'Sir Duke' - The MUST KNOW Bass Unison Line

Lesson Material available here: bit.ly/2R13zox
This week we're looking at one of the most popular unison bass lines in the shape of the instrumental section from Sir Duke by Stevie Wonder (played by Nate Watts)
I learned this line many, many years ago but recently realised the original line is quite different from how I played it. So in this lesson I'll give you some tips on how to learn long unison lines and sound a little more like the original Nate version.
#talkingbass #steviewonder #basslines
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[@talkingbasslessons]

Here's the isolated bass track for anyone wondering where I heard it kzbin.info/www/bejne/jITaYZuGrM10mc0

[@rijazaidi8045]

it says the video is unavailable :(

[@TommyGBassChannel]

@@rijazaidi8045 here a back track (without bass) kzbin.info/www/bejne/i2XOnGOmdqyboNE

[@alessandrorigobello7551]

Not available

[@RitchieRosson]

Gone! : ( There is this version without bass.

[@skrankle66]

Nice work and cool accent 👌

[@user-gl2pn7uh7i]

One of the best bass lessons i found on anything

[@DrGregC]

Simply a great bass lesson. Perfect amount of information and delivered in an easy to understand manner. I didn't know where to begin and now I can play this classic riff. Thanks!

[@scottpustilnick5887]

Agreed. I never sat down and tried this until today. This video was perfect. Killer line and super fun. Thanks

[@cezaralopes]

I’ve watched your lesson a couple of months ago and I didn’t know how to start doing this. Coming back now and feeling comfortable to try it after huge help from you and other generous bass players. Thanks for sharing

[@kahwigulum]

1st Section 2:03 2nd Section 7:56 3rd A Section 10:09 | 3rd B Section 12:50 4th Section 14:38 80bpm backing track 17:19 90bpm backing track 18:04 107 bpm backing track 19:01

[@blee3621]

Epic comment right here.

[@bhargavpianopractice9217]

thanks bro i've been searching

[@amusicveteran]

Excellent lesson. Your explanation was concise, clear and coherent! Your suggestion for a swing feel opened up the lines for me as I always knew I was not playing it precisely like the recordings. Thank you.

[@luvtogroove]

Went through a few of the online tutorials.that last little section stumped me.Until I found your tutorial.Informative,and precisely the right amount of info.Done in the right way...especially breaking down that last tricky section.Your a life saver.It was giving me no end of frustration.Thx again m8, from a new subscriber .

[@serggusak]

Great lesson, Mark. You are the only person on KZbin that I found so far who plays it correctly. Everyone else plays it straight.

[@En-of5oh]

I think, it's a very useful song to learn, because it covers all the frets board, it's a big lesson.

[@peterw3160]

I’ve been avoiding this for years but learned it this morning thanks to your help. The third line is most awkward to me for whatever reason 🤷‍♂️

[@jeffpeters5297]

BEST lesson ever for Sir Duke. Thank you so much.

[@9thchild358]

I got the line down pretty good, but I wouldn't be surprised if it took me years if not the rest of my life to get it as fast as it is in the recording.

[@cx.ohnokiiii7501]

Sorry to ask but how old are you? Not meant to be rude

[@ColtondLewis]

Thinking too much practice everyday and you’ll get there quicker than you thought

[@cx.ohnokiiii7501]

@@hinglemckringleberry7372 okay mckringleberry

[@bobbypadilla4641]

You can do it!

[@johnnyisagoodbird]

Do you have it down now?

[@byronhedghill2570]

Mr mark i love the way teach u really work it for our understanding .im fr jamaica

[@sylart57]

OMGGGEEEEEEEEE!!!!! I've been waiting for someone to post this lesson!!! I've been wanting it since forever!!!! I can hardly wait to get started on it!!!! KUDOS TO YOU FOR THIS POST!!!!!!

[@Nugmania1]

Wicked lesson, anytime you have to follow a horn line, it’s always tough. If you starting out, I would recommend that tackle the matching horn line in the tune Superstition, not to dissuade any one from diving into this. Again great tutorial

[@davidzedner4286]

Thanks to this fantastic lesson I was able to learn this today! I loved how you broke it down with frets, notes and played it much slower. Well done!

[@mfsbrz]

Whoa! It took me almost a month to learn this line from a transcription I've found on a bass magazine. The fingering was diferent and omitted the swung sixtheenths. This fingering makes more sense and feels great to play. Great lesson, Mark! Thank you!

[@juliosilvacordova2500]

Man, WHAT A LESSON!!!! Not only because of the line, also for the method you used. Thank you!!!!

[@woofy548]

Learning this song now. Just started playing with my son. Never played an instrument in my life, but we've both signed up for lessons, and he's playing guitar and Im on the bass. So much fun.

[@onezerosevensix]

Any updates? This comment is heartwarming and im glad you and your son have such a great way to connect

[@omg_wtf]

Beautiful man! Stick with it, life is better with bass

[@TGBassTutor]

Been playing bass for over 15 years and never gone round to learning this unless this week, thanks to one of my students - your lesson is fantastic!

[@Ryteeo]

God Bless You for posting this lesson. I picked up a gig (this coming Sunday) with a Horn Band and this was one I've NEVER played. Glad you made it understandable with the 4 parts to the break riff. I learned I Wish when it came out (1976), but Sir Duke looked tedious for a young Bass player and KZbin wasn't invented yet! Thank You Again.

[@dorianmenchanclas4487]

My favorite bass line of all time

[@fredjansohn8888]

Hi Mark, this is probably the most challenging piece (for me given my technical level) I have yet tackled. But your lesson was a tremendous guide, and incentive, to give it a go, and I'm getting there with thanks to your step-by-step approach. I am getting closer and closer to playing it at speed. Thanks so much for the lesson and the incentive. Cheers, Fred Jansohn

[@kevincharlton5236]

I'd like to thank you for breaking this down , I've overplayed it for years and I was doing the same thing you were doing that you pointed out , loving your videos , thanks again

[@edwinengelbrecht3377]

Thanks Mark. This opened this riff to me. I played this years ago (way before U tube) learnt on 4 track cassette. Now I have the CORRECT way to play this Classic bass riff. Great stuff !!!

[@AkashiXI]

Started bass about 5 months ago, covered a few songs so far and I just picked this one up last week... man what a doozy. The ghost notes are so hard for me to be consistent on

[@RobTebaldi]

Mark- Thanks for breaking this down properly. I’m kind of stubborn and had been really trying to learn it old school straight off the record but my ears kept playing with me. (Adding those ghost notes and missing notes etc) so I finally gave in and came to KZbin and yours was the second or third video I clicked and the only one who truly breaks it down thoroughly. So again THANK YOU!!!

[@drakadiaz6221]

17:36 80 bps

[@chrispolo02]

Amazing video. Was very confused by this bass line but your explanation made it a breeze!

[@stevephilips4324]

Thanks a lot for this. It's sounding better every time I play it thanks to you tips.

[@jazzwithmaz]

Thanks Mark for breaking this great track down and making it easy for me to learn I feel like a session musician (I wished) many thanks 🙏

[@vlobster7660]

I like the detail that you go in to and the information you impart.Always very interesting.

[@philgee5220]

Another master class to a classic bass line, thanks Mark

[@richardbuckner8779]

Once again, such a pedagogue. I had 20 minutes+ to spend, decided for practising bass, and -Osanna !- found your video. I enjoy spending time with you. Thank you very much.

[@viddev1442]

Super awesome lick! I've been practicing this for a long time and only recently have I gotten it up to speed! I always felt frustrated and didn't know why I wasn't able to improve the speed until I started practicing more right hand technique. I realized that it was my right hand that couldn't play the notes fast enough - in particular the string skipping. So after I started with some right hand technique exercises I slowed the BPM down and practiced it slowly, forcing myself to play all the notes with my right hand (no hammer-ons) and sure eough I was slowly able to bring it up to full speed! I also spent quite some time figuring out what fingering worked best for me, especially in bars 4-6. There are a lot of different possibilities of where you can change strings or continue decsending on the same string and it was very satisfying when I finally found decided what woked best for me. And funny: I, too, have always also put in those extra notes in the beginning. And bar 2 I've always played in the lower octave instead of in the higher one. Anyway, thanks a lot for going through this so thoroughly. I look forward to your next lesson. P.S. Are you using flatwound strings?

[@thevivettes]

Excellent video tutorial! Very helpful thanks

[@steviedebarge77]

I always come straight to "talk bass" if I seriously have to learn something quick and in detail. This is the best teacher period! I remember when he taught me how to double thumb & he said it was going to be approx. 2 years before I'm actually able to use it in gig and fluent situations. He was right. Anyway if there is any way I can contribute back through means of donation please email me back I would be more than happy to give back. Thank you so much 🙏🏼

[@charliebass38]

Mark you are a Great Master and Bass Player!!!. The difficult you make it very simple. Thanks Mark !

[@lemuelcrump7747]

Mark you are awesome; one of my good friends tried to teach me how to play that bridge from Sir Duke in 1979. He nailed it; but, I didn't think I could do it. I was wrong to think so negative of myself. You broke it down nice; and, you made it easy for me to learn. Now I just have to keep rehearsing it so I can get to 107 bom. Thank you much Mark.

[@carltongregory3556]

Hi Lemuel I was intimated by this bass line until this lesson, whilst I am not perfect yet, I must tell you once you have learnt it through like you you can begin to call yourselves a Bass player.

[@kingslaphappy1533]

Another great lesson, thank you.

[@marcgauvreau2663]

Thank you very much...you are a great 'patient' teacher; methodical; encouraging and fun!

[@vittorio5062]

Thank you for this video: so well done and helpfully!

[@pauljacques2278]

Great lesson. Thanks for making something that sounds super tricky really easy to play.

[@rgaino]

I am finally learning this song and that's thanks to you, thank you so much for this video.

[@geneciccone4196]

Excellently laid out instruction! TY!

[@theodorekorbos2804]

Good morning sir I just really wanted to say thank you very much for the sheet music. I'm learning how to transcribe and what you doing for me is is helping me out a great deal so thank you again Teddy korbos

[@grizelda4526]

This was so much fun to work on this weekend. Ty

[@r1reign]

Thanks for the awesome lesson!

[@STgA97]

Mark you're the absolute best! I've been watching your lessons since I started playing bass and you have no idea how thankful I am for this content. Keep it up!

[@jamesleonard322]

This is very helpful. Thank You.

[@tutorialboleros7579]

Gracias man, excelente tutorial 🎸🎶

[@simonwhitmorebass]

Nice clem and clear. Also liked the tip about sliding on the A from 4 to 11 in the first section. I was plying it the way you used to play it also.

[@adrianchineaamoros3230]

great video Sr. Thank you so much

[@MyNameIsRich]

A great lesson, many thanks!

[@jesseperez9160]

Thank you great breakdown.

[@bassdaze]

so glad i found your channel this is inspiration to get back into playing...One thing I wish people didnt do is call out what string its on, call out the frets and let the student train by ear to figure what string..

[@jorgeavelar3205]

Fantastic! As always.

[@CalebMaSmith]

Learned this riff in two hours. Nonstop practice for five years can take you far

[@roachdoggjr155]

same but probably a lot sloppier lol

[@russellburnham298]

Excellent timing Mark. I was practicing this literally half an hour ago.

[@uschickens1]

Fantastic! You break it down perfectly, sections to practice, frets and strings, great pace to the video. Honestly, I heard this and as a novice I was intimidated, but you made it easy and my family actually recognized it when I played it!

[@Musicman914]

Another fantastic tutorial thank you.

[@jodyhendrix5876]

Great video, thanks!

[@gavinhobbs3831]

Nailed it , finely. Great tutorial thank you.

[@markbass354]

great bass line Mark , much thanks

[@69goldi]

Nice..I'm a guitarist who dabbles in bass a bit.. love lessons like this .. good job

[@colinbright]

Thanks man! Great tutorial

[@gillesw8953]

Professional tutorial. serious work. like it. thanks

[@matthewroberts7986]

This is my favourite song and I entrusted this guy to help me learn it, best decision of my life rn

[@tonyd8454]

GREAT DESCRIPTION AND HELP.

[@dougtyrer626]

Awesome thanks Mark

[@grady9752]

And now we know why Nate Watts has been Stevie's band leader for all these years! Look at the rest of us trying to sound funky. Nathan Watts IS funky!

[@Musicman914]

Wow ▪▪ mind melting stuff for sure the tabs were a great help thank you. ..

[@wilsonmillerjr9817]

Excellent Teaching Fam ✌🏿

[@MalephicBass]

Great video!

[@anthonythompson4639]

VERY WELL DONE!

[@paultraynorbsc627]

Thanks for posting

[@mjmarinara]

Awesome man thanks a lot

[@dr.crypto6891]

The best breakdown of this "must know" bassline I have found! Cheers and Thanks!

[@johnhelgason7838]

Great lesson. I've been struggling for two weeks to learn this. This is a big help. I like how you break it into sections and give both the notes and frets. Thanks.

[@pauloftarsus8145]

oh, cant wait to learn this.

[@alexr7856]

Can we see your hole entire bass collection!? :) great vid

[@Diispaceyone]

good shit dude that was so clean

[@StevenEspaniola]

Best tutorial yet!!

[@violetgumibear]

I was getting so ready to take an hour or two out of my day for the last section of the song, after having practiced the first 3 parts for a while.The pain I felt when I realized how easy it was, was something else.

[@mortennecrolust7148]

Mark, thank you so much for this. I will definetely go to talkingbass and sign up for a course or two. So much great content for free already. So throwing a bit of cash your way seems fair.

[@badpixels_]

sounds great

[@Azobassify]

Thank YOU!

[@bionian7]

Thanks for the lesson. I would realy like to see a breakdown of the bass line in Mystery by Anita Baker. Thanks!

[@0711RC]

Thanks Mark.

[@high5ranch]

Thank you Sooo much!

[@bobwright663]

Eh Mark been working on this but it's been a real challenge just got to get it all together properly....but as you say been working it out in bite size bits getting there a work in progress...great lesson by the way

[@n000n]

The best bass teacher. You turned something that looked impossible (for my amateur fingers) into something I can now play! Thank you!

[@georgeb2743]

In my jazz bass I play the saxophone part, which is hell. Now wanna learn the bass line.

[@SrTubular]

Mark just gave me homework. Good!

[@richardkrainak2106]

THANK YOU!!!!!

[@bredluvr6925]

thanks, great vid. took an hour but worth it

[@emmanuelk.severeek7869]

Si thank You Mark!!!

[@alexshipley8975]

He tunes down a semi tone and plays it C maj positioning therefor in B maj. Means that the high note on top fret has to be bent up semi tone.

[@ramonurchipia]

Thanks!

[@MaviNK]

Great SIR!