Skip to main content

Transcription Archives - Page 4

Bass Transcription: Andy Fraser’s Bass Line on “Mr. Big” by Free
Transcriptions

Bass Transcription: Andy Fraser’s Bass Line on “Mr. Big” by Free

Free was formed in 1968 in London, and they followed in the footsteps of bands such as Cream and Fleetwood Mac, who grew out of the British Blues Explosion of the mid-sixties. By moving away from some of the restrictions of the genre, Free (alongside Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, and Deep Purple), helped to define British heavy rock music of...

Bass Transcription Analysis: “I Start With The Blues” Bob Mintzer Sax Solo, Part 2
Creative Bass Lines

Bass Transcription Analysis: “I Start With The Blues” Bob Mintzer Sax Solo, Part 2

For our second installment focusing on Bob Mintzer’s solo from “I Start With The Blues,” we’ll be focusing mainly on transposing a line through different keys and why we do that. This is really important and something I touched upon in part one, too. It goes without saying that jazz standards and indeed tunes from all genres are in different...

Bass Transcription: The Jackson 5’s “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas”
Transcriptions

Bass Transcription: The Jackson 5’s “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas”

Once The Jackson 5 had been signed by Motown in March 1969, they were very quickly put to work in the label’s legendary “Hitsville” studios in Detroit. However, label owner Berry Gordy was only happy with a few of the recordings, and he decided to relocate the band to work out of their Los Angeles headquarters. The new Jackson 5...

Bass Transcription Analysis: “I Start With The Blues” Bob Mintzer Sax Solo, Part 1
Creative Bass Lines

Bass Transcription Analysis: “I Start With The Blues” Bob Mintzer Sax Solo, Part 1

I’m kicking off a new series here for Creative Bass Lines. In this episode, we’ll take a look at a really great solo over a jazz 12 bar blues – performed and transcribed by sax great Bob Mintzer! We’re really fortunate to have this music for our lessons. Bob very kindly agreed to let me share this with you, so...

Bass Transcription: Ronnie Lane’s Bass Line on “Itchycoo Park” by The Small Faces
Transcriptions

Bass Transcription: Ronnie Lane’s Bass Line on “Itchycoo Park” by The Small Faces

Ronnie Lane was born in Plaistow in East London on April 1st 1946. As a teenager, his father had encouraged him to play the guitar as “he’d always have a friend”. At first, he played skiffle, a type of rough country blues popular in the UK in the early 1960s, but he was also influenced by The Shadows and The...

Bass Transcription: Mattia La Maida’s Solo Bass Arrangement of Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition”
Transcriptions

Bass Transcription: Mattia La Maida’s Solo Bass Arrangement of Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition”

The first thing we have to consider to play this arrangement is the accents. The trick is to emphasize the 2nd and 4th movement, just as a drummer would do with the snare drum. To do this use the “strum” technique (think Stanley Clarke in School Days), accenting the 2nd and 4th movement where I can try to keep it...

Bass Transcription: Trevor Bolder’s Bass Line on “Changes” by David Bowie
Transcriptions

Bass Transcription: Trevor Bolder’s Bass Line on “Changes” by David Bowie

Since 1963, David Bowie worked with many bands as both singer and instrumentalist, and he had released several unsuccessful singles under his own name before “Space Oddity” became his first substantial hit. The song reached number five in the UK in 1969. Bowie’s first two albums (both confusingly called David Bowie) had been recorded using session musicians, with the bass...

Bass Transcription: Colin Moulding’s Bass Line on XTC’s “Senses Working Overtime”
Transcriptions

Bass Transcription: Colin Moulding’s Bass Line on XTC’s “Senses Working Overtime”

The three founding members of XTC, bassist Colin Moulding, drummer Terry Chambers and guitarist/vocalist Andy Partridge, initially got together in 1972, calling the band ‘The Helium Kidz’. They took some of their early influence from The New York Dolls and attached themselves to the developing ‘glam rock’ scene that was popular in the UK at the time. When guitarist/keyboardist Barry...

Bass Transcription: Graham Maby’s Bass Line on Joe Jackson’s “Is She Really Going Out With Him?”
Transcriptions

Bass Transcription: Graham Maby’s Bass Line on Joe Jackson’s “Is She Really Going Out With Him?”

Joe Jackson has had a similar career to that of Elvis Costello, first coming to prominence in the “New Wave” era in the late 1970s, and then diversifying into a broader variety of musical styles as he became more established. The initial success of singles such as “Is She Really Going Out with Him?” (1978) and “Different for Girls” (1979)...

Bass Transcription: Finn Guttormsen’s Bass Line on Farmers Market’s “Dusty Traditions”
Transcriptions

Bass Transcription: Finn Guttormsen’s Bass Line on Farmers Market’s “Dusty Traditions”

The other day I was watching Michael Brecker’s version of ¨Nothing Personal” in 9/8 meter. I really liked this version and the group that played it. After some research, I found a Norwegian band called Farmers Market. I then contacted bassist Finn Guttormsen, who during the chat explained to me why they play in irregular meters. In his university, the...

Bass Transcription: Jimmy Johnson’s Bass Line on Alan Holdsworth’s “Tokyo Dream”
Transcriptions

Bass Transcription: Jimmy Johnson’s Bass Line on Alan Holdsworth’s “Tokyo Dream”

I was sad to learn of the news of Allan Holdsworth’s passing. He left a great legacy to all guitarists and musicians in general, and his playing in the 70’s had a great impact on guitarists such as Frank Gambale, Bill Connors, Scott Henderson and even Eddie Van Halen. His way of playing the guitar was revolutionary, his legato style,...

Bass Transcription: Bruce Thomas’ Bass Line on Elvis Costello and the Attractions’ “Oliver’s Army”
Transcriptions

Bass Transcription: Bruce Thomas’ Bass Line on Elvis Costello and the Attractions’ “Oliver’s Army”

British singer-songwriter Elvis Costello has had a long and varied career, and although his early hits were in the new wave era, with songs such as “Watching the Detectives” and “Pump it Up”, he could also create subtle ballads (“Alison”), cover jazz standards (“I Don’t know What to do With Myself”) and would later release an album of country standards...