Dragonball Durag - Thundercat Transcription

The "Dragonball Durag" bass transcription

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In my video Dragonball Durag, I show you 3 simple principles that are essential in creating an effective bassline. We look at a few examples of how to construct a part and then we take a listen to "Dragonball Durag" by Thundercat and see how those principles are working intuitively and perfectly in his bass part. 

Define the chord by playing the root

Its main role of the bass is to define the chord by playing its root. When chords are inverted, like slash chords, the bass would play other chord tones suggested  by the inversion. In the video, we listen to an example where the bass plays only the roots.  

Adding approach notes

With the same chord progression, the bass will connect those roots with approach notes. We then look at two different types of approach notes - diatonic, which is part of a scale,  and chromatic, which are a half step away from the target, either from within the scale,  or from outside. Approach notes are always short, and when it's quick enough,  two chromatic steps towards  the target could be very effective.

If you are interested in learning music check out our Music Lessons in Denton.

Rhythmic anticipations

One of the most effective ways to stylize music is by syncopating some of the notes. Anticipations are a form of syncopated rhythms which are used quite often to stylize melodies and grooves. In the video, we look at an example that uses 16th notes to give it a more "funky" kind of rhythm. Typically in swing and latin, you'll see anticipations in 8th notes. When chords are changing frequently in fast harmonic rhythm, there's much less time for embellishments between the roots, so the bass has to stick to the roots, except for where there's a little more time to embellish.

If you are interested in learning more check out this article: Domi and JD Beck Jazz Analysis.

If you like this check out our article: Domi & JD Beck Analysis (plus transcription)