This is funky arrangement of the classic Bill Withers’ tune, “Ain’t No Sunshine” arranged for solo bass by Michael Dimin. This arrangement is for 5 string bass, tuned E to C or 6 string bass. Techniques utilized include both fingerstyle and some cool two hand tapping. The key is A minor. The level of difficulty, on a scale of 1 - 10 is a 5. Although the form is short, the two hand tapping and wide range on the neck add a bit of difficulty. It might be easier if you’re familiar with two hand tapping technique. “Ain’t No Sunshine” is arranged as a classic “call and response”. The melody acts as a “call” and the cool, two hand tapping of the bass line and chords are the “response”. This allows for the development of solo and improvisation ideas for the “call” while keeping the groove provided by the “response”. Note: It can also be played on a 5 string bass in standard tuning. If playing strictly from the the TAB, you’ll be down a 5th. Both Notation and Tab are included in the arrangement. A Bass and Vocal duet with the amazing Brittany Frompovich can be found here: https://youtu.be/X6nRjCxl91w

These Solo Bass arrangements are written specifically for the bass. Taking into account all the possibilities as well as the limitations of the instrument. Arrangements are played one octave higher than written.

Michael Dimin is the author of The Chordal Approach as well as The Art of Solo Bass and was a solo bass lesson columnist for Bass Frontiers, Bassics, Bass Player Magazine and Bass Guitar Magazines. Mike was an original Ask The Pro at Talkbass.com and a teacher at Gerald Veasly’s Bass Boot Camp, The National Summer Guitar Workshop, The Collective and more. Michael Dimin’s new video series based on his revolutionary book, The CORE Method is changing, forever, the way bass is taught.

The most famous version of the timeless hymn “Amazing Grace” arranged for solo bass is the one recorded by Victor Wooten on Bela Fleck and the Flecktoness, “Live Art”. Victor’s version is funky and laden with harmonics as the main melodic technique. This version, arranged by Michael Dimin, is quite a bit different. Michael Dimin’s version is slower and played with a rubato feel. Although not as funky as Victor Wooten’s version it is much more harmonically rich. This arrangement was written specifically for student, David Sinclair, to play in church. It is in the key of G and arranged for a 5 or 6 string bass in standard tuning (the TAB is written for 5 string bass). Fingerstyle technique is used throughout. A beautiful ending utilizing harmonics is a tribute to Victor Wooten’s version as well as to Jaco Pastorius who revolutionized the use of harmonics on bass. The level of difficulty, on a scale of 1 - 10 is a 3. Since it is written to play rubato (rhythmic freedom). A solo bass recording, dedicated to the memory of bass player, Mike Casale can be found here: https://youtu.be/SG7MAX70j-E

These Solo Bass arrangements are written specifically for the bass. Taking into account all the possibilities as well as the limitations of the instrument. Arrangements are played one octave higher than written. Michael Dimin is the author of The Chordal Approach as well as The Art of Solo Bass and was a solo bass lesson columnist for Bass Frontiers, Bassics, Bass Player Magazine and Bass Guitar Magazines. Mike was an original Ask The Pro at Talkbass.com and a teacher at Gerald Veasly’s Bass Boot Camp, The National Summer Guitar Workshop, The Collective and more. Michael Dimin’s new video series based on his revolutionary book, The CORE Method is changing, forever, the way bass is taught.

Johnny Mercer’s “Autumn Leaves” is a 32 bar, Jazz standard. “Autumn Leaves” is a 32 bar song, divided into four sections of eight measures each. The format is AABC. This arrangement is two choruses with a 4 measure introduction. This arrangement is for 4 string (or more) bass in standard tuning. Fingerstyle technique is used throughout. The Key is E Minor and The level of difficulty, on a scale of 1 - 10 is a 3. “Autumn Leaves” is a relatively easy, solo bass arrangement as the melody is interspersed nicely with the harmony and the longer melody notes are notes within the chord. Since you have probably played or at least heard the song hundreds if not thousands of times, the familiarity of it will make it easier to hear the individual parts as you play them. This arrangement, like many versions of this song, starts out rubato. This will give you an opportunity to learn the notes and the sound of the melody and harmony without having to swing right from the Start. A video performance can be found here: https://youtu.be/95E8i7wpt1k

These Solo Bass arrangements are written specifically for the bass. Taking into account all the possibilities as well as the limitations of the instrument. Arrangements are played one octave higher than written.

Michael Dimin is the author of The Chordal Approach as well as The Art of Solo Bass and was a solo bass lesson columnist for Bass Frontiers, Bassics, Bass Player Magazine and Bass Guitar Magazines. Mike was an original Ask The Pro at Talkbass.com and a teacher at Gerald Veasly’s Bass Boot Camp, The National Summer Guitar Workshop, The Collective and more. Michael Dimin’s new video series based on his revolutionary book, The CORE Method is changing, forever, the way bass is taught.

“Blue in Green” written Bill Evans but often times credited to Miles Davis was originally recorded on Miles’ “Kind of Blue” in 1959. It is absolutely one of my favorite arrangements to play. I play it as both a ballad and a swing tune. I will often play the first chorus as a ballad and swing subsequent choruses. Additionally, I will, at times, loop, the harmony to solo over. Although rather short in form, it can be difficult to play as many of the melody notes are upper tensions of the harmony or blue notes. Deciding just where to compromise to be true to the tune was the primary challenge. The arrangement is for 5 string bass tuned E to C or 6 string bass. The Key is Bb Major and the level of difficulty, on a scale of 1 - 10 is a 6. The difficulty level designation of 6 is due to some wide stretches and fingerings that don’t sit nicely under the fingers. Trying to play it in a swing feel adds to the difficulty. A live video performance with Brian Melick on Cajon (with looping) can be found here: https://youtu.be/HJELKSaUjC4

These Solo Bass arrangements are written specifically for the bass. Taking into account all the possibilities as well as the limitations of the instrument. Arrangements are played one octave higher than written.

Michael Dimin is the author of The Chordal Approach as well as The Art of Solo Bass and was a solo bass lesson columnist for Bass Frontiers, Bassics, Bass Player Magazine and Bass Guitar Magazines. Mike was an original Ask The Pro at Talkbass.com and a teacher at Gerald Veasly’s Bass Boot Camp, The National Summer Guitar Workshop, The Collective and more. Michael Dimin’s new video series based on his revolutionary book, The CORE Method is changing, forever, the way bass is taught.

This is the great Tom Coster tune, made famous by Carlos Santana. This arrangement includes a chord melody section as well as the looped harmony and bass line to solo over Use the player at the top left of this site to hear an example

“Fields of Gold” is a beautiful ballad written and performed by Sting. Upon hearing Eva Cassidy’s version of this tune, I was inspired to arrange it for solo bass and/or solo bass and voice. I wrote the arrangement for my friend and solo bassist Brittany Frompovich. The arrangement is for 5 string bass tuned E to C or 6 string bass. The Key is D Major and the level of difficulty, on a scale of 1 - 10 is a 7. Although a ballad, the difficulty level designation of 7 is due to the fact that much of the harmony is played as arpeggios, not chords using a classical guitar technique with the right hand (thumb of the bass notes and first and second finger for the others), bringing out the melody which is imbedded in the harmony and bringing meaning to such a beautiful song.

These Solo Bass arrangements are written specifically for the bass. Taking into account all the possibilities as well as the limitations of the instrument. Arrangements are played one octave higher than written.

Michael Dimin is the author of The Chordal Approach as well as The Art of Solo Bass and was a solo bass lesson columnist for Bass Frontiers, Bassics, Bass Player Magazine and Bass Guitar Magazines. Mike was an original Ask The Pro at Talkbass.com and a teacher at Gerald Veasly’s Bass Boot Camp, The National Summer Guitar Workshop, The Collective and more. Michael Dimin’s new video series based on his revolutionary book, The CORE Method is changing, forever, the way bass is taught.

This is one of my older arrangements and, quite frankly, one of my favorites. Arranged for solo bass by Michael Dimin. This arrangement is for 5 string bass, tuned E to C or 6 string bass. Fingerstyle chord melody with some hip chord substitutions.The key is C Major/A minor. The level of difficulty, on a scale of 1 - 10 is a 7. Note: It can also be played on a 5 string bass in standard tuning. If playing strictly from the the TAB, you’ll be down a 5th. Both Notation and Tab are included in the arrangement.

There is other lesson here on creating a looped bass line and harmony to solo over or play behind another soloist. Check out my blog posts for more information. You can also find a video of the performance at: https://youtu.be/CqluRucHquA

These Solo Bass arrangements are written specifically for the bass. Taking into account all the possibilities as well as the limitations of the instrument. Arrangements are played one octave higher than written.

Michael Dimin is the author of The Chordal Approach as well as The Art of Solo Bass and was a solo bass lesson columnist for Bass Frontiers, Bassics, Bass Player Magazine and Bass Guitar Magazines. Mike was an original Ask The Pro at Talkbass.com and a teacher at Gerald Veasly’s Bass Boot Camp, The National Summer Guitar Workshop, The Collective and more. Michael Dimin’s new video series based on his revolutionary book, The CORE Method is changing, forever, the way bass is taught.

The Charles Mingus tune “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat” is a very interesting take on a slow blues in F. Written as an elegy for the great saxophonist Lester Young, “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat” was on another of 1959’s seminal jazz recordings “Mingus Ah Um” (“Blue and Green” was on “Kind of Blue”). Obviously a great year in jazz to celebrate the birth of Michael Dimin. Many great versions of this song have been recorded. Although Jeff Beck’s (“Wired”) is probably the most notable. Wonderful versions by Stanley Clarke (“If This Bass Can Only Talk”) and Joni Mitchell with Jaco Pastorius (“Mingus”). The arrangement is for 4, 5 or 6 string bass. The Key is F and the level of difficulty, on a scale of 1 - 10 is a 7. Although a ballad, the difficulty level designation of 7 is due to the fact that this song has some very unusual harmony and it takes a while to wrap one’s head around the harmonic movement and the melody’s relationship to the harmony.

These Solo Bass arrangements are written specifically for the bass. Taking into account all the possibilities as well as the limitations of the instrument. Arrangements are played one octave higher than written.

Michael Dimin is the author of The Chordal Approach as well as The Art of Solo Bass and was a solo bass lesson columnist for Bass Frontiers, Bassics, Bass Player Magazine and Bass Guitar Magazines. Mike was an original Ask The Pro at Talkbass.com and a teacher at Gerald Veasly’s Bass Boot Camp, The National Summer Guitar Workshop, The Collective and more. Michael Dimin’s new video series based on his revolutionary book, The CORE Method is changing, forever, the way bass is taught.

Really cool, harmonically rich, version of Happy Birthday arranged for solo electric bass, tuned E to C

Errol Garner’s “Misty” is the very first arrangement for solo bass that I wrote way back in 1979. As a student at the Berklee College of Music, I had heard of a bass player from Buffalo, NY who could play a chord/melody solo of “Misty”. At that moment, I decided to see what I could come up with. The rest, as they say, is history. In retrospect, I could have chosen a much easier tune to arrange for my first go at it. “Misty” is arranged for 4, 5 or 6 string bass in standard tuning. The key is Eb and the level of difficulty is a 6. The difficulty level 6 designation it due to some awkward fingering and position changes. One really nice thing about this arrangement is that it works at a variety of feels and tempos.

These Solo Bass arrangements are written specifically for the bass. Taking into account all the possibilities as well as the limitations of the instrument. Arrangements are played one octave higher than written.

Michael Dimin is the author of The Chordal Approach as well as The Art of Solo Bass and was a solo bass lesson columnist for Bass Frontiers, Bassics, Bass Player Magazine and Bass Guitar Magazines. Mike was an original Ask The Pro at Talkbass.com and a teacher at Gerald Veasly’s Bass Boot Camp, The National Summer Guitar Workshop, The Collective and more. Michael Dimin’s new video series based on his revolutionary book, The CORE Method is changing, forever, the way bass is taught.

his jazzy arrangement of the Cat Stevens classic was originally written for my Bassics Magazine Article "Bass Alone". Although made famous by Cat Stevens the tune (sans the lyrics) is actually a traditional Gaelic piece. Since this is in ¾ time, it makes a beautiful Jazz Waltz. The arrangement is written for 4 string bass in standard tuning, in the key of G. On a scale of 1-10, I would say that the difficulty is a 4. Keeping the flow of the jazz waltz and holding some notes while playing others adds to the difficulty. One really nice thing about this arrangement is that it works at a variety of feels and tempos. A video performance can be found at: https://youtu.be/2jA8UVylZiY

These Solo Bass arrangements are written specifically for the bass. Taking into account all the possibilities as well as the limitations of the instrument. Arrangements are played one octave higher than written. A video performance can be found at: https://youtu.be/2jA8UVylZiY

Michael Dimin is the author of The Chordal Approach as well as The Art of Solo Bass and was a solo bass lesson columnist for Bass Frontiers, Bassics, Bass Player Magazine and Bass Guitar Magazines. Mike was an original Ask The Pro at Talkbass.com and a teacher at Gerald Veasly’s Bass Boot Camp, The National Summer Guitar Workshop, The Collective and more. Michael Dimin’s new video series based on his revolutionary book, The CORE Method is changing, forever, the way bass is taught.

Over the Rainbow is one of my absolute favorite tunes. Originally from the movie The Wizard of Oz and sung by Judy Garland, it is, in many ways the most perfectly written song, combing a beautifully written melody and harmony that reflects the theme of the lyrics like no other song. I arranged this song in a Jazz Waltz style, changing the time signature from 4 to 3 and giving the piece a swing feel. Admittedly, this is one of the more difficult tunes to perform. There is a fair amount of dexterity, stretches, holding chords underneath melodies, all while trying to keep up that wonderful Jazz Waltz feel. No matter how difficult it is to play, it is well worth it! “Over The Rainbow” is arranged for 4,5,or 6 string bass in standard tuning. A video performance (with loop and solo) can be found at: https://youtu.be/8k6DphfMb-4

These Solo Bass arrangements are written specifically for the bass. Taking into account all the possibilities as well as the limitations of the instrument. Arrangements are played one octave higher than written.

Michael Dimin is the author of The Chordal Approach as well as The Art of Solo Bass and was a solo bass lesson columnist for Bass Frontiers, Bassics, Bass Player Magazine and Bass Guitar Magazines. Mike was an original Ask The Pro at Talkbass.com and a teacher at Gerald Veasly’s Bass Boot Camp, The National Summer Guitar Workshop, The Collective and more. Michael Dimin’s new video series based on his revolutionary book, The CORE Method is changing, forever, the way bass is taught.

Saint James Infirmary or “The Saint James Infirmary Blues” is a traditional American Folk Song, made famous, in 1928, by Louis Armstrong. I arranged this for one of the magazine lesson columns I was writing (can’t remember which one). The editor wanted something that was in the public domain, as not to have to pay license or royalties. Although there have been many recordings of this tune, through the years, by both Jazz and Blues artists, there have been none for solo bass! Saint James Infirmary is a simple 8 measure tune, with a 1 beat pickup. It is arranged in the key of F for 4,5 or 6 string bass. Don’t let the printed music scare you off. This is relatively easy and can be played at any tempo or even rubato. As it is only 8 measures long, you should be able to pick this up fairly quickly.

These Solo Bass arrangements are written specifically for the bass. Taking into account all the possibilities as well as the limitations of the instrument. Arrangements are played one octave higher than written.

Michael Dimin is the author of The Chordal Approach as well as The Art of Solo Bass and was a solo bass lesson columnist for Bass Frontiers, Bassics, Bass Player Magazine and Bass Guitar Magazines. Mike was an original Ask The Pro at Talkbass.com and a teacher at Gerald Veasly’s Bass Boot Camp, The National Summer Guitar Workshop, The Collective and more. Michael Dimin’s new video series based on his revolutionary book, The CORE Method is changing, forever, the way bass is taught.

“The Shadow of Your Smile” by Johnny Mandel, is a jazz standard, written as the theme song for the Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton movie, “The Sandpiper”. The song won an Academy Award for Best Original Song. This is one of my earliest and favorite arrangements for solo bass. The original has a slow, Latin feel. A feel that works beautifully with this arrangement. There are some nice jazz reharmonizations that add flavor to the arrangement. The song is in the Key of G and is written for 4, 5 or 6 string bass. The difficulty in this piece lies in keeping the Latin and some of the fingering that moves up to the 19th fret. On a scale of 1-10, I’d rate this as a 7. You have the freedom to alter tempo as you see fit as long as you keep the lilt of that Latin feel.

These Solo Bass arrangements are written specifically for the bass. Taking into account all the possibilities as well as the limitations of the instrument. Arrangements are played one octave higher than written.

Michael Dimin is the author of The Chordal Approach as well as The Art of Solo Bass and was a solo bass lesson columnist for Bass Frontiers, Bassics, Bass Player Magazine and Bass Guitar Magazines. Mike was an original Ask The Pro at Talkbass.com and a teacher at Gerald Veasly’s Bass Boot Camp, The National Summer Guitar Workshop, The Collective and more. Michael Dimin’s new video series based on his revolutionary book, The CORE Method is changing, forever, the way bass is taught.

Shady is an original song. I was asked to arrange it by readers of Bass Guitar Magazine as it was a piece that I used as the introduction to the video companion to my lesson column. It was written on a rainy day during a family vacation on Cape Cod. In a Cabin on Shady Lane. It is a Funk/Latin tune. The “A” section is in a call and response format. The “B” section is definitively more funky utilizing Slap technique combined with a harmonized ascending bass line. The difficulty of this song is dependent on one’s ability to slap. Combing slap with chords can be quite challenging. A duet recording with percussionist Brian Melick, can be found here: https://youtu.be/Dj3EO2ggxkE

These Solo Bass arrangements are written specifically for the bass. Taking into account all the possibilities as well as the limitations of the instrument. Arrangements are played one octave higher than written.

Michael Dimin is the author of The Chordal Approach as well as The Art of Solo Bass and was a solo bass lesson columnist for Bass Frontiers, Bassics, Bass Player Magazine and Bass Guitar Magazines. Mike was an original Ask The Pro at Talkbass.com and a teacher at Gerald Veasly’s Bass Boot Camp, The National Summer Guitar Workshop, The Collective and more. Michael Dimin’s new video series based on his revolutionary book, The CORE Method is changing, forever, the way bass is taught.

This is a solo arrangement of the hauntingly beautiful ballad Silence of a Candle, written my Ralph Towner (Oregon, Paul Winter Consort, Solo Artist). This truly is one of my favorite songs. Putting in the work to get this right was a labor of love.

Spooky was a 1967 one hit wonder from the Classics IV. Originally an instrumental and covered numerous times through the year, Spooky is a funky, slinky tune with a great melody and that totally hip #5 diminished chord. The most notable version might be that of the Atlanta Rhythm Section recorded in 1979. Spooky is a short arrangement, sounds cool and is one of the easier ones.

These Solo Bass arrangements are written specifically for the bass. Taking into account all the possibilities as well as the limitations of the instrument. Arrangements are played one octave higher than written.

Michael Dimin is the author of The Chordal Approach as well as The Art of Solo Bass and was a solo bass lesson columnist for Bass Frontiers, Bassics, Bass Player Magazine and Bass Guitar Magazines. Mike was an original Ask The Pro at Talkbass.com and a teacher at Gerald Veasly’s Bass Boot Camp, The National Summer Guitar Workshop, The Collective and more. Michael Dimin’s new video series based on his revolutionary book, The CORE Method is changing, forever, the way bass is taught.

This is the notation that accompanies the blog post of the same name