Month: January 2021

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Patch It Up – Jerry Scheff Bass Line | PDF Transcription

Elvis only included Patch It Up in his show for one season. Jerry Scheff often said the TCB band was like a punk lounge band. When you listen to this track you have to agree with him. The key bass figure is almost the same as the one used 10 years later by the Jam on a Town Called Malice. Perhaps the bass player was influenced by Elvis.

The original studio version was recorded by Norbert Putnam, the live version Jerry seems to take it up a gear, and the key went up as well.

There is an interested note in bar 84 which is almost certainly a mistake where Jerry slide to far and missed the note. I included this in the transcription and video. The sections on the F chord are different both time (bars 14-15 and 48-49 along with the following two bars on D. The rest of the song is close to the Putnams studio version.

You can download and view the Patch It Up PDF transcription here. I wouldn’t want to sight read this. Here’s a link to the TAB version.

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How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved) Marvin Gaye Bass Transcription

If you’re a fan of the playing of James Jamerson, it’s quite likely you have the James Jamerson ‘Standing in the Shadows of Motown’ book with many transcriptions in it. One is the Junior Walker version of ‘How Sweet It Is’ in Db. The Marvin Gaye version is very similar but in the key of C and slightly easier to play due to the easier use of open strings. I decided to write this one out. There were a few triplets that were not easy to pick out on the recording. The more you transcribe the easier it is supposed to become. They seemed correct playing with the original recording and hearing nothing standing out or clashing.

I recorded the bass line which you can see in the video below. I am reading it. I try not to include my face as it’s not pretty, but to make the video a little more interesting, I included another angle. I’ve used a standard 62 re-issue precision which has a high density foam under the bridge cover. This is similar to the original bass foam rather than a sponge like so many do. Does it make much difference compared to a sponge. Probably not. Maybe something for another video perhaps.

Anyway, I hope you get some use from this transcription as well.

You can find the transcription here:-
Click this text for Transcription