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The Greatest Bass Line Ever?
Ep 1. Dua Lipa

The TGrTTatTTesTBheL
FREE LESSON BOOK: Dua Lipa—”Don’t Start Now” 02

The Greatest Bass Line Ever?

Ep 1. Dua Lipa
Join Ian Martin Allison as he takes an in-depth
look at Dua Lipa’s hit “Don’t Start Now” from
her 2020 album Future Nostalgia. Learn the
correct approach to the techniques, pedals,
and sounds to play this pop hit.

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FREE LESSON BOOK: Dua Lipa—”Don’t Start Now” 03

“Don’t Start Now”

album Future Nostalgia (2020)
single released October 31, 2019

The Verse
Ever wondered how they created that great bass sound on “Don’t Start Now?”
It might surprise you to learn that the wonderful bass line you hear is played by...
Dua Lipa’s producer Ian Kirkpatrick using a bass plug-in (the Trillian Total Bass
Module®)! But what stands out in this bass line is its position in the mix; it’s the
only thing you hear aside from the vocals and drums, and it’s highlighted right
from the start:

Verse
q � 124
Em Bm G
? ## 44 ≈ œ ‰ j ‰ œ. ‰ œ j œ. œ ‰ j ‰ œ. ‰
œ#œ .
œ ≈ ‰ œ ‰ J ‰ ≈ J œœ
œ. œ. J . œ œ œ. œ.
4 4
¤
2 2 5 5
0 1 2 2 2 4
0 0 0 2 3 3

D A Em Bm
4 œ . œ œ.
? ## œ. ≈ ‰ œj ‰ œ ‰ œ. . j
≈ œ ‰ j ‰ œ ‰ œ#œ œ. ≈ ‰ œ ‰ J ‰
. œ. œ. J . œœ
7 4 4
7 2 2
5 0 1 2 2
5 5 0 0 0 2

G D
7
? ## ≈ œ ‰ .j ‰ œ. ‰ j
œ. œ J œ œ . ‰ Œ
œ Ó

5 5
2 4 5
3 3
continued

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FREE LESSON BOOK: Dua Lipa—”Don’t Start Now” 04

Technique Notes:
— Play close to the bridge with just a little overdrive.

— Use the bridge pickup.

— Play the notes short and clean. You want to hit those notes right on the beat:
”dead center of the grid.”

— Rather than lifting your fretting finger to create the short notes, consider using your
plucking fingers—pluck with, say, your index finger but immediately drop your next
finger on the string to deaden it. The result will be a cleaner sound.

— Avoid slurring or hammering on the sixteenth-notes at the end of each measure;

the notes are all plucked.

Synth Bass
Half way through the Verse, the electric bass line is replaced by a synth bass
sound playing the same line. To mimic this, use a low-gain fuzz such as a
Doom2, and turn the gain all the way down—notice how it just “ups” the energy.

The Pre-Chorus
In the Pre-Chorus, the bass sound moves into “sub-synth bass territory”—
you feel it more than you hear it. Use an octave pedal such as the 3 Leaf
Octabvre, and output just the octave signal:

Pre-Chorus
Bm D Em7 F#m7 Gmaj7
? ## 4 w w œ. ≈ œ ˙™ œ. ≈ œ ˙ œ
4

¤ 2 5 5 7 9 10 10

Bm D Em7 F#m7 Gmaj7

5
? ## w w œ. ≈ œ ˙™ œ. ≈ œ œ Ó

2 5 5 7 9 10 10

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FREE LESSON BOOK: Dua Lipa—”Don’t Start Now” 05

The Chorus
Check out the added one-note “pop” in each measure. Again, this is still a bass
plug-in, but of course you can incorporate these accents into your playing, too:

Chorus
Em Bm
œ j œ.
? ## 4
4 œ ≈ œ ‰ j ‰ œ. ‰ œ. ≈ ‰ œ. ‰ J ‰
œ. J œ #œ œ œ
.
P P
4 4
¤
2 2
0 1 2 2
0 0 0 2

G D A Em
3
œ ‰ j ‰ œ. ‰ œ œ. ‰ .
? ## ≈ œ . ≈
œ j
‰ œ ‰ j ‰ Œ Ó
œ. œ. J œ . œ œ.
P P
7
5 5 7
2 4 5
3 3 5 5 0

Notes:
— To play the “pop,” move your plucking hand to pop the string hard near the neck with the
finger of your choice (Ian prefers his middle finger).

The Outro
Here, the funk, the “pop,” and some cool runs all come together:

Outro
Bm D
œ. œ œ.
? ## 4 ™™ œ. ≈ œ
‰ j œ. ≈ œ. ‰ J ‰
4 œ. ‰ J ‰ œ œ ‰
J
œ œ
P P
™ 4 4 7 7
¤ ™ 2 2 2 4 5 5 5
7

Em7 F#m7 Gmaj7

3
? ## œ. ≈ œ ‰ œj œ ≈ œ. ≈ œ œ œ. ≈ œ. ™™
J J œ œ œ. ≈ œ œ œ. œ œ
™
5 7 7 9 7 5 2 0
0 2 3
5
3 0 5
7
™

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