Bass transcription: The Kooks – “Naive”

“Naive” is possibly the best-known and most successful of The Kooks’ output – the band formed at the BRIT School (whose famous alumni include Adele, Amy Winehouse, Jessie J, and RAYE) and were signed to Virgin Records within a mere three months of forming.

Kooks – “Naive” bass transcription PDF

“Naive” bass performance notes

• The chart is not a note-for-note transcription of the bass part – it’s a chord chart with rhythmic suggestions and any important unison hits written out.
• Speaking of important unison hits, the heavily-syncopated figure in verse 2 is probably the most interesting aspect of the song and is also horrible to read at first glance.
• “Naive” makes frequent use of an F# major chord that has an A# in the bass – this is written as F#/A# (pronounced “F sharp over A sharp) and is technically known as a first inversion chord, as the major 3rd is in the bass, rather than the root.