Here’s a video showing the bass guitar beginner how to play bass to Beat It by Michael Jackson:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJVlO9Bk-H4
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Beat It is originally in the key of Eb – and you can either play it ‘up the octave’ and use an Octave Pedal to give your sound some bottom end. Or you can use Drop Eb tuning (where you tune your E string to Eb) – that’s how I teach this in the video.
There are three simple sections to this tune: there’s the riff, the verse and there’s a section between the second chorus and the start of the guitar solo that you need to learn (but it’s a one note pedal!). The guitar solo is played over the verse format.