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Giants of Bass – Rocco Prestia

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'Is This Hip?' is a challenging track that was written to represent Rocco Prestia’s bass work with Tower of Power, with a particular focus on their material from the early seventies. The line features many common elements of his playing style, such as continuous sixteenth note grooves, the use of chord tones, the use of double chromatic approach notes and the use of syncopation. The line also features a heavily muted bass tone, which was achieved on the recording using a device called the Bass Mute.

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

Don’t forget to hit the Download Resources button above to get the PDF transcription and audio files for this piece (available to subscribers only). The transcription is available with TAB and without, for those who wish to give their reading skills a workout.

This course is 58 MINUTES long and contains the following videos, each of which can be selected from the video player above:

1. 'Is This Hip?'

This video is a demonstration of ‘Is This Hip', performed on a ’67 Fender Custom Shop Precision bass strung with Rotosound strings and equipped with a Bass Mute.

2. Course Overview

This video gives a brief overview of this difficult piece and the various technical challenges that it presents. Advice is also given on finding a suitable tone.

3. Intro and A Section

This section introduces the main groove, which is a continuous sixteenth note line featuring some difficult string crossing. This lesson covers bars 1-10.

4. B Section

This section features the main melody and is underpinned by the groove established in the previous section, with some added fills. This lesson covers bars 11-18.

5. C Section

This section features another busy bass groove, this time played over a G7 chord. This lesson covers bars 19-22 in the accompanying transcription.

6. D Section

This section utilises the main groove again, but with some complex fills that head into the upper register of the instrument. This lesson covers bars 23-30.

7. E Section

This part of the track is a repeat of the line from the C section, ending with a unison line that transitions the track into the sax solo. This lesson covers bars 31-37.

8. F Section

This section is the sax solo, which is underpinned by a new bass groove, once again based on a continuous sixteenth note feel. This lesson covers bars 38-49.

9. H Section

The final section of the track is a development of the line from the C section. Here, it is developed to accommodate a four-bar chord sequence. This lesson covers bars 58-62.