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Giants of Bass – John Paul Jones

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'Lead Balloon' was written to represent John Paul Jones’s bass work with legendary rock group Led Zeppelin. The bassline features many common elements of his playing style, such as the use of the blues scale, a variety of different bass fills, some heavily syncopated lines, and some parts played in unison with the guitar. The track also includes the use of some different time signatures, which is something that Led Zeppelin often experimented with in their music.

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

1. 'Lead Balloon'

This video is a full demonstration of 'Lead Balloon', performed on a 1972 Fender Jazz Bass strung with old strings for a warm, vintage tone.

2. Course Overview

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

3. A Section

This video covers the two-bar intro and the A section. The bass part here is peppered with blues licks. This lesson covers bars 1-10 in the transcription.

4. B Section

In this section the bass plays a syncopated riff in unison with the guitar. Double chromatic approach licks are also used here. This lesson covers bars 11-18.

5. C Section

This section is based on the line from the A section, but with more blues licks, some of which venture into the upper register. This lesson covers bars 19-26.

6. D Section

This video covers the D section, in which the bass plays a repeating two-bar riff. This lesson covers bars 27-34 in the accompanying transcription.

7. F Section

In the final section of the piece the bass and guitar play a syncopated unison line over shifting time signatures. This lesson covers bars 42-51 in the transcription.

8. Tone

This lesson covers John Paul Jones's tone and offers advice on how you can achieve something similar.