Best Heavy Bass Songs to Play with Tabs and Video Lessons
The best songs with powerful and heavy bass to learn to play with Tabs and video lessons for beginners and intermediate bassists.
Famous songs with unique and cool bass
Regardless of your favorite musical style, there are songs that if you are a bassist you will want to learn because of their powerful and unique bass. Here we bring you the songs with iconic and famous bass, with their tabs and video lessons so you can learn. It doesn’t matter if you’re a beginner or intermediate bass player, these are songs that are relatively easy to play on the bass.
In the list you will find songs of all genres and musical styles. From electronic music and hip-hop, to Rock and Metal. They all have something in common, that unique powerful, strong and heavy bass that makes them unique and that every bass player enjoys. Thus, in this list we include the best heavy and powerful bass songs of all time, across a wide spectrum of artists, genres and time periods.
When you practice, always try to do it over the song or by using a metronome to play in tempo. For this reason, we leave you the link to our free online metronome.
Another fundamental point is, before beginning the practice, to tune your instrument. For this we leave you our free online guitar and bass tuner.
The Best Big Bass Songs for Beginner and Intermediate Bassists
- “Hysteria” by Muse
- “Radioactive” by Imagine Dragons
- “Around The World” by Red Hot Chili Peppers
- “U Can’t Hold No Groove (If You Ain’t Got No Pocket)” by Victor Wooten
- “Come Together” by The Beatles
- “Licking Stick – Licking Stick” by James Brown
- “Come As You Are” by Nirvana
- “Animal I Have Become” by Three Days Grace
- “Are You Gonna Be My Girl” by Jet
- “Papercut” by Linkin Park
- «Feel Good Inc.» by Gorillaz
- “Killing In The Name” by Rage Againts The Machine
- “It’s So Easy” by Guns ‘n Roses
- “Sabotage” by Beastie Boys
- “Brick House” by The Commodores
- “Addicted To That Rush” by Mr. Big
- “Orion” by Metallica
- “Lovely Day” by Bill Withers
- “Money” by Pink Floyd
- Billie Jean by Michael Jackson
- “The Chain” by Fleetwood Mac
- “I Wish” by Stevie Wonder
- “What’s Going On” by Marvin Gaye
- “Another One Bites The Dust” by Queen
“Hysteria” by Muse
Muse is a band that stands out for having powerful, heavy and aggressive bass, which is why its inclusion in this list of the best unique powerful bass songs of all time was inevitable. The foundation of this urgent and melodramatic rock song is a movement-laden bass line that carries the weight of the song from beginning to end.
Chris Wolstenholme’s constant and frenetic bass line is characterized by its distorted and aggressive sound. Plus, it creates the space guitarist Matt Bellamy needs to create texture and atmosphere on his guitar.
There are so many great Muse songs and with great bass, it was hard to choose one, and you may not agree with our choice. But in our opinion the bass line of this song is great.
“Around The World” by Red Hot Chili Peppers
Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers is considered one of the most eccentric and powerful bass players in Rock. Without a doubt, one of the best electric bass song intros is that of Around The World. This song begins with a powerful and aggressive bass riff, which is burned into the heads of all Rock lovers. Thus, Around The World is one of the best songs to play on bass.
“Radioactive” by Imagine Dragons
Imagine Dragons’ “Radioactive” has a simple chord structure, ideal for beginning bassists as it’s a super easy song to play on bass. Plus, the screaming gang vocals made their pop appeal instantaneous.
The song begins with a mix of layered electric and acoustic fretted and string instruments, only to be met with heavily distorted, pulsing synth sounds along with layered atmospheric, clean, and distorted electric guitars. Simply put, the powerful yet simple bass makes for one of the best songs to learn for beginning bass players.
If you want to record with your computer, visit this guide to choose the best DAW for beginners: software for your Home Studio.
“U Can’t Hold No Groove (If You Ain’t Got No Pocket)” by Victor Wooten
This is an excellent powerful bass song, maybe a bit complex for beginners, but don’t be discouraged, with time and dedication, you can learn it. One thing that stands out about “U Can’t Hold No Groove (If You Ain’t Got No Pocket)” if you’re a beginning bass player is some layered vocals towards the end of the song. We’re also not talking about multiple parts with multiple tracks. All of this is just cohesive bass performance, absolutely amazing.
Additionally, Wooten basses are tuned to present a wide range of frequencies, not just low frequencies.
“Come Together” by The Beatles
“Come Together” by The Beatles, played by Paul McCartney is a Rock classic that every bass player should know how to play. This is a song that also sounds way ahead of its time. The bass line is excellent and easy to play for bass players of any level, beginners, intermediate and advanced.
Also, Paul’s bass line is sheer brilliance, both in the intro played along with the guitar and the rest of the song.
If you’re a beginner bass player you might be interested in our guide to the best cheap electric basses for beginners.
“Licking Stick – Licking Stick” by James Brown
The “godfather of soul” James Brown has plenty of songs that could make this list. Soul and Funk are great styles for lead basses. What makes “Licking Stick – Licking Stick” the best James Brown bass song in our opinion is Timothy Drummond’s syncopated bass line. The bass in this song has rhythm, rumble and gives weight to the unusual arrangement of this song.
“Come As You Are” by Nirvana
“Come As You Are” is an essential song of ’90s grunge, featuring Kurt Cobain’s signature guitar riff, Dave Grohl’s insanely punchy snare, and Krist Novoselic’s deep, punchy bass line. The bass gives depth to the song, with its power. It’s an ideal song for bass beginners as it’s super easy to play.
“Animal I Have Become” by Three Days Grace
Three Days Grace’s song “Animal I Have Become” opens with a lone, powerful bass line accompanied by a kick drum. It is a song with a very present and protagonist bass. It’s that song every bass player wants to play. Even if you are not a melodramatic emo you will love playing this song.
“Are You Gonna Be My Girl” by Jet
Jet’s “Are You Gonna Be My Girl” is another great song with powerful bass. The bass begins the song gaining great prominence. If you are looking for a fast song but with a lot of rhythm, this is a great song to play on the bass for beginning and intermediate bassists. Perhaps, at first, so many cuts complicate you, but precisely those cuts are part of the magic of the song.
“Papercut” by Linkin Park
An excellent heavy-hitting bass song from Linkin Park’s ever-popular debut album Hybrid Theory , “Papercut” features an aggressive bassline dubbed by a distorted electric guitar. It is one of the best powerful and heavy bass songs that every bass player should know how to play.
«Feel Good Inc.» by Gorillaz
Feel Good Inc. is Gorillaz’s most popular single, and its punchy, catchy bassline is its most prominent feature. With its hip-hop and rock influences, it’s a song that bass players of all styles enjoy. Also, the song is super easy to learn to play on the bass, great for beginners.
“Killing In The Name” by Rage Againts The Machine
Killing in the Name is the first single by American band Rage Against the Machine. This Rap Metal band released this great song on their self-titled debut album. The song was released on November 2, 1992 and peaked at number 25 on the UK Singles Chart. Written about the revolution against racism in security agencies.
The band’s aggressive style is ideal for bass players looking for songs with heavy and powerful bass. You are going to need to tune your bass in D – A – D – G.
“It’s So Easy” by Guns ‘n Roses
It’s So Easy is a song by American hard rock band Guns N’ Roses, which appears on their 1987 debut album Appetite for Destruction . The song begins with Duff Mckagan’s bass at full blast. In addition, throughout the song the bass maintains its strength and prominence. It’s an excellent song for beginning and intermediate bass players.
“Sabotage” by Beastie Boys
Sabotage is one of the most popular songs by the American Rap Rock band Beastie Boys. The song was released as the lead single from their 1994 fourth album Ill Communication . The Beastie Boys were an innovative white boy hip-hop group, with roots in New York punk and hardcore music. This song is one of the strongest bass lines, ideal for beginner and intermediate bass players to learn to play. Sabotage is a song that stands out for its extremely aggressive rapping and guitar solo with a screech-like effect, and its powerful bass line. Sabotage is a song included in the video game “Guitar Hero III Legends of Rock”. He also appears in the movie Star Trek A New Beginning .
“Brick House” by The Commodores
This song is literally everywhere: commercials, TV shows, movies, etc. Also, Brick House by Commodores has a killer bassline that every bassist wants to learn how to play. Also, its tight and funky rhythm makes it a unique song to play with the bass. The bass is at the center of everything, always being the protagonist.
“Addicted To That Rush” by Mr. Big
Bass virtuoso Billy Sheehan brought serious touch, speed and flair to the bass, especially on Mr. Big songs like Addicted To That Rush. His style and tone are unique and unusual. In fact, you may not even recognize the bass at first. This is thanks to its guitar-like tapping technique. Listening to Sheehan’s performance is sure to make you “addicted to that thrill.” This is one of the best heavy bass songs.
“Orion” by Metallica
Metallica’s song Orion begins with a deep, swirling, rumbling bass. Also, the bassline contrasts with the thrashy midrange enhanced dual guitars. This instrumental piece is an essential element of Metallica’s artistic oeuvre. In fact, it’s a progressive metal piece. The bass line is quite bright and powerful throughout, with a lot of good riffs that intertwine and complement the guitars.
“Lovely Day” by Bill Withers
Bill Withers is one of the early staples of R&B and the song Lovely Day one of his best works. His bass lines are spectacular, with a lot of swing and prominence. The song’s bass is decidedly punchy and features enough movement to keep things interesting throughout the song.
“Money” by Pink Floyd
When it comes to heavy, powerful basses, Money and the bass of Roger Waters of the band Pink Floyd come to mind. His often simplistic playing makes this song perfect for beginning bassists. The bass line is present in the mix with great prominence.
Billie Jean by Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean is a classic of Pop songs. In fact, it’s one of the biggest singles from one of the best-selling albums of all time, Thriller . Also, this song stands out for how powerful the pulsing bass line is. Also, if the main bass line wasn’t enough, there’s a secondary synth bass line. So, Billie Jean is one of the best Pop songs ever recorded with one of the heaviest bass riffs out there that you have to learn to play.
“The Chain” by Fleetwood Mac
This song is incredible, and something that stands out about “The Chain” is its powerful, accentuated and forceful bass line. The song starts out shy, but then the drums and bass come in and everything changes. This is a bass song through and through, because even when the bass isn’t playing, you hear it in your head. Also, it’s a really easy song to play even for a beginner.
“I Wish” by Stevie Wonder
This is a great bass thumping song with an amazing beat, it might be a bit fast at first but the swing it has is fantastic. This Funk song has a heavy and punchy bass line. Thus, the song I Wish is impressive from start to finish, with an intricate keyboard riff, along with stabs of wind and, of course, with a bass line that is too funky and heavy. Clearly, this is one of the best heavy bass songs you’ll find.
“What’s Going On” by Marvin Gaye
This Motown classic showcases the skills of bassist James Jamerson. Thus, the song benefits from a powerful, solid bass that marks the rhythm and melody throughout the song. In addition, it is a song that handles the different intensities very well. The bass work alone makes “What’s Going On” a worthwhile addition to your playlist.
“Another One Bites The Dust” by Queen
“Another One Bites The Dust” by Queen is undoubtedly one of the best songs with powerful and protagonist bass. From the beginning, the bass is the heart of the work. Bassist John Deacon’s bass riff is beyond iconic and catchy that transcends generations. There isn’t a bass player who can’t play this song.
The best powerful bass songs that you have to learn to play
With these 24 iconic bass songs, you’ll have a great repertoire whether you’re a beginner or intermediate bass player. You will find famous heavy bass songs of all musical styles and different techniques such as slap, fingers, pick or tapping.
Do you think we have forgotten any song to this list of iconic songs of powerful basses? Which one? Leave us a comment below.
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