Steely Dan - Peg [BASS COVER] - with notation and tabs

[@134rwa]

That has to be my favorite Steely Dan Bass lines, it has more than a lot of people realize, it's funky sophisticated.

[@e_athlete]

Real recognizes real!!! Such a good bass line!

[@cazoon]

It’s great. I’m kind of partial to Green Earrings.

[@134rwa]

I have to check out "Green Earings", I don't think I've heard that one.@@cazoon

[@gotpocket9373]

Not only is that among the best bass lines ever written in any genre of music, but that is hands-down the best bass cover on KZbin. Absolutely incredible!

[@roxx727]

Agreed! Such mastery

[@birdworldist]

There’s something just so satisfying & perfect about this bass part but also how perfect & tight it is with the incredible drums as all

[@akbuckets272]

Idk why but listening to bassline just makes me happy. Even when I'm having a bad day i can go to this and it just puts a smile on my face. The greatest treasure of a jam i swear!

[@funnysecksnumber6998]

i was just about to fall asleep when the slap part absolutely SLAPPED me awake

[@mateorincon3448]

Excellent performance and sound quality, didn't know that peg actually had slap

[@BennyTheBassman]

Thanks! It's kind of a cool non-aggressive tone that Walter Becker gets in the choruses, but yes it is slap.

[@gary10hz]

I watched a 'making of' video, and it was actually Chuck Rainey who played bass on this track. They told him not to use slap, but he did it subtly anyhow, and they liked the way it sounded and so left it in. Stuff like that is so interesting! And you absolutely killed it on this cover! Great job on a tough song to play well.

[@jb8349]

I saw the same docu. Chuck said when the chorus came around he would turn his body so they couldn't see him. They thought slap bass was too cliche at this point.

[@mattcartwright9442]

@@jb8349 and aside from turning so they couldn't see him you can hear how his slap part is subtle and under the radar. He wasn't plucking and popping real hard as to fit in the mix. Prince actually double thumbed on the bass waaay before Vic Wooten made it popular. Just using his thumb as a pick but not being too percussive about it. Cheers!

[@arpotoo7719]

@@BennyTheBassman i believe that's Chuck Rainey on the track, not Becker.

[@heythere135]

I like how at 1:02 you included the gap or "missed note" as is heard on the album recording. I often wonder if Chuck Rainey intended to do that or if his brain just momentarily froze during recording and they were like "eh, sounds intentional... Keep it".

[@Zibenlurr]

Given that Walter Becker and Donald Fagen were notorious perfectionists, I wonder if the missed it at all.

[@heythere135]

@@Zibenlurr well they didn't even noticed that he played slap/pop during the chorus of the song, which they explicitly told him not to do lol. So it wouldn't surprise me if they didn't notice because how subtle he was.

[@Zibenlurr]

@@heythere135 I think I read somewhere that Chuck turned the seat he was sitting in, during the sessions, so Donald and Walter couldn't see what he was doing.

[@heythere135]

@@Zibenlurr yep that's exactly what he did! In fact you can watch the "behind the scenes" making of Peg. Just so a KZbin search for it and they'll tell ya all about it

[@CatFight70]

My favorite bassline of all time, and you NAILED IT!!

[@roxx727]

OMFG, dude. What a great rendition of Peg. You are my new hero.

[@whtpwr]

Back in the the days when the hits had incredible musicianship.

[@WhyKnotTry]

Best rendition I’ve heard so far.

[@ivrott9881]

Best cover I’ve heard/watched. Love this song

[@beatrocka5]

Pretty slick. Planning on covering this; I'm pretty sure that I'll look to this vid for guidance. Thanks for posting.

[@shannonharris2816]

Smooth - mutha. I had no idea how complex and interesting the bass-line is. The jazz chords would turn me away. But now I will learn it, thanks man.

[@1000huzzahs]

The best rendition of this line I’ve seen thus far. Thank you!!

[@DeclansMusic]

Sick. Deceptively tricky track.

[@goodtimes12342]

so slippery... you don't realize until you get into it!

[@johnviera3884]

Wow dude. Great job. Savage bass lines on that song. You nailed it

[@kunstprodukt]

kudos! a great cover. i've known this song for years but actually only recently noticed how the great the bass line on this song is...

[@wheatpuncher27]

you play with such clarity! a very professional performance

[@Bigbaby61]

You are playing that peg steely Dan perfect. 👍👍👍👍

[@Quentingnostic]

Ahh so cool to see the notation along with the tab. Been TOO long since I've read music. This was a lot of fun and well performed. Thanks!

[@zachyeet1806]

Thanks! I was listening to Aja this week and just couldn't get these bass riffs out of my head.

[@DillanOttawa]

Kinda song that makes me wish I played bass! Well done.

[@brandonsamson6278]

Well done sir. Beautifully played. Makes me want to get a bass guitar and learn it myself.

[@royrobertson7078]

Most excellent playing! Thank you for sharing!

[@danielsherwood3460]

Ahh, bro. You just nailed it. You're a beast on the bass.

[@JadeJustineTowse]

Fantastic! Love your tone and slapping skills. Keep the vids coming :) Subscribed.

[@sombeach]

You are pretty awesome yourself! I subscribed to your channel long ago!

[@JadeJustineTowse]

@@sombeach Thank you! It means a lot to me :)

[@carlosfranciscomoralesmora5408]

Dude I have always wanted to learn how to play a bass I just order one I don’t have no idea how am I going to play but I am looking forward to it !

[@richbrice3299]

Absolutely nailed it. Thanks

[@rustyshackelford4503]

Ok…well now I have my next project. Thank you for putting in such great work getting this charted out and performed so well!

[@HRpuffnstuff23]

back in high school in the 80's I played bass in the jazz band and it was all sight reading- no tabs at all of course. well, I am 55 now and I just cant do that at all so the tabs help a great deal- thank you

[@JamesDavisakaRemguy]

I spent maybe 30 seconds or so studying your T-shirt, pondering your deep interest in the periodic table before I realized it was all sodium, and then it hit me. Yeah, I'm a little slow on the take. I'd say it's my age (60), but really, I was this way when I wore a younger man's shoes. (I hope he's not gonna want 'em back, I bought new laces and everything!) Also, I love how the comment at the beginning of this vid says "Keep it up, you're really good". Uh, yeah - you're only a PROFESSIONAL BASS PLAYER, one who most likely majored in music and has been playing some sort of musical instrument since you could hold one up. I would hope you're "really good". Maybe they think our standards are higher here in Canada, you know, like how CSA ratings are tougher than UL? Finally, you killed Green Earrings. Thank you, Chuck Rainey was and is my hero. Walter Becker, you should have known, man! White boy don't have the FUNK like ol' Chuck...God rest his soul. Becker, not Rainey, he's still going I believe. Anyway, thanks for the channel, I'm here often. Oh and keep it up, *you're fairly good* 😁

[@sbaker6383]

Absolutely beautiful

[@RanLeviBass]

this channel is a real treasure!

[@alimatic]

Nice! Love the way you show the notation!

[@BennyTheBassman]

Thanks!! It's a lot of extra work, but I know it helps!!

[@ryanhdrums]

This is an excellent cover

[@vaportrails7943]

I’ve been watching every video on KZbin of people trying to play this, and I think you and Chuck Rainey are the only two people in the world who can play that slap chorus/outro. Props.👍

[@cgawainf4785]

fantastic work...playing and transcribing! Thanks pal!

[@chrisgavin3330]

great bass to bed track level ratio mate. nice sounding pre bass.

[@anthonywaynethornton9456]

Good job chef.

[@zhartsog666]

Man! I love you dude.

[@robertisrael8135]

Wow...thank you! Super great technique and spot on.

[@Rockxx2422]

Love you play bro!!!

[@oldsoftee]

Phenomenal...the original and your reproduction.

[@marcaaronschmied]

Great transcription! Thank you.

[@illuminoid22]

Amazing playing- really good!

[@hechogamermx4812]

That Slappping sooo goood

[@patrickmoreels9826]

Nice bass cover Man!

[@joannafalk6644]

Yay! So great, Ben!

[@BennyTheBassman]

Thanks!

[@pangaea90]

OMG. Beautiful

[@epat32]

FLAWLESS!!! Great job!

[@kevinroberts3456]

Dope!

[@ShyGuy_78]

best steely Dan song best bass line best lyrics BEST EVREYTHING 😎

[@matt.drumnbass]

why is this line insane

[@p.g.curtwright7763]

Perfect!

[@timothydukeman7619]

Very nice!

[@michaelatkinson8583]

Very nice - thank you!

[@chriso8193]

Tight!!!

[@freddiemercurious]

Well done, bud!

[@BennyTheBassman]

Thanks Freddie!

[@ImBobbyRicigliano]

Very nice pocket. Good job!! But don’t ignore those ghost notes in the verse!!

[@jaschul]

Really nice job. I don't remember any slapping/popping on that song but I'll take your word (?) for it.

[@veelo9383]

The bass is a little hard to hear on the slapping bits, but if you listen for it you can definitely hear the slaps and pops.

[@NickHarman]

On the KZbin video on the making of Peg, the bass player tells how he hid what he was doing (slapping) from the control room

[@OldStudentNS]

Nice. Love it.

[@NozmoKing]

Thank you!

[@ML-nj4qi]

As a musician one of my bucket list wish would be to play on a Steely Dan record.

[@allenronaldson4381]

You are my captain, my captain.

[@blokreet]

Wicked!

[@pocketbeat7922]

Nasty🤯

[@samspade1957]

Nice! Thank you!

[@BennyTheBassman]

Welcome!!

[@breadchris]

so smoothhh

[@gabrielrojonovais]

;) nice one thank u. again

[@baselinesweb]

Great work - I'm at the beginning of a long learning process I guess! I got the piano done, but the bass is going to be a huge test. How long did it take you? Thank you.

[@tonyt8805]

Awesome!!!

[@BennyTheBassman]

Thank you!!

[@donaldbest7621]

I think your stuff is fantastic, and I am not so great a bass player myself, I can play, though . I mention that because maybe I am not qualified to say..... I bet you could get the feel a bit better on this one.

[@TheNerdyMusician]

Pretty great cover the notes on point and are very helpful but personally i don't think There's that much plucking.. Have you seen the making of aja? The bass player Chuck Rainey him self says Becker and Fagen told him don't slap bass cause it was popular at the time everyone was doing it and they wanted something different but he did it anyway but only slightly to the point were they didn't notice it it's a great documentary check it out!!!

[@dominicapostol4604]

How do you get that beautiful tone

[@9999plato]

Nice.

[@AlmanfaluthiDjaka]

Jamiroquai - time won't wait, please 😊🙏🏻

[@mythcrab6047]

I don't really slap and learning the slap section fingerstyle has taken ages lol,

[@hetul784]

Are you combining the P and J pickup?

[@jonselby4889]

Damn.

[@DBLVIDS]

#SodiumShirt LOL YESSSSS!!!!

[@AraYashikiOtousanOkaasanThanks]

0:43

[@neoneapolitan2122]

Simply amazing, it's like if Chuck Rainey were teaching us how to play the song.

[@TheNerdyMusician]

Yeah the notes are spot on but a lil bit too much popping on the Chorus/Hook, in a interview about the making of Peg Chuck Rainey him self talks about when he recorded the bass track Walter becker and Donald fagen told him not to Slap and pop because that style was just coming out and it was popular everyone was doing it, but he did it anyway but just slightly that they didn't notice it

[@TheNerdyMusician]

Here's the making of Peg. kzbin.info/www/bejne/rZKsc3RslJV6h8U

[@jayson1505]

The entire bassline is two children talking/arguing

[@BennyTheBassman]

Hah! Cool interpretation. I could see that.

[@CanadiansInCarsGettingCocky]

The chorus has total Seinfeld vibes! 🤙

[@zipzipp1]

Beautifully played, would you be willing to share a PDF of the notation/tabs with me? Willing to pay a small fee via PayPal or something

[@BennyTheBassman]

Hey Ian! Thank you. Yes I would be willing to sell the chart to you, but have you considered a Patreon subscription? $2/video grants you access to all my PDFs, constantly updated with the new ones as I post them on KZbin.

[@zipzipp1]

@@BennyTheBassman can you send me a link? About to check video description

[@BennyTheBassman]

Yeah! www.patreon.com/bennythebassman

[@zipzipp1]

I'm a little confused. If I set my monthly limit to 1, does that mean I'm only pledging $2 for the Peg PDF and can cancel after that. As of right now I'd prefer to just buy this PDF but I will keep you in mind for the future if I need help learned another new cover. Thank you!

[@BennyTheBassman]

Hey Ian! Totally understand. Of course I hope that people will not cancel their patreon membership after one month, and continue to support me making this content (becuase I can't make money of youtube - all copyrighted music is instantly demonitized), but there are a lot of people that do choose to go that route, yes. OK, if you'd just like to pay for a one-off chart, email me at [e-mail] and we'll work it out.

[@bassplayergt7474]

Buenisimo máster podrías compartir las partituras?

[@BennyTheBassman]

Estoy trabajando en una forma de compartirlos todos, sí. Mientras tanto, ¿hay alguno en particular que quieras? Comparte tu correo electrónico conmigo y te enviaré la música. (perdón por cualquier problema de traducción bueno)

[@RobertWadlow292]

I don't understand how to read this tab

[@777rockmanmetalheadrockers4]

Could you turn up the music louder so I can hear it all thanks

[@MomusFilms]

Ho-Lee-Shit. breathtaking.

[@robertisrael8135]

Ben - How about Kid Charlemagne?

[@BennyTheBassman]

Very cool request - thank you. I will do it!!

[@marcaaronschmied]

Great transcription of "Peg"! Thanks for doing it. What method do you use to transcribe? Thanks.

[@BennyTheBassman]

Thank you! Much appreciated. I download the mp3s off of youtube using a site like this one ytmp3.cc/ (WARNING - POP-UPS), and then I play the MP3 in a program called "Transcribe!" - it's a nice lightwight little player that allows you to slow the song down without changing the pitch, if you get stuck on any hard/fast parts. You can also change the pitch without changing the speed which I find really useful when I need to practice a song in a different key (ie when a singer needs to sing it higher or lower). Using Transcribe! for playback, I just write the notes directly into Sibelius 7.5 (notation program), and then once I'm happy and have figured how I want to play it, I write the tabs in at the end.

[@danielh4995]

Such a shame it is mixed so quietly on the album. I have to turn up the bass to enjoy it a little more

[@Patrick-so5is]

Any major dude with tell you

[@jasonfallon4968]

A tutorial?..

[@effdpaul1815]

Sodium all the way man...

[@bigc2nyce]

you really should actually break the song down and explain the individual parts. its hard for a lot of people (including myself) to watch someone play at full speed and try and figure what exactly they're are doing.

[@BennyTheBassman]

I've thought about doing that, yeah. It's a lot of extra work for me though, on a weekly basis - so I'm strongly considering starting up a Patreon account where I can make those types of videos and share them with patrons. I'm very happy to make those types of videos but it just takes too much time to make one each week, for free. A quick and easy alternative for now - did you know that you can play the videos at a half or quarter time, right in the youtube client? Just click the "settings" cog in the bottom right -> speed -> 0.5 or 0.25. It doesn't sound amazing, but it will give you a lot more of a chance to read the tabs/notation and play along.

[@ΔημητρηςΚολλιγρης-η7κ]

Go to you tube settings and select 0.75 speed or 0.50 for the harder parts!

[@joesmith-vr4hh]

You could also read the bass tabs online, and come back and play along after gaining some proficiency.

[@steadyeddi]

@@BennyTheBassman I think it's perfect as it is. Thank you for taking the time to do this.

[@aw8079]

Great the way it is! great playing

[@miladbgn]

Nice playing but Wrong transcription!😔

[@johngareffa7207]

Stop slapping walter said dont slap

[@Undertaking-Life]

Is it me or does your Bass have a curved neck...