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Jocelyn Brown – Somebody Else’s Guy

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This song was written and recorded by Jocelyn Brown back in 1984 and has since become a disco/funk classic. It’s not clear who played bass on the original recording, but whoever it was, they did an amazing job: this song is well-loved by bass players all over the world thanks to an effective – and very tasty – bass groove.

This song is in the key of Eb minor and is played with a funk shuffle feel, something that makes parts of the line difficult to play with the required accuracy. Although often performed as a slap groove, the line is actually played using a combination of fingerstyle and slap techniques, again adding to the difficulty of the line.

Be sure to hit the Download Resources button above in order to download the PDF transcription for this piece (available to subscribers only). The transcription is available WITH TAB and WITHOUT. Please note that a backing track is NOT included with this course. The track used in the play-along can be purchased from www.karaoke-version.co.uk

1. ‘Somebody Else’s Guy’ Play-Through

This video is a demonstration of the bassline for this song, performed on a 1966 Fender Jazz bass, strung with new Rotosound stainless steel strings, gauges 40-60-80-100.

2. Introduction

In this short video I’ll be talking about two of the main challenges with learning this track: the key and the feel.

3. Chorus

In this video I’ll be demonstrating the opening groove of the song, which is used for all of the later Chorus sections in the piece. This line is quite sparse and is played using a combination of fingerstyle and slap techniques. This lesson covers bars 1-13 in the transcription.

4. 1st Verse

In this lesson I’ll be taking you through the first Verse section, which features a fantastic groove which is played with the slap bass technique. This lesson covers bars 14-21.

5. 2nd Verse

In this video we’ll be working through the second Verse. This section features the same basic line as the first Verse, but with some different fills. This video covers bars 30-37.

6. Synth Solo

In this lesson I’ll be demonstrating the line from the keyboard solo section. This is the same line as the Verse sections, but again, with some different fills. This video covers bars 46-53.