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Marcus Miller – ‘Frankenstein’

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This song can be found on Marcus Miller’s 2005 album Silver Rain. A cover version of the original Edgar Winter version, this is one of the most popular tracks on the album, and one of Marcus’s finest slapped lines. All of the unison lines from the original are played with the slap technique, and Marcus turns in a magnificent solo. As is typical of his playing, the solo builds in its intensity, culminating in some complex double thumbed lines and – unusually for Marcus – a two-handed tapping lick. Unsurprisingly, this course is best suited to bassists with an advanced level of competency with the slap bass technique.

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

A transcription is available for this course. To download it, please visit the Free Stuff page.

This course is 1 HOUR & 35 MINUTES long and contains the following videos, each of which can be selected from the video player above:

1. ‘Frankenstein’

This video is a demonstration of ‘the piece, performed using a 1966 Fender Jazz Bass strung with stainless steel Rotosound strings.

2. Course Overview

This video provides an overview of the track and the challenges it presents. It also offers advice on finding a suitable tone for the piece.

3. A Section

This video will cover the opening eight bars of the track, which features the main riff. This is a unison line that is peppered with minor pentatonic-based fills.

4. B and C Sections

This video covers the secondary theme, and the reprise of the intro theme. Each of these lines is performed with the slap technique.

5. D Section (Trumpet Solo)

This lesson covers the fingerstyle groove that is played during the trumpet solo, and highlights some of the fills that you might want to use.

6. F Section (Sax Solo)

This is a long section with a repeating groove, so this lesson will cover some of the fills that you might want to incorporate into your own performance.

7. G Section

This lesson covers the repeating two-bar riff that follows the sax solo section. This part of the track also includes the build-up to the bass solo.

8. H Section (Bass Solo Part 1)

This lesson covers the first eight-bar section of Marcus’s bass solo, which is based on a slap and pop sliding octaves figure.

9. H Section (Bass Solo Part 2)

This lesson covers the second eight bars of Marcus’s bass solo. This section is much busier although it remains based around conventional slap technique.

10. H Section (Bass Solo Part 3)

This lesson covers the third eight-bar section of Marcus’s solo. Some advanced techniques are required for this section.

11. H Section (Bass Solo Part 4)

This lesson covers the final four bars of Marcus’s solo. This is based on a reprise of the ideas introduced in the first eight bars, but with some additional fills.

12. J Section

In this final lesson we’ll be covering the final section of the track. This is the main theme again, with some alternative bass fills.