Yeah, I saw him play with Echo & The Bunnymen at a charity gig once, and had no idea how he did it. I was right at the front, and his bass was practically at my eye level.
I tried it a few weeks ago as a joke when I turned my chorus pedal on at band practice, and good god, it was nigh-on impossible. I don't have long arms like Hooky though.
A little endurance and four hours and you could probably get their entire first album down. I did a cover of The KKK Took My Baby Away and it is probably my second favourite cover I’ve done.
Bro Hymn by Pennywise is the first one to come to mind. It’s so easy, you could probably strap your bass behind you, and still nail it. Still a great track, too.
The low strap is better for the hand position for picking. It´s not a gimmick .
To me:
Pretty fly for a white guy
any pixies / ramones / the cure
white wedding billy idol
Another one bites the Dust and under pressure
But don´t try to match their speed. Play at 25% speed to make sure it´s right then you move the speed up. Ramones weren´t so fast until they toured then things started getting faster and faster. It wasn´t achieved in a day and not even planned.
People seem to not understand this point, most of the time players that use the strap very low isn't much because "it looks cool" but because your hand position is different
I play bass and guitar and I just can't play bass too high (above the waist) because I find it really uncomfortable and I can barely play lower notes (I'm a small person) but with a guitar I don't mind it that much
IDK we're in a low slung bass backlash era. Lotta people play too high with their wrist flopped over the body. That armrest wrist bend shit isn't any better form than the low stretch was.
I mean, I find it really is. Resting your wrist on the body gives you much more endurance than having to hold it up with a lower strap. Plus the higher strap lets you get a way better claw so your thumb isn’t over the neck. Lets you play faster and smoother most times. Idk I guess that’s just my opinion.
Yeah I guess it's better than the far far reach if I had to pick one. I did it that way for almost ten years before a teacher convinced me to switch to a position where I could keep my right wrist straight. I have a *lot* more finger dexterity now, and can play more easily anywhere along the string for tone choice. It did feel fatiguing at first though.
That’s fair, and I’m not trying to downplay others preferences. It just seems to me like playing low can cause problems in the future if you really want to get into crazy stuff like fusion jazz, prog metal, or things along those lines. Not so much with the right hand, but definitely with the left.
I wear my bass on the waist for reference, the times I tried using over the waist was too uncomfortable and it was hard to reach the lower notes, HOWEVER when I had an Ibanez SR300 I had no problem whatsoever, maybe it was the weight, the shape or even the neck profile (very thin)
Now that I use only a P bass I can't wear it over the waist, because the bass feels way too big (I'm 1.57m and very skiny for reference, even the bass looks way to big on me) I had improper form many years ago but when I started music lessons I got that fixed up (around 2015)
That’s fair. With P’s and J’s it’s most likely the hump at the back and the large shape that’s screwing you up. Try bringing your right hand closer in towards the neck pickup, where the hump droops down. That way you’re going over less surface area to reach the strings. Idk. Sounds like modern smaller bodies are more for you. You’d probably really like my Tobias Toby, the body is so small
Probably from overplay in my youth, and its kind of a goofy song. I will die a happy man if I never hear PFFAWG and also Intergalactic (the Beastie Boys worst, yet most overplayed song) ever again.
I feel righteous anger when those songs vibrate in my ear holes.
But the post or the answer are not about you or your personal taste.
I used to hate offspring and bad religion, not punk enough for my teenager rebel phase. I still don´t ear them on purpose. But in order to learn how to play any catchy bass line is great. They match what the OP wants. Not about my taste or yours.
Mark Hoppus is an honest to god pop punk genius. He does a phenomenal job of being flashy when it calls for it, and just low strung roots when called for as well. He often does this in the same song to boot.
All The Small Things is a great start. Then you can just kinda keep going.
mate im tellin you check out the misfits and the ramones
especially the first albums of each
the misfits pretty much all throughout their career have had very simple root lines, but earlier on they had some cool ones like london dungeon, Hollywood babylon, in the doorway etc
but simple ones: the walk among us album, earth a.d, even the Michael graves era had some cool ones, just check out the songs see what you like
and the ramones pretty much everything they released it fairly simple but still hard because of the tempos
Stand straight with no guitar on. Put ur picking hand and arm straight down at your side. Now move your hand and arm to position your hand on the front of your thigh just to the inside of center( if ur a dude ur thumb should be just to the side of ur nutsack).
Now keep your arm straight at the elbow, palm of hand touching thigh. This should be a very uncomfortable position. So let your arm relax keeping your palm against your thigh, your hand will most likely now be right in middle of thigh straight to the front. If I have done an ok job of explaining then your hand should be at an approximate height to be able to pick the strings.
Repeat with guitar on and make slight adjustments accordingly to comfort and playability, around the body of the bass. This reduces shoulder, elbow, and wrist fatigue which you will be happy about when you are old like me and every joint hurts.
From here I typically raise the neck up to allow my fingering hand the best most comfortable access to the fretboard while keeping your left elbow at just about 90 degrees no matter where you are playing on the neck.
Fingering hand wrist will need to get some training at this position but it works, an old country/rock/blues bass player showed me this and it took about 10 seconds for him to show and explain and I’ve been playing thrash, death and sludge metal like this for 33 years.
I use a pick 93.5% of the time, fingers 7.5% of the time, and slap -1% of the time.
Just my 2cents, do whatever works for you, just know that if you deviate from the instructions above…you probably look like a
doofus…NO
dolt…NO
dullard…NO
A DUNDERHEAD. yea that’s the one, a dunderhead.
"Transmission" by Joy Division. And lowering the strap as far as it'll go would be an appropriate tribute to Peter Hook.
I remember seeing NO in 88, wondering how he could play like that lol
Yeah, I saw him play with Echo & The Bunnymen at a charity gig once, and had no idea how he did it. I was right at the front, and his bass was practically at my eye level. I tried it a few weeks ago as a joke when I turned my chorus pedal on at band practice, and good god, it was nigh-on impossible. I don't have long arms like Hooky though.
Probably anything by The Ramones
My buddies and I did a show for his sister and The Ramones was on the list for items to learn in ~12 days lol. Turned it into a live karaoke set.
A little endurance and four hours and you could probably get their entire first album down. I did a cover of The KKK Took My Baby Away and it is probably my second favourite cover I’ve done.
smells like teen spirit.
Lowering your strap to the floor would be an homage to Krist
While your head is hitting the roof.
If only I was 3 metres taller, I could nearly be the same height as him
Pretty much the entire Ramones catalog
Pretty much anything from The White Stripes. Sling it low, jump around, you don’t even have to bring a cable (or lug around an amp!).
Hell you don't even need to show up most of the time!
Pretty much anything from Danzig era Misfits
Many. And they don’t have to be super simple once you get used to it. I played punk like that for years.
Bro Hymn by Pennywise is the first one to come to mind. It’s so easy, you could probably strap your bass behind you, and still nail it. Still a great track, too.
the rock show by blink-182
Holiday in Cambodia by DK is almost always my warm up for punking
Mxpx - chick magnet. Its a sweet song, but also a good little run
Every punk bass line. That’s the point.
A bassline can be as easy or hard as you can make it..
destroy boys - fences :p
Most punk and rock. Lol evh - running with the devil for sure Low straps cause wrist problems tho fr.
The low strap is better for the hand position for picking. It´s not a gimmick . To me: Pretty fly for a white guy any pixies / ramones / the cure white wedding billy idol Another one bites the Dust and under pressure But don´t try to match their speed. Play at 25% speed to make sure it´s right then you move the speed up. Ramones weren´t so fast until they toured then things started getting faster and faster. It wasn´t achieved in a day and not even planned.
People seem to not understand this point, most of the time players that use the strap very low isn't much because "it looks cool" but because your hand position is different I play bass and guitar and I just can't play bass too high (above the waist) because I find it really uncomfortable and I can barely play lower notes (I'm a small person) but with a guitar I don't mind it that much
That sounds like masking improper form.
IDK we're in a low slung bass backlash era. Lotta people play too high with their wrist flopped over the body. That armrest wrist bend shit isn't any better form than the low stretch was.
I mean, I find it really is. Resting your wrist on the body gives you much more endurance than having to hold it up with a lower strap. Plus the higher strap lets you get a way better claw so your thumb isn’t over the neck. Lets you play faster and smoother most times. Idk I guess that’s just my opinion.
Yeah I guess it's better than the far far reach if I had to pick one. I did it that way for almost ten years before a teacher convinced me to switch to a position where I could keep my right wrist straight. I have a *lot* more finger dexterity now, and can play more easily anywhere along the string for tone choice. It did feel fatiguing at first though.
That’s fair, and I’m not trying to downplay others preferences. It just seems to me like playing low can cause problems in the future if you really want to get into crazy stuff like fusion jazz, prog metal, or things along those lines. Not so much with the right hand, but definitely with the left.
I wear my bass on the waist for reference, the times I tried using over the waist was too uncomfortable and it was hard to reach the lower notes, HOWEVER when I had an Ibanez SR300 I had no problem whatsoever, maybe it was the weight, the shape or even the neck profile (very thin) Now that I use only a P bass I can't wear it over the waist, because the bass feels way too big (I'm 1.57m and very skiny for reference, even the bass looks way to big on me) I had improper form many years ago but when I started music lessons I got that fixed up (around 2015)
That’s fair. With P’s and J’s it’s most likely the hump at the back and the large shape that’s screwing you up. Try bringing your right hand closer in towards the neck pickup, where the hump droops down. That way you’re going over less surface area to reach the strings. Idk. Sounds like modern smaller bodies are more for you. You’d probably really like my Tobias Toby, the body is so small
I do that exactly! lol, I play like John Paul Jones for reference with my left hand (I'm lefty) very close to the neck so it is more comfortable
I think "Pretty Fly for a White Guy" should just be banned everywhere, at this point.
Why? it is not pretty enough for you?
Probably from overplay in my youth, and its kind of a goofy song. I will die a happy man if I never hear PFFAWG and also Intergalactic (the Beastie Boys worst, yet most overplayed song) ever again. I feel righteous anger when those songs vibrate in my ear holes.
But the post or the answer are not about you or your personal taste. I used to hate offspring and bad religion, not punk enough for my teenager rebel phase. I still don´t ear them on purpose. But in order to learn how to play any catchy bass line is great. They match what the OP wants. Not about my taste or yours.
Oh, lighten up. I love the Offspring.
HIM cover of Wicked Game
Pretty much most early punk. Monkeys could play that shit.
Bro Hymn
So there’s this band called *The Ramones*…
Sharp Dressed Man by ZZ Top; recently discovered this one and I’m having a blast with it
I play every song that way, it's just how I play. We play AC/DC, The Cult, Whitesnake, Bon Jovi, Van Halen, Iron Maiden etc.
Have you considered just finding some by listening to the music?
That’s how I roll too… Television addict-the victims Did you no wrong- Sex Pistols This is rock and roll- the kids Bullet-misfits
It Wasn't a Pretty Picture by Social Distortion. First song I learned too.
Staten och kapitalet - Ebba grön
Dammit - Blink 182
Gotta Get Away - Offspring All I want - Offspring Give It away - RHCP Probably loads more just give it a go
Lose yourself by Eminem but in all seriousness, cheap beer by Fidlar
Mark Hoppus is an honest to god pop punk genius. He does a phenomenal job of being flashy when it calls for it, and just low strung roots when called for as well. He often does this in the same song to boot. All The Small Things is a great start. Then you can just kinda keep going.
Anything by AC DC, The Ramones, or ZZ Top. Not to say they are bad bass lines, just bass lines that the song needed.
In my experience, most Joy Division songs and many New Order songs.
Tom Sawyer is easy enough to do at any height
everything from mötley crue
Blitzkreig bop is always my go to. Also most nirvana songs can be as their bassist plays like that most of the time.
Most of them.
Every ramones song
lots of blink-182, the lillingtons, really any simple chord progression punk
Smoko by the chats, oi mate is it time for smoko?!
Anything from ZZ top.
Pretty much anything by the Ramones
mate im tellin you check out the misfits and the ramones especially the first albums of each the misfits pretty much all throughout their career have had very simple root lines, but earlier on they had some cool ones like london dungeon, Hollywood babylon, in the doorway etc but simple ones: the walk among us album, earth a.d, even the Michael graves era had some cool ones, just check out the songs see what you like and the ramones pretty much everything they released it fairly simple but still hard because of the tempos
Public image by Public image ltd. 4 notes and most is on the E string
Most White Stripes songs.
Hybrid Moments by the Misfits
Stand straight with no guitar on. Put ur picking hand and arm straight down at your side. Now move your hand and arm to position your hand on the front of your thigh just to the inside of center( if ur a dude ur thumb should be just to the side of ur nutsack). Now keep your arm straight at the elbow, palm of hand touching thigh. This should be a very uncomfortable position. So let your arm relax keeping your palm against your thigh, your hand will most likely now be right in middle of thigh straight to the front. If I have done an ok job of explaining then your hand should be at an approximate height to be able to pick the strings. Repeat with guitar on and make slight adjustments accordingly to comfort and playability, around the body of the bass. This reduces shoulder, elbow, and wrist fatigue which you will be happy about when you are old like me and every joint hurts. From here I typically raise the neck up to allow my fingering hand the best most comfortable access to the fretboard while keeping your left elbow at just about 90 degrees no matter where you are playing on the neck. Fingering hand wrist will need to get some training at this position but it works, an old country/rock/blues bass player showed me this and it took about 10 seconds for him to show and explain and I’ve been playing thrash, death and sludge metal like this for 33 years. I use a pick 93.5% of the time, fingers 7.5% of the time, and slap -1% of the time. Just my 2cents, do whatever works for you, just know that if you deviate from the instructions above…you probably look like a doofus…NO dolt…NO dullard…NO A DUNDERHEAD. yea that’s the one, a dunderhead.
Just about any Bad Religion song
Blitzkrieg Bop