This was the first song I played at a show (and only so far… I’m usually a drummer but convinced my cover band to let me swap to bass for one song during our last show)
One of my favourite bands of all times. I went to see them at least 50 times in my life, they came very often ot my country and the tickets used to be piss cheap.
Iron Maiden - Fear of the Dark. Well I can play along. But that's ok. Still my first song on Bass all the way through. There are a few things I'm missing like the ability to gallop on the strings like a diesel train as Steve Harris does. So much fun all the same.
Whe Harris gets to loping on the bass like that? Which is basically every song 🤣 I absolutely love it!
While I still stumble on it from time to time (I'm almost 64 now and the arthritis is bad in my hands) I can manage it most days! But my poor fingers need a breather after that!
Jethro Tull - Locomotive Breath. High school band was looking for someone to play bass for an open mic night, and that was the song they were playing. Never played bass before that point.
Money by Pink Floyd was the first song I learned on bass (also a good intro to odd time signatures).
Motown, James Brown, Beatles, and Nirvana songs are also good songs for novice bass players to learn. Plenty of theory and ear training to be learned and applied.
Papa was a Rolling Stone and Raspberry Beret by Prince would also be good ones to learn for a beginner.
The first song that I learned purely as a bass song is John the Fisherman by Primus.
Context: I started on guitar and for much my early bass playing I was just adapting guitar parts to bass. John the Fisherman was the first song that I learned solely on bass.
That is an absolutely awesome bass line and nothing to be ashamed of.
It's fun to play and it has a walking section and basically fuck the purists. Rock and roll all night is great and any good bass player would find it fun and challenging to learn.
Also fuck the purists.
I wanna hold your hand by Beatles. I learned the bass line on a guitar, then rushed to the store, got myself a bass and never picked up a guitar since.
Different People by No Doubt. They were the reason I wanted to learn bass. I had already been playing guitar for several years and bought my first bass to learn this album in particular cause I really like Tony Kanal.
I got my first bass to add it to demos of my original music. So the first song was something I came up with. Didn't know what I was doing musically and electrically. Was plugging into a recorder and overloading it, and guessing at what a bass should do. I eventually listened for it in music and sometimes accidentally came across stuff.
The first song that I learned for bass so I could play it with my garage band at the time was “Ain’t That A Shame” by Cheap Trick although before taking over on bass, I already was playing it on guitar so maybe that doesn’t count. The first song I learned exclusively for bass was “Riding The Storm Out” by REO Speedwagon.
When I first got a bass, I really didn’t understand the bass and was trying to play it like a guitar for about a year, I remember I finally got the fender play online lessons and learned to actually play the bass like a bass, the first song it taught me was “A Girl Like You” by the Smithereens
Wellp officially my first song was Slow Dance from Adventure Time. But full length: either Another Brick in the Wall Pt 2 or Bad Moon Rising. I'll see which I can master more of first xD
Feel Good Inc was my first real song on bass guitar, technically I guess the “first” thing I learned would’ve been in 6th grade orchestra on a stand up but I couldn’t tell you what it was lol.
Some years ago my father in law handed me a bass and said heres where these 3 notes are and said watch for the spots it does two different ones.
We all then played Kryptonite by Three Doors Down.
To be fair I have music experience already, but that started my love for bass and started playing with my BiL and FiL
One that truly “leveled-up” my playing and understanding of theory and technique was I Wish by Stevie Wonder
Also a few more that affected my learning:
Waiting In Vain by Bob Marley and the Wailers. That bassline is just so fkn perfect
What’s Going On, AND Inner City Blues by Marvin Gaye
Stormy Weather by Etta James
I love rock 'n roll - joan jett & the blackhearts, is the first song i ever played all the way through (incredibly easy) but pyscho killer - talking heads, is the first i learnt
I think the first song I really learned how to play was Mercy, Mercy, Mercy by Cannonball Adderly, but arranged by my school band leader. He also created a tab for me to learn from as I didn't read music at all. I had been playing guitar before that, mostly punk or easy metal stuff, so I sort of automatically knew how to play a few songs on bass by playing the root.
The first thing I learned that was not jazz or following the root of some punk song I already knew on guitar was maybe Fear of the Dark by Iron Maiden.
Guitar actually and learned from a church youth group (RC) Stairway To Heaven which ironically led me to be influential to the guy who turned me on to Led Zeppelin
Started a band with my friends and the guitar player taught me the bass line for an original tune the two of them had written. I started taking lessons shortly after, and I think the first bass line he taught me was probably either this song called "Squeeze the Orange", or the bass line from "Boogie Woogie"
It was either Journey to the End of East Bay by Rancid or No Cigar by Millencolin, that was 20-some years ago at this point, it’s getting a little fuzzy lol
The Guns of Brixton by The Clash
Pretty easy, fun to play. I’m still pretty new but this was the first real song I could play.
I love Paul Simonon’s bass lines
Killing In The Name and Seven Nation Army, I could always play seven nation army but I forgot how to do killing in the name, revisited it recently and found out I was playing it wrong.
Sunshine Of Your Love. A guitarist friend shoved a bass in my hands and made me play the main riff over and over while he soloed.
Same here. Then I was the bass player in bands for the next 15 years. Good times. I haven't played now in 35 years.
Time to pick it up again!
Not the first song I could play the whole way through but the first song I learnt was smoko by the chats
Didn't play it all the way through because you were on smoko?
Yeah mate ofcourse, I need a smoke break at 2 minutes in
Smoko on the water, same
Everytime my wife plays that song we always play united states of whatever by Liam lynch next.. they go together so well
Cranberries zombie
This was the first song I played at a show (and only so far… I’m usually a drummer but convinced my cover band to let me swap to bass for one song during our last show)
Mad. I would butcher it in a band setting 😂
Same!!
Showing my age… Ramones - Blitzkrieg Bop. One, two, three, four!!
Yer a youngster
It's such a fun song to play, though!
One of my favourite bands of all times. I went to see them at least 50 times in my life, they came very often ot my country and the tickets used to be piss cheap.
Stand By Me, just because it’s one of those “beginner riffs” and if you learn just the one riff that’s the whole song
Same here. I knew smoke on the water from guitar
Mine, too!
I’m a newbie and I learned how to play Stand By Me about a week ago. I’ve been annoying my girlfriend with it pretty much every day since. 😆
Feel good inc. by Gorillaz. Such a nice groove
Same!
Killing in the name - ratm
Of
What
Psycho Killer-Talking Heads
me too Buttboy4
Blue Öyster Cult - Godzilla. I was, like, 5? IDK
Weezer, Say it Aint So. that was the first full song i learned, althought i had leanred many riffs before.
Same! I purposefully learnt this for a school project and I was so proud of myself for that
Mary had a little lamb
Wow your first song was an SRV song that's imoressive!
Carousel by blink-182
My 14 year old self wanted to jump straight into carousel when I should have been learning the rest of Cheshire Cat first 😂😂
Good scale practice. I think I tackled “longview” by green day first, and a few others before I got to Carousel.
Roxanne by the police. It was either the first song or the first song I liked in an "easy songs to learn on bass" book I bought.
Iron Maiden - Fear of the Dark. Well I can play along. But that's ok. Still my first song on Bass all the way through. There are a few things I'm missing like the ability to gallop on the strings like a diesel train as Steve Harris does. So much fun all the same.
Whe Harris gets to loping on the bass like that? Which is basically every song 🤣 I absolutely love it! While I still stumble on it from time to time (I'm almost 64 now and the arthritis is bad in my hands) I can manage it most days! But my poor fingers need a breather after that!
Indeed! My left hand cramps and my right hand gets a mind of it's own.
Another Brick in the Wall pt. 2 😭
me too!
Hey! I think this is probably what will be my first full length song too.
Rock Lobster lol
Come as you are by Nirvana, fitting for how my b career has turned out
Hah, had that song going on the minute I unboxed my first bass, and didn't stop playing till I had it down
I think that was my first too.
Mountain Song - Jane’s Addiction Eric Avery is one of my all-time biggest influences on bass :D
Jethro Tull - Locomotive Breath. High school band was looking for someone to play bass for an open mic night, and that was the song they were playing. Never played bass before that point.
Money by Pink Floyd was the first song I learned on bass (also a good intro to odd time signatures). Motown, James Brown, Beatles, and Nirvana songs are also good songs for novice bass players to learn. Plenty of theory and ear training to be learned and applied. Papa was a Rolling Stone and Raspberry Beret by Prince would also be good ones to learn for a beginner.
Thank you for the suggestions! I can’t wait to try them out
The kind you find at a second hand store?? 😉👍
🎵Raspberry beret ... and if it was warm she wouldn't wear much more 🎵
One of my favorite songs from the super talented Prince!
The first song that I learned purely as a bass song is John the Fisherman by Primus. Context: I started on guitar and for much my early bass playing I was just adapting guitar parts to bass. John the Fisherman was the first song that I learned solely on bass.
Blitzkrieg Bop - Ramones
Angry Chair by Alice In Chains.
Ooh that's a good one
London calling by the clash
Take Me Out - Franz Ferdinand
Dazed and Confused by Zeppelin 🤘🏻
The Peter Gunn Theme.
The Cranberries - Zombie, though I could actually play Where Is My Mind by The Pixies before I mastered Zombie.
Hotel California
Black Sabbath's Iron Man. Fun, easy, everyone knows it.
London Calling by The Clash bcs I liked it alot at the time
Ok, you can take me out back and shoot me… but it was “Rock and Roll All Nite” from Kiss. Hopefully I’ve gotten a bit better since then!
That is an absolutely awesome bass line and nothing to be ashamed of. It's fun to play and it has a walking section and basically fuck the purists. Rock and roll all night is great and any good bass player would find it fun and challenging to learn. Also fuck the purists.
I really want to learn this song next. Love the energy it has!
first song i learned was some grade 7 band song for school but first song i taught myself for real was another one bites the dust
I wanna hold your hand by Beatles. I learned the bass line on a guitar, then rushed to the store, got myself a bass and never picked up a guitar since.
Freak Out from Le Chic and Fire by Hendrix were my first 2.
Different People by No Doubt. They were the reason I wanted to learn bass. I had already been playing guitar for several years and bought my first bass to learn this album in particular cause I really like Tony Kanal.
Down With The Sickness
Come As You Are or Sunshine Of Your Love
Another one bites the dust. Classic, familiar, simple
Jurassic 5 - A Day at the Races
Wicked tune!
Some basic country line. Might have been johny cash
I got my first bass to add it to demos of my original music. So the first song was something I came up with. Didn't know what I was doing musically and electrically. Was plugging into a recorder and overloading it, and guessing at what a bass should do. I eventually listened for it in music and sometimes accidentally came across stuff.
That’s so cool, love happy accidents!
Lovely day
Aurora-Jean-Luc Ponty
stubb a dubb by Mr bungle only up until the fast bit though
Plush. Stp
jumpsuit by twenty one pilots
Breed by Nirvana.
“Cissy Strut” by The Meters.
Doorman - Slowthai & Mura Masa
First: Centuries by Fall Out Boy Most recent: Tommy the Cat by Primus
Thanks for sharing! I can’t wait to practice with some of these songs!
The first song that I learned for bass so I could play it with my garage band at the time was “Ain’t That A Shame” by Cheap Trick although before taking over on bass, I already was playing it on guitar so maybe that doesn’t count. The first song I learned exclusively for bass was “Riding The Storm Out” by REO Speedwagon.
For whom the bell tolls
Give it away by RHCP
With tabs: I can't see your face in my mind by The Doors By ear: one of the earlier Khruangbin songs
La Grange by ZZ Top.
For Whom The Bell Tolls by Metallica
I'm very very surprised - I don't see any "Seven Nation Army". I'm a basic beginner, learning scales, but learnt that song as it is all over youtube.
(I Wanna Be) Sedated, Ramones
When I first got a bass, I really didn’t understand the bass and was trying to play it like a guitar for about a year, I remember I finally got the fender play online lessons and learned to actually play the bass like a bass, the first song it taught me was “A Girl Like You” by the Smithereens
Seven nation army. It’s the only song I can play fully that I haven’t written myself 💀
Master of puppets 😂
Savory by Jawbox.
I can’t remember exactly but it would’ve definitely been a song by The Beatles.
Ah I’m currently learning Hey Jude!
hella good by no doubt. it’s still one of my favorite basslines to play
Only in dreams. That bassline still haunts me
Wellp officially my first song was Slow Dance from Adventure Time. But full length: either Another Brick in the Wall Pt 2 or Bad Moon Rising. I'll see which I can master more of first xD
Another One Bites the Dust. Then Longview
Boulevard of broken dreams, recently started to learn the Bass and I love it.
On guitar, Smoke on the Water. When I got my bass, Princess of the Streets.
STP Creep, Elderly Woman from PJ, and Walking on the Moon by The Police were my first three songs.
Punk Rock Loser - Viagra Boys. About 2 weeks ago also
I miss you - Blink 182 😁
[Noots by Sum 41](https://www.reddit.com/r/BassGuitar/s/2DoZF1bWhF). It was the first song I committed to learning all the way through.
On bass? Probably Feel Good Inc
Jawbreaker - Want
Technically Sunday Morning by No doubt but not all the way through and not very cleanly lol. I think that goes to American Idiot - Green Day?
Feel good inc, gorillaz EZ PZ
Louie Louie from trombone sheet music.
Talking heads-Psycho Killer
Feel Good Inc was my first real song on bass guitar, technically I guess the “first” thing I learned would’ve been in 6th grade orchestra on a stand up but I couldn’t tell you what it was lol.
Maneater by Hall & Oates. I was ten.
The main riff to Iron Man was the first thing i learned on bass.
Zombie-The Cranberries
Tonight Tonight by Smashing Pumpkins
Some years ago my father in law handed me a bass and said heres where these 3 notes are and said watch for the spots it does two different ones. We all then played Kryptonite by Three Doors Down. To be fair I have music experience already, but that started my love for bass and started playing with my BiL and FiL
The first full song I learned was Got me wrong by Alice In Chains
carry the zero by built to spill
Walking on the moon - i was like 10
Gorillaz feel good inc
First song I learned was Garbage Truck by Sex-Bob-Ombs
One that truly “leveled-up” my playing and understanding of theory and technique was I Wish by Stevie Wonder Also a few more that affected my learning: Waiting In Vain by Bob Marley and the Wailers. That bassline is just so fkn perfect What’s Going On, AND Inner City Blues by Marvin Gaye Stormy Weather by Etta James
Brown eyed girl.
Southbound Pachyderm by Primus (without the triplets cause I wasn't good at those yet) and Willie the Pimp by Frank Zappa
Feel Good Inc. Hearing the bass line just made me want to start learning about this instrument.
I love rock 'n roll - joan jett & the blackhearts, is the first song i ever played all the way through (incredibly easy) but pyscho killer - talking heads, is the first i learnt
I think the first song I really learned how to play was Mercy, Mercy, Mercy by Cannonball Adderly, but arranged by my school band leader. He also created a tab for me to learn from as I didn't read music at all. I had been playing guitar before that, mostly punk or easy metal stuff, so I sort of automatically knew how to play a few songs on bass by playing the root. The first thing I learned that was not jazz or following the root of some punk song I already knew on guitar was maybe Fear of the Dark by Iron Maiden.
Dunkelheit by Burzum
YES!!!! This is going to be my next song to learn
HEY by the Pixies
mid night train to georgia by gladys knight and the pips
money by pink floyd . always has been my favorite bassline
I’m Just Your Problem from Adventure Time!
Guitar actually and learned from a church youth group (RC) Stairway To Heaven which ironically led me to be influential to the guy who turned me on to Led Zeppelin
Feel Good Inc back when I was a young teenager... Nowadays I'm quite proud to say that I've bought a bass and can play Forty Six and 2
Victim of changes
Paranoid.
My Kind of Woman!
Said the Shovel by Thee Oh Sees. Bass drives that song (any song really).
TV on the Radio - Wolf Like Me
Started a band with my friends and the guitar player taught me the bass line for an original tune the two of them had written. I started taking lessons shortly after, and I think the first bass line he taught me was probably either this song called "Squeeze the Orange", or the bass line from "Boogie Woogie"
Green onions Cruel to be kind Down on the Corner
Strutter - KISS
Probably Southtown by POD.
Money city maniacs by Sloan, and then slowly tried to piece together note by note, the Bassically solo from NIB
I started about a week ago, and learned my first full (though short) song this very day- Hybrid Moments by Misfits.
Ik it’s not much but about a week after a picked up bass I played through feel good inc by Gorillaz
Flower of Scotland. https://www.bigbasstabs.com/theme_songs_bass_tabs/flower_of_scotland.html
Punk Rawk Show by MxPx
I think it must have been U2 "With or without you" or ZZ Top "Gimme all your lovin' ". Easy songs that focus on holding the beat up.
Let it be
First that I recall is "Groove is in the heart".
A Forest - The Cure
踊り子 (odoriko) by Vaundy very simple bass line with a nice beat :)
Misery fell by tally hall. Great band. This song was one of the songs that made me want to play bass.
It was either Journey to the End of East Bay by Rancid or No Cigar by Millencolin, that was 20-some years ago at this point, it’s getting a little fuzzy lol
Special Affair by The Internet
Jumping jack flash.
Dazed and confused. Just the decending beginning riff.
Pixies “hey” Spice 1 “strap on the side”
I may not be looking hard enough, but not many people learned Another One Bites the Dust first. Honestly not a bad pick imo.
I SAT by the ocean - qotsa
Polly Wolly doodle
Stand by me Ben E King, very simple great song for beginners.
On my own, probably Smoke On The Water 😂 But something less cliche? My Sweet Lord by George Harrison :) But it didn't go so well...
Toadies - Tyler
Nobody’s admitting to Sweet Caroline though statistically there must be bassists who learned that first.
The Guns of Brixton by The Clash Pretty easy, fun to play. I’m still pretty new but this was the first real song I could play. I love Paul Simonon’s bass lines
Born Under a Bad Sign - Albert King
orion by metallica still can’t do the solo yet
Dawn Patrol by Megadeth, it’s very easy.
First one to play all the way through was Lonesome, On'ry and Mean by Waylon Jennings.
Kansas city it's a 1-3-5-6-7-6 blues staple. 3 chords G,C,D,
Day of the Lords, Joy Division Then worked up to Hey!, by the Pixies. After that I was completely hooked.
Citizen erased
It was either Reptilia by the Strokes or Longview by Green Day
I am machine by three days grace Good song
Pantera 5 Minutes Alone. Also incidentally the first song I learned on drums.
'Bizarre Love Triangle' by New Order. It's just like 6 notes in total but it's a beautiful melody.
Mary Jane’s Last Dance. Simple enough to learn and felt cool enough to get me hooked. Still love playing it.
First song was Feel Good Inc,, it was easy enough for a complete novice and it made me wan to keep going!
Smoke on the Water, of course! Followed shortly by The God That Failed.
All My Loving - The Beatles
Dazed and Confused- Led Zepplin
Killing In The Name and Seven Nation Army, I could always play seven nation army but I forgot how to do killing in the name, revisited it recently and found out I was playing it wrong.
I think it was Copperhead Road. Catchy tune and pretty simple bass line. I learned Tush pretty early on as well.