When I was a teenager I used to hang out with other kids in my school who also played an instrument. I remember one guy in particular, who was a guitar player, who I really looked up to. He had been taking lessons for a couple of years, and I had only just picked up a guitar several months earlier. I knew how to play simple chords, like E major, minor, and barred chords. This was in the early 90s and we were all listening to grunge: Nirvana, Pearl Jam, etc. Now, this guy could play all these songs. During one music class he played `Smells Like Teen Spirit’ by Nirvana and we all thought he was an amazing player. I wanted to be able to do that! How did he learn these songs?
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Now, ofcourse I am slightly oversimplifying things here. First of all, the bass can play many `fill’ notes in addition to the chord roots. That’s why you start off with simple songs; music in which the bass doesn’t play a large role, for example rock music, or perhaps a pop ballad.
Secondly, there are many types of chord that one can play. There’s minor, major, dominant 7, and more esoteric ones, still. Again, you must start off with a simple song. I was listening to Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Metallica at the time. It wasn’t until later when I was more skilled that I approached more difficult songs this way.