ENROLLMENT OPEN UNTIL JULY 31st 2026

Bass lines to songs.

That was mostly it.

When I started posting videos on YouTube - when the platform was for 'Baby Monkey Riding On A Pig' type videos - the bass players on there were mostly demonstrating advanced bass lines. DK Marlowe was probably the best - great player and great guy. And he did a bunch of playalongs which were entertaining...but not particularly educational.

What was missing was tutorials to help the average Joe or Jane get through their favourite songs.

Which was pretty much where I started.

Those first videos were simply me playing through song sections, and then spelling them out note by note. Some of those still exist on my YouTube Channel.

A few years down the line I switched to a different format...where I played through each section at performance tempo either with the original track or a soundalike track and then at slow section with a chordal metronome.

The copyright landscape on YouTube has massively changed in the last couple of years...and original audio and/or soundalike audio is now problematic. So recently - as you're probably aware - I've been editing just the 'slow' sections of song tutorials together.

Here's an example:

The most common question I've had in response to posting these videos from students just like you has been:

The answer is I have. But:

There are two reasons I don't share them.

#1 Legal

I won't say much about this other than: "Been there, done that, got the scars to prove it." That's a road I'm not going to travel down ever again.

#2 My Teaching Evolved

Nowadays although playing songs is STILL important...what's more important to me is understanding what's being played. That's done by analysis using my '80-20 Device Method.'

And to me it's much more informative to know that say Duck Dunn used an 8-b7-6-5 device in half notes but executed in quarter notes than it is to know the specific note names. Knowing that information...I can duplicate that for any chord...any key.

Plus when you identify the devices being used...you can identify areas where bass lines can be made better.

One of my biggest challenges has been how to cater to the students who want to learn a bass line authentically while leading them gently by the hand towards understanding those lines at a deeper level.

And I've cracked it.

Let Me Demonstrate How The Combination Works

Let's start with a simple example...it's the verse for Knock On Wood.

Here's the "80-20" Notation for the verse, plus the video playalong with both performance tempo and slow tempo:

Let Me Just Explain Some Of The Nuances Of the 80-20 Notation

1. The rhythms you can see are standard notation.

2. The 'annotated numbers' - e.g. 'r' or '6' or '5' or '3' - are how that specific note functions in relation to the chord it's being played on.

3. The Roman Numerals are simply key designations. So I is the home key. And IV is the key built off the fourth degree of the scale.

4. What this allows you to do is play the line in ANY key. Simply set your 'I' and your off to the races.

5. So if you wanted to play this in the key of E, then the 'I' chord would be E the root note is obviously E, the '6' is C#, the '5' is B and the '3' is G#. If you apply those notes to the rhythm...you're playing an authentic line in a different key. If you want to play the authentic line in the correct key...that's the key of A,

But.

Some people find that to be too confusing.

So what I'll be doing is adding rhythmic tab for each section. Like this:

The unique combination of video and 8020 Notation and Tab should make learning a song a cinch.

Each month I post around 16 songs in the format as outlined above into the Club. And each month moving forwards (from June 2026) the Song Club will be open for just ONE week....and anyone who subscribes during that week will get access to all the songs from that month and then, going forwards, all the new songs while their membership is active.

So far in July, these songs have been posted:

• All Your Love by John Mayall
• We Can Work It Out by The Beatles
• No Woman No Cry by Bob Marley
• Play That Funky Music by Wild Cherry
• Looking Out My Back Door by CCR
• Oliver’s Army by Elvis Costello
• What’s Going On by Donny Hathaway
• Achy Breaky Heart by Billy Ray Cyrus
• I Want To Hold Your Hand/The Beatles
• I Can’t Quit You Babe by Led Zeppelin
• Starman by David Bowie
• Buffalo Soldier by Bob Marley
• Going To A Go Go by Smoky Robinson
• Crossroads by Derek & The Dominos
• Knocking On Heaven’s Door by Bob Dylan
• Piece Of My Heart by Erma Thomas
• Domino by Van Morrison
• I Put A Spell On You by Jeff Beck & Joss Stone
• Come See About Me by The Supremes

So if you join this week...you'll get these songs in your account, plus the remaining songs for the month and then four songs a week go live ....every week...so in August you'll start seeing those!

(In the PS is a complete overview of the previous five months of the club so you can see the kind of material we've been covering.)

A common theme I'm seeing in emails from my students is that times aren't the best at the moment.

So I wanted to make this super affordable...and super valuable.

My value equation is:

A TV subscription like Disney+ -  that you probably don't use  that much and isn't as valuable long term as the Club - costs $11.99 a month.

In July 2026, the subscription to the Bass Club is just...

One thing to note: unlike Disney+, when you join in the future you won't get backdated access....your subscription will start from the month you join. Back catalogue is available.

On its own....that would be great value for your subscription

But if you join this week...there's more!

One of my stated goals with the Song Club is....to make this one of the most valuable subscription you have every month. So as well as the songs - which is what the Club is all about - there is also additional monthly bonus content.

First up, I've started taking some of my older note by note tutorials and adding rhythmic tab to them. I add five a month. This month...the songs are:

• Smooth Operator by Sade
• I Feel Free by Cream
• Wonderwall by Oasis
• Don’t Look Back In Anger by Oasis
• A Hard Day’s Night

Secondly I often get asked about my use of 80-20 Notation and why. The concise answer is that it allows you to see exactly what devices are being used (so you can use them) in each bass line. Pitched notation disguises this. 80-20 Notation makes it clear and obvious.

So you can start to practice and use devices...each month I'm taking 5 days from my ROCK BASS CODE 30 DAY CHALLENGE and copying them to the Bonus Section of the club. DAYS 1 to 5 are already in the Bonus Area for July and here's an overview of what's covered:

• Rock Bass Code Day 1 Starting With Root Notes
• Rock Bass Code Day 2 Adding the 5th
• Rock Bass Code Day 3 The Major Triad
• Rock Bass Code Day 4 The Minor Triad
• Rock Bass Code Day 5 Connecting Devices

For the next 5 months I'll add another week from that course (which was last sold for $147).

Just so we're all clear...here's EXACTLY what you get in the Classic Bass Song Club when you join in July:

Each of the 8020 song tutorials consists of:

Paul Wolfe/how-to-play-bass.com

P.S. here are details of previous months of the CLUB so you can see exactly the kind of songs that we cover...and what you've already missed:

February 2026

• Knock On Wood/Eddie Floyd
• Proud Mary/CCR
• Already Gone/The Eagles
• Sympathy For the Devil/Stones
• Taxman/The Beatles
• How Sweet It Is/Marvin
• I Shot The Sheriff/Bob Marley
• I Can’t Turn You Loose/Otis Redding
• Hey Joe/Hendrix
• Radio Radio/Elvis Costello
• Burning Love/Elvis
• In The Midnight Hour/Wilson Pickett
• Great Balls Of Fire/Jerry Lee Lewis
• Pretty Woman/Roy Orbison
• Light My Fire/The Doors
• Cocaine/Eric Clapton
• The One I Love/REM
• Fortunate Son/CCR
• Black Magic Woman/Santana
• I Can’t Stand Up For Falling Down/Elvis Costello
• Bell Bottom Blues/Derek & Dominos
• I Saw Her Standing There/The Beatles
• The Thrill Is Gone/BB King

March 2026

• Blue Suede Shoes/Carl Perkins
• Have You Ever Seen The Rain/CCR
• Further On Up The Road/Eric Clapton
• Honky Tonk Woman/Rolling Stones
• Back In The USSR/The Beatles
• Message In A Bottle/The Police
• Hotel California/The Eagles
• Mustang Sally/Wilson Pickett
• Little Wing/Jimi Hendrix
• Satisfaction/The Rolling Stones
• Crazy Little Thing Called Love/Queen
• Brown Eyed Girl/Van Morrison
• Dock Of The Bay/Otis Redding
• She Loves You/The Beatles
• Come As You Are/Nirvana
• Bad Moon Rising/CCR
• Twist And Shout/The Beatles
• Soul Man/Sam & Dave
• Knocking On Heaven’s Door/Eric
• The Word/The Beatles
• Mary Had A Little Lamb/Stevie Ray

April 2026

• She Caught The Katy/Blues Brothers
• Dance The Night Away/The Mavericks
• The Sky Is Crying/Stevie Ray
• Don’t Get Me Wrong/The Pretenders
• I’m Tore Down/Eric Clapton
• Hound Dog/Elvis
• The Last Time/The Rolling Stones
• Keep On Running/Spencer Davis Group
• Take It Easy/The Eagles
• Dreams/Fleetwood Mac
• Walk Of Life/Dire Straits
• Empty Arms/Stevie Ray Vaughan
• Strange Brew/Cream
• Look Around/Red Hot Chili Peppers
• Make Me Smile/Steve Harley
• It’s Only Rock And Roll/Rolling Stones
• All Along The Watchtower/Hendrix (Live Version)
• Heatwave/Martha & The Vandellas
• Peace Love & Understanding/Elvis Costello
• Folsom Prison Blues/Johnnie Cash
• Ballad Of John And Yoko

May 2026

• She Caught The Katy/Blues Brothers
• Dance The Night Away/The Mavericks
• The Sky Is Crying/Stevie Ray
• Don’t Get Me Wrong/The Pretenders
• I’m Tore Down/Eric Clapton
• Hound Dog/Elvis
• The Last Time/The Rolling Stones
• Keep On Running/Spencer Davis Group
• Take It Easy/The Eagles
• Dreams/Fleetwood Mac
• This Old Heart Of Mine
• Californication/RHCP
• Sultans Of Swing by Dire Straits
• Losing My Religion/REM
• Sweet Home Alabama/Lynyrd Skynyrd
• Hungry Heart/Bruce Springsteen
• New Years Day/U2
• Don’t Stop Believing/Journey

June 2026

• Daytripper/The Beatles
• Before You Accuse Me/CCR
• Sex On Fire/Kings Of Leon
• Dancing In The Dark/Bruce Springsteen
• Heard It Through The Grapevine/Marvin Gaye
• She’s Not There/Zombies
• Jackson Cage by Bruce Springsteen
• Midnight Rider by The Allman Brothers
• London Calling by The Clash
• Jamming by Bob Marley
• One Of These Nights by The Eagles
• Get Ready by The Temptations
• My Best Friend’s Girl/The Cars
• I Can See Clearly Now/Johnnie Cash
• Get Back by The Beatles
• Think by The Beatles
• Ain't No Mountain High Enough by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell
• China Girl by David Bowie

PLUS NOTE BY NOTE TUTORIAL wi RHYTHMIC TAB:

• Let’s Stick Together by Bryan Ferry
• Roll Over Beethover by The Beatles
• Under The Bridge by RHCP
• Walk Don’t Run by The Ventures
• Your Love Is King by Sade

JULY 2026

• All Your Love by John Mayall
• We Can Work It Out by The Beatles
• No Woman No Cry by Bob Marley
• Play That Funky Music by Wild Cherry
• Looking Out My Back Door by CCR
• Oliver’s Army by Elvis Costello
• What’s Going On by Donny Hathaway
• Achy Breaky Heart by Billy Ray Cyrus
• I Want To Hold Your Hand/The Beatles
• I Can’t Quit You Babe by Led Zeppelin
• Starman by David Bowie
• Buffalo Soldier by Bob Marley
• Going To A Go Go by Smoky Robinson
• Crossroads by Derek & The Dominos
• Knocking On Heaven’s Door by Bob Dylan
• Piece Of My Heart by Erma Thomas
• Domino by Van Morrison
• I Put A Spell On You by Joss Stone & Jeff Back
• Come See About Me by The Supremes

PLUS NOTE BY NOTE TUTORIAL wi RHYTHMIC TAB:

• Smooth Operator by Sade
• I Feel Free by Cream
• Wonderwall by Oasis
• Don’t Look Back In Anger by Oasis
• A Hard Day’s Night

AUGUST 2026

• Venus by Shocking Blue
• Baby You’re A Rich Man by The Beatles
• Food For Thought by UB40
• Money For Nothing by Dire Straits
• Respect by Aretha Franklin
• Stir It Up by Bob Marley
• I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight by Bob Dylan
• Rescue Me by Fontella Bass
• Travelin’ Band by CCR
• I Shot The Sheriff by Eric Clapton
• Crocodile Rock by Elton John
• Silly Love Songs by Paul McCartney
• Bright Side Of The Road by Van Morrison

PLUS NOTE BY NOTE TUTORIAL wi RHYTHMIC TAB:

• We’re Alright by Supergrass
• Baby Love by The Supremes
• Lady Writer by Dire Straits

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