Flea vs Paul McCartney: are these bass lines TOO similar?
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- Опубліковано 15 тра 2024
- There’s not a bassist on earth who hasn’t begged, borrowed or stolen from their predecessors, but what if we said that Flea ripped off one of his most famous bass lines from Sir Paul McCartney?! You’d be skeptical, right? - We would, too!
In today's video, we’re giving you a mini-history lesson on two of the bass world’s biggest names and what you can borrow from them to kickstart your own bass playing.
🔥 Download your FREE PDF Workbook →
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Video Breakdown:
00:00 - Introduction
00:17 - Which Bass Lines?
00:34 - Free PDF?
00:50 - The Beatles - Come Together
01:35 - Come Together, The Breakdown
02:33 - The WRONG Way
03:11 - With a Pick?
03:37 - Come Together, The Breakdown (Continued)
04:34 - Red Hot Chili Peppers - Give It Away
05:20 - Did Flea Rip off Paul McCartney?
06:04 - Flea & Rubin Writing Give It Away
07:12 - The Gear
07:36 - Red Hot Chili Peppers - Give It Away, The Breakdown
10:16 - Red Hot Chili Peppers - Bass Line Breakdown
11:10 - Scott's Wish
11:44 - The Differences
13:00 - Summary
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The thing is that in a way or another paul McCartney has influenced everyone in the industry of music, he is a genius singing, writing, composing, arranging, producing etc …
Definitely. I started out as a singer and have had to (I love it..) pick up bass as a necessity when we had some walk outs. I just decided to pick it up and cancel it out. Watching guys like McCartney, Sting and Phil Lynott from Thin Lizzy has been my guideline to figure out my style.
I always loved Ian on Scott's channel, but man. These videos of them together are so amazing. Just two very talented and knowledgable dudes playing all of our favorite songs / basslines. So good. Keep it coming
So awesome to hear dude! Keep locked in, more great videos on the way!
I know, I loved watching them enjoy so much the beginning of, Give It Away, just like I would! I'm a drummer, not a bass player, but I love listening to bass lines and love that intro so much, and how they reacted is exactly how I react to it. So it was so cool to watch them feel it hard like I do
The shh sound is actually Lennon saying "shoot me". Spooky.
That’s a fact that I learned today, thank you.
Is that it?! I've always wondered what that was. Was the vocal altered, do you think?
@@amandamarinovich6164 I don't know but once I heard it, it was impossible to ignore.
😳😳😳
Über spooky 😮
McCartney himself said that Bass Lines don’t have to be original. It was in reference to his part on ‘Saw her standing there’, being directly lifted from the bass line of a Chuck Berry song. Think it was ‘can’t catch me’ ❤
It was 'Talking About You'
Ironically 'Can't Catch Me' is the song Lennon 'borrowed' as the basis for Come Together
@@andrewevansmusic3222 I think it's a stretch to say he based the entire song off the _Can't Catch Me_ lyrics. He definitely lifted the "Here come ol' flattop, he come groovin' up with me" line as a starting point, but the rest of the lyrics were scattered throughout his notebook and/or improvised on the spot.
It’s just a triad Paul’s playing. Those notes are on no less than a million songs in the same sequence. By 1964 Paul was playing a walking bass line while singing “ All My Loving “ and that was just the BEGINNING !
@@andrewevansmusic3222 HALF OF FIRST VERSE “ HERE COME ON FLAT TOP “
Both are cracking bass lines by two amazing players
Correct
Correct answer for me.
It may have been Rick Rubin who influenced Flea as he's a huge Beatles fan. But it's definitely not a "a rip off"
But the footage shows how important a producer is to a band in the recording and writing process.
I always assumed it was more of an homage than a rip off. I definitely don't think it was conscious theft, not that anyone said it was. It also could have been a thing like in a band I was in once. We had a guitar solo that had a lick that was basically just the main theme from Jurassic Park and we decided that getting sued by John Williams would be incredible publicity for us so we kept it.
@@actualturtle2421 Yeah, it could be just a fluke well never know...but definitely not a "rip off" 👍
In the Funky Monks documentary Flea was playing something different, then Rubin said to simplify it. They’re totally different rhythms tho, so not ripped off
Oh… they say all this in the vid
@@ness-ee Er...Not the main points I made in my original comment
Come Together is the Rickenbacker 4001s with nylon tapewounds. He only ever used the bass pickup. Definitely a plectrum, and I'm voting third finger as well. And of course it's a mic'ed amp (from some distance actually) not a DI.
In Every photo I've seen of MACCA playing a Rick during the BEATLES - The Switch is on his Treble / neck pick-up.
My guess is that Paul starts on the first finger, the plays the high F with his pinky on the 15th fret of the D string. The tone (timbre?) is richer up there than on the 10th fret of the G string.
BTW, I also play the second (fast) verse of "Taxman" a similar way. It makes it easier to get the slides in there.
@@aquamarine99911Listening to the isolated bass track, I disagree. To me the high F sounds like the 10th fret on the G-string.
I think he only used the black nylon tapewounds on the Hofner on Let it be
@@kennet7837Hmm, I got the opposite impression from the isolated track. Maybe it's just my G string sounds too thin. The slide down off the F especially sounds longer and better on the D string - where Paul did his slides for "Dear Prudence" the year before. I also find it easier to do a nice wide vibrato with my pinkie on the D string. Try it - you may like it.
Worth a mention is Andy Fraser’s excellent sliding bassline in Free’s ‘The Stealer’ which is very similar to the two featured basslines.
Free is a kick ass band that is still somewhat under the radar
Great call!
The Delta Drone has been around longer than Come Together, but McCartney took a technique that was often overlooked and made it an iconic feature. And Flea is so smart in how his playing pays tribute to the great players of the past.
One aspect that is never taken into account when discussing whether or not someone has plagiarized is that it is often done unconsciously. That is, we have stored in our memory and subconscious so many hours and hours of musical patterns that it is inevitable that they do not influence, consciously or not, the music you compose. In my case it has happened to me on a few occasions that I discovered something I composed was similar to something I heard in the past and I didn't realize it until much later when I listened again to the related riff or groove unconsciously plagiarized.
On top of all this, there is so much music composed today that it's very likely that anything you genuinely compose in an original way will resemble something someone else composed in another time and place. It's a matter of statistics.
My favourite thing about you both as musicians and pedagogues, is that you both love music so much! As professional musicians, we so often get jaded and disenchanted, but watching you two just relishing in the awesomeness of this music, is so refreshing and inspiring
So awesome to hear! 🙌🏻🧡🔥
I love that too!! It is soooo heartwarming and awsome the reaction for the intro of Give it Away!
@@cabecaprabaixo4934 Exactly!
Also the riff at the end of give it away, sound like sweat leaf by black sabbath.
I find "Give It Away" to be deceptively hard to play. Playing the right notes is easy. But to really nail the timing is difficult. I always tend to rush those fills, particularly the second one. It's just two notes, and they come right before the start of the next measure. My tendency is to want to play them a little too early. I have to really count, which ends up making it feel a bit mechanical.
Same on the timing on Under the Bridge. I dont ever want to feel… waait waaait waait…. I said waaait. Ok. Now!… Like I did that day.
play over and over with the record ....... slowly if you can 👍
You've hit the nail on the head! Timing is key, and it's completely normal to feel that way. Counting and practicing will help you groove smoothly with precision over time. Keep at it, and you'll nail those fills effortlessly! 🎸🎶
If you want to add to this, Alive by Pearl Jam has some similarities in bass line as well. Again, not stolen, just inspired. Great music brings about the great musicians of the future.
The reason is, the guy plays a fretless, which makes you want to slide everything, not that it's a bad thing
Another banger! 🔥
I love both of these songs so I never realized how eerily similar they sound so now I love them even more, also Paul was definitely using his Rick since he had been using it since Rubber Soul alongside his Hofner and then used it extensively from Sgt. Pepper’s up to Abbey Road and went back to his Hofner at Let It Be
Let it Be was recorded before Abbey Road as you probably know so it still could have been the Hofner.
@@barker_
Nah, he went back to the Rick for Abbey Road. Not sure why he took a break during Let It Be.
Not as simple as that. He used the Rick and his Jazz on Abbey Road. And lots of people think he played the Hofner on Something.
I’ve seen Flea live, he’s amazing and so is Paul McCartney of course!! ✌️😁
We agree Daniel, both iconic bass players! 🙌🏻🧡🔥
@@devinebass Indeed, I’d love to see Paul McCartney live. 🔥🧡
Scott playing Flea's bass line on flats reminded me of Pino playing My Generation with The Who. You are expecting one thing and then you are surprised with something completely different
Ah, music is full of delightful surprises! 🎶 It's the beauty of the bass, always ready to add unexpected twists to your groove. 🙌🏻🧡🔥
Great video again.
And I would love an SBL course with Ian teaching how to get the most out of the amazing HX Stomp. 😎
Definitely needs to happen dude! Thanks for checking out the video! 🙌🏻🧡🔥
there are some pictures of the Abbey Road sessions on which Paul's Rickenbacker was strung with black nylon tapewound strings in the first half of 1969 (also considering the Ric scene on the Get Back documentary in January '69, which was already strung with nylon just like the '63 Höfner). also there are some photos of the bass in 1970 with flatwound strings, but it seems he pretty much used tapewounds during Abbey Road.
so it was probably recorded with the Rickenbacker 4001 with tapewound strings.
That's amazing dude, thanks for the insight! 🙌🏻🧡🔥
Everyone pays tribute to history in their own way... But that's not always the case; I think that Come Together and Cat Food by King Crimson are very similar, and they have been composed almost in the same year.
Great video! Can you post how was configurated the HX stomp to get that aggressive tone? Awesome sound!
Man, seeing you 2 talking about music and jamming, made me miss home big time.
Keep up the awesomeness 🤘🏾
#4stringmotherfunkers4life
Why do you all live together?
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Paul recorded "Come Together" with his Rickenbacker 4001s with black nylon strings (same used on his hofner in the "Get Back" sessions)
Great video guys. Love Paul McCartney, but I think he is quite an underrated bassist. People interested in bass guitar are often overlooking his influence on the bass guitar. Ian, I want your baseball cap. Where I can get one?
So great video ! You guys are the best ! I learn soooo much at SBL !
So awesome to hear dude! 🙌🏻🧡🔥
Love your energy guys. Thanks for the free PDF 👍😁
Thanks for checking out the video dude! 🙌🏻🧡🔥
I’ve done extensive research being a huge Beatles fan, and a Bassist. McCartney was using the Rickenbacker on the songs he played bass on for Abbey Road. From other research he was using Tapewound Rotosound strings
don't forget- 'One Of These Nights' by the Eagles, also somewhat similar approach and super great execution and tone.
You guys never cease to entertain and inform me. I love it.
Big up yourself Jim! 🙌🏻🧡🔥
@Ian that Flea tone you've got going on with the Wal reminds me of Geddys tone on the opening chordal riff of Force Ten
LOVE that tone (and Rush era in general)
One similarity that wasn't mentioned is the rhythm. In both of the target note of the slide lands on the 2nd beat, and the high note lands on the and of 2. And the slide to the high notes is a pretty unique technique that makes both of these riffs stand out. I'm pretty sure it was at least subconscious influence because of how similar the riffs are.
I guess "rip off" kind of assumes malicious intent, so I wouldn't call it that. But I would be a bit surprised if the bassline wasn't influenced by Come Together, at least subconsciously.
Yes! I feel like that accented and of 2 is the epitome of syncopation and is what gives both songs a sort of primal feel even though they're at completely different tempos!
Nailed it
Weirdly enough, there is conflicting photographic evidence of what bass Paul played when recording Come Together for Abbey Road. Seperate photos show him with the Rickenbacker or the Hofner. However the Rick has a much sharper sound and my ears say that Paul is playing the Hofner with the Rotosound Tru Bass 88 nylon strings he was using at the time.
also, during the solo in Give It Away, the riff changes. Now it's root, octave, minor third in E
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In that Rick Rubin documentary Paul plays the d on the 10th fret of the e string but still slides on the a string
Lol, had the same realisation come to me at a random time at the library and just realised Dancing Queen has a similar bass line, anchoring on the open A and sliding up to 5th on the 7th fret of the A string and sliding down from minor 7th with G. The same with others, just the sliding part and octave down
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I always figured the reference was intentional as there are several references to other riffs such as sweet leaf on the guitar.
What are the SVT settings on the Stomp, any help please?
Could y’all do a video on continuum by Jack please. I think it’s one of the best bass lines ever
Sure, head to the 9 minute mark of this video 👉🏻 ua-cam.com/video/Osxlvp8R6lw/v-deo.html
Enjoy!
Add an 1/8 note rest on the And of Three…then play the D on beat 4….sliding back down to the A on the and of Four.
Just like the Come on Come over first line.
That space/breath is part of it😎
Not much in "come together"... But i dont think anyone noticed the ending riff in give it away was very similar in black sabbath's "sweet leaf"
I'm 63. I use to have a bass as a kid. What bass should I buy now? How long should I practice per day and how long before I get good with it? Thank you.
Practice practice practice and more practice 😢
You should by whatever bass you want without regard to price, and you should practice until you can play well, however ofter or however long that takes. There is no formula, honestly I think you're going into it with the wrong mindset, you should just have fun with it.
Hey there! It's never too late to pick up the bass! 🎸 Start with a comfortable, quality bass that suits your budget, and aim for consistent daily practice, even if it's just 15-30 minutes. Progress varies, but with dedication, you'll see improvement in a few months. Enjoy your bass journey! 🎶🤘
Sorry if someone said before couldn't read all the previous comments, but in that documentary about the Chillis recording you can see that there's a big poster of the Abbey Road artwork right on the wall in front of Rubin and Flea recording that bass, at the end you can see someone removing the poster when cleaning up the house. Rubin is a fan and I even think that at some point in the documentary you can see Rubin listening to Come together while chilling on a couch
It's cool to spot those references in their documentary! Music is full of inspirations and influences, and it's fascinating to see how different artists pay homage to those who came before them. 🎶🤘
Hey y’all just watched one of your guys’ videos on Timmy C and it would be awesome if you could do a breakdown on some of P-Nut from 311’s bass lines such as the song simple true and sever. I feel he is really under rated and I can never find videos on him, would love to see what you guys think!
Thankyou for the suggestion dude, will send this over to our content team to be considered for a future video! 🙌🏻🧡🔥
Or possibly Flea was influenced by Andy Fraser's wonderful bass line on The Stealer (Free)? Who knows. All three bass lines contain slides in the riff, all three occur in brilliantly written and arranged songs, all three have very different feel to one another.
Great minds!
I just made a comment about Andy Fraser’s The Stealer bassline before scrolling down and seeing that you got there first. 😂
At least I know I’m not alone with my opinion. 👍🏻
Absolutely! It's fascinating how bass lines can inspire and evolve across different genres and eras. 🎶🤘 Keep groovin'!
U guys are such a dynamic duo !
🙌🏻🧡🔥
Great Video Guys🎶🎶
What is the wood on Ian’s Bass?? It looks stellar!
Love it...... 2 very good teachers and musicians.
About amps: Flea played Mesa Boogie 400+ amps and Mesa cabinets at the time.
It's nice to see people loving music so much!
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Two great bass players! Flea and Paul McCartney aren't bad, either. 😉 I have to assume that Flea was inspired by the "Come Together" line, perhaps subconsciously, but still. That's allowed!
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I think he was listening to The Beatles around this time. The ending of Sir Psycho Sexy is quite familiar to "I want you/ She's so heavy."
Here is a question: Were all those Bass lines recorded by Sir Paul? I found a website that broke down which Beatles songs were played by who. I found that Lennon was actually recording bass (with Sir Paul on guitar) more often than I ever imagined - On Helter Skelter for example. Just a thought!
It's true that _occasionally_ someone other than Paul played bass when he was busy on guitar/piano etc. But The Beatles most iconic bass lines were most certainly performed by Paul.
Wish I could have afforded a Wal back in the '80s when they were selling them in Guitar Grapevine round the back of Denmark Street - along with stupidly cheap (now) Hamers and vintage Fenders.
"I steal directly from the people I love. When I like something that a good musician does I steal it completely, and thats what all good musicians do. When somethings good, you use it. Thats what its for. It doesnt mean that you sound like them. It means that you respect someone that has added something to the vocabulary of music and you incorporate it into your vocabulary cause its beautiful. And all good musicians do it. Thats the way to do it."
-Flea in a interview from 2011
Now I want to play Give It Away with the basking for Come Together
Nice analysis, thanks for this video! Both song are absolutely amazing!! Flea is a Genius....
Inspiration most likely, but not ripping off. The Funky Monks video footage definitely didn't make me notice anything about a Beatles/McCarney pre-thoughtout vibe for that song. It's an interesting discussion though. Also on that video is Chad Smith & Rick Rubin listening to John Bonham's drums on a Zepplin song which may or may not have inspired something on the Chili Peppers BSSM album as well.
When Flea wrote the Give It Away bassline he was totally immersed in "alternative" music with a hardcore punk attitude and was anti-anything-considered-mainstream at the time and in the past up to that point. He "hated" Paul McCartney and made some rather disparaging remarks about him in interviews around that time so I highly doubt he would have consciously ripped anything off and/or was inspired by Paul McCartney's playing in any way. His punkrock f-everyone stance has softened somewhat over the years of course and has since paid tribute to McCartney in more recent interviews.
Nathan King would make a great instructor on SBL. Cover some of the licks he's done.
мне нравится,когда вы оба в кадре!😉👍
I love your videos 💯
I watched a somewhat recent video of Paul McCartney playing this same song with a Hoffner.
Is the guy with the bonnet is the one in Tiktok that travel to places and give watch after meeting him and saying “love your journey!”?
I was 16 too that afternoon, I was blown, runned home to grab the bass and play the intro till my mom called me for dinner, my goodness what a blast. F
I remember learning this when I first started playing back in 1993 and my instructor Greg Howard said Flea ripped him off. I think it's more of Paul influencing Flea. Bigger rip off by the Chili Peppers is Breaking the Girl straightup being Manic Depression by Hendrix.
Ah, the world of music is filled with inspiration and influences! 🎵 It's fascinating to see how artists inspire one another, creating something new and exciting. Keep rocking those bass lines and exploring your own unique sound! 🎸🤘
At the start of the song, the amazing "shuck" sound is actually "Shoot me" whispered.
HI Scott ........ I reckon Paul is playing fretted D at the fifth then plays the open D which gives him time to do the shorter 2 fret slide, much easier and trust me .... try it lol :)
Thank dude! We will give this a try! 🙌🏻🧡🔥
What if Paul was so ahead that was actually inspired by Flea? 🤯🤣
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Ian, I WANT YOUR WAL. (Will settle for one just like it.)
I want this one too! (the one I’m playing here belongs to Scott)
Still my favorite bass of yours Scott! Would love to hear the story of why you don't have the original neck on it.
We have a video coming up in a few weeks where this is discussed, keep it locked in! 🙌🏻🧡🔥
I do believe it's inspired, maybe subconsciously. When you study music, you practice along with your favorite songs. When they were making an album, I wouldn't be surprised if he tapped into that past practice.
So many people love the best of The Beatles. The chance that someone like Flea played along to Beatles songs is up there. Then there's those musicians that are influenced by The Beatles.
I was asking myself this while I was playing those two bass lines!
Pretty awesome right? 🔥
@@devinebass yeah, but actually maybe flea was listening this bass Line and then created his own bass line without thinking about it? Anyway the groove is not the same, harmony as well , only slide , Space not the same.
Can you do Aeroplane and Earhtquake by Larry Graham. Pretty much the same bassline.
Need to give those another listen dude! 🙌🏻🧡🔥
When the song was new, I saw giaways groove as a respectful nod to come together. Now. Seeing the Ruben stuff, it looks more like genius being subliminally inspired by genius. Rad.
and what about the bassline of The Word by Beatles and the Smooth Criminal?
loved the video
The ending of the song Veronica by rhcp is pretty similar to the beatles i want you as well
Justin Chancellor's riff from Schism also hangs out in this neighborhood
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this is like saying every slap bass riffs with that high octave pull (idk the exact term but it's that high octave note you pull after thumb slapping the root note) in existence ripped each other off
Come Together was Rickenbacker 4001S with black nylon tapewound strings.
Anyone know what bass that is on the thumbnail?
Modulus Flea bass!
Damn I never realized how similar they were
Pretty nuts right?
What about London Calling?
I’ve thought the same thing for years! But if your going to cop someone you may as well go with the best 😊
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3:52 is such a nice sub sound
Best channel!!!!!!!
You're missing the intro to the bass line, the massive up and down slides right at the start. To me this sounds like Flea is trying to tame a beast, barely getting control of the bass. This to me sets a vibe almost as if the bass plays the line as much as Flea plays the line, the slide is not Fleas control. It's the bass doing it's thing all that's left for Flea is damage control to get some "right" tones in between. Come Together on the other hand is "just" a very cool bass line played by McCartney.
Even if the two lines would be the same note by note, i would still argue they are completely different.
What’s the glove the guy on the left is wearing?
He explains it in another video. If I remember correctly, he’s got a neurological disorder that makes his hand shake pretty dramatically and wearing the glove reduces the shake.
Wow, are these basses on Walmart? (Walmart 1, Walmart 2?) I'm rushing down to get one
Similarly, James Jamerson's line on Marvin Gaye's 'Inner City Blues'.
Jamerson played on most of the "What's Going On?" album, but didn't play on that track. It was JJ's understudy (for when James was, uh, "indisposed") - Bob Babbit (RIP). Great bassline, from a great player.
Wow! I did not know that. I assumed it was James. Thanks for the correction, good to know. @@aquamarine99911
@@aquamarine99911and on Mercy, Right On and Wholy Holy, nearly half the album
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hello, does not the whole Pearl Jam discography contain this kind of octave or tonic to seventh bass lines?
Smiles , Glasses and basses :) good work lads
in the classical world a quote is an homage. in the pop world it's theft, as if the composer couldn't think of anything himself...
You're absolutely right! 🎶 In the world of bass, drawing inspiration from others is a sign of respect and a way to evolve your own unique style. Keep grooving and making that bass your own! 🎸👏
love this duo!
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You Guys should Study Elvis Costello's Bassist Bruce Thomas his Basslines Especially Pump it up are Cool AF
Sounds like a good time! Thanks for the suggestion! 🙌🏻🧡🔥
I always thought Give It Away is a variation on Come Together! Glad you guys talk about that!
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You make Bass fun. Cats and dogs living together. Snow on a sunny day. Derp.
I think give it away is more meant to be sweet leaf by sabbath. But I know what your sayin with the bass line
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Re: Sir Paul. I liken come together to obla di obla da.
The slide is what defines the lick, but it’s the same lick. Unless I’m wrong, but if you learn one, you instantly know the other. It’s the same vibe in a completely different tune.