Rock Bass Players

In our bass lessons we will probably start with learning several rock bass tunes. These are a few of the players we will focus on in our lessons:

Paul McCartney

Bassist for The Beatles. The impact The Beatles had on music history is stupendous. Likewise, the impact The Beatles bass player, Paul McCartney , had on rock bass was huge, too. His basslines are very melodic and intelligent. One of the best.

Jack Bruce

The father of heavy rock bass playing. His work with Cream is his most famous. Check out the Live Cream recordings. Three guys with a huge sound together.

John Entwistle

Bassist for The Who. Fast flurries of notes and unrelenting rock power! Another highly influential early rock bass player. The song My Generation contains the first recorded rock bass solo.

John Paul Jones

Led Zeppelin bassist. Some of the best hard rock bass playing ever. Just buy the boxed set!

Geezer Butler

Bassist for Black Sabbath. Great, standard rock bass playing.

Geddy Lee

Extraordinary bass player in the band Rush. He not only plays the bass, but writes songs, plays keyboards, and sings! Consider getting the album Moving Pictures.

Sting

Sting’s work with the Police showcases his use of sparse, but effective lines. Listen to The Police – Regatta DeBlanc or Ghost in the Machine. He is also a genius songwriter to top things off.

Tony Levin

Bassist with Peter Gabriel and King Crimson. A rock bass virtuoso. He always plays the right notes at the right time. Never one too many or too few.

Mick Karn

Perhaps the most interesting bass voice I’ve heard. Karn mixes exotic scales with unusual time signatures on his fretless bass. He takes you to a different planet I swear it.

Les Claypool

Bassist and singer for Primus. Les Claypool’s style and sound is very unique.