Stuart Clayton Publishes “Bass Monsters” Transcription Book
If you want to play like the behemoths of the bass, you’ll want to check out the new book by Stuart Clayton. Bass Monsters profiles sixteen players with transcriptions of some of the most challenging pieces ever written for bass. From James Jamerson’s line on “Home Cookin'” to Victor Wooten’s “The Lesson,” each piece is broken down with detailed analysis and performance tips.
“The bass players featured within these pages have all contributed heavily to the development of the bass guitar and its function within music,” Clayton writes. “The songs in this book cover a wide range of musical styles and playing techniques. You’ll find pieces that make use of slap bass, fingering, and plectrum playing, as well as more unorthodox playing styles such as two-handed tapping and chordal fingerstyle.”
All of the transcriptions and examples are written in both standard notation and TAB. The 206-page book is available now in paperback or digitally through Apple Books.
Bass Monsters Samples:
Bass Monsters Transcription List:
- Jr. Walker & The All Stars – ‘Home Cookin’’ (James Jamerson)
- Quincy Jones & Bill Cosby – ‘Hikky Burr’ (Carol Kaye)
- Tower of Power – ‘What Is Hip’ (Rocco Prestia)
- Graham Central Station – ‘Release Yourself’ (Larry Graham)
- Stanley Clarke – ‘Hot Fun’
- Chaka Khan – ‘Clouds’ (Anthony Jackson)
- The Brothers Johnson – ‘Stomp’ (Louis Johnson)
- Jeff Berlin – ‘Joe Frazier’
- Level 42 – ‘Mr. Pink’ (Mark King)
- Stevie Wonder – ‘Do I Do’ (Nathan Watts)
- Stuart Hamm – ‘Country Music (A Night in Hell)’
- Dream Theater – ‘The Ytse Jam’ (John Myung)
- Alain Caron – ‘Slam The Clown’
- Billy Sheehan – ‘The Suspense Is Killing Me’
- Michael Manring – ‘I Left America’
- Victor Wooten – ‘The Lesson’
