‘Pinball Wizard’ was originally released on the Who’s 1969 album Tommy, a rock opera that tells the story of a deaf, dumb, and blind boy. The song was a big hit for the band, and it continues to be played live to this day. By the standards of Who bassist John Entwistle, this song has a relatively simple bassline, although it’s a fun workout for plectrum technique.
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 21 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 long guitar intro of the song and briefly discusses the harmony that is used. It also covers John Entwistle’s bassline during the verse sections.
This video covers the line that John plays during the song’s short chorus sections. This is a relatively simple line to play, but it’s the perfect part for the song.
This lesson will show you how to play the middle 8 section of this piece, which is heard twice. This is another relatively simple line to play.
This final video covers the fourth and final verse, which is played in a different key. The short outro section is also covered here.