Bass Transcription: ABBA – Thank You For The Music

By the time that ABBA recorded their fifth album it was clear that they were running out of inspiration, at least as far as album titles were concerned; this track was originally released on ABBA: The Album in 1977. However, the song wasn’t released as a single until 1983 to promote the band’s retrospective compilation album (also titled Thank You For The Music).

Unsurprisingly, the song didn’t fair well in the charts – fans had had access to it for six years, and by the early 1980s Abbamania was in decline. This can be considered as the band’s farewell song, both lyrically and commercially.

Bass Transcription: ABBA – Thank You For The Music.pd

As far as the transcription goes, there isn’t much to worry about once you’ve clocked the key signature and any sneaky accidentals. ABBA’s bass maestro Rutger Gunnarsson keeps things simple, using scale tones and the occasional chromatic approach to smoothly navigate the harmony without treading on anyone else’s toes.