Bach me up!
Need Bach up? Alright, enough with the puns, let’s get to some serious shedding. Bassists have loved playing Bach’s music on the electric for eons – be it the famous cello suite number 1 , pieces from the Welltempered Clavier or others – JS’s bass lines rock! There is something about the function of the bass in baroque music that seems to strike a chord with electric bassists – maybe it is the rhythmic function and the outlining of the harmonies in walking bass that are a bit akin to figured bass, who knows.
So, from a technique standpoint, it can be pretty daunting to attempt a JSB piece – these pieces are often composed for cello (tuned in fifths, so there is less jumping around to get to the notes!) or piano (five fingers and two hands!), so yes, they can be pretty challenging.
If reading is not quite yet your forte you might be tempted to not even try.
I hope to change this sentiment by inspiring you to give it a go!
Because: I have selected a couple of easy but sweet sounding piano pieces and arranged them for bass, included TAB, and – what’s more – made it so you can play this with a bass buddy! Twice the fun, twice the motivation, twice the learning!
These videos and transcriptions first appeared on notreble in my Talking Technique series.
The notreble posts contain the PDF with TAB in a variety of versions – pick the one that is easiest for you to read.
Give it a go – you may be surprised just how much fun that is!
Oh, and if you want more, let me know in the comments.
Also if you are into Bach resources, check out this cool site on the Cello Suites For Bass Guitar.
Bach for Two
Get the Transcription for Bach for Two (PDF)
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Bach for Two in Three
Get the Transcription for Bach for Two in Three (PDF)
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Enjoy! If you want to learn music theory – the first step to learning to read on the electric bass in my opinion – I recommend my Course, Music Theory for the Bass Player
