation of hip-hop, bringing the bass and bottom end from reggae into it. Why Bristol? All the people I know from there are hardcore individuals. It breeds some eccentric thinkers.

Singer-songwriter NENEH CHERRY is an anchor of the Bristol scene. She sang with The Slits, Float Up C.P. and is now with the band CirKus. She is working on two new albums.

Ray Mighty on "Anyone" by Smith & Mighty

From 'DJ-Kicks'

By Smith & Mighty

To hell with false modesty!

RAY MIGHTY is half of the production duo Smith & Mighty.

Rob Smith on "King Tubby Meets the Rockers Uptown" by Augustus Pablo

From 'King Tubbys Meets Rockers Uptown'

By Augustus Pablo/King Tubby

To be very honest, we all hated the term 'trip-hop'! The phrase was coined, I believe, by a non-Bristolian journalist, Dom Phillips, who in my mind was very underqualified to be making any opinions about the scene at that time. I remember we played with Tricky at Hammersmith. During Tricky's set, he shouted, "Who likes trip-hop?" A few people in the audience shouted, "Yaee!" and he replied, "Well f--- off home then!"

Bristol artists were not afraid to mix and blend styles, thus coming up with fresh sounding tunes. Also Bristol is far enough away from London that there wasn't the same need to compete or chase trends. Bristol had its own pace and tunes were often left to stew longer.

ROB SMITH is half of the production duo Smith & Mighty.

Mark Stewart on "Aftermath" by Tricky

From 'Aftermath EP'

His first single. I made it with him and Martina Topley-Bird. We were desperate for a girl singer. 8 o'clock in the morning, stopped at some traffic lights on the way to the studio. Two school girls in their uniform at a bus stop — me and Tricky shouted across saying, "Can either of you sing?" Martina said yes, and two stars were born: Tricky and her.

The Wild Bunch (as well as 3D, Daddy G, DJ Milo, Willie Wee and Tricky Kid) — my boys. They call me The Godfather, but in fact some of them are older than me, I just started making music when I was 16.

Big up the mad skillz of generation next Bristol bass of Appleblim, Kahn and Joker dropping science — the new kids from Bristol.

MARK STEWART is the singer for The Pop Group and Mark & the Mafia. His new album, The Politics of Envy , will be released in March and includes collaborations with Primal Scream and others.

Bruce Smith on "Glory Box" by Portishead

From 'Mysterious Heads'

By Portishead

"Glory Box" is a GREAT record, very sexy. I associate that track with sex. And Tricky's first album is very good, very creative. I think the genre is interesting as it is a particularly English take on a North American cultural phenomenon. In Bristol the West Indian influence is huge, so the interpretation of hip-hop — an aggressive music — was made from that perspective, with the influence of dub being the key element.

I spent my late teens absorbed by reggae in Bristol. Had an enormous effect on me and still does in the way I play the drums to this day.

BRUCE SMITH is the drummer for The Slits, The Pop Group and Public Image Limited.

Dick O'Dell on "Karmacoma" by Massive Attack

From 'Protection'

Trip-hop happened in Bristol because of the strong West Indian community from slave trade times combined with middle class white boyz getting seriously spliffed up in the Dug Out!

DICK O'DELL was the manager of The Pop Group and now manages Bat for Lashes.

Cameron McVey on "Any Love" by Massive Attack

From 'Singles 90/98'

It was the very first Massive Attack 45, before me and Neneh started working with them. Smith & Mighty produced it, who I was trying to work with at the time, with Chris Parry, the manager of The Cure. I love Portishead too, and I'd also like to pick Horace Andy's "One Love," with Massive Attack .

Trip-hop was born in Bristol because a lot of 6' 5" Masai warriors must have jumped ship during the slave trade! That's why Bristol has street names like Black Boy Hill and White Lady Road. Bristol is where reggae mixed with hip-hop. It's mad. It's so profound.

CAMERON MCVEY is a singer, songwriter and producer for Neneh Cherry, CirKus and more.

Beezer on "Small World" by Smith & Mighty

From 'Big World, Small World'

The Dug Out was a meeting spot for the ghetto and Poshville where black and white would hang out. We were there almost every night, playing disco, funk and punk. It was our Studio 54, and it put Bristol on the map. We were totally into dub and reggae; it was an amalgamation of cultures with no barriers.

We didn't know we were part of something that would be influential later, but even at the time it felt like something special was going on, although it was still just, like, going out on a regular Wednesday night.

BEEZER is a photographer who chronicled trip-hop in the mid-'90s.

Tessa Pollitt on "Unfinished Sympathy" by Massive Attack

I choose everything dear ol' Tricky has put out. The Slits were often in Bristol and I have always loved and respected the "Brizzle" scene. So much innovative music and talent has come from there and has influenced following generations musically.

Let's face it, reggae from Jamaica has influenced us all in the U.K. from old steppers to jungle, drum and bass, dubstep, trip-hop, grime etc. The original rapper was U Roy, [J.A].

But Bristol has something special about it. Must be the Ley Lines (lines of energy running beneath the earth) and the huge hills you have to climb like in San Francisco. And probably the amount of Jamaicans that came here way back in the windrush era, 1950s.

TESSA POLLITT is bass player for The Slits.

Martina Topley-Bird on "Aftermath" by Tricky

From 'Maxinquaye'

It's the only Tricky song I recognize as a trip-hop song (still hard to write those words even now), and it was our first single. Mark Stewart was there. I'd just turned 16. Recorded in a squat studio in Bristol.

I arrived in Bristol when I was 13. I like that Bristol is really mixed racially, more so than anywhere else in England, even London, for me at the time. It was smaller and there were no great swathes of land for people to be segregated to.

I think how it's laid out as a city has its own effect on the psyche of its dwellers — and the weather. Back then it was England before shops were open on Sundays. Some parts were melancholy, and some parts were bleak. But the suspension bridge was beautiful and the gorge. It has history as a slaving port too.

It was the generation before me that started making this music though. I heard more than I saw with my own eyes about Blues dances and Sound Systems.

MARTINA TOPLEY-BIRD is a vocalist with Tricky and Massive Attack. She's working on new material now.

• Augustus Pablo
• Massive Attack

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TUTORIAL – Bass Line Tips for your Sampled Hip Hop Beats PART 1

Over the past few months I’ve had a growing number of requests on Youtube , Twitter & Facebook to upload a beat making tutorial dedicated to composing a bass line for sampled beats.

Being a sample-based producer myself, I know that creating a bass line to match a sample can be daunting at times, especially for the producers just starting out.  Many novice beat makers (myself included a couple years ago) rely on techniques like “Low End Theory” for their bass – where you duplicate the sample track, apply a low-pass filter (LPF) and EQ the sample’s original bass to your liking.

Over the years I have grown away from using this technique for bass because it can muddy your mix – causing problems in the mid-to-low frequency areas. The “cleaner” approach, at least from a mixing standpoint,  is to learn to create your own bass line with your preferred vsti or sound module (or better yet, maybe you even have a bass guitar!). The other major benefit to composing your own bass track is that you have FULL control over what bass notes that are played, unlike when using an existing bass line from a sample.

In Part 1 of this tutorial above, I talk about some high-level tips to assist you in creating a bass line:

1) Study your Influences – This should be obvious, but it’s definitely something that doesn’t hurt to mention, if only as a reminder. Use the beat makers and producers you look up to and draw inspiration from as an example. Analyze one of your favorite beats from them. What makes it good? It’s the instrumental’s overall groove that gives it that “head nodding” factor. The bass line is a crucial part of that overall feel, as well as the drums, of course.

2) Learn Music Theory – Learning basic music theory is very beneficial for composing bass lines – not to mention your overall production in general. You may be able to get away with playing by ear, but if nothing else, I highly recommend knowing some basic theory.   My recommendation is to focus on learning keys and scales. Knowing what key a sample is in will make it a lot easier to create a solid bass line for your beat.  Developing the ability to easily identify the key and play that key’s scale fluently will improve your music production ability tremendously!

3) Detuning the Sample – This is not necessarily something that is obvious to many newbie producers, but it can make all the difference in your bass line being in key with your sample.  Check the tutorial above for a more detailed discussion on the importance of detuning your sample (if needed) and a live demonstration on how to do so using Ableton Live.

Part 2 of this tutorial will include more detailed and  in depth examples and will walk you through how I created the bass line for the sampled beat I am working on in Part 1.

If you enjoyed this video, make sure to SUBSCRIBE to our Youtube Channel for all our latest beat making videos and tutorials!

Until next time, Happy Beat Making! – http://www.tcustomz.com

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Travis Cole has been operating TCustomz Productionz, LLC full-time since 2011 and hopes for it to serve as a source to help many music artists, producers and entrepreneurs worldwide achieve their dreams of success.

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Opinion and Analysis in Bass Guitar

9 Easy Bass Lines for Beginners You Won’t Find in a Book

Last Updated: July 26, 2022 by Mike Emiliani 5 Comments

Easy bass lines for beginner bass players are just about everywhere. Every band on the planet has some song that have bass lines that are very friendly towards beginners. The lines are intended to be supportive and not lead oriented, the notes tend to follow the chord changes of the guitar player and the lines give the budding bassist a great crash course in the very essence of being a bass player while developing playing chops. Moreover, they can just be fun to play and learn.

While there are books and books and books of bass of rock bass lines geared towards beginners, here are 11 bass lines that you might not find in a book by Hal Leonard but are no less friendly towards beginner players and very fun to play.

1. ‘Hey’ – The Pixies

The Pixies were a seminal 1990s alternative rock act that helped to shape the sound of many of the acts that we consider to be power players and representative of the Generation X sound. Weezer , Nirvana , the Strokes , Radiohead and countless other high profile acts have all claimed to have drawn influence from the Pixies’ raw sound and soft-loud-soft verse-chorus-verse song structure.

The band’s bass player, Kim Deal, held down the Pixies’ low end for all four of the band’s albums, Surfer Rosa, Doolittle, Bossa Nova and Trompe le Monde before her departure from the band in 2012, 2013. She was a role player and did her role like the best of them. Her bass lines were simple, audible and supportive of the guitar work of Frank Black and  Joey Santiago. She even commented on what she believed a ‘real bass player’ was.

While I could have chosen any Pixies’ song for this list, I chose ‘Hey’ for the reason that the bass line is the center point of the song and it comes in clear and audible in the mix. The bass line is a classic example of a line that doesn’t need to be fancy or elaborate to still hold down the low end and provide body to the song.

Here’s the tab to the Pixies’ Hey’ off their classic album, Doolittle :

2. ‘Tiny Cities Made of Ashes’ – Modest Mouse

I’m a big fan of bass lines with slides worked into them. To my ear, there is just something very satisfying about a gentle slide from one note to another up or down the bass neck. Fortunately, Modest Mouse’s Eric Judy worked a few of those into his bass line for the Modest Mouse song, ‘Tiny Cities Made of Ashes’ off their 2000 album, The Moon & Antarctica.

Judy’s bass line here, like that of the Pixies’ ‘Hey, drives the song. Underneath Judy’s playing, guitarist Issac Brock and company fill in the sonic space with gentle, floating guitar parts and a quiet kick and high hat combo to round out the song.

The bass line is composed of two primary patterns that alternate between one another. Both start on the Db on the E string with the only difference between the two being that the first pattern turns around on an F# and the second one turns around on a B.

3. ‘With or Without You’ – U2

U2 has come to embody a lot of things over the years from stage shows to social activism. But one thing that makes U2 so unique is that musically speaking, U2 is very very simple. Edge even commented that the U2 is a bunch of musicians that don’t sound good individually but together sound very good and simplicity of each person’s musical parts are a big aspect of U2’s sound and ability to stay so musically and socially relevant over the years.

The song ‘With or Without You’ off the band’s seminal 1987 release, The Joshua Tree captures everything U2 in one song: soaring vocals, catchy hooks, delay laden guitar work, and a rhythm section lead by bassist Adam Clayton and drummer Larry Mullen Jr. to keep the whole song stitched together and moving as a coherent unit without ever becoming boring or faded.

Here’s Clayton’s bass line to the song ‘With or Without You’:

4. ‘Paradise Circus’ – Massive Attack

Thought not up to speed on their electronic music might not have heard of the electronic music/trip hop duo from England called Massive Attack .

Massive Attack makes music meant to chill you out. Few songs ever seem to reach a full explosive peak and most tend to just pulse along in a cool, calming way. Though Massive Attack does tour with a live band to recreate their studio production work, the original productions usually feature a synthesized bass line. Like most of the other bass lines on this list, the bass line to the song ‘Paradise Circus’ off the band’s 2010 album, Heligoland , the bass line is simple yet satisfying and complimentary to the overall musical picture. It doesn’t demand attention but your ear naturally seems to be drawn to it once it kicks in around the 1 minute mark of the song.

If you’re not familiar with Massive Attack, I highly recommend taking some time out to listen to the band. And while you’re at it, pick up your bass and give a try to the bass line :

5. ‘One More Robot/Sympathy 3000-21’ – The Flaming Lips

While we’re on the topic of electronic music, let’s talk about one band from Oklahoma that transformed into a bit of an electronic act themselves (or at least electronically influenced) called The Flaming Lips .

Originally a punk band, the Lips’ sound has done a full 180 in the last 15 years. From brash, distorted guitar driven work to buzzing synths and airy vocals the Flaming Lips have reinvented themselves in one of music’s most seamless genre crossing transitions – and none ever seemed to complain or call the band sell outs along the way!

While the Lip’s sound might have changed, the band’s line up has not. Bassist Michael Ivins has been with the band since it first formed in 1983 and been providing the low end support ever since then and the band has only seemed to shed it’s membership throughout the years it was shifting from a Sonic Youth-esque band into more of an Sgt. Pepper’s Beatles sounding one.

The band’s 1999 release, The Soft Bulletin , marks the truly distinct transition from noise to synth and the track, but it was the band’s 2002 release, Yoshimi Battles Pink Robots , that the band fully embraces their new sound. Crossed between a Talatubbies cartoon and an acid trip, Yoshimi is a trip and one of the tracks that best embodies the band’s new found weirdness is track 2: ‘One More Robot’.

It’s a dense little song brimming with a neon-tinted moody atmosphere and dark quivering synths driven by Ivins’ clean punchy Precision bass line. Ivins’ line provides an interesting contrast to the overall picture of the song. While the track is layered and lush sounding, Ivin’s bass line is short, fat and punchy and gives the song a much needed drive. Without it, the song would certainly be considerably less interesting and engaging to listen to despite Coyne’s smooth vocals.

In researching for this piece, I couldn’t get a hold of a tab, but Songsterr does have a full transcription of the bass line  available for those interested in learning the song.

6. ‘Sheep’ – Pink Floyd

When we think of Pink Floyd and bass playing, the first thing that comes to mind is ‘Money’, the song that introduced many of us to a non-4/4 time signature for the first time. But for this list, I’m purposely not going to cover ‘Money’ (too easy and been done to death by everyone and their mother) and take to a different Pink Floyd song: ‘Sheep’ off their 1977 album, Animals.

‘Sheep’ is a 9 minute prog rock song done and composed as only Pink Floyd would: chugging guitars transitioning into psychedelic interludes and back out with more guitars all tied together with a concept from the mind of bassist Roger Waters . The bass work in this track one needs to dig deeper to find – or turn up the bass on your speaker system. It does tend to get buried underneath the rest of the instruments in the mix but when you find it, at first glance, you’re likely to find that the bass line is what we think of as a ‘rock bass line’. It’s entirely supportive, groovy to an extent and the challenge lies in capturing the right feel behind the notes rather than remembering what notes to play.

While ‘Sheep’ is a long song and remembering all the notes that go with all the parts may or may not be a hidden challenge, it’s certainly an easy bass lines for beginners worth investigating especially if you’re a fan of good ol’ classic rock.

Pink Floyd’s ‘Sheep’ Bass Tab

7. ‘R u Mine?’ – Arctic Monkeys

Somewhere between 80s lo fi garage rock and 2000s blues rock sits the Arctic Monkeys.

Hailing from England, the Arctic Monkeys have brought with them a rough-around-the-edges sound that invokes images of early White Stripes and the Black Keys. While the band could be called a guitar-centric band, the bass playing is certainly there to support the bluesy guitar playing. Another great example of the presence of the bass being felt but not always heard.

The song, ‘R U Mine?’ off their 2013 release, AM, is an example of a bass line that is in (just about) perfect unison with the lead guitar melody – all the way down to the fuzzed out guitar. Again not terribly complex in its difficulty, the bass line to ‘R U Mine?’ is definitely a fun song to play through.

8. ‘Suggestion’ by Fugazi

Toss out of your head for a moment the typical Fugazi sound. Short, fast songs, in your face lyrics about social activism and anti-government ideas and more energy than anyone would know what do do with and instead replace it with a 4 minute song, with a tempo at about 90 beats per minute and a loud, fat bass line driving the song. You’ve got Fugazi’s ‘Suggestion’.

‘Suggestion’ by Fugazi bass tab

9. ‘Hatesong’ – Porcupine Tree

When we think Porcupine Tree, none here has thought ‘easy bass lines for beginners’. Well, as it turns out, there is a song that is simple enough for a beginner bass player to take on from this English progressive rock band: ‘Hatesong’ off the band’s 2000 release, Lightbulb Sun .

Like their progressive rock influences, Porcupine Tree is best known for their technical song writing abilities and concept based albums. ‘Hatesong’ and Lightbulb Sun are different, however.

The album as a whole is seen as some of Porcupine Tree’s most listener-friendly music up to this point in their career and ‘Hatesong’ seems more like ‘progressive metal lite’. The song still carries a prolonged, scripted section leading the song out beyond the 4 minute mark, but the song isn’t quite as wild and crazy musically as other Porcupine Tree songs prior to it like the song ‘Pure Narcotic’ and pretty much the entire On the Sunday of Life… album.

Bassist Colin Edwin , who is also credited as the co writer of this song, lays it down plain and simple for ‘Hatesong’. His bass line is often found following the lead guitar and seldom deviates from the rest of the band, making the challenge  of this bass line two fold:

• Remembering all the parts an
• Capturing the right feel of the song

A third challenge for beginner bass players in this song is the introduction of harmonics. Within the opening 3 minutes of the song, Edwin’s bass playing makes significant use of harmonics in between played out notes. For beginners, this bass line is a fantastic way to get introduced to incorporating harmonics into your playing in a way that is functional and supportive rather than in a lead bass way.

‘Hatesong’ by Porcupine Tree Bass Tab

So in this post we’ve covered some simple bass lines for beginner bass players that you might not find in book of bass lines for beginner bass players.

We’ve covered a lot of genres and a lot of styles of music – old and new. From electronic to blues rock to progressive metal, fun, engaging and even challenging bass lines are all around and from every decade and from every walk of music. Hopefully this post shed some light on something new and exciting and put some cracks in the mold of go-to beginner bass songs like ‘Money’, ‘Smoke on the Water’ and ‘Another One Bites the Dust’.

Cheers and happy playing.

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Reader Interactions

July 25, 2015 at 3:49 pm

This looks awesome – thanks!

August 4, 2015 at 9:41 pm

You weren’t lying that you would never find these in books, I haven’t heard most of these and I think I just found a new playlist to learn. Thanks guys

October 28, 2015 at 3:54 pm

the hey song by the pixies, the chorus is easier w/ A-2 E-3 and E-0

January 6, 2016 at 10:51 pm

Arabella by Arctic Monkeys has a sick bass riff that is different from the guitar most of the time. In my opinion, Its much more fun to play than R U Mine. It’s off the same album too.

January 7, 2016 at 8:56 am

That whole album is full of fantastic bass riffs. It was really hard to pick just one, but I ended up choosing ‘R U Mine’. But you are right – ‘Arabella’ is a fantastic line. Who knows, it might show up on part 2 of this article 😉

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The Bristol band’s debut still sounds unique today.

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British dance music was in especially rude health at the turn of the 1990s. Benchmark releases including Soul II Soul’s Club Classics Vol. One , Neneh Cherry’s Raw Like Sushi and Young Disciples’ Road To Freedom attracted critical acclaim and significant chart returns while Massive Attack further upped the ante with 1991’s Blue Lines : an extraordinary album which Select magazine declared was “a record to transcend every boundary.”

With hindsight, the rave reviews it attracted still seem appropriate, for Blue Lines remains one of modern music’s most ground-breaking debuts. Proffering a potent mash-up of hip-hop, soul, funk, dub reggae and electronica, its unique sound established Massive Attack as one of the most innovative British outfits of the 90s – but the record’s seductive fusion of styles stemmed from the influences its members collectively absorbed while DJ-ing at clubs and parties in their native Bristol.

Massive Attack’s Blue Lines was recently named one of Apple Music’s Best 100 Albums ever. Listen to the album now.

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“[ Blue Lines ] came completely from a DJ perspective,” co-founder Grantley ‘Daddy G’ Marshall once told Classic Pop magazine. “We were going to make a record of our favorite sounds and influences and it was quite heavily sample-based. It was quite imaginative the way we did something with it.”

Blue Lines was the work of Massive Attack’s original lineup, with Marshall joined by Robert “3D” Del Naja, Andrew “Mushroom” Vowles and Adrian “Tricky” Thaws, all of whom had previously worked with Bristol-based sound system, The Wild Bunch. However, Blue Lines greatly benefitted from the group’s desire to collaborate, with Jonny Dollar (Gabrielle, Neneh Cherry) co-producing and special guests Shara Nelson and Jamaican reggae icon Horace Andy supplying decisive vocal performances on the record’s key tracks.

Indeed, it’s fair to say both vocalists excelled themselves on Blue Lines . Andy turned in superb performances on the redemptive “Hymn Of The Big Wheel” and an uplifting cover of William Vaughan’s 1972 soul classic “Be Thankful For What You Got,” while Nelson arguably stole the show with her contributions to the album’s twin peaks, “Safe From Harm” and “Unfinished Sympathy.” Featuring neatly-spliced Funkadelic and Herbie Hancock samples, the former made for a compelling listen, but it was “Unfinished Sympathy” which really set Blue Lines apart. Enveloped by a glorious, cascading string arrangement and topped off by Nelson’s soaring, soul-searching vocal, the song was a widescreen pop classic and its U.K. chart peak of No. 13 brokered Massive Attack’s mainstream breakthrough.

With “Unfinished Sympathy” also going Top 20 in several European territories, Blue Lines did brisk business on the charts, rising to a peak of No. 13 and eventually going double platinum in the U.K. In the long run, though, its critical cachet has vastly outstripped its commercial returns.

Rolling Stone went on to declare that Blue Lines was “the blueprint for trip-hop” – the genre-tag later applied to like-minded 90s classic such as Tricky’s solo debut Maxinquaye and Dummy by fellow Bristolians Portishead – and the album is still regularly cited for its role in shepherding dance music into more introspective realms. “On its release, Blue Lines felt like nothing else,” The Guardian ’s Alex Petridis wrote in a 2012 retrospective. “But it still sounds unique, which is remarkable given how omnipresent trip-hop was to become.”

“I was still DJ-ing when we made Blue Lines , but what we were trying to do with it was create dance music for the head rather than the feet,” Daddy G reflected in an interview with The Observer in 2013. “I still think it’s our freshest album.”

Listen to Massive Attack’s Blue Lines now.

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Fear you’ll never hear your favorite band live? These Maine tribute shows might do the trick

See homages to David Bowie, Prince, The Cure and The Rolling Stones in Portland this week, and other shows coming this summer.

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If you’ve never seen a tribute act perform the songs of artists that are either too big to play in Maine or who have passed away, there’s a way to do a whole bunch of that this week in Portland.

There are also tribute shows happening in venues around the state all summer long.

A Strange Day is the Portland-based tribute to The Cure. Photo by Seth D. Warner

Let’s start with Portland-based A Strange Day, a tribute to British alternative act The Cure, fronted by singer and guitarist Seth Warner.

The band will perform The Cure’s second album, “Seventeen Seconds,” in its entirety, along with some hits and other cuts at Portland House of Music on Thursday.

The album was released on April 18, 1980. Lead singer and guitarist Robert Smith turned 21 three days later. The single  “A Forest” marked the band’s debut on the U.K. Singles Chart, where it reached the No. 31 spot. The song remains a setlist staple at The Cure’s live performances.

Warner said he put himself in the shoes of Cure fans when deciding what album to cover. “What I would like to hear from a Cure band is a dive into the specific eras that surrounded each record, and ‘Seventeen Seconds’ set the tone for the more introspective and gloomy textures and themes.” Advertisement

As for Warner’s favorite “Seventeen Seconds” tracks, he said, “I really like ‘At Night’ for its dynamic potential, and the edgy and angsty ‘M.'”

The band took its name from the track “A Strange Day” from The Cure’s 1982 album “Pornography.”

Along with Warner, the band is Pete Dugas (keys), Andrew Hodgkins (drums), Matt Kennedy (synth/sax), Kevin O’Reilly (bass), Casey Urich (trumpet) and Corey Urich.

Angel Butts, a copy editor living in Westbrook, has seen The Cure more than 100 times on three continents and at least 10 countries, including Latvia and Colombia. “They’re like breathing to me. They have this massive catalog and it spans every possible mood, I don’t know of another band with a palette like that. “Seventeen Seconds” is among her favorite of the band’s 13 studio albums.

Butts has seen The Cure play the “Seventeen Seconds” album all the way through three times. “One of those shows stands as the best show I’ve ever seen in my life. The Cure: Reflections, Nov. 27, 2011 at the  Beacon Theatre in New York City.”

Butts said she and her 13-year-old daughter will be attending the A Strange Day show. “I think she’s more excited than I am.” Advertisement

A Strange Day  8:30 p.m. Thursday. Portland House of Music, 25 Temple St., Portland, $12 in advance, $15 day of show, 21-plus. portlandhouseofmusic.com

Another British act that will likely never perform in Maine is The Rolling Stones. With more than 30 albums, the band achieved legendary status decades ago. Singer Mick Jagger and guitarist Keith Richards are both 80, and the band is currently on tour and will be at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts, on Thursday.

There are still tickets left for that show, but you can save yourself hours of traffic jams and a lot of more by instead heading to Aura on Saturday to see Satisfaction: The International Rolling Stones tribute show. Or maybe you’ll see the real deal and then keep the party going here in Maine.

Satisfaction has been slinging Stones hits for over two decades and has played more than 4,000 shows. Chris LeGrand’s take on Mick Jagger is pretty convincing, and he and the band will surely be pleased to meet you.

Satisfaction: The International Rolling Stones Tribute Show 9 p.m. Saturday. Aura, 121 Center St., Portland, $15, $25.50, 18-plus. auramaine.com

The Prince/Bowie tribute act performing live. Photo by Tammie Birdwell

David Bowie and Prince died within five months of each other in 2016, at the ages of 69 and 57, respectively, and their losses were felt by millions of fans around the world. Advertisement

With contributions that are impossible to quantify, both artists left behind a legacy of music that lives on through radio play, home listening and tribute shows.

Boston-based musician Eric Gould loves both artists and is the bandleader of a Prince/Bowie tribute coming to Portland on Saturday. The band is a revolving lineup of players from all over the country.

Gould plays bass and designs the setlists. For this show, the musicians are Cal Kehoe (guitar, vocals), Adrian Tramontano (drums), Sammi Garrett (percussion, vocals), Josh Schwartz (baritone sax, vocals), Rob Somerville (tenor saxophone), Rob Volo (trombone) and Kiran Edwards (keys).

Gould said that, to him, Prince embodies soul, creative arrangement and precision. “His music has the best energy and makes you feel on top of the universe.”

He described Bowie as having a voice and character that is completely unique.

“It is powerful and epic and decadent,” said Gould, who has made a career out of finding unique connections through the songbooks of artists. “It is such a treat to present music people know and love in a way that is fresh to the ears. This combination brings so much joy to everyone on and off stage.” Advertisement

Prince/Bowie 8 p.m. Saturday. Portland House of Music, 25 Temple St., Portland, $25, 21-plus. portlandhouseofmusic.com

Other upcoming tribute shows

The Peacheaters: An Allman Brothers Band Experience, Friday. Jonathan’s, Ogunquit, $31 to $72.50. jonathansogunquit.com

Sweet Baby James: James Taylor Tribute, Saturday. Vinegar Hill Music Theatre, Arundel, $30 to $45. vinhillmusic.com

Studio Two: The Early Beatles Tribute, June 9. Vinegar Hill Music Theatre, Arundel, $30, $35. vinhillmusic.com

Magic Bus: A Tribute to The Who, June 14. Vinegar Hill Music Theatre, Arundel, $30. vinhillmusic.com Advertisement

The The Band Band, June 21. Vinegar Hill Music Theatre, Arundel, $45, $55. vinhillmusic.com

Bruce In The USA, June 21. Aura, Portland, $20 to $39.50. auramaine.com

Elvis Tribute Show, June 22, July 20. Jonathan’s, Ogunquit, $29 to $70. jonathansogunquit.com

Higher Ground: A Tribute to Stevie Wonder, July 20. Vinegar Hill Music Theatre, Arundel, $40. vinhillmusic.com

Studio Two: The Early Beatles Tribute, July 6. Jonathan’s, Ogunquit, $41.50 to $82.50. jonathansogunquit.com

Johnny Cash Tribute Show, July 7, Aug. 10.  Jonathan’s, Ogunquit, $29 to $70. jonathansogunquit.com Advertisement

Rose Alley: A Tribute to Jerry Garcia, June 28. Vinegar Hill Music Theatre, Arundel, $23. vinhillmusic.com

Runnin’ Down A Dream: The Tom Petty Tribute Band, July 13, Nov. 14. Jonathan’s, Ogunquit, $35 to $76. jonathansogunquit.com

The Elton John Experience, July 21. Jonathan’s, Ogunquit, $29 to $79. jonathansogunquit.com

Zach Nugent’s Dead Set, Aug. 1. Vinegar Hill Music Theatre, Arundel, $25. vinhillmusic.com

The Stray Horses, Aug. 8. Vinegar Hill Music Theatre, Arundel, $25. vinhillmusic.com

Wake Up Mama: The Allman Brothers Tribute Band, Aug. 24. Vinegar Hill Music Theatre, Arundel, $25. vinhillmusic.com

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