Rita Coolidge Bird on the wire. Bass Cover Tabs Score (standard notation) Chords. Bass: Lee Sklar

I made this video on request of David. David: thank you for supporting me!

The ‘secret’ of this bassline is to really play it with ease. If you succeed in giving the bassline this laid back feel it is such a joy to play this song!

Next to a lot of subtle things in this bassline, there are some really fantastic melodic licks that Lee Sklar plays. For instance:
04:15 Bars 196-200
05:00 Bars 230-250

I really like the slides Lee Sklar plays. For instance in bar 10 and 14. The ‘secret’ here is really play the notes in the slide. For instance in bar 10 you can hear the A and B note in the slide. So don’t just play a slide towards the B note without hearing the A note. Because of the low tempo of this song it’s really important to pay attention to each and every note you play.

Talking about slides: there’s a terrific slide in bar 102-105 (02:15). The ‘secret’ here is to play the A note in bar 102 and to NOT play the D note in bar 104 when you slide downwards. Just let the note ring and slide it back without hitting the string.

Another nice thing is how to use open strings in relatively fast licks. Look/listen for instance at bars 240 and 248 where the D note (bar 240) and D and A note (bar 248) are played on a open string to give yourself time to get to the note after the open string.

Bird on the wire was originally played by Leonard Cohen who is also the composer.

I play this song on a Fender Precision (USA1976) with flatwound strings. Standard tuning E A D G. No effects used except a bit compression and a pre-amp. Tune your bass just a little bit higher (A4 = 442 Hz).

Bass: Lee Sklar
Album: The lady’s not for sale (1972)
Composer: Leonard Cohen

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This video is for educational purpose.

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