In this bass guitar lesson, we’re going to take apart The Temptations song ‘Get Ready’ and show you can break the seminal Motown bass line into 3 simple sections...
Breaking songs into smaller sections is the key to understanding how songs are constructed. I encourage you to apply this thinking to learning your favorite songs.
You’ll be surprised how much quicker you learn them and how much more freedom you have to experiment with new ideas.
Let's begin!
Section 1 - The Verse Riff
Here is the iconic two bar bass riff. It is played throughout the whole of the verse and the bars that ‘link’ sections together:
Practice this slowly to begin with and make sure you place the ‘off beat notes’ accurately. It may take a little time to build up the stamina to play this continuously and at full tempo.
Section 2 - The Chorus
The chorus consists of 2 x 4 bar chord sequences of F - Bb - Gm - C. The bass groove is standard pumping 8ths rock feel. There’s no need to learn it note for note at this stage because highlighting the chords with the correct feel is 100% right.
This sequence is a wonderful vehicle to start improving simple fills. If you’d like to learn how to do that I encourage you to check out the Rock, Pop & Motown Bass Line Creation Course inside the Bass Lab PLUS by clicking this link.
Section 3 - The Instrumental / Bridge
There is one short 4 bar instrumental section (or Bridge) in Get Ready about half through. It uses 3 notes (G, A Bb) and is played by the whole of the band.
CHALLENGE: See if you can map out the whole song just using these 3 sections and play it from beginning to end. You can write it out or just use your ear.
Lesson Wrap Up
That concludes our lesson "Get Ready By The Temptations In 3 Simple Sections". When you're familiar with all the parts, try to push yourself a little further by taking on the challenge.
If you liked this lesson and wish to learn more, do make sure to check out the FREE 14-Day Bass Lab PLUS membership Trial!
Good luck and get stuck in!
James