Gary Willis – Bass

I had the Gary Willis bass video and it was a real eyeopener in terms of understanding how he got such control over his phrasing and ghost notes. His right hand technique is incredibly idiosyncratic and he uses the fingers of his right hand to mute the strings he plays rather that the left hand which most people used to . Accordingly, his sound was much tighter than everyone else’s. What it taught me was that it is as important to understand where notes END as well as where they start and letting a note ring too long can have a detrimental effect on the phrases you are trying to execute, whether it is part of a groove or solo.

This is the complete Willis bass part for the tune ‘Spears’ from the 1984 Tribal Tech album ‘Spears’. Sounds as fresh today as it di then. Great playing but even greater composing from guitarist Scott Henderson. Another ‘bucket list’ transcription for me. There is a 16-bar section in the middle were there is a drum solo underneath a rolling E pedal note. I didn’t try and transcribe that section as it was too much of a headache.