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Red Hot Chili Peppers – ‘Stretch’

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This little-known song was recorded during sessions for the band’s 1995 album One Hot Minute and appeared as a b-side on the ‘My Friends’ single. It’s one of Flea’s finest recorded lines from this period in the band’s history and is great fun to play.

Flea plays a fingerstyle funk groove throughout this track, a line which is based around a repeating two-bar riff. As with most of Flea’s lines, there is a huge amount of variation in the part, and his sixteenth note-based open string fills are of particular interest.

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.

This course contains the following videos, each of which can be selected from the video player above:

1. ‘STRETCH’ PLAY-THROUGH

This video is a full performance of ‘Stretch’ performed on a 1966 Fender Jazz bass.

2. COURSE OVERVIEW

In this video I’ll be briefly talking about the song and describing the tone that I used. I’ll also be offering some advice on how you can achieve a similar sound. We’ll also discuss two scales that are useful to know when tackling this piece.

3. INTRO SECTION

In this video we’ll be working through the four-bar Intro section of the track, which establishes the main groove. This section also features a fantastic bass fill which leads the song into the first Verse. This lesson covers bars 1 – 4.

4. 1st VERSE SECTION

In this lesson I’ll be working through the first Verse section of the track in detail. Flea continues to play the line that was established during the Intro, but continuously adds fills and variations to the part. This video covers bars 5 – 20.

5. CHORUS SECTIONS

In this lesson we’ll be working through the Chorus of the track. For the most part, this line is played the same for each Chorus of the song. This lesson covers bars 21 – 29.

6. RE-INTRO SECTION

In this video we’ll be working through the Re-Intro, which follows the first Chorus. This lesson covers bars 30 – 33.

7. 2nd VERSE SECTION

This lesson covers the second Verse section. Again, Flea is playing the established bass groove, but adding many new fills and variations. There are a lot of great parts to get your teeth into here. We’ll also be talking about the transition fill that is played at the end of the second Chorus. This lesson covers bars 34 – 61.

8. MIDDLE 8 SECTION

In this lesson we’ll be working through the Middle 8 of the song. Flea plays a much simpler line here but as ever, there are many interesting fills to study. This lesson covers bars 62 – 77.

9. RE-INTRO SECTION

This video covers the short, four-bar Re-intro section that is played after the Middle 8. This lesson covers bars 78 – 81.

10. 3rd VERSE SECTION

In this video we’ll be working through the third Verse of the song, which once again features many variations and fills. This lesson covers bars 82 – 97.

11. OUTRO SECTION

In this final video of the course, we’ll be looking at the long Outro section of the track. This part of the song is based on the same bass groove, but with further variations. This lesson covers bars 107 to the end.