You should really buy this song (What's Going On) | Forums

[yeti5000]

Love playing this one too. I've meant to learn more by the mighty James Jamerson since he is worshipped in the bass community.

[Brick235]

Nice job Muzac! I was playing this last night after seeing this thread. Got everything maxed out but I can't play it that clean.

[Godfrey1956]

Good stuff muzac989, really good playing !!! There are some really quick runs in there You're good. Rock On !!

[SeattleSauve]

In this same light, I also found "Drift Away" to be really fun on bass. So if you guys are on the fence on buying that one, I say go for it. Really fun!

[TheJohnNewton]

Motown tunes in general tend to have some killer classic baselines. Sorry for the misspelling, iPad auto-correct at work.

[muzac989]

Here guys, I made a better recording so that you can actually see the screen. Thanks for the compliments; I've played this song countless times and I'm just now getting it to groove hard. Making recordings has really stepped up my productivity during practice, now that I can finally analyze my mistakes.



This song is such a great example of how to improvise an interesting bass line when you're being forced to play over simple chord changes. 60's and early 70's Motown is a goldmine of iconic bass playing; Jamerson is revered by bass players for a reason: he's the father of modern electric bass playing. John Entwistle, Paul McCartney, Jaco Pastorius, John Paul Jones, Flea, Geddy Lee... pretty much every noteworthy bass player names Jamerson as a primary influence, though a lot of these guys didn't know his name because Jamerson was never credited on records until "What's Going On".

Anyone that is serious about bass playing should check out this book: http://www.amazon.com/Standing-Shado.../dp/0881888826 . The book comes with 2 cds of his bass lines being played by famous bass players, and also comes with some (incredibly daunting) sheet music (warning: no tablature). It was made into a documentary that is also very good, won a bunch of awards back in 2002.

[smedford]

I took your advice and bought this. It looked at first like it was going to be a very easy song, I was disappointed. Then things started to roll and get a good groove. I have not mastered it yet, it is very difficult, but very fun. Nice advice. I like this song a lot now, money well spent.

[armoury_R1]

I've always liked this song, but never really paid any attention to the bassline.

I have to agree, this is one killer bass part to play! Not difficult in the sense of having to move all over the fretboard, or with ridiculously fast bits, but it's absolutely fascinating how what appears to be a relatively simple combination can sound so interesting, and be challenging to play.

I took a few runs at this, when taking a break from the guitar challenge, and it really put a smile on my face. Never thought I'd enjoy playing bass so much! And buying that bass guitar is starting to look really worthwhile.

[Godfrey1956]

I've always liked this song, but never really paid any attention to the bassline.

I have to agree, this is one killer bass part to play! Not difficult in the sense of having to move all over the fretboard, or with ridiculously fast bits, but it's absolutely fascinating how what appears to be a relatively simple combination can sound so interesting, and be challenging to play.

I took a few runs at this, when taking a break from the guitar challenge, and it really put a smile on my face. Never thought I'd enjoy playing bass so much! And buying that bass guitar is starting to look really worthwhile.

Totally agree with you armoury_R1, the "groove" and the knowledge that you are actually 'playing' and that, as you practice more and more, that you can only get "better", sure does put a BIG Smile on your face. Rock On !!