Time is on My Side: Bass TAB

This transcription captures the bass lines that defined a generation of rock music, giving players direct access to the grooves that made the Stones legendary. Working through all 21 tracks from Hot Rocks teaches the evolution of Jagger-Richards songwriting while building the rhythmic authority that separates competent players from confident ones. The chronological arc makes this both a historical document and a practical curriculum.

Swaggering, blues-inflected, and deceptively complex. These bass lines sit in the pocket but often move against or around the kick drum, creating tension and release. You'll find yourself playing syncopated phrases, occasional chromatic movement, and lines that demand rhythmic precision and taste.

Bass players at intermediate level and beyond who want to learn authentic Stones grooves while building repertoire for cover bands, recitals, or just serious listening-and-playing. This book works equally well for self-study and for ensemble contexts where you need the bass part locked in tight.

• Listen to the original recordings while learning each line; Bill Wyman's bass work is melodic and intentional, never just keeping time, so understanding his phrasing shapes how you voice the parts.
• Lock the kick drum pattern before locking the bass line itself. Many of these songs layer the kick and bass in ways that create the pocket, not the bass alone.
• Study how the bass line changes between verses and choruses. Songs like 'Satisfaction' and 'Brown Sugar' use bass riffs to signal structural shifts and keep energy moving forward.
• Pay attention to dynamic contrast within phrases. These are not uniform grooves; they breathe and shift weight in ways that require intentional fingering choices and touch control.

Program individual tracks as recital solos or duets with drums, or use them as the foundation for a Stones tribute set. This collection also works beautifully as a teaching reference for intermediate students studying how bass functions in rock contexts, especially the relationship between bass and drums in creating groove.

• Reading and executing authentic bass TAB notation
• Understanding groove and pocket in rock idiom
• Syncopated rhythm reading in common rock meters
• Phrasing and dynamic control within repetitive figures
• Blues-based language and chromatic passing tones
• Coordinating bass lines with kick drum patterns