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Stevie Wonder ‘Sir Duke’

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‘Sir Duke’ is one of Stevie Wonder’s biggest hits and was recorded for his 1976 double album Songs in the Key of Life. The song was written as a tribute to jazz musician Duke Ellington, although the lyrics also contain references to Count Basie, Glenn Miller, Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald.

 The bassline for this song was recorded by Stevie Wonder’s long-term bassist Nathan Watts, who still tours with him to this day. Although Nathan likely recorded the song in his favoured tuning of Eb-Ab-Db-Gb, the line does not depend on open strings and therefore works equally well in standard tuning. It sounds as though Nathan used a Fender Precision bass on the original recording, so using a similar instrument will get you close to his recorded tone.

Be sure to hit the Download Resources button above to download the PDF transcription for this piece (available to subscribers only). The transcription is available WITH TAB and WITHOUT. Please note that a backing track is NOT included with this course.

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

1. ‘Sir Duke’ Play-Through

In this video I will be playing through the song using a 1967 Fender Custom Shop Precision Bass.

2. Course Overview

In this video I’ll be giving a brief overview of the song and its bassline. I’ll also be giving you some advice on how you can find an appropriate tone for the piece.

3. Intro Section

In this video we’ll be talking through the songs Intro section and chord progression.

4. 1st Verse

This video covers the first Verse section, which features a simple root-fifth-octave line that uses the chord progression that was established during the Intro.

5. Bridge Sections

In this lesson I’ll be talking through the Bridge sections of this piece. This part has a simple root-based line, although with a very cool twist.

6. Chorus Section

This video covers the song’s first Chorus, which has an interesting chord progression.

7. Unison Line Section

In this video I’ll be breaking down the song’s famous unison line section, which is also played by the bass.

8. 2nd Verse

In this video I’ll be briefly talking through the second Verse section. The bass part here is essentially the same line as the one from the first Verse, although with some simple variations.

9. Chorus Variations

In this lesson I’ll be talking through the remaining Chorus sections of the song. Although I won’t be breaking them down bar-by-bar, I will be explaining all of the main fills and variations that are heard during these parts.