Years ago, when I was in a cover band in my very small hometown, I went to see a ‘rival’ band. This other band did a lot of the same songs we did and basically played all the same venues we did.

They were basically our direct competition and being an undeservedly cocky 18 or 19 year old, I was convinced that I’d see this band and know that my own band was far superior.

Much to my dismay, this rival band actually sounded great and I couldn’t really fault them on anything. They played well together, had really good energy, and put on a great show.

BUT…

The whole time, I was paying close attention to the bass player. I played a lot of the same songs in my own band, so I wanted to see how he played them and if there was any difference.

Song after song, this bass player played what was on the original recordings – much like I did – with the occasional fill – much like I did.

However, there was one song where he played the absolute WRONG thing. Sure – it didn’t sound bad or anything, but it wasn’t what was on the original recording. 

Ha! Finally – I had something my fragile ego could feel superior about!

“Pfft…what an idiot” I thought. “Can’t even learn that song properly”

(Did I mention I was undeservedly cocky?)

But I had this strange feeling… It had been a while since I listened to that song. 

He had been playing exactly what was on the original songs the entire gig, but that one song he went ‘off-book’? It didn’t seem right… 

What if he WAS playing the right bass line?

Could I be wrong? Surely not, but I had to check – just to make sure.

So when I got home from the gig, I went straight to the family computer, opened it up, found the .mp3 of the song, plugged my headphones in and pressed play.

That familiar guitar riff started up. I waited with peeled ears for the bass to come in, just like how I heard it in my mind.

However, when the bass came in, it didn’t sound like I remember it sounding. To my horror, it sounded exactly like what the bass player in the ‘rival’ band had played.

He wasn’t the idiot who didn’t know the bass line properly… 

The idiot was me!

I had been playing this song the wrong way for a few years. The other bass player had been totally right and I was 100% wrong because I hadn’t taken enough care to learn the song properly.

Cue the waves of embarrassment washing over me.

But this isn’t that uncommon!

After playing for years and years, I found I was playing other songs incorrectly as well – completely differently than what was on the recordings.

I’d either learned the bass lines from other people (who just showed me the guitar part and I just copied it on bass) or I’d just been lazy and hadn’t properly listened when I learned the songs.

And it’s not just me – I’ve seen tons of other bass players fall into the exact same traps that I fell into. Some of them even give out the incorrect bass lines in the comments of my videos!

Today though, I’m going to show you the top 3 bass lines played wrong; exactly how they’re played wrong and how it’s different from what’s actually on the recording.

Check it out right here and never make these mistakes again:

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By the way, if you are making the same mistakes in these songs or similar mistakes in other songs, it’s not the end of the world.

In fact, it’s kind of expected. 

Nobody is born knowing how to play any song, and if you haven’t learned to play by ear then a lot of the time, all you have to work with is questionable tab sites or other people to teach you (who may just be using questionable tab sites). 

It’s no wonder bass lines get played wrong all the time. When you realize it though, all you have to do is correct the mistake and move on and this video can help with that.

Good luck with the lesson and happy playing!

Cheers,

P.S. Here’s the link to the isolated bass track I talk about in the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9tqrWuhsvI