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Giants of Bass – Carol Kaye

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'Pick a Game to Play' was written to represent legendary session bassist Carol Kaye and is a great workout for your plectrum technique. The bassline for this piece is based on a sixteenth note feel, which is something that can be challenging to play effectively with the plectrum. In keeping with some of Carol’s more popular pieces such as ‘Hikky Burr’ and ‘Boogaloo’, the harmony is relatively static here. This allows the bassline to have an improvisational feel to it and gives it room to develop throughout the track.

For bassists who wish to learn the piece but require additional assistance with some of the techniques required, the following courses (all included in the monthly subscription cost) should prove useful:

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 50 MINUTES long and contains the following videos, each of which can be selected from the video player above:

1. 'Pick a Game to Play'

This video is a full demonstration of 'Pick a Part to Play', performed on a Fender Precision bass, strung with flatwounds and using a felt mute.

2. Course Overview

This video gives a brief overview of this difficult piece and the technical challenges that it presents. Advice is also given on finding a suitable tone.

3. A Section

The intro section features upper register double stops, blues licks, ghost notes and more – lots to get your teeth into here. This lesson covers bars 1-6 in the transcription.

4. B Section

This lesson will show you how to play the sixteenth note bass groove that forms the second part of the intro section. This lesson covers bars 7-10 in the transcription.

5. C Section

This lesson demonstrates the sixteenth note-based line that underpins the main melody section. This lesson covers bars 11-18 in the accompanying transcription.

6. D Section

This lesson will show you how to play the unison line. This part features some challenging syncopation and a lot of ghost notes. This lesson covers bars 19-27.

7. E Section (Part 1)

The guitar solo section is played over a 12-bar blues chord sequence, with this lesson covering the first four bars. This lesson covers bars 28-31 in the transcription.

8. E Section (Part 2)

The second set of four bars move to the IV chord (A7), then back to the I chord (E7). This lesson covers bars 32-35 in the accompanying transcription.

9. E Section (Part 3)

This video covers the final set of four bars in the sequence, which is the turnaround: B7-A7-E7-B7. This lesson covers bars 36-39 in the transcription.

10. F & G Sections

This final lesson of the course covers the final two sections of the piece, which are repeats of earlier parts. This lesson covers bars 40-52.