I'm trying to figure out the bassline from the song Pungee by The Meters.
Can anyone figure it out? Or tell me the notes or show me a vid of them playing it?
Thanks!
I’m not sure what part you need help with, but it’s in
C, a standard I-IV-V blues/R&B/soul workout, but instead of cresting on the V(which would be
G)there’s a turnaround of
Bb, G, and then resolving on the I(
C), repeat again, but with
Eb, G, C. The riffing that Porter is doing on the I and IV is just bouncing between the root and octave followed by a chromatic lift(in
C it would be
C, E, F, F#, G), basically a variation on the Howlin’ Wolf “Killing Floor” riff, and a space filling bass move that all players should know, usable in countless situations. The bridge is just
F(throw in a quick
C) and then resolves on
G. I should point out that he does a downward chromatic run at the end of the two turnaround variations. None of this stuff is strict, regimented riffing, you got to keep it loose, funky, and syncopated. Throw in slurs, passing notes, ghost notes. It’s the
Meters, for cryin’ out loud.
