Reflections - Diana Ross and The Supremes (1968)

Hello,

Going to be taking a quick look at the track 'Reflections' by Diana Ross and The Supremes.

I've decided not to do a full in-depth analysis of this one as it's quite straight forward, with Jamerson pretty much sticking to a root / fifth approach throughout the entire song. He links phrases together with some classic chromatic passing runs, and really just holds it down, grooving throughout. There is a tricky transition into the Bridge, where we have a quick key change before heading on back into a chorus.

Keeping it nice and simple, once the rhythmic and melodic feel is established in the verse he repeats it over and over. The chorus is less staccato, creating a driving motion that really takes it up a notch, propelling the song forward. We've got open stings bounces, arpeggio skips, chromatic runs... Classic Jamerson through and through.

I've uploaded the full transcription below, as well as a quick cover video.

Cheers,

Chris.

Full Transcription

I'm Gonna Make You Love Me - Diana Ross & The Supremes & The Temptations (1968)

Hello everyone,

During my study of Jamerson's work, I have started to notice two distinct approaches that he takes to a song. The first, and most well known, is his incredible ability to improvise over the chord changes. Songs such as 'For Once In My Life' and 'Darling Dear' and good examples of this, rarely having two bars the same throughout the entire line. Dazzling semiqaver runs that skip across the octaves occur frequently, as do the classic chromatic movements that drag the song from one chord to another.

Another side to his playing is his ability to come up with a relatively simple line and slowly develop and expand it throughout the course of the track. Today's analysis definitely falls into this category. What I have tried to do here is highlight and compare the gradual variations that Jamerson makes to the line as the song progresses, whilst still sticking to his pre-established harmonic and rhythmic movements.

Verse 1

This first verse sees Jamerson establish a rhythmical figure that he uses throughout the track. Right up until the end of this verse, he always holds the first note for at least one beat, anchoring the chord and usually consisting of some tied quavers. Using a very arpeggio focused figure, he climbs up to the D in bar two via a simple chromatic walk. This concept is expanded in bar three, where the chromatic movement occupies half of the bar.

Bar four sees an interesting fill consisting of a root, ninth and seventh. He remains in this higher register for the start of the next bar, before moving back down to a C / C# walk at the end via a classic Jamerson arpeggiated drop.

Bar seven, with its quick use of an open A string builds rhythmically towards the bar eight E7 run. Using the root, second, third, fourth and fifth, he outlines the chord and approaches the Am7 via it's fifth, an E. This dominant approach anticipates the chord change perfectly and creates a very strong sense of resolution. The rhythm of bar eight is very much in keeping with the pre-established feel of the track, focusing on the quaver / semiquaver combination, whilst still building and propelling the song forward.

A simple combination of root notes and chromatic runs is all that is needed to navigate through the next two bars. In bar eleven, Jamerson begins to build up into the chorus, introducing more rhythmic and harmonic variation (note the classic Jamerson movement in beat four), before pedalling between a D and B over the C/D chord. A quick A in the final quaver acts as a chromatic approach to the Bb in the chorus.

Chorus 1

By and large, Jamerson sticks to the root and fifth notes throughout this chorus, often linking chords together with chromatic semiquaver runs lasting for one beat. He chooses to highlight the descending movement of the chords, first the Bb, A, G and F, then the C, Bb, A and F. Like the verse, he often sticks to the root note of the chord for at least one beat, further cementing the already established rhythmical theme.

What is interesting about this line is how he develops and varies the verse and chorus parts, adding in different fills and making new rhythmical decisions. By looking at Verse 2, you can see these small changes being made.

Verse 2

Notice how the line is essentially the same as in the first verse, aside from some small differences. Most notably, he chooses to develop the semiquaver run in the last beat of bar two and six, emphasising the drop down to a low G in the next bar. Also, whilst still playing an octave based figure in bar four, this time he doesn't play the ninth.

This gradual expansion and development is also evident in Chorus 2.

Chorus 2

Again, this is pretty much the same as the previous chorus, but with the same slight variations. Some of the note choices in the chromatic runs are different, as well as slight rhythmical variations - particularly in the first bar.

Bridge Run

After outlining the Gmaj7 with a root, fifth and octave figure, a quick chromatic fill brings us to the next bar. Here, Jamerson drops down the E7 via the root, seventh, fifth, fourth, third, second and root in a fast semiquaver run, before climbing back up to a G# that anticipates the A in the next bar. The heavy use of the open E in the last half of the bar allows him to use the G and G# chromatic figure whilst still enforcing the tonality of the chord. This scale based fill is really the only one of its kind in this piece, and after this Jamerson drops back into playing his already established figures.

Chorus 3

Looking at this, you can again see how he chooses to stick mainly to root notes, intermixed with brief fifths and semiquaver fills that tie the chords together. Even in this last chorus, he doesn't stray away from his already established line. This is interesting for Jamerson, as even on tracks where his playing is relatively simple, the last chorus tends to be where he lets himself go a little. On this track, this is not the case and we see him playing a simple line right up until the end of the song.

For me, this is a great example of a relatively straightforward bass line that just does the job perfectly. Anchoring the song with a set line that he sticks to for the whole piece, he gently varies his playing throughout the verse and chorus sections.

Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing - Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell (1968)

Hello everyone,

Sorry about the long period of silence but I have been finishing my degree! Now it is all done I can get back to more regularly posting on this blog.

Today I will be analysing 'Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing', the classic Gaye / Terrell track. A favourite of mine, it is a good example of how Jamerson can construct a simple yet effective bass line that drives the song forward. Hope you enjoy it! As always, video is at the bottom.

P.S. This site has been steadily getting more and more views every month (more than I could have ever imagined when I first posted!) and I have decided that I would like to involve you all more in the blog. I am working on a way for you to vote on which line you would like me to analyse and cover next. I have had lots of feedback from visitors to this site saying how useful they found the analysis and I think that it would be cool for you to be able to request certain tracks. So, keep your eyes peeled as I will try to get some sort of message / voting system up and running ASAP.

In the mean time, keep playing and listening to Jamerson's work... there is a reason why he is still so highly regarded after all these years!

Thanks,

Chris.

Chorus 1

The classic root, fifth, major sixth line that runs throughout the first two bars is a standard Jamerson figure that features in many Motown tracks. What is interesting about this particular example however is how he chooses to continue playing the line over the Fm, strongly emphasising the flattened seventh (Eb) and later the fifth (C). By sticking to this hook he can create a strong rhythmic and harmonic feature of the song, one that he returns to throughout the track.

A quick open A at the end of bar two acts as a chromatic passing note into the bar of Abmaj7. Rhythmically this bar is very similar to the previous two. Harmonically, he simply outlines the chord through the use of the root, fifth and major seven, before again using an open string (this time E) to jump down to the F. Here, he simply climbs and drops through the root, fifth and octave, before returning to the already established pickup into the next bar of Eb. The overall effect is that of a strong rhythmical establishment that drives the song whilst only using relatively simple note choices, sticking mostly to arpeggios and chord tones.

Verse 1

After thoroughly establishing his chorus phrase, Jamerson allows himself a great deal more rhythmic and harmonic freedom when playing through the verse. Using only the root (Eb) followed by a quick open E passing note, he plays through the Eb chord and into a driving phrase based around F, Bb and G that climbs up to the Abmaj7 in the next bar. Here he outlines the Abmaj7 using the root, third, fifth and a quick passing fourth, all whilst using the quaver / double semiquaver rhythm that features throughout the line. He then holds a G (root), before a quick ghost note into an impressive semiquaver run. Although this does outline the G7+ to some extent, using the root, second and third, it is arguably more of a build up into the next bar, where he simply holds a C for half the bar.This is a good example of how Jamerson adds tension and release through the use of rhythmical variations.

Over the Cm7 he plays a chromatic walking feature that jumps between scale tones and passing notes. This establishes a rhythm that features in the first half of the next bar. Here he plays the root of the Bbm7, a passing D onto the Eb and a passing G onto the Ab. The use of these non-diatonic notes from open strings is something that Jamerson frequently uses and here it adds to the driving rhythm of the line.

A simple walk down through the root, major seven and sixth of the Abmaj7 chord takes us to the Eb, where after a root based phrase he again returns to the already established root, fifth and sixth hook. After a full verse of new rhythmic and harmonic ideas, the return to this familiar phrase grounds the song; giving the listener an already featured movement, whilst also building up to the next verse.

Verse 3

This is a good example of how Jamerson can recall phrases used in previous sections and develop them either rhythmically, harmonically or both. The first bar shows him repeating a phrase that is used in both previous verses. In bar two he outlines the Abmaj7 through a quick semiquaver run of root, third and fifth, before doing the same on the G7+. Interestingly, he ignores the sharpened fifth in the augmented chord, opting instead to play a D natural. Like in the first verse, the result is a phrase that acts more as a build up into the next bar, rather than a strict outline of the chord. The speed of the D natural means that it does not clash with the other instruments on the recording.

In the next bar, he once again references and develops the previous line, making rhythmic and harmonic variations whilst still outlining the chord through a walk down to the next bar (Bbm7). Slowly developing and expanding a line is a common Jamerson technique, adding enough variation to keep the line interesting whilst still returning to pre-established phrases.

Bridge

A classic Jamerson line, he navigates through this section using both arpeggios to outline the harmony and fast chromatic semiquaver runs to string together the different chords. After outlining the Gm7 and G7 through a simple arpeggio, Jamerson then uses a B and A natural to climb down to a Bbm7. Although the B natural is not found in the Cm7 chord, the bouncing rhythm leads the listener to the next chord, minimising the effect of this 'wrong' note.

Over the Abmaj7 he plays a chromatic semiquaver run that walks up to a Bb in the next bar. A similar line is present when he plays over the Db°7 chord, climbing up to a simple F octave drop in the next bar. After a root based figure over the Ab/Bb, he again introduces the Bb C Eb C hook that anchors the line.

Second and Seventh bar of Chorus 3

These two bars show how throughout the song Jamerson has established and expanded upon certain phrases. Compare the first example to the second bar of chorus 1. Notice how the line is almost identical, except from a couple of variations. The last chorus is the climax of the song and to add rhythmic build Jamerson uses almost exclusively semiquavers.

The same can be said for this second example. Again, compare this to the third bar of the first chorus. Here he also plays a very similar line, but adds the semiquaver run on beat three to drive the song forward. Through the use of the open A string he adds a chromatic feel to the line, the speed of which propels the song towards its conclusion.

Notice how throughout this song, Jamerson uses many 'wrong' notes. In particular, he uses the open E and A strings as part of a semiquaver chromatic run up to the next chord. The speed of these passing notes means that rather than the note sticking out as being 'wrong', it forms part of a larger passage that often links the chords together. This is a very common technique that Jamerson uses and you can spot it in many of his lines.


Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing - Marvin Gaye / Tammi Terrell (1968) from Chris Axe on Vimeo.