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Dua Lipa – ‘Don’t Start Now’

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‘Don’t Start Now’ is a disco/funk song from English singer Dua Lipa’s second album, Future Nostalgia. It was a big hit when released as a single in October 2019 and has since become a staple in many cover band sets.

Although it has a live feel, the bassline for this song was programmed by producer Ian Kirkpatrick using the Scarbee MM bass plug-in (which models a Music Man bass). The line can be easily replicated on electric bass, although a 5-string is required for some of the low notes during the bridge sections. For this tutorial, these parts have been transposed to allow the entire song to be performed on a standard 4-string bass.

Be sure to hit the Download Resources button above to download the PDF transcription for this piece (available to subscribers only). The transcription is available WITH TAB and WITHOUT. Please note that a backing track is NOT included with this course.

This course contains the following videos, each of which can be selected from the video player above:

1. ‘Don’t Start Now’ Play-Through

In this video I’ll be performing ‘Don’t Start Now’ using a ’66 Fender Jazz bass.

2. Course Overview

In this video I’ll be giving a brief overview of the song and its bassline. I’ll also be giving some advice on how you can find an appropriate tone for the piece.

3. Verse Sections

In this video I’ll be demonstrating how to play the bass groove for the song’s verse sections. This is a tight, punchy fingerstyle line that requires a high level of control over note length and dynamics in order to be effective.

4. Bridge Sections

This lesson covers the bridge sections. This part of the song requires notes beyond the range of a 4-string bass (a 5-string bass will work) so the part has been transposed to fit.

5. Chorus Sections

In this lesson I’ll be taking you through the chorus of the song. The line here requires the same approach as the verse sections.

6. Instrumental Section

In this video we’ll be covering the Instrumental part of the song. The bass continues in a similar manner here, although there also some synth parts on the track which add to the excitement.

7. Outro Section

This lesson covers the song’s outro section, which is a repeating four-bar sequence based on the chords from the bridge. The bassline here is heavily syncopated and quite challenging… but is great fun to play.