Bass Musician Magazine - SPECIAL August 2014 Female Bassist Issue

TRANSCRIPTIONS by AIDAN HAMPSON | aidanhampson.co.uk Esperanza Spalding bassmusicianmagazine.com | aug 2014 | #bassmusicianmag | the face of bass Radio Song from Radio Music Society Click to Listen Radio Song is the first track from Esperanza Spalding’s 2012 album ‘Radio Music Society’ and it demonstrates perfectly her use of melody, harmony and rhythm. The tonal center is based around A minor, but moves through other keys with the help of altered dominant chords and stylistic changes. Rhythmically, one section to note is between bars 41-42, where she uses a pattern based around 3 demisemiquavers to raise the tension before releasing it into the half-time jazz feel at section E. The whole piece is quite a workout, and we can use it to get an insight into her use of melody on the bass. The slides in the verse are very lyrical and compliment her sung melody, as well as the odd use of harmonics and semiquaver triplets to spice things up. If you haven’t heard Esperanza’s work before, this track will hopefully convince you to check out more of her recordings, there is some great double bass playing, as well as electric. Have fun! Click to Download Transcription Carole Kaye Theme from Mission: Impossible Click to Listen The theme from this iconic TV and movie franchise almost follows a Gm blues format, made more interesting by odd length sections and the 5/4 metre. Carole Kaye navigates these brilliantly, holding down the groove for most of the piece, but adding in flourishes and runs to keep it interesting (bars 3, 31-32) and opting for more of a walking bass line section C. It sounds like Kaye uses a pick here, with slight pam muting. It can be easy to lose track in odd time signatures, so make sure that the dotted notes last for the full beat and a half. Click to Download Transcription

Bass Musician Magazine - SPECIAL August 2014 Female Bassist Issue | Page 44