How to Easily Learn 11 Songs on Bass Guitar in 2 Weeks
Fall is officially in full swing! The air is crisp. The leaves are falling. Pumpkin patches, pop-up Halloween stores and haunted houses are everywhere you look.
For bass players, this is also the season of playing at outdoor gigs and fall festivals. I just wrapped up my first outdoor gig in a long time, which was an absolute blast!
As much fun as it was, preparing for this performance was a challenge. I had two weeks to learn 11 unfamiliar songs, and I knew it wasn’t going to be easy with a full-time job, upcoming travel plans, and other obligations. I came up with a list of hacks I used to easily learn these tunes on bass guitar. Enjoy!
How to Easily Learn 11 Songs on Bass Guitar in 2 Weeks
- Use Your Ears: Make a Playlist
- Use Your Eyes: Make Notes
- Use Your Fingers: Practice
Use Your Ears: Make a Playlist
If your group is covering songs, chances are they can be found on iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify, and/or YouTube. Once you get your set list, hop on one of these platforms and make a custom playlist of the songs you’ll be performing.
Listen to this playlist every chance you get- in the car, in the office, between classes. Pay close attention to not only the bass lines but also where the bass enters and drops out, song form, cues from other instruments, and lyrics.
Use Your Eyes: Make Notes
Lead sheets, chord charts, sheet music and tabulation are all great ways for learning tunes (keep in mind that these options may not all be available, depending on the popularity of the songs you’re learning). Choose whichever suites you best and don’t be afraid to make your own notes based off of what you’ve heard from listening to your playlist.
Look for patterns and noteworthy qualities in the music. For example, I noticed that our opener only had three chords throughout the entire song. So in the worst case scenario that I’m totally lost and unsure what chord is coming up, I’ll have a 1/3 chance of playing the right note by knowing this! Even if I derail, I’m immediately able to get back on track without the audience even noticing my error.
Picture this: you show up to rehearsal (or the gig) and your band decides to lower the key of a song by a whole step, due to the vocal limitations of your singers. This is why you should also learn to play each song in various keys rather than just the original. Think in terms of chord progressions (I, ii, iii), not just the chord names (C, Dmin, Emin).
Use Your Fingers: Practice
This is a no-brainer, but tips 1 and 2 are no substitute for picking up your bass guitar and practicing your tunes.
I use my laptop and an audio interface when I’m in the shed. This allows me to read along with my lead sheets and/or tabs while listening along with the music from my laptop. I plug my bass and my headphones into my audio interface- that way I can hear everything in my headphones rather than having two different sources of sound. I can quickly mix my bass’s signal with the track playing from my laptop, and now I’m ready to start practicing!
I tried to come up with an application for the other two human senses, but unfortunately you can’t smell or taste music… or can you?
Using one or two of these tips will get your far, but using all three will help you nail down your set list and make you feel confident in your playing during your next performance.
May your fall be filled with gigs, candy corn and PSLs!
