Bass Gym: Learn the Best Bits of Paul Denman’s Iconic Sade “Smooth Operator” Bass Line

I vividly remember my first experience of hearing “Smooth Operator”. It wasn’t performed by Sade at a spectacular venue, but in a small bar in Prague, where a tribute band played it. Mesmerized by the bass player’s performance, I knew nothing about the song’s origins and thought he was simply a musical genius, improvising this beautiful bass line. My eyes were glued to him, and I loved the elegance and smooth vibes of the song, which, to me, was all about that silky groove.

Sade’s “Smooth Operator” bass line was written and performed by bassist Paul Denman, who played a sleek, melodic bass line on a MusicMan StingRay bass. Hailing from the small town of Hull in the United Kingdom, Denman was desperate to make it in the music business. His journey of discovery began at the age of thirteen when he started playing the bass. Later in life, he was inspired by the punk scene, and in August 1981, he made a life-changing decision when he bought a one-way ticket to London. There, he joined the funk-Latin band Pride, which later evolved into Sade. The rest, as they say, is history.

Download the transcription and follow along with the video below.

In our version, we’ll just take the best bits. Feel free to learn the entire song, but for our purposes, we’ll work with short segments and select the best bass bits from “Smooth Operator”. This way, you’ll gain inspiration and a glimpse into Denman’s bass-playing style.

I love creating these ‘compressed’ versions of songs because I’m mainly interested in the player’s style and in capturing the most interesting phrases. Sometimes, it’s not necessary to learn the whole song.

The bass line is beautiful in its simplicity, with an emphasis on groove and very clear phrasing, not to mention some tasty lines and additional notes. The tone material is based on the D minor Aeolian scale (D, E, F, G, A, B♭, C).