PDF Hi everyone,
For the one year anniversary of Bass Musician Magazine, I have chosen to put up a very special and challenging transcription. It is a live solo by French bass phenom Hadrien Feraud, on the John McLaughlin tune “Senor C.S.” The solo is both technically and harmonically brilliant to say the least. I got the idea to transcribe this solo after watching a clip of it on YouTube which I have included here:
The bass solo starts after the keyboard solo about 4:40 into the clip. Some things to things to look out for:
1. The tune is in 6/4 and for the most part is written in treble clef, watch out for the change to bass clef in bar 5. It only stays in bass clef for that one measure and then returns to treble clef in bar 6 and remains in treble clef for the remainder of the transcription.
2. The chord changes that Hadrien is soloing over are deceptively simple at first glance, but Hadrien treats them in a very sophisticated way utilizing Melodic Minor, Lydian, Lydian Augmented, and Altered Dominant Scales.
3. There are only four chords that Hadrien is blowing over and they are; Ab-9/ Amaj7 (#11)/ Dmaj7(#5)/ Eb7 (alt) all one bar a piece. These chords just keep repeating for the bass solo.
4. Notice how Hadrien treats the Ab-9 as Ab-(maj 7) which allows him to use the Melodic Minor Scale.
5. The Amaj7 (#11) gets treated with the Lydian Scale for the most part. The Dmaj7(#5) is especially interesting as it utilizes the D Lydian Augmented Scale or a B Melodic Minor Scale depending on how you think of it. The last chord, takes the Eb Altered Dominant Scale. I have written out the respective scales for you in case you are not familiar with them. That should help you when analyzing the transcription, which I highly recommend you do.
I have transcribed the first 8 courses and will have the rest of the solo in my next column. This should keep you plenty busy for now. Happy Anniversary Bass Musician Magazine!!
Pick
Click below to download both pages of the “Senor C.S.” transcription
Lucas Pickford has written 26 articles in BMM.
I grew up in both Southern and Northern California and started playing the bass at age 13 after hearing and falling in love with the sound of Jaco Pastorius and Weather Report. My father Loren Pickford is a tremendous jazz musician and pretty much taught me everything I know about harmony, theory, and chord scales. He threw me in the deep end so to speak and I started gigging professionally with him at age 14. My dad dropped me off in Boston in 1988 at age 17 to attend Berklee College of Music on a scholarship. I graduated in three years with honors in 1991.
After Berklee I spent time in New Orleans and New York City. I returned to school and received my Masters Degree in 1996 from the Boston Conservatory. Along the way I've had the good fortune to travel around the globe and play with some great musicians like Mike Clark and the Headhunters, Charles Haynes, Aaron Goldberg, Matt Garrison, Robert Randolph, Brian Blade, Steve Hass, Jorge Rossy, Erik Jekebson, Will Boulware, Kurt Rosenwinkle, Dr. John, Scott Kinsey, Vinx, Kai Eckhardt, Bruce Flowers, Mino Cinelu, Susan Tedeschi, Steve Houghton, George Garzone, Dow Brain, Kei Akagi, Tiger's Baku, Greg Tardy, Antonio Sanchez, Steve Hunt, Bob Moses, and many others. I taught college for a couple of years in Massachusetts but recently my wife Kristin and I have returned to living on the West Coast and now live in the Bay Area where we enjoy it very much.
My debut CD with Steve Hunt called "Blown Fuse" has become a "post-fusion classic" of sorts and has recieved some great reviews from some really special musicians. Be sure to pick up a copy while you're here!
Visit Online:
www.myspace.com/picksbandRelated posts:
- Pick’s Transcription Workshop: Hadrien Feraud’s Bass Solo on Raju by John McLaughlin
- Bass Transcription by Lucas Pickford – John McLaughlin Guitar Solo on Tones For Elvin Jones
- Damian Erskine and Hadrien Feraud Jam at NAMM 2011
- Hadrien Feraud | “Hadrien Feraud”
- John McLaughlin’s Solo on the John Coltrane Tune, “Impressions” : Pick’s Transcription Workshop
