Do we only play 80's Rock & Green Day then...??

Absolute Beginner

Absolute Beginner

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I'm stumped...

I've been on Amazon and just about every specialist music site for hours and despite my best endeavours, I can't find any dedicated Bass Tab books for Country/50's & 60's Rock 'n' Roll/Elvis/Dylan/Abba/Pop/Simon & G, etc.

Do these books simply not exist and am I to be forced to play Maiden, Sabbath and these Green Day people who, up until now, have escaped my consciousness entirely..??

And Tab Sites: you just can't seem to find a bit of Galveston or By the Time I Get to Phoenix (or Garth Brooks/Kenny Rogers) for love nor money: is there a conspiracy afoot...?? :roll:
 
err i like music from the 80's on !!! but who's Elvis/Dylan/Abba/Pop/Simon.......................? ive never hear'd of um ;)
 
I like music from the 80's on, too, I just can't remember much from the first half of the 90's, that's all.......!! ;)

I saw that one Luke, but I got the impression from the reviews that it's more 40's fiddle blue-grass, not 80s Nashville and The Beaches Of Cheyanne, etc.
 
Pete (pedro) a while back suggested ultimate-guitar.com and I have found 911tabs.com a great search engine for rock bass tabs.Whether you can find Glenn Campbell's stuff there, I wouldn't venture to guess..
 
Hi Erik,

I've tried my friend, but the sort of music I really want to play just isn't generally available on these or other tab sites. I can sometimes get the guitar chords if I'm lucky, but even then, rarely it seems. Thanks for the kind pointer though.
 
You're right - there is a general lack of bass books covering that sort of music. The best I can think of are the Jamerson book ("Standing in the shadows of Motown") and the Bass tab White Pages. There are two editions of the White pages, and the older one certainly has a couple of Elvis songs, and one or two of Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Bill Haley and so on.

With Dylan and S&G if you've got the guitar chords then, with a little music theory, you'll probably be able to get a long way towards working out the bass lines yourself. They're usually pretty straightforward.
 
Hey Ian,

Tab sites generally smell bad... I'm not sure if people are tone deaf or if they bugger them up on purpose, but the lack of accuracy is astounding. However, they will help you to develop your ear and get you on the track to learning by scale and pattern. Saying that, songsterr dot com may be what you're looking for.

One big thing to remember when you're learning the music you've mentioned - a LOT of it is in a 1,4,5 (or variant) pattern. Translated, that means the Root (1), the 4th, and the 5th of the scale. Think G scale - the pattern would be G, C, D or a variant thereof. Minor or major, the notes will remain the same for you. There are some with 2nds thrown in, as well, that will translate to the fretboard as a "square" pattern for fingering (G - A - C - D).

Sit down, throw on a cd and play along. Have fun, screw up, and learn - just figuring out a chorus or verse pattern will bolster your confidence exponentially!

I'm glad to see another 40-something on here that is learning. I only began 7 years ago and came along really quickly with nothing but practice (even in the loo - LOL) and ear development. I wish you the best!
 
Also, see this as the untimate chance to start developing your ear. Especially country has many songs that develop along familiar 1-4-5 lines like Doc said. So once you know a few, you should be able to figure others out by ear. Starting to train your ears can be disheartening, but once you get over the first bump you'll be glad you stuck with it and won't ever have to use tabs again :)
 
.........I agree with Elrend.........use your ears, as a beginner myself I've been a beginner for 40 years.
if you play by ear and learn your way around the frets you won't go wrong,
tab is usually wrong and sheet music is usually piano based ...well that's what I 've been told, I can't make
sense of either?
 
There is sheet music specifically written for bass, but being able to play by ear is also important, so learn both.
 
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