‘Hold Back the River’ was the second single from James Bay’s 2015 debut album Chaos and the Calm. Both fared well around the world, earning him multiple Grammy nominations (Best Rock Song, Best Rock Album and Best New Artist) and chart success in numerous countries. In fact, ‘Hold Back the River’ was so successful in the UK that it won the ‘Most Performed Work in 2016 ‘ Ivor Novello award.

“But what about the bass part?” I hear you cry. Fear not, it’s all here in note-for-note form:

James Bay – ‘Hold Back the River’ bass transcription PDF

‘Hold Back the River’ is a great song for less-experienced bassists who are working on their sight reading skills; not too fast, not too boring, with plenty of variety in the note values. I tend to suggest this as a study piece for my students who are working on Rhythm Reading Bootcamp Volume 1 as it provides excellent ‘real world’ practice for 8th-note rests, tied notes, and dealing with structural elements like multi-bar rests, repeats, and first- and second-time bars.