Blondie - Dreaming Bass Transcription
Dreaming
I had a bit of trouble transcribing this one. The drummer, Clem Burke does his Keith Moon Impersonation on this one. The story goes he was he was going off on this take and didn't expect it to be the final version.
I've seen this notated as 8th notes throughout the song (except the one measure of half note triplets in the bridge). I do think the bass player, Nigel Harrison, "breaks the line up a bit" playing quarter and 8th notes. He uses this technique on a number of Blondie songs. Give it a listen and let me know what you think.
Blondie - Pretty Baby - Bass Transcription
Pretty Baby
What can I say, I love Blondie. My first concert, great Power Pop / New Wave Tunes and a really cool bass line in this song. Over the major chords a classic Root, lower 6th, lower 5th pattern in the verse. On the Am, a descending 8th , b7 5th. Every bass player should have this in their repertoire . The arpeggios played under the C - Cm chord change are also unique C Descending 8th 5th 3rd Root for Cm - b7 6 3rd 6. On the G chord at the end of the interlude I hear a sustained note, but you could easily play 8th notes to match the drums. What do you hear? Leave a comment if you hear something different
Squeeze - Black Coffee in Bed - Bass Transcription
Black Coffee in Bed
Once hailed as the next Lennon & McCartney, the song writing duo of Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook, have composed a number of great Pop / New Wave songs. This is a perfect example. I really like how the do a key and style change for the guitar solo. When looking for this song on YouTube I was surprised to find this version. I didn't know that Squeeze had pulled a "Taylor Swift" and re-recorded a number of there popular songs. This and the original studio version (off of Sweets from a Stranger) clock in at almost 6 minutes, 2 minutes longer than the edited single version,
Squeeze - Is This Love? - Bass Transcription
Squeeze - Is This Love?
As I've stated early, the song writing duo of Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook, have composed a number of great Pop / New Wave songs. I also like that they are trying to reclaim there masters by re-recording there best songs. Not sure how much of a difference there is between the different versions, but check out section D for a pretty cool melodic bass line.
The English Beat - I Confess - Bass Transcription
I Confess
Flashback to the early eighties - Learn a couple of riffs and the bridge and you have the song. The verse and the Chorus are the same 2 chords Cma7 and D7.
I like this one. Instead of just playing 8 5 8 5 he adds the open E as a transition between the phrases, so you get 8 5 8 3 over the Cmaj7 and 8 5 8 2 over the D7 chord. You could just play 8 5 8 5. I like the tension the E note adds to the song.
The English Beat - Save It for Later - Bass Transcription
Save It for Later
Another great song by the English Beat. A pretty straight forward song with the same 3 chords thru out. He varies how the A and G chord is outlined by the bass.
The Pretenders - Stop Your Sobbing
The Pretenders - The Wait (BBc Live Session) Bass Transcrip
The Wait (BBC Live Session)
Another song off a great debut album. They know how to rock in 7/4 time.