Bass Transcriptions - PlayBassLines.com

James Jamerson bass transcription for I'll Turn To Stone by The Four Tops

2012-01-07T16:28:00.001-05:00

Here's a 1 page sample of my transcription of James Jamerson bass line for The Four Tops' Song, I'll Turn To Stone. Although at first listen, this song seems to be an easy pop tune to play along, it does have it's challenges. Namely, Jamerson's extensive use of flawlessly executed triplets runs at 127 bpm, during each Pre-Choruses of the song. You can notice that James also uses his runs on different beats within the bars of each sections. To me, this shows his incredible sens of time and tremendous improvisational skills. There is also the recurrent use of raking within the verses and pre-choruses that is worth noting. Jamerson's use of triplet can be a bass lesson in itself. Enjoy & have fun practicing!
Complete 4 page transcription available on this page.

James Jamerson - I'll Turn To Stone - Bass Transcription

The Four Tops - I'll Turn To Stone

"Bass Line Store" error message when purchasing, now Fixed!

2011-11-28T23:06:00.001-05:00

Thanks to Akis Tourlougos who pointed out that he couldn't complete the purchase process when clicking the "Add To Cart" button on the Bass Line Store. With a little help, I was able to resolve the issue quickly. So problem solved! If you have attempted to purchase a transcription on my store, in the last few weeks and got an error message, it is a thing of the past, now it works! Enjoy!

Jaco Pastorius Bass Solo Transcription for Havona

2011-10-29T16:15:00.015-04:00

I am aware that there are other transcriptions of this classic Jaco solo on the net, but here is my take on it...

Havona is a song from the 1977 Weather Report album called Heavy Weather.
Jaco was at his peak then, and his solo on the song Havona is a display of his mastery of the fretless bass. Back in the early 90's, I was very much into Jaco, and I spent many hours learning his bass lines and solos. This one, I transcribed back then, and re-transcribed digitally this week.

Jaco Pastorius - Havona - Bass Solo Transcription

The Paul Chambers (complete 7 page) bass line & solo transcription is coming soon...
Check back soon!

Bass Transcription of Slow Blues in G by Rufus Reid

2011-10-12T22:12:00.000-04:00

This is has got to be the first bass line I ever attempted to transcribe. It was given as an assignment by a bass teacher. Needless to say, the result wasn't all that good the first time around, as I was still learning to read and write music at the time. I have revisited this Aebersold play-along track several times since. This version is probably my 4th bass transcription for this song. Since it is a jazz track, I figured there is no need for bass tabs. I believe that players that might have an interested in this track, probably all read standard notation.

This track is a 7 chorus blues from Aebersold's Vol 2 - Nothin' But Blues. The book credits Rufus Reid as the bass player on this recording. The book does not included a transcription other than a theme, chord changes and scales to use for soloing. This blues is not hard to play and there are several cool lines on this track. I'm sure you will enjoy! Have fun learning it.

"I Gotcha" by Joe Tex

2011-09-06T13:50:00.006-04:00

Here is my transcription, with tabs, of a fun and groovy bass line. Unfortunately I do not know who the original bass player is on this track. It has a rather repetitive pattern with little variations, but it is fun to play.
The song was recorded in 1972, and it is also featured in the official soundtrack to the Quentin Tarantino film Reservoir Dogs. enjoy!

Bob Seger's "Old Time Rock and Roll" Sax Solo Transcribed for Bass

2011-09-01T23:39:00.009-04:00

Fun and simple solo that can be played on bass, as written, or an octave higher. It works well with or without FX, especially in a drum, bass & guitar combo. Have fun with it. Here is a video of the play-along at regular speed, and at half speed, solo.

Blues in The Closet - Oscar Pettiford Cello Solo (Transcribed for Bass)

2011-02-23T23:56:00.000-05:00

As a reference, you can hear Oscar himself play the solo in this YouTube video starting at about 0:31.
I notated the transcription an octave lower for ease of reading.
You can play it an octave up to be in the same register as Oscar's solo.
However, I transcribed the solo in G, as the version on my CD seemed in G.
But this video recording seems to be in Ab, or somewhere in between G and Ab.
Nevertheless, Oscar's solo is stellar!
Flawlessly executed at about 196 bpm

Blues in The Closet - Oscar Pettiford Cello Solo

Blues in The Closet - Oscar Pettiford Cello Solo (Transcribed for Bass)
Blues in The Closet- Oscar Pettiford Cello Solo (Transcribed for Bass)

Transcription for Jeff Berlin Chord-Tone Bass Solo #2 on Bb7 Blues

2011-02-18T23:29:00.001-05:00

Below you will find my transcription for this Jeff Berlin's unaccompanied bass solo on a Bb7 blues using mostly chord tones. This is a great work out. Again this solo is taken from his DVD Bass Logic from the Players School of Music. If you enjoy his work, please buy his DVD.

Here is the solo from a video found on YouTube

My Transcription with Tab and implied Chords
I included the TAB to show how Jeff travels along the neck of his instrument.
Jeff Berlin Unaccompanied Chord Tone Bass Solo for Bb7 Blues (with Tab)

Transcription for Jeff Berlin Chord-Tone Bass Solo #1 on Bb7 Blues

2011-02-18T23:05:00.003-05:00

Below you will find my transcription for an accompanied chord tone bass solo that Jeff Berlin plays on his instructional DVD Bass Logic from the Players School of Music. I included the TAB to show how Jeff travels along the neck of his instrument.
If you enjoy his work, please buy his DVD.

Hear him play the solo from this video found on YouTube

Here is my transcription with Tab
Jeff Berlin Chord Tone Bass Solo for Bb7 Blues with tab

Here is my version of the piece
My rendition of Jeff Berlin Chord-Tone Bass Solo in Bb7 by ericbeaule

Enjoy!

Bb Blues Bass Solo Transcription

2011-01-12T00:37:00.000-05:00

Here's a 2 chorus Bass solo transcription from Ed Friedland's Jazz Bass book.
The solo was played on the companion CD but not transcribed in the book. Here you can find a notation only version as well as a TAB version.

Notation Only
Bb Blues Bass Solo Ed Friedland

Bb Blues Bass Solo Transcription with TAB
Bb Blues Bass Solo Ed Friedland Tab

Jeff Berlin Bass Solo Transcription of Bach from "Pump it"

2010-02-15T21:11:00.002-05:00

Here is my transcription of the solo section of Bach from Jeff Berlin's 1986 album "Pump it".
I did this transcription back in the late '90 upon coming back from Jeff's Player's School Of Music One-Week-Intensive. The "Bach" classical section is in Cm, and the Solo is mostly in Am. Sorry, no bass TAB for this one.

Enjoy!

Oscar Pettiford Bass Solo Transcription - The Man I Love

2010-02-10T22:24:00.002-05:00

This transcription is for one of the first EVER recorded Oscar Pettiford bass solo. It was featured on a Coleman Hawkins Record called Classic Tenors in 1943. Oscar was only 21 yrs old at the time, and he blazed thru that 206 bpm song. This is my rendition of his solo with my 1963 Fender P-Bass with flat-wound strings. Below you will find my transcription of his bass solo in both standard notation and with TAB. Enjoy!

The Man I Love - Bass Solo Transcription (Standard Notation)

The Man I Love - Bass Solo Transcription (TAB) page1

The Man I Love - Bass Solo Transcription (TAB) page2

Blues In The Closet - Oscar Pettiford Bass Solo Transcription

2010-02-09T23:32:00.005-05:00

Transcription of Oscar Pettiford's acoustic bass solo for his original song "Blues in the Closet" featured on the 1954 Album "The Tal Farlow Album"

Blues in the Closet - Bass Solo Transcription (Standard Notation)

Blues in the Closet - Bass Solo Transcription (TAB)