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Giants of Bass – Bernard Edwards

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‘Chic Unique’ was written to represent Bernard Edwards’ bass work with Chic and Sister Sledge during the seventies and eighties. The line features many common elements of his playing style, including a heavy use of chord tones, the use of ghost notes, the use of open string jumps, and the use of ascending and descending double chromatic passing notes.

In keeping with Bernard’s playing style there is a lot of repetition in this line, and minimal use of bass fills.

If you enjoy working through this piece, you might also find the following courses useful (Access to ALL of our courses is included in the subscription cost):

Don’t forget to hit the Download Resources button above to get the PDF transcription and the audio files for this piece (available to subscribers only).

This course is 40 MINUTES long and contains the following videos, each of which can be selected from the video player above:

1. 'Chic Unique'

This video is a full demonstration of ‘Chic Unique', performed on a Music Man Sterling SUB Series bass strung with stainless steel Rotosound strings.

2. Course Overview

This video gives a brief overview of this difficult piece and the technical challenges that it presents. I’ll also be offering advice on finding a suitable tone.

3. A Section (Part 1)

This lesson covers the opening bass groove, a funk/disco groove that is used at several points in the piece. This lesson covers bars 1-6 in the accompanying transcription.

4. A Section (Part 2)

This second part of the intro continues with the same bass groove, but with some variations that are indicative of Bernard’s playing. This lesson covers bars 7-14.

5. B Section

This section is built on a syncopated bassline that combines many elements of Bernard’s playing style. This lesson covers bars 15-20 in the transcription.

6. C Section

This section has a busier, sixteenth note-based line, one that makes use of some ghost notes. This lesson covers bars 21-24 in the accompanying transcription.

7. D Section

This section consists predominantly of material that was played back in the A section. We’ll just be focussing on the variations here. This lesson covers bars 25-32.

8. E Section

This line is essentially a repeat of the B section, but with an interesting fill played at the midpoint of the line. This lesson covers bars 33-40 in the transcription.

9. G Section

This section opens with the main bass groove. The final four bars feature several challenging fills that make use of double chromatic approach notes. This lesson covers bars 45-52.

10. H Section

The bassline in this closing section spans most of the fingerboard and is probably the most challenging line in the whole piece. This lesson covers bars 53-57 in the transcription.