The Clash London Calling Bass, Tutorial + Lesson
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- Опубликовано: 10 фев 2025
- (Skip to Song 3:25) I break down the CORRECT version of "London Calling" on bass. There are many different versions online. But I studied the isolated bass track before I make this video.
Paul Simonon played the bass, but it was rumored that Mick Jones overdubbed it or replayed it later. Overdubbing normally means you layer a track on top... but I'm not positive what it means in this situation.
Leave me a comment. I love it when I hear from you.
Murphy
#LondonCallingBass
#PaulSimonon
#TheClashBass
You just don’t realize how much a song is bass driven until it gets broken down like this. Really cool. Love The Clash!
Right !
I always loved how for a punk song, it totally swings and that’s in large part to the bass
Right? yeah it's very clever
This song is really complex when you dive into it, there's like 6/5 guitar overdubs each playing something special in the songs and the bass needs no explanation. Love it!
Great lesson mate, I'll make sure to learn it later today ^^
Thanks for the feedback. They were very talented..
Paul played bass on every song on London Calling. Mick did teach him some bass parts, and he patched in some mistakes and also double tracked a few spots. Listen to the end of London Calling when it goes back into the intro bass line, it sounds like a chorus effect but it's actually Paul and Mick playing the exact same line on 2 different tracks. Topper didn't play any bass on London Calling though he played bass, drums and piano on Rock the Casbah which he co wrote.
Topper was one talented dude. They all were. Paul is a very underrated and humble bassist and musician in my opinion. Thanks for your comment and insight. Cheers
I’m not a bass player and I still loved this video. Excellent. Huge Clash fan. Saw Strummer twice in Boston in ‘00-‘01. The Clash is the last great Rock Band.
Thanks man. Yeah they were the greatest
Fantastic breakdown of this song and perfectly explained. Been trying off and on to get this right and you have nailed it for me!
Glad it helped
This is the one thing about the bass that distinguishes a good from a bad player. It’s picking up on the dynamics and rhythms. It’s not easy to learn bass parts by ear, at least not as easy as guitar when it’s often buried in the mix.
I’d been playing this song wrong for so many years so thank you bro for helping me!
Well said. Keep playing!
Your tutorials are awesome, very clear and very easy to follow and learn. You're doing a amazing job, thanks a lot man. Greetings from Brasil.
Thank you I appreciate that. 🙏🏼
Amazing and powerful song. The bass line really stands out. Thanks for your time and indications on the right way to play it.
My pleasure. He's a fantastic player and doesnt' get the credit for how damn good he really is. He's REALLY frickin' good
Thank you for teaching this classic. Great breaking down the songand very good explenations.
Thank you Dear Teatcher! Your explication are like a treasure:-)
🙏🏼 thank you !
Murphy I really appreciate the time and effort you put into these videos and analyse the parts you are playing I have learnt this bass line and that was the tricky bit bug you explained it well I saw the Clash st the Caird Hall Dundee Scotland January 1980 the place was mobbed all full of punks gobbing (spitting) on each other ha but what an atmosphere great memory
Cheers 🏴
Wow what a rad memory. Never got to see them live. Thank you for your comment. Appreciate it. Long love The Clash 🙌🏼
So crazy as I was going to ask if you could do this one!! Love this song. ❤️Great job!
Glad you liked it!!
Really nice cover and thanks for breaking down the details 🔥🔥🔥🎸🎸🎸
You are welcome.
The LC bass groove always reminded me of pirates, which is one of the many reasons I love this song and The Clash.
Love it! And the fact that it's actually easier for me to play than I thought is a bonus, lol. For some reason I always had a hard time getting the a-b flat-b walk up bit down. Always seemed a bit awkward for me. But this i nailed the first time through! Thanks, man!
Great tutorial! thank you. nailed it in no time....
Learning bass... thank you for the details you detected
Welcome.. get after it !
Thanks for breaking it down! Love the tone on the original!
Mega delayed response alert - You are welcome. I loved making this video. Yeah it's so good. So arresting and at the front. Love it.
Thank you very much. Amazing job. 🤘
Great video! Thank you!
Welcome!
Thanks so much. Learning this for an open mic this coming Sunday in Lliria, Valencia Spain.
Welcome Gary! Have a great gig
Super tuto, merci beaucoup !
(Great tutorial, thanks so much).
Arnaud thank you. Glad you enjoyed it. I just rewatched it myself. Love The Clash
Thank you for transcription! always played the beginning with g gb h c not g e h c. Both sounds good to me. Thanks for sharing. Especially the middle part. I ever wondered how they played it. Searched a lot but never found a solution. your way sounds good to me.
I love the chromatic bridge in this song.
Love your chanel and I enjoy the stories around your songs while having a beer and dream about the good old days. please keep on doing that.
You are welcome! What a great message to get from you. I love making these videos, so get ready for more. While having a beer sounds great. Maybe I should have a beer in a video. Ha. Cheers from California. Where are you located? I am guessing Heidelberg Germany.
@@BassWithMurf cheers mate...
good to hear from you. I heard about that fire issues in california. Hope you and your family were far away from those!
Heidelberg seems close for american standard, i think... Well Dortmund is where i live. If i tell that it is close to cologne everyone in Dortmund would eat me alive. They say that Dortmund stand for its own, ha ha...
Thank you, that was so helpful. ❤
Thank you for sharing. I love The Clash. And playing music is the greatest. Have a great one.
Yea, there's definitely no A in that stutter off B in the first verse. You hit it right. I never knew that Jones dubbed in the bass mix. Interesting.... Probably the coolest Bass player of our era next to Lemmy.....
you're spot on thanks
Thank you Alan. I spent a decent amount of time looking around at different versions online.. It would be fun to sit down with Paul himself and ask right?!
The Entire song is Swinginging --- and that cool part that everybody is worried about.... i play the 3 notes -- you played the 2 --- what ever ya like man --- Dope ass song
You are the best man, i learn a lot. Thanks so much, greetings from brasil
Thank you Luciano !!
The Clash aren't just punk, they produce different forms of reggae, funk, ska and I suppose a little bit of groovy jazz rock which makes the band so diverse. That's why I love The Clash, they're probably my favourite band of all time. The only band that matters
Woww i really enjoy your channel, thank you!
Glad you enjoy it. Thank you
Wow, Thanks! Obrigado!!
Amen! as Bass Player for only 7 years, guitar before that. In a Band setting, when the drums or bass aren't setting the tempo, time and foundation, greatest singer and guitars wont save your ass lol when the wheels fall off
You said it 💪🏼
A or A# in the triplet, the never ending debate!
You are my Clash bass line hero!!!
How about some Dead Kennedys bass lines? Please???
Glad it helped. Yep I need to. 🙌🏼
@@BassWithMurf When it comes to the Dead Kennedys you can really here Klaus’ Jazz influence in his bass playing. When he was growing up his dad was a Jazz musician(saxophone) in a Jazz band. In the song by DK called We’ve Got A Bigger Problem Now, Klaus said his bass line in it was a tribute to his dad and his dad’s Jazz influence on Klaus.
Just a little DK trivia for ya’. 🙂
@@BrianAchterberg928 I’ll just put it this way- I was obsessed with The Dead Kennedys. And this was even before I played bass. When I was maybe 12 or so.. I wore out Fresh Fruit and just thought the band was so unique, powerful, and different to me than all other punk bands at the time. They were probably one of the reasons a few years later I wanted to be in a band and play an instrument. I went to see them in prolly 1978 at the On Broadway in San Francisco (we lived in San Carlos at that time) but for some reason they cancelled.. & we got to see Flipper who filled in instead. Super bummed but it was an experience. The DKs loom large to me and I need to find the time to begin breaking their songs down. Thanks for your comments 🤟🏼
@@BassWithMurf I got to see DK numerous times back in the day when I lived in Orange County CA. I’ve worn out pretty much all their albums on the record player but still have them in my collection. Thank the gods for cds now! Lol
I’m an old West Coast Skate Punk from back in the day but also love old British Punk. Another bassist to maybe do bass lines on is JJ Burnell(The Stranglers).
I could give a list of all the bands that I saw back in the day and a list places that I saw them at but we could be here all day sharing memories. Lol
Here’s a small list of bands from back then....
X, Black Flag(pre Henry Rollins with Ron Reyes), Circle Jerks, Fear, Catholic Discipline, Agent Orange, JFA, Flipper, Angry Samoans, TSOL, I could go on and on and on. Lol
Could you cover Charlie Don’t Surf?
Paul is such an underrated bassist!!!
Yes, devil’s is in the detail with Clash bass lines. :)
For sure. The truth is that everyone is so different, even when playing the same line. Every bass player will naturally play it a tiny bit their 'own' way.
Keep the clash classics coming. Any chance of Janie jones 👍
I'll do it for you. Great song.
I find this to be one of the most original basslines in rock, it gives the song that dark tint, something I don’t hear until joy division comes along, and I’m not saying particularly the bass is similar to JD but the darkness. I’d love to know who came up with the bassline (not who played it) and how, musically how do you get to that? It doesn’t seem like it started with the bassline, but if you imagine they had the song without the bass, what was there? It’s just a simple chord, the bass is what sets the mood of the song….
Exactly. What you said.
Sounds great
What strings do u use
Thanks. Not sure ! Whatever is on sale. I think these are the Ernie ball
It’s Paul Sim-in-un
You’re right 🙌🏼
Any source for Mick Jones over dubbing Bass on this track? I doubt this.
Later Norman Watt-Roy did some when Simonon was off filming.(Mag 7).
I got it from a buddy who is close to Rat Scabies, Captain Sensible and some other musicians who knew them well. Still could be wrong though.
@@BassWithMurf Damned were recording next door to the Clash at this time - but I still doubt it. The reissue 25 years ago has the demos as a free cd - and Simonon is clearly on Bass - it was later he drifted off. London Calling was the peak.
id say thats a pretty tight, ive got the 4 split audio tracks from the song and thats pretty much it...
Thanks. Man it was tricky because it's a really fast part but I think I got it pretty close. Cheers Scott
Well done mate, no debate on anything else but every tab I've ever seen its always B, A, A#, B not B, A#, BB. Interesting. I'm going for your version as it's easier, lol. Also it doesn't matter because it always sounds best after a couple of drinks anyway. Good job.
Haha yeah love the drinks comment so true. Cheers brother thank you.
from what I hear on the original, it's usually A, A#, B but I think on occasion there is no A. I think that is why there are different versions out there, he doesn't play it the same every single time
Great video thanks , just to let you know his name is pronounced Sim on , he has nothing with Simon and Garfunkel.
Thanks for the tip
Is there a bass tab that one can follow that is just this one
Gotta me online somewhere. I don't love tabs. I like to use my ear and eyes. But tabs are awesome sometimes..
Can you please provide the tabs? I’m a beginner and it’s very hard for me to learn otherwise.
OK. Here's my offer: I want to teach you how to learn/play/hear/write without tabs. Interested? I want people like you to be a part of something I'm launching. Let me know.
Did you ever see The Clash Live?
My Dad saw them with The Sex Pistols
No. Wish I did.
You have one cool dad!!!!!
@@alanpritchard1768 Thank You
Is there a tab listed somewhere of the version played?
I didn't do a tab for this. I like to use my ears and then do my best. Helps keep my ear going. Doesn't always work and tabs are convenient for sure. I'm sure there are plenty online?
I got it figured out from watching. For us new players it is sometimes harder to understand what you are playing because we don't have the fret board memorized yet so tabs are a helpful addition, especially when I trust your version much more than the random tab out there. Thanks for this video. You really helped me with the chorus, which I love to play now.
👁👁I need tabs
I maybe getting back to them...
👀
see my cover/channel which is played pretty much identical to this... and includes onscreen tab and a link to my Google drive for a pdf download ;-)
Sorry, but it's Paul Simonon
🙏🏼
@@BassWithMurf I've gotta say I'm a fan of the Clash, but in all intensive purposes he might be known better as Paul Simon. And also I think I probably sounded rude saying that and that isnt what I intended and you do make good content and I've been scouring youtube for bass tutorials 👍
@@nates.7284 I didn’t take it as rude. It’s the internet.. it’s hard to read context in text comments. Yeah The Clash are so good. Such fantastic songs and their energy was second to nobody
シムノンが弾いてこそ映えるんだよな
B B flat B 767 on the low E if you say notes I can follow ahhhhhhh evryone leatn note names
🔥