FOLLOW US ON:
0 Cart £0.00

Level 42 – ‘The Chinese Way’ Bass Solo

< BACK Subscribe Now Subscriber Login

In this video course we'll be looking at a typical example of Mark King's live bass solo from the classic Level 42 track 'The Chinese Way'. When the band were playing this track in the late eighties/early nineties, the tempo was significantly higher than the original recording, and the arrangement was altered to include solo sections for each member of the band. This bass solo is very challenging to play at this tempo but is a lot of fun to work on.

When learning this piece, you might find the following courses (all included in the monthly subscription cost) useful:

A backing track is available for this course. To download it, hit the Download Resources button above. To download the transcription (with TAB and without), please visit the Free Stuff page. You can also find a full transcription of the studio version in The Level 42 Bass Book – Volume 1.

This course is 25 MINUTES long and contains the following videos, each of which can be selected from the video player above:

1. 'The Chinese Way' Bass Solo

This video is a full demonstration of the live bass solo from 'The Chinese Way', performed on a GB Guitars Rumour bass strung with stainless steel Rotosound strings.

2. A Section

This lesson covers the A section of this solo. This part is a transition that links the main body of the song to the bass solo. This lesson covers bars 1-4 in the transcription.

3. B Section (Part 1)

This video covers the first part of the B section, which contains the main theme of the solo, as well as a barrage of machine gun triplets. This lesson covers bars 5-8.

4. B Section (Part 2)

This video covers the second half of the B section, which is based on the line from an early instrumental called 'Sandstorm'. This lesson covers bars 9-12.

5. C Section

This video demonstrates the C section. This part is a repeat of the B section (with variations) and ends with a fingerstyle lick. This lesson covers bars 13-20.