‘And The Beat Goes On’ was one of the biggest hits for The Whispers, thanks in no small part to Leon F Sylvers’ memorable bass part. Leon, a talented multi-instrumentalist who also co-wrote the song, had previously been successful with his own group The Sylvers. He later went on to enjoy a successful career as a producer, working with acts such as Shalamar, Dynasty and Gladys Knight and the Pips.
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 23 MINUTES long and contains the following videos, each of which can be selected from the video player above:
This video is a demonstration of the song performed on a Fender Custom Shop ’67 Precision Bass strung with stainless steel Rotosound strings.
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.
This video covers the intro and chorus sections, both of which are built around Leon’s bass groove. This is a repeating two-bar line, with some subtle variations.
This video covers the bassline heard during the song’s two verse sections. This is a syncopated line that’s harder to play than it sounds.
This lesson will show you how to play the bridge section of the piece, which is a short four-bar section that moves the song towards the chorus.
This final video covers the breakdown sections and the final chorus, which has just one small additional part for you to learn.