Bit of Accidental plagiarism

[Twincam]

Third time this week i thought hey ive come up with something here then i realised im playing holiday in Cambodia. Which i never learnt. This seems to happen regular. I will be thinking oh that sounds good then it will click im playing something exactly the same or very close to someone else's work.

Does this happen much to you?.
Should i be worried about this or should i think hey at least im coming up with successful bass lines. Also how close to something original can you get where its still your own?.
If i come up with something i guess its ok if you can say i was inspired by something however i would not want someone to think ive directly ripped someone off.

[discreet]

I wouldn't worry about it. Even if a line you come up with is similar to another, the song in which your line ultimately gets played is unlikely to bear any resemblance whatever to the song the alleged 'stolen' bass line is in.

Anyway, you only need a couple of small changes in accent and rhythm and one line can become a totally different one very easily.

[SubsonicSimpleton]

Your playing will naturally be influenced by the musical ideas that you have heard and found interesting, the important thing is to avoid listening to a very narrow selection of music.

Cast your net wide and explore the vast amount of music now readily available on youtube.

[EssentialTension]

There's no copyright on bass lines or chord sequences, just melodies and lyrics and that's often unenforceable. Very little is wholly original.

Don't borrow, but steal and make it your own.

[KingBollock]

Half the songs play I learned by accidentally playing bits, recognising them and going on to work the rest out.

What annoys me more is when I come up with a line that I think sounds really good, and then start thinking that I might recognise it but not what from, so I can never be sure or not. But even if I did come up with something brilliant I'll never be able to use it just in case.

[Roger2611]

I hate coming up with an original bass line then mess around with it until it sounds like something that's been done before....then drop it because it sounds like something else that's already been written!

[lefrash]

In my current band I have lots of bass lines and other bits that I've pretty much nicked from other bands ideas. Not to say it plagiarised simply because noone has noticed. My most recent bassline though I was was so sure I've nicked it nnote-for-note that I was a tad worried about it. Noone has recognised it, but its not been released or played live yet...... haha

[Beedster]

Have a listen to how Bruce Foxton not only plagiarised Macca but did so in a really innovative and creative way in songs that were very un-Beatles. Jaco on the other hand plagiarised his own work in song after song but never sounded the same doing so. As Einstein said, the secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources

[JamesBass]

This is a very common thing to do. Just stick a few accents in there and maybe change alter the feel slightly and you're fine!

[xgsjx]

Wait until you get it the other way around.
In the past I've heard a RHCP song with a melody I wrote 2 years before. A synth melody I did which I later heard as a vocal line on a Franz Ferdinand song & there's a RnB song that had the same bassline as one I did many years before it came out.
I dare say every one was a coincidence, but in the back of my mind there's been that "did they hear my track on the web?".

[Twincam]

I'm liking the replies.
I guess i will not worry so much about it. Haha i was doing a little funk line i thought that sounds good, then i though oh i know that, not again. Turned out it was something i already come up with.

Oh here is an example i find a bit too close. This is Adam ants Vanity notice there is a significant feeling there might be a certain portion of a famous Queen bass line in there.

[media]http://youtu.be/6cgthYXtiVU[/media]

[spacey]

One of the worst things about songwriting is some prat in the band usually tries to rubbish it down by saying "sounds like" .
Hence why you find most successful creators work alone and tell then band what they are playing, like it or lump it, one way or the highway.
Then they might let them have a go at bringing some changes to how things are played.
This appears to be how most successful songwriters get songs out.
They dont let anyone break their stride or pull the work down.
Drawing on influences is also a very good tool to have in the creative chest.
A bit like having some standard tools in the tool box that get the job started.

Stick with it, you are creating, that puts you in a lot higher league than the "sounds like" talentless trolls.
Better still, lets hear it !