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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.

When learning this piece, you might find the following courses (all included in the monthly subscription cost) useful:

A transcription (with TAB and without) is available for this course. To download it, please visit the Free Stuff page.

This course is 25 MINUTES long and contains the following videos, each of which can be selected from the video player above:

1. ‘Don’t Start Now’

This video is a demonstration of the song performed on a 1966 Fender Jazz Bass strung with new stainless steel Rotosound strings.

2. Course Overview

This video contains an overview of the song and the challenges it presents, as well as offering some advice on choosing the right instrument and tone for a piece like this.

3. Verse Sections

This video will show you how to play the bass groove for the verse sections. This is a tight fingerstyle line that requires a control over note length and dynamics.

4. 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

This lesson covers the chorus sections of the song, which are played in the same way each time. The line here requires the same approach as the verse sections.

6. Instrumental Section

This video covers the instrumental section. The bass continues in a similar manner here, with some synth bass parts bolstering the line.

7. Outro Section

This section is a repeating four-bar sequence based on the chords from the bridge. The bassline here is heavily syncopated and quite challenging.