Transcriptions

Free Bass Transcriptions Archive

This page features over 200 free bass transcriptions in standard notation. Whether you need to learn songs for your next gig at short notice or you want to practice reading sheet music without the distraction of bass tab there’s something for every bass player here, from classic rock to jazz and beyond. It doesn’t matter if you’re a beginner or an experienced pro, there’s plenty of free bass sheet music here to test your reading and playing skills.

If you’re looking for bass TABs, then try clicking HERE.

These free bass transcriptions are provided for educational use only (click on the transcription title to view and download the pdf).


Using Charts for Professional Work?

If you’re using these transcriptions for paid gigs or as teaching material, then a small donation to the cost of running the site would be hugely appreciated. You can support the site via Paypal here: 


These bass transcriptions have all been done for gigs, personal research, or requests from private students. Most are note-for-note transcriptions of bass parts, some are chord charts and others are a combination of the two.

Transcriptions are filed alphabetically by first name.

A
ABBA – Chiquitita
ABBA – Dancing Queen
ABBA – Does Your Mother Know
ABBA – Fernando
ABBA – Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)
ABBA – Honey Honey
ABBA – Knowing Me, Knowing You
ABBA – Lay All Your Love On Me
ABBA – Mamma Mia
ABBA – Money Money Money
ABBA – SOS
ABBA – Thank You For The Music
ABBA – The Winner Takes It All
ABBA – Voulez Vous
ABBA – Waterloo
AC/DC – You Shook Me All Night Long
Al Green – Let’s Stay Together
Amy Winehouse – Rehab
Andy Williams – Can’t Take My Eyes Off You
Arctic Monkeys – Fluorescent Adolescent
Arctic Monkeys – I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor
Arctic Monkeys – Teddy Picker
Aretha Franklin – I Say A Little Prayer

B
The Beatles – Help
The Beatles – I Saw Her Standing There
Ben E King – Stand By Me
Beyoncé – Deja Vu
Big Mountain – Baby, I Love Your Way
Blink 182 – All The Small Things
Blink 182 – First Date
Bob Marley & The Wailers – Is This Love
Bombay Bicycle Club – Always Like This
Bon Jovi – Livin’ On A Prayer
Bon Jovi – You Give Love a Bad Name
Bruno Mars – 24K Magic
Bruno Mars – Just The Way You Are (Live)
Bruno Mars – Locked Out Of Heaven
Bruno Mars – Runaway Baby

C
Candi Staton – Young Hearts Run Free
The Cardigans – My Favourite Game
Cee Lo Green – Forget You
Chic – Le Freak
Chaka Khan – Our Love’s In Danger
Chaka Khan – So Naughty
The Clash – I Fought The Law
Clean Bandit – Rather Be
Coldplay – In My Place
Coldplay – Yellow
Commodores – Easy
Corinne Bailey Rae – Put Your Records On
Crowded House – Weather With You

D
D’Angelo – Send It On (live)
David Bowie – Absolute Beginners
David Bowie – China Girl
David Bowie – Let’s Dance
David Gray – Babylon
Diana Ross – I’m Coming Out
Dire Straits – Sultans of Swing
Dolly Parton – 9 to 5
Dolly Parton – Jolene
Donny Hathaway – Love Love Love
Donny Hathaway – This Christmas
Donny Hathaway – What’s Going On
Dua Lipa – ‘Don’t Start Now’
Dua Lipa – ‘Levitating’
Duffy – Warwick Avenue

E
Elton John – Rocket Man
Erykah Badu – Rimshot (Intro)
Everything Everything – Cough Cough

F
Fall Out Boy – Dance, Dance
Fall Out Boy – Sugar, We’re Goin Down
Fall Out Boy – This Ain’t a Scene, It’s an Arms Race
The Fearless Flyers – Ace of Aces
The Feeling – Never be Lonely
Fleetwood Mac – Don’t Stop
Fleetwood Mac – Go Your Own Way
Fontella Bass – Rescue Me
Foo Fighters – Best Of You
Foo Fighters – Learn To Fly
Foo Fighters – No Way Back
Foo Fighters – Times Like These
Frankie Valli – December 1963 (Oh What A Night!)
Franz Ferdinand – Take Me Out
Fratellis – Chelsea Dagger
The Fray – How to Save a Life

G
Gary Numan – Music for Chameleons
Green Day – 21 Guns
Green Day – Basket Case
Green Day – Longview
Green Day – Minority
Green Day – Warning

H
Harvey Mason – Phantazia
Huey Lewis and The News – The Power of Love

J
Jackson 5 – I’ll Be There
The Jam – Start!
James Bay – Hold Back The River
James Taylor – You’ve Got a Friend
Jamiroquai – Runaway
Jet – Are You Gonna Be My Girl
Justin Timberlake – Can’t Stop The Feeling!

K
Kaiser Chiefs – I Predict a Riot
Kenny Loggins – Footloose
Killers – All These Things That I Have Done
Killers – Mr Brightside
Killers – Somebody Told Me
Kings Of Leon – Manhattan
Kings Of Leon – Revelry
Kings of Leon – Sex on Fire
Kings of Leon – Use Somebody
Kirk Franklin – Brighter Day
The Kooks – Naive
Kool & The Gang – Celebration

L
LaBelle – Lady Marmalade
Led Zeppelin – Good Times, Bad Times
Lenny Kravitz – Stop Draggin’ Around
Limp Bizkit – My Way
Lionel Richie – All Night Long
Lionel Richie – Dancing On The Ceiling
Little Beaver – I Can Dig It Baby
Luther Vandross – She’s A Super Lady
Lynyrd Skynyrd – Sweet Home Alabama

M
McFadden & Whitehead – Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now
Madness – Baggy Trousers
Madness – My Girl
Madonna – Like A Prayer
Maroon 5 – Harder To Breathe
Maroon 5 – This Love
Martha Reeves – Dancing In The Street
The Mars Volta – The Widow
The Meters – Funkify Your Life
Me’shell Ndegeocello – I’m Diggin’ You (Like An Old Soul Record)
Me’shell Ndegeocello – Shoot n Up And Gett n High
Me’shell Ndegeocello – The Way
Michael Jackson – Billie Jean
Michael Jackson – Burn This Disco Out
Michael Jackson – Get On The Floor
Michael Jackson – Thriller
Michael McDonald – I Keep Forgettin’ (Every Time You’re Near)Youtube Playalong
Monkees – Daydream Believer
Mumford and Sons – The Cave
Muse – Muscle Museum
Muse – Supermassive Black Hole
Muse – Time Is Running Out
Mystery Jets – Hideaway
Mystery Jets – Young Love

N
No Doubt – Don’t Speak

O
The O’Jays – Back Stabbers
Otis Redding – Dock of the Bay

P
Paramore – Ain’t It Fun
Paramore – Fences
Paramore – That’s What You Get
Pat Metheny – Bright Size Life
Paul Simon – Graceland
Paul Young – I’m Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down
Philip Bailey – Easy Lover
Police – Message In a Bottle
Police – Roxanne

Q
Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody
Queen – Crazy Little Thing Called Love
Queen – Don’t Stop Me Now  Youtube Playalong
Queen – I Want to Break Free
Queen – Killer Queen
Queen – We Are The Champions

R
The Raconteurs – Steady As She Goes
Radiohead – Paranoid Android
Rage Against The Machine – Calm Like A Bomb
Rage Against The Machine – People Of The Sun
Rascal Flatts – Bless The Broken Road
Razorlight – America
Razorlight – Golden Touch
Razorlight – In The Morning
The Real Thing – You To Me Are Everything
Red Hot Chili Peppers – Around the World
Red Hot Chili Peppers – Californication
Red Hot Chili Peppers – Can’t Stop
Red Hot Chili Peppers – Dani California
Red Hot Chili Peppers – Snow (Hey Oh)
Rihanna – Umbrella
Robbie Williams – Angels
Rod Stewart – Maggie May
Roy Orbison – Oh, Pretty Woman

S
Sade – Smooth Operator
Shawn Mendes – Stitches
Sixpence None the Richer – Kiss Me
Simon & Garfunkel – The Only Living Boy in New York
The Smiths – Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now
Stereophonics – Dakota
Sting – It’s Probably Me
The Strokes – Juicebox
The Strokes – Reptilia

T
Teena Marie – Square Biz
The Temptations – My Girl
Tina Turner – Proud Mary
Tom Misch – South of the River
Tool – Vicarious
Toto – Africa

V
Vulfpeck – Adrienne & Adrianne
Vulfpeck – Back Pocket
Vulfpeck – Dean Town

W
Wham! – Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go
Whitney Houston – I Wanna Dance With Somebody

Holiday Specials
Brenda Lee – Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree
Donny Hathaway – This Christmas
Jackson 5 – Santa Claus is Coming to Town
Jackson 5 – Up On The House Top
Mariah Carey – All I Want For Christmas is You
Shakin’ Stevens – Merry Christmas Everyone
Slade – Merry Xmas Everybody

51 comments

  1. can you post “never too much”by luther vandross?
    i want to show it to one of my students here in boston..thanks

  2. Thanks so much for sharing your transcriptions. I stumbled upon you at basschat, liked what I read, saw “Forget You” which I like as a song and wondered about the bass. Came here and found “Dock of the Bay” too, which though simple I wanted to learn note for note. Made my day – thanks again.

    Incidentally what software do you use to write them?

    1. Thanks Kiat, glad you’re enjoying the transcriptions! I use Sibelius for writing things out.

  3. So many thanks for sharing such a great work, wonderful transcriptions, a model of precision and clarity.

  4. Great transcriptions. Many thanks for sharing them. I have been looking for ages for a notation transcription of hit me with your rhythm stick. Any chance?? Chris

  5. Hi Tom,
    Is it possible to get transcription of “Don’t sit down cause …” by Arctic monkeys, espacially the chorus, please ?

  6. Great transcriptions. Do you happen to have the Rock With You (Michael Jackson) scan from Bass Player mag. I’m searching for it and saw on a message board that you might have it. It would be greatly appreciated. Got to play it Sat. Thanks

    [email protected]

  7. Thanks Tom, great work! Love your page. Just noticed one mistake, though… Take a loot at the 1st chorus in Fluorescent Adolescent… the first 6 bars should be condensed into 4.

  8. Awesome site Tom. As a fellow bassist, you have motivated me to post my transcriptions. I assume since you (and I) are/would be giving them away that you are not worried about the copyright people. My charts are all for contemporary praise music. Ron Wright

    1. Thanks Ron, glad you’re enjoying the site. Since everything here is free and designed to be used in an educational capacity I haven’t had any problems with copyright issues.

  9. Hey Tom,
    great, great transcriptions, thanks a lot!
    Any chance to get something from ‘the subways’?
    Regards Xiron

  10. Thank you, beautifully presented, the people that utilise this site should be grateful to have such quality…love it

  11. Hi I am new to this site I would appreciate a bass transcription for a place in the sun by Stevie wonder
    Thanks

  12. Great songs but could you add speed demon by Michael Jackon and higher ground by rhpc or stevie wonder

  13. THKS so much for that hard work transcribing all those songs. It’s really helpful and time saver !

  14. Thanks a lot! You are doing a great job! I also appreciate your detailed descriptions of the songs.

  15. I can not get the tabs only for bass guitar the song only comes as music only

  16. Thank you very much for providing the bass transcriptions that have certainly helped me a great deal in my bass education..Please keep up the good work sir.

  17. so happy to find a web site where we can get “notes” and not “tab”. Makes it easier for me. Can’t get use to tab, always have to put them back to actual notes

  18. Thanks for a wonderful site. You young guys have it easy nowadays with so much access to charts but,
    you still have to put in the work.

  19. Hi Tom, thanks for this great resource.

    How about Lights Out, Words Gone by Bombay Bicycle Club?

  20. Thanks so much! I love playing these. Can you please add some Avril Lavigne songs? Possibly Sk8er Boi or Girlfriend?

  21. What about a “classic” like Easy To Be Hard by 3 Dog Night??? Beautiful bass line – w/o it, the song would flop.

  22. Nice! Al lot of stuff for practice! Would really like some Doobie Brothers hits here!

  23. These charts are a great resource for learning to sight read! Although I think that there is a mistake in “Mamma Mia”. In measure 5 of the tag, there should be a natural sign in front of the C#.

  24. Great stuff! These say when there’s no gigs and we’re inside a lot it’s great to have done transcriptions to play through!!

    Does anyone have “too much too little too late” Johnny Mathis? The bas line in that is awesome!!

    Thank you

  25. What a generous thing to do. Your transcriptions are fantastic
    Thanks so much for sharing your hard work. It’s really appreciated .
    Very best wishes
    Paul Hornsby

  26. If you were there by WHAM! Great bass line by Leon Estus and Misameanor by the Silvers another great bass line that can’t be found on line THIS is a really great site 👍 keeping
    That old school music alive thanks

Comments are closed.