Motown bass lines pdf

The video lesson covers nine incredibly useable patterns not just for these styles but also blues, pop, funk and rock. Free bass tabs printable, downloadable pdf bass tabs. The title track from jr walkers celebrated 1969 album, jamersons line manages to be both red hot and laid back. This page features over 180 free bass transcriptions in standard notation. Walking bass line theory basicspart 1by chris fitzgerald. Motown selections will include analysis and transcriptions of his bass lines for heat wave 1963 by martha and the vandellas and my guy 1964 by mary wells. On down 4 whateva saturday 8th feb show, we had the baddest basslines show, great fun. Welcome to this collection of james jamerson transcriptions. Bassist james jamerson was the embodiment of the motown spirit and groove the invisible entity whose playing inspired thousands and made it impossible for anyone to sit still while listening to a motown record. Motown bass classics pdf torent download downloads. Oldschool rhythm and blues and soul bass lines are so awesome.

Every bass player should own the motown boxed set vol. All these bass lines are the work of the don of motown james jamerson. Analysis of pitch sets, rhythmic cells and more reveals the essential character of these lines. Jamerson played bass on all the classic motown hits of the 60s and 70s and had a very distinctive tone and playing style. All of our bass tab pdf is printable and downloadable so you can enjoy it for years to come. The fundamentals of music are pitch and rhythm which are placed in a grid of five lines and four spaces called staff. A later section features dozens of transcriptions put together by dr. Latin or straight8th note bass lines can be embellished by adding an 8th note on the offbeat of beats two and four. Technically not the most difficult, but stunningly beautiful.

Or rather, restructured the role of bass to absorb the role of the cello. Recorded in 1965 for motown s bustling tamla label, here jamerson makes the bass swing as much as the sax. Here are bass lines for 14 beloved hits from marvin gaye, the supremes, the temptations, stevie wonder and many others. They do a more accurate job of showing how jamerson created some of his most famous bass lines than any free bass tab you can find on the internet. For example, when you do steps 1, 2, or 3 above, you are creating the most basic kinds of ostinato.

Jackson 5 bass tabs 18 tabs bass tabs big bass tabs. Logiciel james jamersons beloved bass line of the motown classic aint no mountain high enough. In this video lesson i take a look at five bass lines from some of my favourite classic motown tunes. If you planned to sweeten the tracks, you had to either do a different mix when you recorded the original tracks or make an 8 track to 8 track transfer and put the perc and tdanscriptions together etc. Our collection of tabs, guitar chords, and video lessons is constantly growing, so check back often to find your favorite songs. This site features over 200 free pdf bass transcriptions in standard notation. Learning how to practice james jamersons bass exercise will help you to understand james jamersons unique chromatic style of bass playing. One of marvin gayes most famous tracks, considered by many to be one of jamersons greatest bass lines and its my favourite too. Theres also some bonus motown transcriptions at the end of the book too including the bob babbitt line on band of gold and stevie wonders awesome keyboard bass line on isnt she lovely. Its such a strange phenomenon that the bass had only been around as a massproduced instrument for a few years when james jamerson came along and cemented himself as one of the greatest of all time on the instrument. In 1971, kaye published her method book electric bass lines no. James jamerson on bernadette february 29, 2016 dave speranza i came across an isolated bass recording of james jamerson on youtube recently, and decided that there couldnt be a better transcription project than that.

He was the uncredited bassist on most of the motown records hits in the 1960s and early 1970s motown did not list session musician credits on their releases until 1971, and is now regarded as one of the most influential bass players in modern music history. The best basslines in soul and funk music woofer radio. Strictly looking at bass lines, however, the aggressive playing on reach out, ill be there makes up at least 50% of the tune. Motown bass lines in todays music love by joss stone love is a jazz song written by bert kaempfert and milt gabler for american singerpianist nat king coles 1965 album love. The temptations are an american vocal group that achieved fame as one of the most successful acts to record for motown records. Motown tracks use very simple chords and james plays very distinct lines in each tune, as distinct as the melodies themselves. There is enough repetition to insure absorption and enough development to maintain interest. To get some great and saddening insight into his life and work, to see how many bass players are in awe of him, and to try to keep up with some of his best bass lines including my personal favorite, the bass line to whats going on, check out this book. This style of music was recorded mostly in detroit in the 1960s and used some of the greatest studio musicians of all time the funk brothers. Motown another physical practice exercise to help develop your motown sound in your right hand, is to play everything with your first finger only. He transcended the standard bass line and created a duet.

Be sure to download the free pdf and backing track below. His nimble bass playing was considered an integral part of the motown sound. I realized quickly that i wasnt really familiar with the songs and bass lines featured in the book. The material is laid out in a developmental, systematic approach. James jamerson bass lines, tab and getting that tone.

James jamerson, bass of the motown sound udiscover. Jamerson would add his authoritative and funky bass lines to the vast majority of the companys everexpanding catalogue. How to create bass lines 5 ostinato or riff bass an ostinato is a repeated rhythmicmelodic. James jamerson was described by motown founder berry gordy as a genius on the bass it is eye opening and ear popping. Amazingly the majority of them were improvised from chord symbols. You will quickly start to hear how this affects your tone and sound production. How to get the james jamerson bass sound october 12, 2016 by best bass gear max kays nephew jeremy kay makes an appearance in a reverb video seen below describing how to get that beloved motown bass tone played by bass great james jamerson. Have you ever wondered what the best sight reading books for bass are, or how to practise sight reading. As a bass player, it was my duty to find out more and learn everything about the legendary james jamerson. Everybody digs the neat little riffs, the deep grooves, the feel good feeling when the bass player is working his motown bass line. Standing in the shadows of motown uk us james jamerson was basically the first electric bass virtuoso, and these transcriptions of his lines provide a great reading workout. So anyone thats listened to any classic motown hits by stars like stevie wonder, marvin gaye or the supremes will have wondered about the awesome bass playing and tone of james jamerson. James jamerson from jazz bassist to popular music icon. Reconstructing the history of motown session musicians.

The two dots on the right of the bass clef symbol surround the. I have also written them out on a pdf which you can download from the video description on youtube. James jamerson was a genius, and hes a constant source of inspiration for this bass player. When the record label was based in detroit in the 1960s he was the man behind the bass lines of hundreds if not thousands of records. The transcribed bass lines for 14 hit motown songs as played by james. The basic principle for playing latin tunes is the same as playing twobeat bass lines. He was inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame.

Constructing walking jazz bass lines book i walking bass lines the blues in 12 keys bass tab edition. Reading motown bass offers a good dose of great lines to learn and use. Played good times from chic of course and received an email from pele raymond in austin, texas who said that was the best bassline ever. Learn this really useful motown bass pattern bass line. If youre looking for bass tabs, then click here these free bass transcriptions are provided for educational use only click on the transcription title to view and download the pdf. I recently discovered that joss stone covered this wellknown tune in 2007 bass transcription by andreas farmakalidis. An easytouse, stepbystep approach to basic theory is given as a foundation, and then the essential stylesand many styles within each styleare explored from the bass point of view.

James jamerson standing in the shadows of motown pdf. Walking bass lines in 12 keys, techniques and exercises for. James jamerson from jazz bassist to popular music icon digital. Here are bass lines for 14 beloved hits from marvin gaye, the. Bass players james jamerson james jamersons basslines were the foundation of the motown sound full of complex 16th note passages, dissonant passing tones and intense syncopations. Fortunately, there was several used record stores near where. This is how he revolutionized bassthe whole idea of bass, in fact. These design elements are vital to effective learning.

During their six and a halfyear motown tenure, the jackson 5 were one of the biggest popmusic phenomena of the 1970s, and the band served as the launching pad for the solo careers of their lead singers jermaine and michael, the latter brother later transforming his early motown solo fame into greater success as an adult artist. Motown bass classics by various bass tablature songbook. Now jamersons work has become widely appreciated thanks to allan slutskys groundbreaking book. Standard notation for over 200 songs free bass transcriptions.

James jamerson standing in the shadows of motown pdf audio. Licks and played by famous bass players on the included audio cds. Bass funk riff 28 eko b55 performance gr bass 700 motown groove eko b55 performance daddario strings and gr 700. After browsing our selection of free bass tab pdf, view our video lessons to help you get started learning your favorite songs from start to finish. Pdf james jamerson standing in the shadows of motown pdf. Jamerson was the house session bass player for motown records in the 1960s and 1970s. James lee jamerson january 29, 1936 august 2, 1983 was an american bass player. Wave 1963 by martha and the vandellas and my guy 1964 by mary. Audibly i am sure that the transcriptions are accurate, but i find it hard to believe that songs were played on bass in keys such as b major, eb major and db major, it.

The samples are in pdf format and require adobe acrobat reader to be installed. Strictly looking at bass lines, however, the aggressive playing on reach out, ill be there makes up. Perhaps it is possible to pick up pieces of jamersons lines by ear, but there is no way to be completly accurate when. Following, the thesis will focus on the years 19661971, with further description of. Motown selections will include analysis and transcriptions of his bass lines for heat. The symbol of the bass clef is derived from the old german way of writing f. This book teaches everything you need to know to create great bass lines.