Transcribed Bass Line to What's Happening Brother

[Tritonprince]

Hey man, I understand where you are coming from. This song has been a mystery to me for years. I am a vocal singer weened on Marvin Gaye, Eddie Levert, Jesse Belvin and other great cats. Man, I have been looking for a simple chord sheet to play the changes in this song. Can you advise me of where I can get the chords for piano

[NESavoth415]

nice insight! thanks.... I feel the same way

[m2smoe]

tpt1111: Show a little respect. you obviously do not understand the point of this video, and should keep quiet until you post a video yourself doing a better job. Anyone who's ever tried to play this bassline knows how challenging it is.

[basslabd]

@m2smoe - I do believe I know who tpt1111 is and I think he is a non player and all he has is the aforementioned "hot air" I guess the other thing the internet does is since the medium is typing words on a computer words can take the place of actions. I really tried to emphasize that this music does not come from a chart but from the mind of a creative individual which tpt1111 is clearly not among those ranks...

[m2smoe]

@basslabd No doubt about that. I've been (albeit, badly) trying to play Jamerson lines since I first picked up the bass 5 years ago, and I still hear new things in lines I've played hundreds of times. This is probably one of the most accurate transcription of What's Happening Brother (which by the way might be one of the hardest Jamerson lines to transcribe), so thanks for taking the time to do this, and also for all the work you did bringing recognition to James Jamerson.

[teledestiny]

practice with a metronome

[Marcus538]

its good to see some one making intelligent comments about, I have a freind who cant read music and wnat to learn he wonders how i do it, i replied you just sit there and practice and it isnt pretty until you get it and can do some thing with it, truth is most great musicians have sat and picked through music sight reading until they got it. one thing black musicians like james and marvin dont get credit for, is how hard they practice and how highly educated they were, its why it looked so easy

[Marcus538]

@Marcus538 I remember in the seventies at the time alot of soul music wasnt regarded as "serious" and was dismissed by prog rock types remember them? the reason why marvin and allt he otger soul stars stood the test of time is total quality, and on top of that,------- it was all bloody good fun!!! which is what it is all about Earth wind and fire top quality top fun all positive like the jacksons, they all sit and get musically educated formally or not

[tpt1111]

No, I favorited it for when I need a laugh..

You shouldn't propose to teach something that you yourself don't do so well...

As far a "reading fly shit" goes, you are not...

And no Robert, the strings you have are not older than I..

And no, I did not take down my original post.

Jaco would be a poor choice for you as you would get little out of it..

[basslabd]

@tpt1111 Still not one note, all hot air. When you get the ability to tell me what i do or do not do well, come back. BTW I removed several double and triple post from the page. I like to keep it neat and tidy around here. I won't be sad [polite] if you decide not to come back

[tpt1111]

The great thing about the internet is that anyone can appear to be skilled, AND get people to believe it..

[basslabd]

@tpt1111 OK where are YOUR "skills" All I hear is a lot of hot air. I fully explained what this video was about. You? just another arm chair quarterback. Strap on a bass and push the record button. Let us hear where your lofty playing (reading or other wise) takes us.

[basslabd]

Maybe you can get Carol Kaye to sight read it. I wonder how she would sound LOL .

[basslabd]

My bet is that you really could not even read the part much less try to play it from sight reading. Here is your chance to prove me wrong. I could play the song easily from memory but was trying to honestly read the part making every note that Jamerson made. First off as noted in the actual video (if you looked at it that far) that this was NOT the way Jamerson performed the song. He most likely created it from a skeleton (chord) chart and in doing so created a masterpiece of accompanyment.

[basslabd]

@tpt1111,

Ok Big Guy, YOU are the sub. Where shall I send the transcription for you to sight read? When can I expect YOUR video on this subject to be heard/seen here on YouTube? (Anyone want to take bets on this ever happening?)

I love it when opinionated people like yourself come here to make remarks like you just did.

[basslabd]

@basslabd (regarding tpt1111) This guy took down his original post berating me for how "bad" I sounded and suggesting I go listen to Jaco (among other things he suggests) THEN, he favorites this video which is now one of 3 posted on his channel page... Go figure??? I probably have bass strings older than him LOL

[ZGAZBass28]

Nice tutorial, JJ was the Master imo...I play totally by ear, so I can relate to what you're saying about The Feel...Of course in my vids I seem to be more tense, lol..keep up the good work and never let this great music be forgotten

[mastertung7]

thank you bassld. this is the truth, all about the feel and making people feel good, in thne notes that you use

[dante773]

you talk great... you play terrible!! keep talkin stop playin. you should be shot for trying to play a masterpiece bassline like this one.

[basslabd]

Actually I was trying to sight read it rather than just playing it. Have you tried to sight read anything near the complexity of this tune? I think I can hold my own. Did you actually hear what I had to say regarding sight reading that line? Looking forward to hearing from you. Since you are so opinionated I would enjoy hearing and seeing your greatness. Strap on you bass and turn on the video cam...

[scatman44]

Mr. Lee: You've been around the block a few more times and played more "fly shit" than most of us here put together, and still have a hard time playing and reading that line. I'm reading the "Home Cookin" chart (haven't tried to play it, yet!), and it's fearless and fierce!!!!!! I'll say it again....fearless and fierce!!!!!! It's one thing to read and play note for note. Another to come up with that out of your own head! Props for the insight! Peace.

[mastertung7]

lmaofr.

[ProtoCosmos]

Words of wisdom

[juankenon]

let me say that you can play "fly s***"

I really dug what you said at the end, it encompasses what it means to be a musician..

[Brittneycd]

thank you, and i'm sure jamerson and funk brother fans everywhere would appreciate such a truthful insight into his style and overall character as a musician.

and i'm sure it would be hard to see the same structure from anyone playing his music by feel. that's what made him who he was. his ability to reach into the individuals heart, and inspire them.

[Bassman1026]

I really agree about what you said about the feel

[vakmere]

For a $5200 bass it sounds terrible. Thought Tobias was better than that.

[basslabd]

thank you very much (TIC)

[pecs2006]

Hello everybody, i'm not quite a bassist but i've always been curious as to what the chords of this song actually is. I can't seem to find any sheet music whatsoever to this beautiful song, and if I only had the chords I could at least strum the chords on a piano. Thanks in advance.

[Ricobassplayer]

that's a fine statement i guess

[Alexltavares]

You're right! He would never play the same exact lines twice, always a bit of variation, thought the essence of the groove remained. The pure Genius of JJ is that he felt his line more than thought about them. That is why it is called "soul" music. Nicely done.

[TheFabFoo]

Good point u obviously know what its all about. Jamerson is in my top three bass legends category... he was amazing...... and your right about the fly shit,all these bass players think cause they can play blazing fast that their amazing ... but i would like to see them create the stuff jamerson did without being showoffs and doing it from the soul

[Wasimple]

Good comment. Jamerson's genius was in his improvisation. Being so original and creative given the nature of the recording business at Motown was something that must have come from a lot of hard work and natural feel for the bass.

Having said that, I don't think there's anything wrong with people playing Jamerson's lines the way they sound on record - it's what drew us all to his bass lines in the first place. And it's very fun and challenging working them out by ear.