The best hooks for bass guitar reels, from 800+ that went viral
We read the opening line of every viral bass guitar reel in Aubrium's library: which hooks show up most, which travelled furthest, and 16 real ones to learn from.
"Bring back bass lines that hurt your hands": it's a plea more than a lesson, and it sat on a reel from a bass account with 2,358 followers. That reel reached 287,329 views.
Bass players mostly post lessons, covers and gear, and a lot of them skip the hook: 40% of the 800+ viral bass guitar reels in Aubrium's library, from 500+ creators, have no hook of any type. We read the rest to see what the opening lines say, how long they run and how they're delivered, with 16 worth stealing. The hooks that travel in every niche has the wider view, and the index of every niche has the rest.
On viral bass guitar reels, curiosity gaps are the most common hook, at 21%. Relatable lines, at 6%, reached 16 times the creator's followers, more than any type but the 12 rare POV hooks. 40% have no hook of any type. 63% show the hook as text on screen, and the middle hook is 8 words.
Aubrium's library, 31 October 2026.
What kind of hook works best for bass guitar reels?
Curiosity gaps, on 21% of these reels, lead by a distance. Questions come second, at 8%.
Among the bigger groups, relatable lines did best, at 16 times their creator's followers, ahead of bold claims and number lists at 12. Curiosity gaps, the most common, reached 8. POV hooks top the chart at 45, but only 12 reels use one, too few to lean on. And 40% of bass reels have no hook of any type; their typical one reached 9.
16 bass guitar hooks that went viral
Bass lines, gear, gigs, a boyfriend and one monster bass. Every line opened the reel that did best for its creator, and we chose them by hand. Use the type filter to narrow them down.
- RelatableText on screen
Bring back bass lines that hurt your hands
- CalloutText on screen
Play The Bass On Beat Challenge
- AspirationalText on screen
Day 6 of posting the greatest performances of all time
- Transformation teaseText on screen
First time playing a Fender Jazz bass!
- Curiosity gapText on screen
This is how a School band start This Song
- Curiosity gapText and spoken
TUNING AND STRING GAUGES FOR MY 40" SCALE MONSTER BASS!
- RelatableText and spoken
WHEN YOUR BOYFRIEND DECIDES TO BECOME A BASS PLAYER
- Number listText and spoken
Five awesome easy basslines for beginners. Most requested.
- QuestionText on screen
Is this the greatest bass outro of all time?
- POVText on screen
POV: Need new bass strings but you're broke (cause you're a bassist) so you become a masterchef
- Curiosity gapText on screen
How to play ALL MODES in one key 🎸
- Bold claimText on screen
The hardest bassline ever
- Bold claimText on screen
This is the fastest bassline in punk
- Bold claimText and spoken
I think I've mastered this looper pedal thing
- Curiosity gapText on screen
Here's a weird technique for playing fast on bass
- Number listText and spoken
three gigs you say yes to and the one you don't.
How long should a bass guitar hook be?
There's no clear best length. Every group landed between 7 and 11 times followers, and the middle hook is 8 words.
If anything the longer ones edged ahead: 9 to 12 words reached 11 and 21+ words 10, against 7 for 1 to 4. 51% of bass hooks keep to 8 words or under.
Should you say the hook or show it?
Show it. Half of these reels, 50%, put the hook on screen with no voice.
The gap is small. Text alone reached 9 times followers, text read aloud 7 and a voice alone 6. Only 9% of bass reels lead with a spoken hook, so a written line is the norm.
How do viral bass guitar hooks start?
"How" opens 10 of the 250+ English hooks, the most of any word. "I", "the" and "this" open 8 each, and "bass" itself 7.
- how
- I
- the
- this
- bass
- when
- if
- oh
- three
- what
The first word of 250+ English hooks on viral bass guitar reels, sized by how many start with it.
Four of the top openers as patterns, each with a real bass hook:
How to… / How I…
“How to play ALL MODES in one key 🎸”
I… / My…
“I think I've mastered this looper pedal thing”
This is… / This is how…
“This is the fastest bassline in punk”
When… / If you…
“WHEN YOUR BOYFRIEND DECIDES TO BECOME A BASS PLAYER”
Keep reading
Hooks are one slice of a reel. Formats, faces and sound are on what goes viral in bass guitar. For players beyond the bass, see the hooks behind viral musician life reels and the hooks behind viral song cover reels.
Questions people ask
What's a good hook for a bass reel?
Curiosity gaps are the most common on viral bass guitar reels in Aubrium's library, at 21%. Relatable lines reached 16 times the creator's followers for the typical one, the most of any type with 25 or more reels.
Do bass reels need a hook?
Many go without: 40% of viral bass guitar reels have no hook of any type. The typical one of those reached 9 times its creator's followers.
How long should a bass hook be?
The middle hook on a viral bass guitar reel is 8 words, and no length clearly won. Hooks of 9 to 12 words reached 11 times followers, the highest group.
Should a bass hook be written or spoken?
Written, mostly. 63% of viral bass guitar reels show the hook as text, and text alone reached 9 times followers, against 6 for a voice alone.
What word do bass hooks start with?
"How" opens 10 of the 250+ English bass guitar hooks we read, then "I", "the" and "this" with 8 each.
How we did this
We looked at every bass guitar reel in Aubrium's library on 31 October 2026: 800+ reels from 500+ creators with 1,000 to 100,000 followers, each of which reached far more people than its creator has followers. We counted every reel filed in Aubrium's bass guitar niche; a reel can sit in more than one niche.
Hook types, delivery and on-screen text are labels Aubrium's reader puts on every post. Hook length and first words count the 250+ reels with an English hook in words. Every number here describes reels that already went viral, so none of it is the odds for a new one.
Changelog
- First version.
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