I Learned "Should I Stay Or Should I Go?" by The Clash on Bass Guitar

In this musical challenge, I have taken on learning the bass part of “Should I Stay or Should I Go?” by the Clash. The Clash were an English band formed in 1976 that were extremely influential in the history of punk rock and rock music in general. Their music incorporated many genres such as funk, reggae, rockabilly, and ska. “Should I Stay or Should I Go?” is a track from their 1982 studio album Combat Rock. It is a catchy song with a lot of energy. The bass part has just a few parts to learn and they are fun to play. Here is the Youtube tab I learned the song from:

One of the reasons I chose this song as my next bass project is because of the forgiving nature of punk music. Punk music emphasizes a DIY anti-authority ethos which makes me feel encouraged to try and less worried about messing up. The punk ethos is one of inclusivity and accessibility. Punk songs have a loose, raucous energy that gives you permission to not do things perfectly and not feel so uptight. The songs are more about a fun energy of freedom and self-expression than playing perfect music like a classical orchestra. It says that you can break the rules, use cheap instruments, play simple power chords with distortion instead of music theory informed technically constructed pieces, dress how you want, etc.. So, as a beginner musician I felt like this was a good choice for me. Also, I also grew up playing this song on the video game Rock Band with plastic drums and a plastic guitar so the song is forever imprinted in my brain.

Another reason I chose this song is to practice playing bass with a pick. Picks are a little flat triangle shaped tool you hold in your fingers to pluck the strings. They can change the tone you get from your instrument, the speed at which you play, and the precise control you have over your playing. Punk songs often use only down strokes with a pick, which gives them a steady repetitive driving energy. The video lesson tab that I found for “Should I Stay or Should I Go?” features only down strokes with a pick on all notes.

This song is easy to learn, but hard to master. I had to film myself failing many, many times and this “final” version is still far from perfect (I was sweating by the end, hoping and praying I didn’t mess up). I have major respect for professional musicians who can play songs reliably without errors. I was fumbling around the fretboard, losing my grip on the pick, and my mind would sometimes go blank even after I had learned and played a part of the song several times. Here is my cover:

The song has some parts that are quite fast. The riffs have you moving up and down and all around the fret board, which makes it hard for me as a beginner to play the entire song without messing up. My cover features plenty of mess ups, especially towards the end where I was barely hanging on by a thread. My bass tone and timbre doesn't sound like the record or the video tab tutorial cover either. I have a lot to learn about the subtleties of playing bass. But overall I feel satisfied that I've learned how to play the song for my purposes of playing the right notes in time with the song.

This was a fun musical challenge. It was a good choice to expand my skillset with the bass. It was interesting to learn something that seems so simple to play, but which was difficult to execute without making at least one big mistake in the fast paced chaos of the song. I am still surprised by how often my mind will completely blank in the middle of a song I am trying to perform. I am also quite a sweaty person so I had trouble holding onto the pick which added to my difficulties. The picking was fairly easy otherwise because this song only uses down strokes with the pick. You do have to change strings quite fast though which can be tricky though. In the future I’d like to challenge myself further by exploring songs with more complex stroke picking patterns that also utilize up strokes.

Apart from the song challenge, I have a lot to learn about recording an instrumental cover. Right now I am filming myself with the front facing camera of an iPhone with no separate microphone or digital sound input and with my laptop playing the “backing track” (the track on Youtube) on its little speaker near the phone. I’m pretty much doing it the most lazy way you can do it. I’m not a tech obsessive, so the quality doesn’t really bother me that much, but I still do think I’d like to learn how to record a proper cover. I’m not sure exactly how the cover artists on Youtube find backing tracks, record their instruments, or film themselves, so I have a lot to learn. That’s what this blog is all about though, so we’ll see how I can evolve with time and effort, learning little by little.