Kansas – “Leftoverture”: The Complete Basslines, Part 1

Kansas - "Leftoverture": The Complete Basslines, Part 1

After the enormous popularity of the transcription of the bassline for Kansas’ “Carry on Wayward Son” last year, I have teamed up with YouTube bass playthrough master Troy Hughes to create a complete set of basslines for the Kansas album Leftoverture.

The work includes both standard notation and tab, analysis of the bassline, video lessons with advice on playing the basslines, and playthroughs. In addition, there is expanded text about Dave Hope, Kansas, the making of the album, and some rare live photos of Dave Hope taken by Richard Galbraith.

The first installment, including the main text and a new, improved version of the transcription, and a tutorial and playthrough are available via a link below. Each month we will be releasing transcriptions and playthroughs for the remaining songs in order to make a complete set.

Be sure to download the first part of the book and follow along with Troy’s playthrough and explanation:

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Share your thoughts

  1. Mark B

    cool but whats with the ugly faces they freak me out

  2. Wow! This is fantastic… I’m looking forward to the whole series! I always love watching and learning from Troy and reading through this first part was great. Big thanks to Troy and Tim for putting this together. :)

  3. Scott D.

    Great fingerstyle playing to a picked bassline! I started working on this a bit as well, but as a beginner it is quite a challenge either style.

    • Tim Fletcher

      Hi Scott – Thanks for commenting. It’s a bit of a challenge, as most Kansas songs are, but take it slow and take a look at Troy’s video where he takes you through the bass line bit by bit. Good luck!

  4. Wes 76

    Great job guys!

  5. John Vrabec

    I’ve been subscribed to Troy’s channel for years and have your original transcription. Thanks you guys for doing this for us. You bring forth the nuances I miss in the bass lines. Kudos!

    • Tim Fletcher

      Hi John – thanks for your comment. The transcription has been improved for this version (a couple of small errors needed fixing) and it’s great to have Troy on board to do the playthroughs and detailed advice.

  6. Steve_ss

    Where do I begin? The book looks to be fantastic. Tim has done a great job exploring the genius of Dave Hope’s bass playing. And Troy is one of my inspirations for wanting to play the bass. His play through and explanations are spot on. Well done. I can’t wait for more. (Song for America maybe??)

    • Tim Fletcher

      Hi Steve – Many thanks for your positive comments! The next song will be ‘The Wall’ – the next track on ‘Leftoverture”.

  7. Peter Mennetti

    Thanks a ton for all the work on this project. It’s really top notch. I love Kansas.

    • Tim Fletcher

      Hi Peter. Thanks for your positive comments – much appreciated. There should be a new episode out in the next few weeks.