FOLLOW US ON:
0 Cart £0.00

The Trammps – ‘Disco Inferno’

< BACK Subscribe Now Subscriber Login

‘Disco Inferno’ is a song by The Trammps, a disco group that were popular throughout the seventies. The song had limited success initially but found widespread popularity after it was included on the soundtrack to the 1977 film Saturday Night Fever. It was covered by Tina Turner in 1993 and remains a disco classic, one that’s required study for any disco/funk bassist. The bassline on the original recording was performed by Ronald Baker, who as well as being the bassist with The Trammps, was also a producer, songwriter and arranger. He regularly worked with Philadelphia-based songwriting/production team Gamble and Huff.

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 35 MINUTES long and contains the following videos, each of which can be selected from the video player above:

1. ‘Disco Inferno’

This video is a demonstration of the song performed on a Fender Custom Shop ’67 Precision 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 some advice on choosing the right instrument and tone for a piece like this.

3. Intro (Part 1)

This video will show you how to play the iconic two-bar intro of the song. This is a simple descending line with an ambiguous tonality.

4. Intro (Part 2)

This video covers the groove that is established after the two-bar intro riff. This line is reused for all of the song’s verse sections, so it’s an important part to get down.

5. Chorus #1

This video covers the bassline from the chorus that follows the intro. This line forms the basis for all of the subsequent chorus sections in the song.

6. Verse #2

This video covers a small variation that occurs at the end of the second verse. Small variations such as this are nevertheless important to learn.

7. Middle 8

This lesson covers the middle 8, which follows the third chorus. The bassline here is very different from the two parts that make up most of the rest of the song.

8. Verse #3

This video cover a small variation in the bass groove that occurs in the third verse. As before, it’s always a good idea to learn these tiny details!

9. Final Chorus

This video will show you how to play some variations on the chorus bassline that are heard towards the end of the song.