Don’t Just Use Tabs: This Bass Beginner Guide to “Fire” By Ohio Players Teaches You a Lot More

In your endless, tiring Google searches for the best bass songs for beginners, you’ve most likely encountered “Fire” by Ohio Players. This 1974 funk classic, featuring Marshall “Rock” Jones on the bass guitar, is a great choice for beginners. However, there are a few things that a beginner might not know. Sure, you can use tabs and video tutorials, but that becomes a challenge when you have to learn a 100-song repertoire. Ultimately, knowing the music theory behind a song will make this process a lot easier.

What’s great about “Fire,” apart from being incredibly funky, is that it has one bass riff that’s repeated throughout the song. As you listen to the song, you may notice that this riff starts in one key but magically sounds higher halfway through the song. To understand this, we need to look at it through the perspective of intervals and not just numbers and lines on a tab sheet. Moving the same phrase, riff, or any part up or down is called modulation, and you’ll encounter it a lot on your musical journey. As far as basses or guitars go, in most cases, you’ll just use the same shapes and move them up or down the fretboard.

One tricky part about the bass line is its very beginning. Starting on C, the third fret on the A string, you play two of the same notes in succession and then add an octave up. While it may not sound like it, getting it right can challenge newcomer bassists.

This line becomes really useful in understanding the intervals. Apart from the root note or the first scale degree, we have a major 6th and a minor 7th. When it comes to funk, you’ll be encountering the major 6th and minor 7th intervals in succession a lot. This makes “Fire” by Ohio Players a great “template” of sorts.

As you may have noticed in the video, I advise you to start with some basic music theory and an understanding of intervals before you proceed. However, it’s also really easy to notice the funky vibes of major 6th and minor 7th intervals in succession.