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Sophie Ellis-Bextor – ‘Murder on the Dancefloor’

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This song was released in December 2001 and was a huge hit for Sophie Ellis-Bextor. It reached number two in the UK singles chart and was a top ten hit around the world. It had a significant resurgence in popularity in 2024 when it was featured in the film Saltburn.

The bassline for this song was supplied by session bassist Guy Pratt (Pink Floyd, Michael Jackson, Madonna and many more). Although the line is relatively simple harmonically speaking, it is nevertheless a fantastic fingerstyle funk/disco bassline that’s great fun to play.

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

A transcription (with TAB and without) is available for this course. To download it, please visit the Free Stuff page.

This course is 28 MINUTES long and contains the following videos, each of which can be selected from the video player above:

1. ‘Murder on the Dancefloor’

This video is a demonstration of the song performed on a 1966 Fender Jazz Bass strung with stainless steel Rotosound strings.

2. Course Overview

This video contains an overview of the song and the challenges it presents, as well as offering advice on choosing the right instrument and tone for a piece like this.

3. Intro and Verse Sections

This video covers the chord sequence from the intro, and the bass groove from the verse sections. This line is used extensively throughout, so it’s an important part to get down.

4. Bridge Sections

The bassline from this section is played over the chord sequence that was established during the intro. This is a relatively simple line built on chord tones.

5. Chorus Sections

The chorus sections of this song feature the same bassline as the verse sections, but with a different turnaround figure. This lesson covers that figure.

6. Breakdown Section

This final lesson covers the breakdown section towards the end of the song. This section is based on the chord sequence from the intro and bridge sections.