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Aston "Family Man" Barrett Transcriptions.

ErikP.Bass

ErikP.Bass

Supporting Member
Nov 23, 2004
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2,097
#1
I am a bit surprised that there don't seem to be many transcriptions or instructional videos for Family Man's bass playing online. I wish there was something similar to What Duck Done for his work. I love his playing and have always wanted to transcribe the entire original Jamaican release of Catch A Fire, it is easily one of my favorite albums of all time. There are so many subtle variations in his playing that I am not sure my ear is good enough yet.
 
#3
bass12 said:
Yeah, the Jamaican Catch A Fire sessions are where it's at. I haven't listened to the Blackwell sessions since getting my hands on the deluxe re-issue. :)
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I'm right there with you. While I understand reggae may not be where it is in the US had it not been for Blackwell, after hearing how organic the original was I never looked back. I can't even imagine how many times I've listened to that album.
 
#4
My dad's a producer and used to do sound at a local venue called The Norva. He was pretty tight with The Wailers. When they came into town, they would go over to his house, and my old man would take them deep-sea fishing. About 11 years ago, one of their trucks broke down on the way to The Norva. It had all of Family Man's gear on it. Pops called me, and I spoke with Family Man for a few. I ended up letting him use my rig, an older SVT, and my P Elite II. He called me afterward to thank me and gushed about my bass. Just kept repeating how much he loved my bass.
 
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#5
deeptubes said:
My dad's a producer and used to do sound at a local venue called The Norva. He was pretty tight with The Wailers. When they came into town, they would go over to his house, and my old man would take them deep-sea fishing. About 11 years ago, one of their trucks broke down on the way to The Norva. It had all of Family Man's gear on it. Pops called me, and I spoke with Family Man for a few. I ended up letting him use my rig, an older SVT, and my P Elite II. He called me afterward to thank me and gushed about my bass. Just kept repeating how much he loved my bass.
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Awesome!!!! I hope you still have it. I'd live to see some pictures.
 
#6
deeptubes said:
I ended up letting him use my rig, an older SVT, and my P Elite II. He called me afterward to thank me and gushed about my bass. Just kept repeating how much he loved my bass.
Click to expand...

When the Wailers were in Nashville a couple of years ago I got to see Aston's Jazz bass up close back stage. I didn't get to handle his bass but I did get my nose about a foot away from it. The strings were so high at the 12th fret I think I could have put my finger on the fretboard (under the strings between the frets) and the strings would not have touched my finger. :eek: If your bass had even a Guitar Center set up no wonder he liked it :bassist:
 
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#8
Never encountered any. Besides, I rarely trust such transcriptions. Familyman's lines on the Marley records are pretty clear - I would take the time to just lift them by ear. That way you'll be learning the actual music and not just getting the right notes.
 
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#9
Family Man had so much of a vibe on those records that you really need to immerse yourself in that feel to benefit from his greatness. Some of the places he put notes would be hard to articulate on paper. Also, even though he had some historic bass lines, he would change them up live and they would still be great. So the morrow of the story is learn some of the lines, but take it further and try to understand the feel.
 
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#10
I agree. I get so frustrated with transcribing because it is so hard for me and he varies the lines so much it can be a bit overwhelming. I wind up jumping around to different songs which isn't good. I was talking to my teacher yesterday and he suggested making small loops and sticking to the same song or measures until it's all done. I need to stay focused and motivated.
 
#11
Someone here posted a link to a bunch of free online transcriptions at least a year ago, which included some Marley tunes. I learned "Could You Be Loved" there. I think the website was funkybassonline or something like that.

EDIT -
It is Invalid Link Removed, but I just noticed the only Family Man chart there is the one I mentioned above. Lots of other funky songs, though!
 
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#12
AMp'D.2play said:
Someone here posted a link to a bunch of free online transcriptions at least a year ago, which included some Marley tunes. I learned "Could You Be Loved" there. I think the website was funkybassonline or something like that.

EDIT -
It is Invalid Link Removed, but I just noticed the only Family Man chart there is the one I mentioned above. Lots of other funky songs, though!
Click to expand...

Thanks! I had run into that site...lots of great transcriptions....super accurate too (to my ears anyhow).
 
#13
bass12 said:
Yeah, the Jamaican Catch A Fire sessions are where it's at. I haven't listened to the Blackwell sessions since getting my hands on the deluxe re-issue. :)
Click to expand...

I've got to bump this up. If you haven't heard the Jamaican release you really need to seek it out and listen to it repeatedly.
 
#19
A little while ago a friend of mine played me some multi-track recordings of various artists. One recording was a Bob & The Wailers song (I don’t remember which one - probably “I Shot The Sheriff”). Very often, when you hear isolated drums and bass you can perceive a looseness between the two. Not in this case. Family Man and Carlton were as tight as anything I’ve ever heard.
 
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