Can’t Hear The Bass In Songs? Use These 4 Tricks To Figure Out Any Bass Line - FAST
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- čas přidán 30. 07. 2024
- To get a free 30-day trial of Transcribe!, the software I use in this video, click here:
bit.ly/2GQb8dT
If you’ve ever struggled to hear the bass lines in recordings and figure them out, then you know exactly how frustrating it can be.
I used to pour over recordings, straining my ears for ages and finally come away with something that I thought was the the bass line, only to realize I was playing the melody the whole time. Then it was back to the same old maddening drawing board.
This is a super common mistake that bass players make by the way - thinking the melody is the bass line. Most people’s ears (including mine) are magnetically attracted to the melody so it’s natural to play it when you’re trying to figure out another part of the song.
So what do you do then when you can’t hear the bass line?
Sure, you could trawl through the endless options of dodgy tab sites until you find one that sort of resembles what you hear on the recording.
You could also ask other people if they know how to play it. They may or they may not - or even worse, they ‘think’ they know it, and then teach you the wrong thing…
The better option is to upgrade your ears! Sure, it’ll take a bit longer, but once you have that skill, you can use it for the rest of your life.
In this lesson, I want to share 4 ways to upgrade your ears so you can easily hear bass lines, even if they’re low
The first 3 strategies are more of a long-term play, but they’re infinitely more valuable to you. They’ll let you
The final strategy I want to show you is more of the ‘quick and dirty’ way and it involves a great piece of software called Transcribe! and it lets you do all kinds of things that makes is super simple to hear even the most buried bassline. You can check out Transcribe! here and even sign up for a free 30-day trial:
bit.ly/2GQb8dT
If you liked this lesson, be sure to head to becomeabassist.com and sign up for the email newsletter. As a welcome gift, you’ll get my 8-part Bass Chord Pro series - totally free. In it, you’ll learn all the chords you’d ever need to play on bass. Of course, you’ll get all the latest stuff from Become A Bassist as well.
Good luck with upgrading your ears and happy playing!
Cheers,
Luke
P.S. I use Transcribe! all the time - it’s a great tool and I use it all the time so I’m happy to recommend it using my affiliate link above. Have some fun with it and let me know how you go.
Music: www.bensound.com
Isolated Bass Tracks Playlist: • Isolated Bass Tracks
Be careful with some of these isolated bass tracks. Some of them are not actually from the original recordings - they're covers incorrectly labeled as isolated bass tracks. Usually if you check the comments, there are people in there calling out the dodgy/mislabeled videos. - Hudba
It's not that you can't hear the bass, you just don't recognize it. "Oh that's a baseline I thought that was a guitar!"
@@officialburrito3874 it’s just bass. Not bass guitar
@@gamingwithcallum6087 Technically it is both.
@@gamingwithcallum6087 it is bass guitar
@@jimmyrizz667 except when it isn't. like an upright bass. or when the keyboard is providing the bassline.
When I was learning bass lines from songs before the internet was invented I used to play the vinyl LP at 45rpm instead of 33rpm and that had a similar effect of making the bass frequencies clearer. It changed the pitch but I think it moved it up around 5 semitones which meant it could be learnt on the next highest string. It also increased the tempo which meant you had to keep up with it played fast but made playing the line a doddle when subsequently played at the right speed.
I never would have thought to do this, but it's exactly the same idea as using the software. It's handy that it put it up the right amount that you can play it on the next string too. What are the chances!?
I did exactly the same. Then, I would transpose it down a P4th to figure out the actual notes.
Clever! I did the math, it is really a fourth (5 semitones) plus 37 cents, so a bit out of tune but still quite there! Cool!
The best way to hear The Bass is to be The Drummer.
the closest to the bassist.....
I tried this on And justice for all and it didnt work i want my money back
Haha! You can blame Lars for that one.
Try ,and justice for Jason ,the bass lines are amped up .sounds totally different.and jjustice for all is probably the worst recording of all time,for the bass track
Become A Bassist
I just blame Lars for everything.
And justice for jason had a fan recorded track dubbed in
I actually laughed at a CZcams comment. Well done ol chap
Local bassist goes missing, but nobody notices for 2 weeks
I am rather experienced bassist, yet only a diletant. Some 46-47 yrs of band playing; as a youngster as a semi pro, later just for fun. Records, yes, hundreds of gigs etc. And still I find your postings very useful and inspiring. I can only imagine, how much these lessons of yours can give to a freshman. Good lord, had I got an access to this on seventies!!! Would have saved a lot of blood sweat and tears😀🤔. Keep posting. Greetings from Helsinki.
This is cool! I was banging my head against the wall to hear some bass lines in extreme metal, and now I can just turn isolating bass on and off with a click of the button. Will consider buying this software for sure.
I love this. I grew up with a parent that loved bass... and I always wanted to learn it. Never did but still LOVE bass. It isnt always a stand out but it is basically that umami flavor for a band lol
If you know the song key or the guitar chords you can deduce from there as well. It’s usually the root note of the guitar chord or sometimes the fifth.
Are you primarily a bassist ?
Unless it's The Summer of Love by Valensia. 😅
Excellent tricks. The Transribe! one really helped me figure out the bassline to some songs. Thanks
The way I learned was to listen for the rhythm guitar or the root notes of the measure and key in on that. Then, I would listen to chordal changes, the beat and such. Often, the drummer or a guitarist would throw something in to key off of as to an upcoming change or to give a particular feel and that would indicate what you should do. I also, started out on piano, as a kid, guitar in my teens and have fiddled with other instruments, as well... The biggest thing for a bass player is knowing the fundamentals of constructing a song... i.e. the I, IV and V chord progressions, 12 bar blues, turnarounds etc..... As for practicing, I had a mixer with two tape decks (or cd player) and such, where I could plug my bass directly into the mixer and play along with the music... The example you use in the video is a simple turnaround, d, e, f#, g and back again... So, if you can recognize the progression and the primary (root) note, you can guess your way through the song...
Nowadays, being 51 and all, I've been loosing some of my hearing. Anything under 200 htz in my left ear is virtually gone, although I've noticed that in some cases, if loud enough, I can still hear it, some. So, it's getting tougher to listen for the bass line, anyway. I used to be able to hear nearly every note from every instrument, as a kid but, always had a problem understanding what words were being sung, at times! LOL...
My preference is big speakers in another room.
Dalek Anonymous that's what I do, use the walls like a filter to the high stuff...and I've bought a pair of AKG K240's at low volume work very well
Wow... thanks for that tip.
I hate how this works. Literally crank the bass in the EQ, turn volume up, go to another room and listen to it.
1. Learn the exact chords of the song
2. Use good earphones
3. Tweak the song EQs/speed with a decent software (Capo, Amazing Slow Downer, Transcribe, Audacity, etc...)
4. Often it can be very useful to listen similar versions of the same song (demos, coeval live takes)
For the point no. 3 be careful because obviously often bass players play in the upper register too, so watch out to not loose same bass parts.
Kinda missed the point if 1.
Not just exact chords; find isolated bass notes to listen to/follow along. And then reverse-practice listening for the bass lines in the original audio once you know them well enough to identify them.
Thank you for the tips and the helpful links, Luke! I'm not a bassist, but I'm trying to learn chord progressions in songs and I was just describing to a friend the challenges of hearing the bass parts in songs you mentioned facing. I'm probably annoying my neighbors by listening to the isolated bass track playlist right now. I'm also curious about the Transcript! software. I tried similar things in Audacity years ago and found it not really ready for prime time except in isolating and repeating a section of a song. Transcript seems a lot slicker and more music oriented.
Thanks again!
As an example of a working musician who doesn't play along with songs you don't really care for, I give you Ben Shepherd, of Soundgarden, played in well water conspiracy, Hater and played bass on Mark Lanegan Field sings . He has a great style and is quite distinctive in his own field.
Head Down is one of my favourite Soundgarden song. Lately, his bass line on Rowing is great because it is the skeleton of the song.
I listen to a lot of older songs where the bass is more subliminal. Monitor headphones 🎧 are generally better.
I’m glad to hear other people struggle with this. I don’t play bass except very rarely but would like to be able to.
I like eating Spaghetti before playing bass, very fulfilling
I-what
Davie504 reference??????
How can I transpose a given 1. melody 2. rhythm 3. lead part to a bass part. For example, i bought the tab ebook for Nita Strauss's album "controlled chaos" thinking she wrote the bass parts too. She did not, which is odd because she played bass on the studio version (she has a bass player come in for live and music videos). I was really bummed out by this, and I'm trying to figure out the bass part, from the three parts she did write which was the ones i listed. She also did write keys and strings parts for a couple of the songs (the ones that have keys and strings in them), but again, no bass parts. How can i transpose from any of those 5 parts?
Thanks, I have transcribe but had not thought to boost the pitch an octave in addition to the bass select. I'll be trying that tip.
You can also use a mid/side decoder available in most daws to isolate the mid or mono part of a song which can cut out a lot of pesky guitars and stuff that's off to the sides.
Michael Heslop - Michael forgive my ignorance, but what exactly are you talking about? MIDSOLE DECODER? daws?
SixSentSoldiers ok a daw is a digital audio workstation, software for recording and manipulating audio, for example, protools, logic, reaper. A mid side decoder splits your stereo audio into a mid and side signsl rather than left/right. The mid is the mono part of the signal, ie the stuff that sits in the middle of the speakers. The side is the part of the signal that sits off on the sides. Because bass is usually mono and guitars are usually panned to the left and right, isolating the mid signal can remove a lot of the guitars or any other stereo instruments. Most daws have a mid side decoder in them. Hope that explains a little.
Michael Heslop - WoW. Thank you Michael. I understand now. Learn something new most every day. Gonna check more into that.
DEFINITELY the best method. Thanks mate! I've been messing around with this in my DAW for the past few hours. Can't believe how well it works. Wish I'd known years ago.
Thanks for a helpful presentation. This is seriously a problem for me, an old man but new bass player. My hearing leaves a lot to be desired.
I like Audacity, which is completely free, and available for Linux, Mac, and Windows platforms. It's more complicated than Transcribe, but not too hard to figure out how to do this type of thing. Audacity also offers a lot of filters and other effects, and is useful for recording and multi-tracking sound. Compared to some of the upscale DAWs it is pretty simple, but for me it's a very useful tool.
do what you're doing I'm 64 now don't waste your money and transcribed just by some good hearing AIDS. A good friend of mine who also happens to be a great guitar player is 67 and he bought a nice great set of hearing aids and he's thanks he is 28 again
In response to Nathan Murphy if you drown out the bass with your shredding, how on earth are you ever going to play tight with the other musicians in the band if you don't allow for band members to have space to play their parts, I'm sure George Harrison didn't think I know I'll shred over Paul's bass line in taxman. You'll never create a memorable song.
I guess he’s with the tons of ego inflated musicians that don’t think of the band as “us”, it’s always about “me, me me.” If you feel sorry for any of your fellow musicians then go and play alone in your own bedroom.
Thank you soooo much! you saved my Bass-life!
Hey man, I'm from Brazil and I love your Chanel. Keep on!!
Oi João! Muito obrigado e eu vou continuar fazendo mais videos. (Desculpe meu Portugues - eu so aprendendo...)
I like how in good bands each musician allows the band mates space. Another example of this is nick oliveri in words, has some great leading bass lines. Downtuned flatwound sound
Where can I find separate tracks of songs?
thanks for showing the software :)
Nice trick! Realy awesome! Thank you!
yes!!! #4 is a gamechanger, thank you!
The transcribe works sooooooooo much for me!!!!! thank youuuuuu
thats amazing! thankss
Ensuring you know the chords is the other key tool - if you know the chords you've generally cut it down to a max of 4 notes (1, 3 5 and guide) at any time.
Ty you are so right n a great teacher.
Apple iPhone headphones are good for bass ,does anyone know of a good brand ?
Excellent video, that speaks to the reality of not all being the pitch perfect, interval recognizing maestros that few are. Quite well enjoyed putting that in me coconut, I did. Gracias, amigo.
No worries Mike! Glad you enjoyed it, and thanks for the comment!
Mike Bounds no need to, I've been playing bass for over a year and trained my ear. In about 6 months I started being able to figure out some of my favourite songs by ear (all death metal, and about 3 reggae songs). You don't need to be a virtuoso if you are willing to take the time to train your ears
Just listen to the RHCP or Primus you can’t miss the bass line lol
ok but, i dont wanna learn those songs i want to learn something else
I feel so bad for you bass players you guys don't get enough credit meanwhile guitarists like me shred all the time and block out the bass
Krystal Flowers it also sucks that there aren't enough bass players I can't find one
To late I'm already in love with guitar
No need to feel bad, eventually the bass player (and probably the rest of the band) will end up sacking you anyway for not listening to what everyone else is doing.
Krystal Flowers I've actually played bass my friend has one. I prefer guitar over bass
Nathan Murphy
I’m a bassist and I don’t see it that way. And I definitely don’t think you lead guitar block me out. The way I see it is that we are together in this. I will support your sound and knowing it or not you will support my sound in turn as well.
TBH i trained my ear hearing bass line from slow tempo song, maybe some kind of bossa nova song, ballad and gospel (gospel kind help alot)
after i kind of get hook of the frequency, upgrade to faster tempo song..
Listen to Yes music. Chris Squire's bass lines are very distinct and melodic, so you can't not hear the bass. :-)
Harmono do you know any other bands?
@@dagmarawilk6323 Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath in the realm of heavy metal
@@dagmarawilk6323 Cannibal Corpse and Death quite a lot of times too (death metal bands)
I dont play but have always notice I don't seem to be able to hear the bass I was recently at a concert and the bass play appeared to be really jamming but for the life of me I couldn't hear it, it made me wonder if it is even really needed if I can't e even hear it.
This is totally normal - a lot of people have the same experience. Even if you don't consciously 'hear' the bass though, you'll probably be able to feel it - especially at a live concert. I'd be willing to bet that if the bass did suddenly cut out, you would have been able to feel a big difference in the music.
Check out these 2 tracks. They're the exact same, except one has the bass line removed. To hear the bass properly, make sure you're listening on headphones or decent speakers (anything but phone/computer speakers):
czcams.com/video/yapD_gy-HGQ/video.htmlm54s
czcams.com/video/OPf0YbXqDm0/video.htmlm54s
The bass gives a ton of low frequency energy and along with the kick drum, is usually what makes people want to dance. If you take the bass away, the song has a lot less impact. It's a bit like breathable air - you won't consciously notice it's there until it's not there any more.
we call those who have no ear for music - a bear stepped on his ear, in my case I would say, a herd of bears run over my ear, so the video was very helpful
How is transcribed with Joco and Stanley Clarke tunes? In other words, is it good with complex bass lines?
Hey James. A lot of Jaco stuff sits pretty high in the mix and because he uses a fretless with roundwounds most of the time he's got way more high end in his sound than a lot of other bass players. That should make it much easier to pick out and recognize.
Stanley has a more conventional sound, but still sits pretty 'forward' in the mix. If you're not used to listening for the bass, it might be a little trickier to make it out.
Remember, the Transcribe option is great, but it's last for a reason. Try to figure out the bass lines without it first - just using your ears. If the line is fast, you can use the settings on CZcams videos to slow them down (that option is only available on desktop at the moment though). If that doesn't help and you're really stuck, then give Transcribe a go.
Learning bass helps me to enjoy music more and now I see how awesome music is. When I started playing we didn't even have electronic tuners and the only way you could learn rock songs was from the guy down the street who had figured off the riffs from listening to albums. No one was in tune. What is the best software to isolate the bass track line? I have a Mac.
Best William
Hey William - did you watch the whole video? I go pretty deep into software for isolating bass lines and give my recommendation there
How do I get transcribe on my laptop???
I am doing my best to follow you. I attending school studying music and animation. Great lessons Luke.
Thanks Daniel. Glad you like the lessons!
Learn chord tones and scales and sing out the names of the notes as you play them; that way, you will absorb the sound of the notes and be able to work them out with a reasonable degree of accuracy. Also, yes, use good headphones or a nice Hi-Fi to listen to music, not something that makes it sound like it's coming from a tin can. Practicing transcription is the best way to learn it really.
Transcribe is great. Anytune is another piece of software worth looking at. I tend to use both together.
Thanks for the suggestion! I don't know Anytune, but I'll check it out.
Conan Shinn They basically do the same thing, however I find the main difference is in the EQ. Anytune allows you to increase the pitch by two octaves which, together with a bass isolation EQ, makes it a lot easier to isolate the bass to hear what’s going on. I tend to use both of them together when working on a transcription.
"It's Your Thing" by the Isley Brothers. A killer song and a great example of a tune where I struggle to hear who's doing what. Check it out!
Luke, thank you very much for this video and the tip about this software. It seems like a great app. Do you know if this software will show the music in either tab or regular musical notation??
However, I'm a bit confused. I tried doing the 'bass select' option as you've demonstrated, but nothing happened. Will this feature only work if I have the license, or does it work in the free trial version too?
Transcribe won't show you tab or notation - I'm not aware of any software that can take a track and notate everything out unless it's all MIDI data.
As far as the 'bass select' option, it definitely works in the trial. You have to make sure that it's 'active' though and not 'bypassed' (these options are towards the top left of the EQ tab) and make sure you double click the 'bass select' option or click 'Load' when it's selected.
JOH PH Channel has dozens of hit songs where he isolates guitar parts, bass lines, drums, persuasions, keyboards. Its interesting to hear Aston Barrett's reggae basslines
You missed the best feature in Transcribe!-- the piano roll. Show PianoRoll, along with Include Piano at left of piano roll. In Preferences/Fret Display, choose Instrument = Bass. Select and isolate/zoom the piano roll to display only the bass parts of the piano range: E1 to about E3. Now you can VISUALLY see the bass notes roll by as the song plays. You can stop anywhere and left click on a particular note, and it will make the sound of that note and show you the name of the note and string/fret is being played. You can decrease the sensitivity of the piano roll to further isolate base notes from other clutter, like drums in the same range. No need to change the pitch of the bass line, as you don't have to listen to the bass line.... you can SEE the bass line. Finally, if you add in the beat and measure markers, you can easily tab out a song in no time flat. I know of no easier way to tab music. It's really an amazing tool.
What I was going to say!
Transcribe, Great!!! Thanks. :)
Great videos! Where can I download transcribe? Thank you.😀
Glad you like the videos! Here's the link for Transcribe: bit.ly/2GQb8dT
What are good earphones you recommend ?
What is name of the app
I’m a pianist wanting to improve my ability to hear bass notes/lines. I especially appreciate the link to the isolated bass lines. Is there a similar list for Jazz tunes?
Yo, maybe you've developped your ear enough already but i suggest checking out "listen here" by eddie harris, the bass line is very powerfull and keeps repeating, i think it's the some that gave me the breakthru when it comes to hearing bass lines... just honning on that low frequency
@@pianospeedrun Thanks; I appreciate the pro tip! My ear is still developing, but I'm getting much better. I'm transcribing Jazz basslines, which are often buried pretty deep in the mix; the bass boost Chrome extensions really help!
Play the song in your car speakers, set the volume high, get out of the car, close the door, and listen to all the bass you want.
I use Audacity on a PC to do this stuff. Its very powerful.
When I started listening to
Black Sabbath I became more and more aware of the bass guitar in some heavy metal songs by bands like Metallic, Slipknot and Arch Enemy
Another helpful lesson. By the way, Is that an SR1000EFM Bass?
If you can't hear the bass in songs, try hearing the missing snare hit on David Bowie (Heroes) second chorus !
I'm a piano teacher and i make sure to let my students know from day 1 and during every lesson that listenning to the bass is the cheat code of music, weather to learn songs by ear or to simply get more enjoyment out of listenning. Almost half my lessons are spent on developping the ear to hear bass, except for a dj that has already madtered this skill so we can focus on chords etc. At this point i'm basically a bass teacher 😂 btw i would say watching bassists do cover of songs is great to learn to hear bass, since the added visual cue helps keep focus and makes the experience more coherant... juliaplaysgroove, or japanese girl bassists playing covers of anime kids love for example
crossover bass gain will easily and readily sounds out what key bass is playing and some of your bass lines . .
do u use mac?
I am curious can you hum with your voice to the bass of a song. I just personally hum to the bass. But seriously can I hum to the bass of a song?
Absolutely - you're already doing it! It might not be in the exact same range as a bass - the humming is possibly an octave or 2 higher than the bass - but humming along the bass is a great way of internalizing the bass lines.
@@BecomeABassist just curious is it at all possible to as a bass player to play along with the keyboard or piano of a song. And same thing with other instruments or do I as a bass player have to play the same or consistent through out the whole song. This question comes from the fact that there are songs in which the bass plays along with a certain instrument for a few seconds then plays back at the assigned rythm.
It sounds like you answered your own question @Alfredo F. If it already happens in some songs you know, then it's definitely possilble. Check this video out to learn how bass lines often function: czcams.com/video/WlITtBMC8lc/video.html
So... will this work for "...And Justice For All" ?
what bass is that? looks great
It's an Ibanez SR1000. It was the first 'serious' bass I owned. Great bass - I'm not sure if they still make them in this finish though.
Man! I just really love these advertisements for transcribe...
Thanks friend. Glad you like them
Transcribe is the Bomb!
I learned by dubbing tapes at high speed :D
Another trick is to type in the name of the song and add "bass cover". Then you are getting double the bass sound. Once familiar with it, just play along with the song without it being a cover. It helps hear those parts. Also helps to try a few different covers as some are much better and more accurate than others. Trust your ears.
Another great suggestion! Thanks Barry!
Barry Norgaard except if you want to play underground stuff
This fuckin shit sounds pretty good, digga digga digga
my ears got so used to listening to isolated bass tracks so my ears hear low frequencies better. I guess
I'm not surprised - you can absolutely train your ears to hear bass lines more easily. It sounds like you almost did that accidentally. Haha!
Siberian Khatru YESSONGS, Ultimate Bass
And Heart of the Sunrise. Glorious.
Absolutely, and Long Distance Runaround, the list could go on RIP Chris Squire!!
I learnd it from my teacher as this: pitch the song one octave without EQ is mostly enough
I actually have been listening to the bass all along but I thought it was the melody
Sonic Visualizer is a nice free alternative to Transcribe.
just have adhd and be able to hyperfocus on the bass like me
i am filipino and i love play bass guitar
I have a high quality speakers !! 4.1 sony speakers
so... what can we do about "...and justice for all", huh? ;D
Blame Lars! And if you haven't yet, check out 'And Justice For Jason' czcams.com/video/6kqTcLwUYj8/video.html
hehe. yeah. heard about that one :D
Pretty much just watching this so I can get a better appreciation for Steve Harris.
Does this work for Metallica's and Justice for All album?
play a vinil record at a faster speed, the bass lines will come up.
What am I doing here I play the guitar
just tell us it takes a little time to develop your ears to play anything you hear musically instead of complication
Another way to get around using an amp to practice is to press your chin agianst the handle of the body.
i can somehow hear the bass in "chemical kids and mechanical brides"
Meant qotsa damn predictive text.
BAN ASSAULT BASSES!
,
No next to cango player
I watched this video and now I can’t hear the other instruments
watching this with a laptop
I’m a drummer how did I get here
Genesis' "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" . . . if you can't make out the bass on that, you're deaf.
You shouldn't have to make an extra effort to hear the bass. It should be audible by default.
Wonder if this works on AJFA.....NOPE
I just raise the pitch
I find it astonishing that some even musically trained people don’t know what a bassline is. Seriously? You’ve been learning music for years and you can’t tell?
Yeah - it's almost like people have different experiences, priorities, training and journeys with music than you did.
@@BecomeABassist I asked the question generally from people reading the comments, not directed at you. You can obviously tell the difference, hence you put the clip up. But yeah, some people learn music for years and haven’t got the foggiest about bass lines. And you were right, the main melody of a song can be so catchy that you tune into it, so that you tune out the bass line and don’t develop an ear for it.
So how do people originally get interested in an instrument they can’t hear 🤔
How did _you_ get interested @scottmuck? I figure you must be at least a little bit interested if you’re watching bass videos on CZcams
@@BecomeABassist funny enough, I was just curious if anyone can actually hear a bass, and found myself here.
From talking to thousands of bassists @scottmuck, a lot of people fall in love with the bass the first time they play one and *_feel_* the frequencies deep in their bones. Not everyone has that experience, but it comes up a lot.