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The Greatest Bass Line Ever?
“Them Changes”

The TGrTTatTTesTBheL
FREE LESSON BOOK: Thundercat—”Them Changes” 02

The Greatest Bass Line Ever?

“Them Changes”
Featuring a six-string Ibanez bass, a bunch of
octave and phase effects, and a sampled beat
from the Isley Brothers, Them Changes is one of
the funkiest heartbreak songs of all time.

And today, we’re going to break it down with

note-for-note transcriptions so you can see
exactly what Thundercat played.

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FREE LESSON BOOK: Thundercat—”Them Changes” 03

“Them Changes”
album Drunk (2017)

Thundercat, also known as Stephen Bruner, has

had a wild journey to his current place as a bass
guitar prodigy. The mastermind behind Kendrick
Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterfly, Thundercat has
also worked alongside Snoop Dogg, Erykah
Badu, Suicidal Tendencies and Pharrell Williams.
It’s safe to say that he’s got credentials by the
bucket load.

Not to be confused with the Buddy Miles song,

Them Changes first appeared on Thundercat’s
2015 release, The Beyond/Where the Giants Roam. It opens with a sample of the beat
from The Isley Brothers’s Footsteps in the Dark, quickly followed by a crawling, funky-
yet-catchy, bass line that’s bound to get you nodding your head along to the beat. Los
Angeles Times reviewer Randall Roberts said “the searing funk track features a freaky
bass line both dirty and distorted.”

Let’s check out the main hook.

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FREE LESSON BOOK: Thundercat—”Them Changes” 04

Original Riff (6- or 5-string)

The main bass line (Example 01) draws much of its motion from Thundercat’s surgically
precise articulation. Over that he lays a counterpoint line (Example 02). Combine the two
parts for a Bootsy-meets-Rufus line that’s sure to worsen your drummer’s nervous twitch.
Run each exercise through with a metronome and then take a well-deserved break!

Example 1 (6-String)
YouTube - 01:39

.
œœ. b œ. œœ. b œœ. œœ. œœ. œœ. œœ. œœ. œœ.
## œœ
? bb 4 ™™ #œ ™™
nœ œ bœ b œ œ œ œ œ œ
b 4 nœ œ œ œ nœ œ
œ
a
p i a m
sim.
i
™ ™
m
10 5 6 10 8 8 8 8 8 8 8

™ ™
8 3 4 8 6 6 6 6 6 6 6

⁄
10 8 8 8 8 8 8 8
9 5 6 8 6
7 3 4

p = thumb, i = index, m = middle, a = ring

BMaj7 Gm7 Abm7

F7(11) Eb7(11)

continued

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FREE LESSON BOOK: Thundercat—”Them Changes” 05

THEM CHANGES (continued)

Example 2 (5-String)
YouTube - 01:56 | 10:57

? bb 4 nœ nœ œ œ œ œ
. ‰ . ≈ bœ œ bœ œ. œ.
œ
b 4 n¿ œ ¿ bœ œj œ n¿ b œ J

9 5 6 4

⁄
X X 8 6 6 4 6 6 4
7 3 4 X
4 6 4

3
? bb nœ nœ œ œ
b nœ n¿ œ ¿ bœ œj œ n ¿ b œ œ. ≈ bœ œ n ¿ b œ œ. ≈ œ œ

9 5 6

⁄
X X 8 6 4 6 6 4 6
7 3 4 X X
4 6 4 4

Live Variation
YouTube - 08:01

œœ ™™ œœ. œœ n œ ™
™
. j .
b œ. bb œœ œœ. œœ. œœ.
nœœ ™
## œœ œœ. œœ œœ
b œœœ
? b 4 ™™ #œ œ œ n œ bœ œ
œœ œœ œ œ œ œ œ
™™
b b 4 nœ œ œ

™ 10 5 6 10 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 7
™
™ ™
8
8 3 4 8 6 6 6 6 6 6 6

⁄
6
8 10 8 8 8 8 8 8 8
9 5 6 6 8 6
7 3 4

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FREE LESSON BOOK: Thundercat—”Them Changes” 06

THEM CHANGES (continued)

Riff adapted for 4-String

Thundercat for the rest of us…
So maybe you’re not into playing a 6-string signature bass? There’s still lots of stuff
you can learn from this track. Beyond oddities of effects, the following examples show
4-string friendly parts that starts with a Bmaj7 to Gmin7 slide.

4-String - Main Riff

YouTube - 12:45

# .
œ œ. b œ. œ. b . œ. œ. œ.
œ œœ. œœ. œœ.
#œ œ bœ œ œ œ
? bb 4 ™™ nœ œ bœ œ bœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ™™
b4

™ 15 10 11 15 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 ™
¤ ™ 14
13
10
8
11
9
13
13
11
11 11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
™

4-String - Variation 1
YouTube - 14:23

.
#œ #œ œ. b œ. œ
.
œ . . . .
b œ b œ œœ œœ œœ œœ. œœ n œ ™
? bb 4 ™™ nœ œ bœ œ bœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ™™
b4

™ 15 10 11 15 13 13 13 13 13 13 12 ™
¤ ™ 14
13
10
8
11
9
13
13
11
11 11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
™

4-String - Variation 2
YouTube - 14:43

# .
œ .
œ b .
œ œœ. b . œ. œ. œ.
œ œœ. œœ n œ ™
#œ bœ œ œ œ
? bb 4 ™™ nœ œ bœ œ nœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ™™
b4 n¿ ¿ ¿ n¿
™ 15 10 11 15 13 13 13 13 13 13 12 ™
¤ ™ 14
13
X 10
8
X 11
9
X
13
13
X 11
11 11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
11
™

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FREE LESSON BOOK: Thundercat—”Them Changes” 07

THEM CHANGES (continued)

Gear
We’re told that Thundercat used a Pigtronix Envelope Filter to get the wobbly filter
sound in addition to his already hypnotic bass line, but there are plenty of options
out there when it comes to experimenting with different pedals.

Remember that the order in which you place your effects pedals can have a big
effect on your overall tone. This is because different pedals react differently
depending on what’s coming into them, be that the pure signal from your bass, or
the effected signal from other pedals. Octave or pitch effects tend to be first in line
for many players because you generally want those effects to kick in before more
extreme signal changes.

Micro POG by DiscumBOBulator Bass Envelope Phaser

electro-harmonix by emma electronic by Pigtronix

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