Bass Transcriptions

If you'd like to commission a bass transcription -- or any other kind of transcription -- click here for a chat/quote. My transcription service is based on years of professional experience working for major music magazines and publishing houses around the world.

If you're interested, here's a list of the transcriptions/articles/analyses I've done for various magazines and publishers, including long stints at the US publication Bass Player, and Japan's Bass Magazine.

The transcriptions below (free, and for educational purposes only) are in A4-sized PDF format. If you have problems reading these files, click here to get the latest version of the free Adobe Reader.

Abba - "Dancing Queen"

Bass: Rutger Gunnarsson

Criminally under-sung bass maestro Rutger Gunnarsson can be heard on just about every Abba hit you can name (though British bassist Mike Watson also played on a few key tracks, too). "Dancing Queen" is Gunnarsson at his best: funky, in the pocket and effortlessly inventive.

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Bryan Beller - "Greasy Wheel"

Bass: Bryan Beller

Put simply, Bryan Beller's seminal second album rocks. This transcription of "Greasy Wheel," (hosted on Bryan's own site), serves as a sampler for the full 140-page book of transcriptions, which can be purchased from Monsieur Beller's digital superstore.

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Breaking Benjamin - "Breath"

Bass: Mark James Klepaski

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David Bowie - "China Girl"

Bass: Camine Rojas

Carmine Rojas conjures up a superlative song-defining riff on the second track of David Bowie's landmark 1983 album, Let's Dance. (See above for a transcription of the title track "Let's Dance.")

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David Bowie - "Let's Dance"

Bass: Camine Rojas

"Let's Dance," the title track of David Bowie's seminal 1983 album, features some classy low-end work by session-ace Carmine Rojas. (See below for a transcription of "China Girl.")

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Meredith Brooks - "Bitch"

Bass: Paul Bushnell

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The Judds - "Grandpa (Tell Me 'Bout the Good Ol' Days)"

Bass: Jack Williams

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Kate Bush - "Rocket Man"

Bass: Del Palmer

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Deana Carter - "Strawberry Wine"

Bass: Glenn Worf

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Chevelle - "Face To The Floor"

Bass: Dean Bernardini

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John Coltrane - "Giant Steps"

Bass: Paul Chambers

Just when you think you've had this tune in the bag for years, someone calls it near the end of a session - you know, after you've already had a few drinks - and you realize: A) It may well have been in your bag, but maybe the zipper wasn't done up as tightly as it should have been, and B) Maybe that fourth beer wasn't such a good idea...

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Melissa Etheridge - "I'm The Only One"

Bass: Pino Palladino

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Evanescence - "Bring Me To Life"

Bass: Francesco DiCosmo

Heavier than a rhino and as punchy as Mike Tyson, Francesco DiCosmo's bass playing did much to shape the overall sound and impact of Evanescence's most famous number.

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Sara Evans - "Suds In The Bucket"

Bass: Glenn Worf

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Finger Eleven - "Paralyzer"

Bass: Sean Anderson

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Five Finger Death Punch - "Walk Away"

Bass: Matt Snell

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Foreigner - "Dirty White Boy"

Bass: Rick WIllis

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Georgia Satellites - "Keep Your Hands To Yourself"

Bass: Rick Price

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Godsmack - "Love-Hate-Sex-Pain"

Bass: Robbie Merrill

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Godsmack - "Re-Align"

Bass: Robbie Merrill

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Sammy Hagar - "Mas Tequila"

Bass: Mona Gnader

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Hellyeah - "Hell of a Time"

Bass: Bob ZIlla

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Allan Holdsworth - "In The Mystery"

Bass: Jimmy Johnson

"In The Mystery" -- from Allan Holdsworth's 1985 album Metal Fatigue -- features yet more superb bass work from Jimmy Johnson, who knocks us dead with some killer lines conjured from a graphite-necked fretless Alembic Series I.

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Chaka Khan - "Clouds"

Bass: Anthony Jackson

Though Marcus Miller and Willie Weeks also feature on Naughty, it's Anthony Jackson who steals the show with his thundering low Cs and killer grooves. AJ pushed bass playing into new territory on the six tracks he graces on this album, not least because he played several of the songs on a four-string Fender bass tuned down two whole steps, in effect paving the way for the 5- and 6-string electric basses that are around today.

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Chaka Khan - "Move Me No Mountain"

Bass: Anthony Jackson

Put simply, Naughty contains some of the finest and funkiest bass playing this side of the Horsehead Nebula. This track goes some way toward explaining why...

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Chaka Khan - "Nothing's Gonna Take You Away"

Bass: Anthony Jackson

This tune is fine example of what a great rhythm section can do for a fairly standard medium-ballad number, with Anthony Jackson and Steve Ferrone working their collective magic to transform the song into a driving Latin-tinged pop classic.

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Chaka Khan - "Too Much Love"

Bass: Anthony Jackson

A lot of people think Anthony Jackson is the only bassist on Naughty, but this isn't quite true. There are three other bassists featured: Willie Weeks, Marcus Miller and Mark Stevens (Chaka's brother). However, this song is the only track on the album to credit two bass players, both Anthony jackson and Mark Stevens. Strange indeed...

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Chaka Khan - "All Night's All Right"

Bass: Anthony Jackson

Jackson's rock-solid bass groove provides the foundation for this track, which showcases the band's hermetically tight rhythm section and some very interesting harmony.

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Chaka Khan - "Our Love's In Danger"

Bass: Anthony Jackson

Jackson's nuance-packed playing on this track once again requires another detail-heavy transcription. Hey don't shoot the messenger! ;-)

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Chaka Khan - "What Cha' Gonna Do For Me"

Bass: Anthony Jackson

On this, the title track of Chaka Khan's third solo album, Anthony Jackson's bass part is doubled throughout by a Moog synth. In spite of this, there's no doubt as to who's driving the low-end show. And no, it's not the Moog player...

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Chaka Khan - "I Know You, I Live You"

Bass: Anthony Jackson

This at-times rhythmically explosive number is one of the most memorable tracks on the What Cha album, thanks to Anthony Jackson's measured but powerful playing and Arif Mardin's punchy horn arrangement.

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Chaka Khan - "Any Old Sunday"

Bass: Anthony Jackson

On this track, Jackson once again demonstrates that groove and momentum need not be sacrificed when tackling a slower-paced track, in this case, a laid-back shuffle number.

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Chaka Khan - "We Got Each Other"

Bass: Anthony Jackson

As well as deviating from standard pitch by a quarter-tone, this song is also notable in that the bass player and the rest of the band seem to be grooving in different, albeit related, keys...

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Chaka Khan - "Night Moods"

Bass: Anthony Jackson

Thanks to Jackson's drivingly insistent lines, this atmospheric quasi-ballad number is shot through with a powerful sense of restrained energy, which merely serves to heighten the tension generated by Chaka's often low-register huskiness, the exotic #11-based harmony, and the otherworldly, delay-soaked flute.

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Chaka Khan - "Heed The Warning"

Bass: Anthony Jackson

As well as serving as a classic example of how a great riff can build a whole song, this track also demonstrates how tiny deviations from the norm can have a subtle, but significant effect. As an added bonus, "Heed The Warning" also contains the finest bass-related moment on the whole of this album. (Well, I think so anyway!)

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Chaka Khan - "Father He Said"

Bass: Anthony Jackson

Many bassists are so keen to show off their double-thump or 11-fingered tapping technique (often during a sensitive ballad) that they forget about their main function - to support the rest of the band while being sensitive to what's happening around them.On "Father He Said," Anthony Jackson shows exactly how it should be done.

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Chaka Khan - "Fate"

Bass: Anthony Jackson

For the second album in a row, Chaka's slappin' poppin' sibling Mark Stevens muscles in on Jackson's low-frequency territory, overdubbing lines that perhaps reflect the era in which the album was produced, if not the needs of the song...

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Chaka Khan - "I Know You, I Live You (Reprise)"

Bass: Anthony Jackson

Although there's no fresh material to speak of in terms of the bass, reprising of one of the most musically upbeat songs on the album is a great way to wrap things up.

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Chaka Khan - "Love Has Fallen On Me"

Bass: Anthony Jackson

As you'd expect, a song written by Andrew Lloyd Webber doesn't quite conform to the "norms" of pop songdom. As such, this track is a study in rhythmic twists and slight-of-hand harmonic turns, with the added bonus of featuring perhaps the first recorded example of AJ's detuned Fender bass.

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Chaka Khan - "Sleep On It"

Bass: Anthony Jackson

A mid-tempo soulful funk-tinged number that benefits greatly from the contrasts between sections artfully accentuated by the killer rhythm section of Anthony Jackson and Steve Ferrone. AJ also fires off several scintillating runs that light up the track like fireworks above a tropical beach at twilight...

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Chaka Khan - "I Was Made To Love Him"

Bass: Anthony Jackson

Chaka's cover of this Stevie Wonder classic gives Anthony Jackson the chance to show that he's his own man when it comes to interpreting a track that had already been turned into something special by his idol James Jamerson. Check out AJ's masterful use of chromaticism - something that continued to flourish until it became an integral part of his style.

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Billy Idol - "Dancing With Myself"

Bass: Phil Feit

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Lady Antebellum - "Need You Now"

Bass: Craig Young

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Miranda Lambert - "Gunpowder and Lead"

Bass: Glenn Worf

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Miranda Lambert - "White Liar"

Bass: Glenn Worf

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Little Big Town - "Pontoon"

Bass: John Thomasson

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Loverboy - "Turn Me Loose"

Bass: Scott Smith

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Reba McEntire - "Fancy"

Bass: Michael Rhodes

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Reba McEntire - "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia"

Bass: Leland Sklar

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John Cougar Mellencamp - "R.O.C.K. In The U.S.A."

Bass: Toby Myers

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Allanah Myles - "Black Velvet"

Synth bass: Dave Tyson

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Van Morrison - "Jackie Wilson Said (I'm In Heaven When You Smile)"

Bass: Bill Church

Church's hard-swingin' lines perfectly complement Morrison's homage to R&B legend Jackie Wilson (while also showing how to lay down a tasteful and melodic part that fits the song like a glove).

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Lorrie Morgan - "What Part of No"

Bass: Glenn Worf

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Nickelback - "Something In Your Mouth"

Bass: Mike Kroeger

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Ted Nugent and the Amboy Dukes - "No Holds Barred"

Bass: Rob Grange

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Buddy Rich - "Billie's Bounce"

Bass: Anthony Jackson

A straight blues outing in which AJ delivers a fine solo while pulling off some of his trademark harmonic twists and turns as he underpins Buddy Rich's band.

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The Ruts - "West One (Shine On Me)"

Bass: John "Segs" Jennings

This has long been my favourite Ruts track, not least because it's a great study in how to use inversions to spice up otherwise vanilla harmony: Check out the guitar chords and see how Segs transforms them with his snaking lines - masterful!

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Saving Abel - "The Sex Is Good"

Bass: Eric Taylor

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Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band - "Sunspot Baby"

Bass: David Hood

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The Shadows - "Nivram"

Bass: Jet Harris

Though a million miles away from the flash and fireworks of today's bass solos (and solo bassists) Jet Harris was nevertheless the real deal back in the day. And, as an added bonus, he looked cool as all-get-out. Furthermore, this song features what is likely the first ever electric bass solo in a pop setting (1961). Enjoy!

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Shania Twain - "Any Man of Mine"

Bass: David Hungate

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Shania Twain - "Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?"

Bass: David Hungate

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Shinedown - "Sound of Madness"

Bass: Chris Chaney

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Bruce Springsteen - "Pink Cadillac"

Bass: Garry Tallent

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Billy Squire - "Lonely Is The Night"

Bass: Mark Clark

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Theory of a Deadman - "Bad Girlfriend"

Bass: Dean Back

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Tommy Tutone - "867-5309/Jenny"

Bass: Greg Sutton

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Carrie Underwood - "Before He Cheats"

Bass: Mark Hill

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Carrie Underwood - "Smoke Break"

Bass: Dave Roe

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Gretchen Wilson - "Here for the Party"

Bass: Michael Rhodes

"Going For The One" is a quintessential Chris Squire classic. His weaving contrapuntal lines and unerring sense of harmonic conviction serve as a spine-tingling master class in melodic inventiveness for bassists of all styles.

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World Party - "Is It Like Today?"

Bass: David Catlin-Birch

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Gretchen Wilson - "Redneck Woman"

Bass: Michael Rhodes

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Yes - "Going For The One"

Bass: Chris Squire

"Going For The One" is a quintessential Chris Squire classic. His weaving contrapuntal lines and unerring sense of harmonic conviction serve as a spine-tingling master class in melodic inventiveness for bassists of all styles.

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Yes - "Homeworld (The Ladder)"

Bass: Chris Squire

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Yes - "Lightning Strikes"

Bass: Chris Squire

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Yes - "Magnification"

Bass: Chris Squire

A study in cross-rhythms and masterful bass playing.

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Yes - "Onward"

Bass: Chris Squire

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Yes - "Parallels"

Bass: Chris Squire

Unlike the contrapuntal creation permeating "Going For The One," in "Parallels," Chris Squire spends a lot of the time locked into a solid repeating groove with drummer Alan White rather than wandering off into his own harmonic world. Indeed, certain parts of "Parallels" are groovy enough to give Bootsy himself in-the-pocket palpitations.

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