3 Of The Most Melodic Rock Bass Lines Ever

Rock bass lines get a bad wrap sometimes, right? 

Some people have this idea that rock bass players are nothing more than glorified apes, just pounding away relentlessly at the root and that’s all they’re good for.

I disagree.

You can find a whole treasure trove of incredibly melodic rock bass lines if you know where to look.

These are the kinds of bass lines that almost eclipse the actual melody of the song when it comes to beauty, melodicism and being able to actually sing it.

These are the nuggets of gold you can find if you start really searching. And to get you started, I want to share just 3 of them with you.

In today’s lesson, we’ll be going over them together –  3 of the most melodic rock bass lines in history.

Check out the lesson here:

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The first one is actually the very first bass line I ever learned back when I was 16.

The 2nd creates an almost classical counterpoint with the vocal line (both are just as beautiful as each other too).

And the 3rd bass line I want to show you is easily more melodic and singable than the actual melody of the song.

I also go through what makes each of these lines melodic and how you can start making your own melodic bass lines as well.

You’ll notice that each of these bass lines is incredibly ‘singable’, and that’s by design. Just because you’re playing rock music doesn’t mean you have to be that 8th note ape. The bass lines in this lesson prove that.

Of course, sometimes that’s exactly what the song needs. In fact, one of these bass lines includes a section where that exact thing happens and it works really well. It’s not an either/or kind of situation – you can have both.

But when you know how to create singable melodic bass lines, you can take a song that might sound OK, or even good, and elevate it so it’s catchy, memorable and so much fun to play.

Good luck with the bass lines and happy playing!

Cheers,