Chords for Sly & The Family Stone's Larry Graham's Slap Bass | BBC The Story of Funk (2014 Documentary)
Tempo:
107.675 bpm
Chords used:
E
F#
G
B
G#
Tuning:Standard Tuning (EADGBE)Capo:+0fret
Start Jamming...
[G#] [G]
We all had our own musical [G] background and experiences that we were allowed to contribute
to the band.
So, everybody [B] brought something to [C] the table.
[Gm] Sly was the writer.
Musically, he would allow us to express ourselves.
And I think that that really helped the band to be kind of like a melting pot of music,
so to [E] speak.
It was this openness to new [F#] ideas that allowed Larry Graham to go wild with his bass.
He invented a new style of playing that would become one of the sounds most associated with funk.
Looking at the devil.
Slap bass.
[E]
Sprinting at his gun.
[Bm]
[E] Fingers start shaking.
[Bm]
I [E] begin to run.
It was a technique he developed playing with his mom as a kid.
My mom decided [C] that we weren't going to have drums anymore.
[G] Now, I don't know if that was for economic reasons or what.
Maybe two [F#] people could make more than divided it up among three.
She never told me the reason, [B] but we're not going to have drums anymore.
So that's when I started thumping the strings with my thumb to make up for not having that
bass drum and plucking the strings with my finger to make up for not having that back
beat on the snare drum.
So [D] it's kind of [F] playing the drums on [E] the bass.
[E] Mama so happy, I'm just going to cry.
After [Em] Thank You for Letting Me Hear, [F#] that became a huge template for every bass player
to [D#] start using the thumb [F#] slap.
You talk about a song being written around a bass riff.
That was it.
Later on, other bands, if you were going to play [C#m]
some serious funk, [Em] you kind of had to
have the bass player [F#] play by style of playing the bass.
Thank You was a number one record that became a cornerstone of the funk.
The way the bass riff left space for the rest of the band to fit in the groove showed the
next generation of [E] funketeers how to construct a hit song out of a jam.
The more space sometimes that you leave between the two and the four, and if you just play
that continuously and let it just brew on the same groove over and over and over and
over again until it gets so powerful, that is [G#] ridiculous.
That's like the kind of funk that I like.
And then you [B] make the ugly face.
[E]
That's funk.
We all had our own musical [G] background and experiences that we were allowed to contribute
to the band.
So, everybody [B] brought something to [C] the table.
[Gm] Sly was the writer.
Musically, he would allow us to express ourselves.
And I think that that really helped the band to be kind of like a melting pot of music,
so to [E] speak.
It was this openness to new [F#] ideas that allowed Larry Graham to go wild with his bass.
He invented a new style of playing that would become one of the sounds most associated with funk.
Looking at the devil.
Slap bass.
[E]
Sprinting at his gun.
[Bm]
[E] Fingers start shaking.
[Bm]
I [E] begin to run.
It was a technique he developed playing with his mom as a kid.
My mom decided [C] that we weren't going to have drums anymore.
[G] Now, I don't know if that was for economic reasons or what.
Maybe two [F#] people could make more than divided it up among three.
She never told me the reason, [B] but we're not going to have drums anymore.
So that's when I started thumping the strings with my thumb to make up for not having that
bass drum and plucking the strings with my finger to make up for not having that back
beat on the snare drum.
So [D] it's kind of [F] playing the drums on [E] the bass.
[E] Mama so happy, I'm just going to cry.
After [Em] Thank You for Letting Me Hear, [F#] that became a huge template for every bass player
to [D#] start using the thumb [F#] slap.
You talk about a song being written around a bass riff.
That was it.
Later on, other bands, if you were going to play [C#m]
some serious funk, [Em] you kind of had to
have the bass player [F#] play by style of playing the bass.
Thank You was a number one record that became a cornerstone of the funk.
The way the bass riff left space for the rest of the band to fit in the groove showed the
next generation of [E] funketeers how to construct a hit song out of a jam.
The more space sometimes that you leave between the two and the four, and if you just play
that continuously and let it just brew on the same groove over and over and over and
over again until it gets so powerful, that is [G#] ridiculous.
That's like the kind of funk that I like.
And then you [B] make the ugly face.
[E]
That's funk.
Key:
E
F#
G
B
G#
E
F#
G
_ _ _ _ [G#] _ _ [G] _ _
_ _ _ We all had our own musical [G] background and experiences that we were allowed to contribute
to the band.
So, everybody [B] brought something to [C] the table. _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ [Gm] Sly was the writer.
Musically, he would allow us to express ourselves.
And I think that that really helped the band to be kind of like a melting pot of music,
so to [E] speak.
_ _ _ _ _ It was this openness to new [F#] ideas that allowed Larry Graham to go wild with his bass.
He invented a new style of playing that would become one of the sounds most associated with funk.
Looking at the devil.
Slap bass.
_ [E] _
Sprinting at his gun.
_ _ _ [Bm] _ _
[E] Fingers start shaking.
_ _ [Bm] _
I [E] begin to run.
_ _ _ It was a technique he developed playing with his mom as a kid. _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ My mom decided [C] that we weren't going to have drums anymore.
[G] Now, I don't know if that was for economic reasons or what.
Maybe two [F#] people could make more _ than divided it up among three.
She never told me the reason, [B] but we're not going to have drums anymore.
So that's when I started thumping the strings with my thumb to make up for not having that
bass drum and plucking the strings with my finger to make up for not having that back
beat on the snare drum.
So [D] it's kind of [F] playing the drums on [E] the bass. _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [E] _ _ Mama so happy, _ _ _ _ I'm just going to cry.
After [Em] Thank You for Letting Me Hear, [F#] that became a huge template for every bass player
to [D#] start using the thumb [F#] slap.
You talk about a song being written around a bass riff.
That was it.
Later on, other bands, if you were going to play [C#m] _
some serious funk, [Em] you kind of had to
have the bass player [F#] play by style of playing the bass. _ _ _
_ _ Thank You was a number one record that became a cornerstone of the funk.
The way the bass riff left space for the rest of the band to fit in the groove showed the
next generation of [E] funketeers how to construct a hit song out of a jam. _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
The more space sometimes that you leave between the two and the four, and if you just play
that continuously and let it just brew on the same groove over and over and over and
over again until it gets so powerful, _ that is [G#] ridiculous.
That's like the kind of funk that I like.
And then you [B] make the ugly face.
_ _ _ _ [E]
That's funk. _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ We all had our own musical [G] background and experiences that we were allowed to contribute
to the band.
So, everybody [B] brought something to [C] the table. _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ [Gm] Sly was the writer.
Musically, he would allow us to express ourselves.
And I think that that really helped the band to be kind of like a melting pot of music,
so to [E] speak.
_ _ _ _ _ It was this openness to new [F#] ideas that allowed Larry Graham to go wild with his bass.
He invented a new style of playing that would become one of the sounds most associated with funk.
Looking at the devil.
Slap bass.
_ [E] _
Sprinting at his gun.
_ _ _ [Bm] _ _
[E] Fingers start shaking.
_ _ [Bm] _
I [E] begin to run.
_ _ _ It was a technique he developed playing with his mom as a kid. _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ My mom decided [C] that we weren't going to have drums anymore.
[G] Now, I don't know if that was for economic reasons or what.
Maybe two [F#] people could make more _ than divided it up among three.
She never told me the reason, [B] but we're not going to have drums anymore.
So that's when I started thumping the strings with my thumb to make up for not having that
bass drum and plucking the strings with my finger to make up for not having that back
beat on the snare drum.
So [D] it's kind of [F] playing the drums on [E] the bass. _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [E] _ _ Mama so happy, _ _ _ _ I'm just going to cry.
After [Em] Thank You for Letting Me Hear, [F#] that became a huge template for every bass player
to [D#] start using the thumb [F#] slap.
You talk about a song being written around a bass riff.
That was it.
Later on, other bands, if you were going to play [C#m] _
some serious funk, [Em] you kind of had to
have the bass player [F#] play by style of playing the bass. _ _ _
_ _ Thank You was a number one record that became a cornerstone of the funk.
The way the bass riff left space for the rest of the band to fit in the groove showed the
next generation of [E] funketeers how to construct a hit song out of a jam. _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
The more space sometimes that you leave between the two and the four, and if you just play
that continuously and let it just brew on the same groove over and over and over and
over again until it gets so powerful, _ that is [G#] ridiculous.
That's like the kind of funk that I like.
And then you [B] make the ugly face.
_ _ _ _ [E]
That's funk. _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Facts about this song