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Bass Transcription of Flat Out by Guitarist John Scofield
Well here is another guitar solo bass transcription for all you bass players out there.
CLICK TO DOWNLOAD – Bass Transcription of Flat Out by Guitarist John Scofield
As an electric bass player I like to transcribe guitar solos because of similarity in the fingerings on the bass. I play both a 4 string and a 6 string and with the 6 string I can get up into some of the guitar’s range for playing solos. This particular tune “Flat Out” by Scofield from his CD of the same name is based on a VERY common set of chord changes that every bass player should know regardless of the style you play. The chord changes are what is commonly referred to as “Rhythm Changes” meaning that the chords are originally from the tune called “I Got Rhythm”. Countless “heads” or melodies have been written over these set of changes so if you’re not familiar with them then do some homework and get familiar with them as soon as possible. I didn’t include the melody in this transcription, just Scofield’s solo, but feel free to learn the melody and transcribe it if you can. The form on any Rhythm Changes based tune is always the same and is almost always played in the key of Bb. The form goes like this: [A] [A] [B] [A] with each [A] section consisting of 8 bars. The [B] section or Bridge is also 8 bars and then there’s one last [A] section that’s played and then the form starts over.
Scofield employs many different melodic devices and techniques in this solo but one of his favorite scales to play is the Symmetric Diminished Scale, especially over dominant 7th chords (like F7). The Symmetric Diminished Scale is a great scale to use over dominant 7th chords because it contains all the cool “tensions” like the b9, #9, #11, & the 13th. The scale is built like this: H-W-H-W-H-W-H-W (or C-Db-Eb-E-F#-G-A-Bb-C) if done over a C7 chord. For more on this scale check out the “Lessons” section of my web site. Scofield also employs the blues scale quite a bit in this solo as well. I strongly urge you to really analyze and study Scofield’s choice of notes over each chord. He is a master of the “inside-outside” style of playing and he plays very few cliché’s. Like some of my other favorite guitar players (John McLaughlin, Mike Stern, etc) Scofield also played with Miles Davis and Miles only hired the best. So have fun with this transcription and as always, try and work it up to speed (gradually of course) so you can play along with the recording. It tough but it’s worth it. Good luck.
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Photo: Self-portrait by Melissa Auf Der Maur
Melissa Auf Der Maur is a Canadian bassist who played with Tinker, Hole, and The Smashing Pumpkins. She released her own work and is a photographer with photos published in Nylon, Bust, and National Geographic. She released her ‘90s Rock Memoir “Even The Good Girls Will Cry” on 17 March 2026.
KB: Did you always want to be a singer-musician growing up?
I’ve played music my whole life. In school, I played trumpet and sang in a children’s choir, so music was always within me. My mother was the first female disc jockey on the Montreal airwaves; her record collection played a huge role in my inspiration and love of music.
KB: When did you start playing bass, and why this instrument?
When I was 19, the early 90s music explosion began to percolate in tiny clubs around the world. I was lucky to be a ticket girl at Montreal’s underground music club. In one year, I saw Hole, Sonic Youth, Smashing Pumpkins, White Zombie, and The Breeders – all had female bass players. That’s when the seed was planted. By the age of 22, I was the bass player of Hole.
KB: Which brands of basses have you used in your career, and which one are you using now?
The first bass that I learned on was a vintage Squier Precision. Hole was sponsored by Fender guitars, so I upgraded to Fender Custom Shop Precisions. That is all I play, but I have a cool vintage 8-string Greco that I use on recordings to thicken up guitar parts.
KB: What equipment do you use or have you used with your basses?
Ampeg SVT amps and cabinets, a couple of Sans-Amp pedals, and that is it.
KB: How did you become a member of Hole, and what is your fondest memory of that time?
Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins was helping scout a replacement for (RIP) Kristen Pfaff, Hole’s bass player. My band, Tinker, opened for them on the Siamese Dream tour, so Billy had seen me play and could vouch for me. Courtney trusted her talented friend, and that was it. I initially said “no thank you” due to my commitment to my photographic studies and the drama and chaos surrounding the band during the “Live Through This” album release. Courtney took it as a good sign that I said no, so convinced me to reconsider, and soon after, I accepted their invitation, in the name of helping put females in the male-dominated landscape of rock music. My fondest memory is every show we played as a mostly female band, symbolizing what a woman could do in a rock band. Every show had a purpose: get more women to play music.
KB: You are a photographer as well. What makes a great picture? Do you shoot in color or b/w?
I started shooting photographs at age 15. Initially only shot black & white and worked in the art school darkroom. In university, I took a color photography course, and shifted mostly and forever to that, because it was easier to process film on the road when I joined a rock band. I experimented with many cameras, point and shoots, manual, polaroids, medium format, and vintage finds. The trick to a good photograph is to shoot many and all the time – the magic is in the edit and selection process.
KB: Are there artists you would love to collaborate with or wish you had?
??I’ve been lucky to collaborate with some of my favorite musicians in my career. I would still love to collaborate with a new generation heavy electronic artist on an analog bass, heavy electronic drums, and synths collaboration project. Take me out of my usual zone, merging the past and future: my love of 80s dark new wave and new artists exploring that genre. It was very futuristic back then, and we are now, after all, living in the future. I am in the mood to play bass to heavy beats I want to dance to.
KB: What are your 7 favorite bass lines in music across all genres? And why these 7?
“Mountain Song” – Jane’s Addiction (love a rambling, rolling bass line – feels like the ocean waves)
“Black Top – Helmet” (was the first bass line I taught myself)
“Gold Dust Woman” – Hole from “The Crow 2” Soundtrack (it was my first bass line contribution to the band)
“Get Ready” – The Temptations (Motown just feels so good, because of the bass)
“Lucretia My Reflection” – Sisters of Mercy (makes me want to hit the dance floor and play bass simultaneously)
“Be My Druidess” – Type O Negative (full chord bass playing at its best by iconic, demonic, Peter Steele, RIP)
“Romantic Rights” – Death from Above (1979 – unique distorted overdriven tone, combined dance rhythm and melodic intelligence, all in one shot – also! Shout out to a bass & drum only band, which is awesome, and we should have more of, but the bass player needs to be a killer to fill that role.
KB: What are you currently up to?
Releasing my ‘90s Rock Memoir “EVEN THE GOOD GIRLS WILL CRY”. Visceral healing process, it was to get it out of me and write it, but I suspect the real magic will begin by putting it into the world and reflecting with others on what the magic of the ‘90s was all about. Powerful music decade that carried us into what is now a brave new world of digital corporate weirdness – may the past shed a light on our future. That’s my hope for this book release and tour.
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