Basslines For Beginners: The Police, So Lonely
This song has 2 distinct sections:
• The Verse
• The Chorus
Both sections feature the same chord progression:
C Major – G Major – A minor – F Major
Sting plays a bassline with few notes and a lot of space in the Verse and uses
a driving 8th note feel in the Chorus. This creates a huge contrast – the use of
space in the verses creates a more laid-back reggae type feel while the
choruses have a lot more energy, creating a hard rock feel.
The Verse
In the verses, Sting plays the root note of each chord on beat 1. To create a
more bouncing feel, he plays an ‘anticipation’ – a rhythm that starts before
beat 1. For each chord, he starts a semitone (1 fret) below his target note.
The Chorus
The chorus features a driving eighth-note rock feel. For this, you can use
alternate plucking (1 – 2 – 1 – 2 etc) or alternate picking (up-down-up-down)
and on bar four, you can hit both of those F notes nice and hard with your first
finger or two downstrokes.
Key Change
After the 2nd chorus, the song changes key as we head into the guitar solo – it
moves up a tone from C Major to D Major. You can use the same parts but
play everything up 2 frets.
Guitar Solo Part 1
Guitar Solo Part 2 and final choruses
Sting improvises at times, playing lines that connect together the chords. Use
this lesson to get you started and then use your ear to work out the other parts
that he plays.