20 Great and Famous Basslines to Play on Bass (Free Tab)

Download these instantly recognisable 20 basslines selected for you. From Marcus Miller to Pink Floyd or Toto, these basslines belong to a variety of different styles and use various techniques. Grab your bass!

“20_Basslines_For_Guitar_Pro_7.zip”
(click on the image to download the .zip file for Guitar Pro 7)

“20_Basslines_For_Guitar_Pro_6.zip”
(click on the image to download the .zip file for Guitar Pro 6)

What you will find in this bundle

• Chic – Le Freak C’est Chic
• Donna Summer – Hot Stuff
• James Brown – Get Up (I Fell Like Being) A Sex Machine
• Lenny Kravitz – Fly Away
• Marcus Miller – Run for Cover
• Michael Jackson – Beat it
• Pink Floyd – Money
• Rage Against The Machine – Killing in the Name
• Red Hot Chili Peppers – Californication
• Rush – YYZ
• Telephone – Ça (C’est Vraiment Toi)
• The Beatles – Come Together
• The Cure – Close to Me
• The Doors – Riders on the Storm
• The Steve Miller Band – The Joker
• The White Stripes – Seven Nation Army
• Tool – Schism
• Toto – Don’t Chain My Heart
• Tower Of Power – What is Hip?
• Yes – Roundabout

These basslines are excerpts from the music scores available on www.mysongbook.com.

What are the techniques used in these extracts?

• The staccato: This implies stopping the string from ringing. Lightly touching a string usually stops it. The note is therefore shortened. You can practice it with James Brown’s famous song “Get Up”.

• Dead notes: You just need to release the pressure with your finger on the string but still keep your finger on it. Make sure not to press the string down onto the fingerboard. Then strike that string with your right-hand index or middle finger. The result is a non-pitched thud. The musical notation of a dead note, also called mute note, muffled string or silenced note is represented by an “x” on the staff or the tablature.

• Accents: Accented notes are punctuated with a bit more emphasis than a ‘regularly’ played note. Simply impart a little bit more finger strength into a note to pop it out of the mix. Take a look at the song “Le Freak C’est Chic”.

• Slap and Pop: Slap the string with your thumb. When performing the slap, you will use the bone part of your thumb to strike the strings. You can start by practicing Lenny Kravitz’s song “Fly Away” and then Marcus Miller’s “Run for Cover”. The pop is when you slide your finger underneath a string and “pull” it away from the fretboard – and when you let the string go, the string snaps back and strikes the fretboard, making a popping sound.
• Slides/Glissando: The idea is that you are going to fret a note and then “slide” to another fret without taking the pressure off your finger as you move.

Feel free to leave comments about those basslines, or suggestions for upcoming packs of this kind.