Hey there folks,
This is going to be a brief lesson around a couple of ideas. It's a slick little bassline in the title track of Cure For Pain that utilizes a slide. It's one of the key features to Mark Sandman's style. The other piece that is unique about the line is that the lowest note is our D string. This is relatively uncommon for a bass guitarist. Mark's instruments were very peculiar. They all had fewer strings than we typically associate with Bass Guitar. Mark Sandman and Morphine are truly a original specimen. I'd highly recommend you explore their recordings.
Within the song there are two primary ideas that get repeated throughout the entirety of the tune. So much so that there really isn't any other content to transcribe other than the form of the song (how many times each section is played and in what succession).
REPEATS Repeat signs are symbols that create broad strokes in an arrangement of music.
You repeat what is contained within the repeat symbols ||: :||
||: by itself it implies playing an idea twice. :||
=
by itself implies playing an idea twice.by itself implies playing an idea twice.
You can always dictate how many repetitions as in the verse that requires four times.
The chorus has two statements above the backwards facing repeat sign.
Play twice, then move on. This means to continue down the page > solo.
After the verse is repeated the implied two times, To V instructs you to go back to the Verse progression.
2. Play four times, then move on to the OUTRO which repeats four times before fading out.
SLASHES A lot of times when I notate recordings I can trust that the reader has enough wits about them to recognize motifs that correspond with chord progressions. Slash notation is a form of short hand that saves some attention. This style of notation also allows you to truncate the space required to notate a section of music. The chorus in its first iteration takes up 8 measures in 2 systems (rows). The slashes requires much lesson space to dictate a previous part due to 4 marks per measure compared to the four to six required in standard notation. As a result, the solo section occupies one system instead of two. If you study the chorus, the bass line and progression are identical to what happens in the solo that follows. At this point the reader is already within that motif, so it's easy to abbreviate the notation with slashes.
This is all a matter of style. Some people prefer to see no repeat signs and no slashes to eliminate confusion. There are certain moments within music that I agree with that opinion. As you transcribe more often you'll develop your own "ethics" in recording ideas for people to read. Remember, the goal is to make something as easily read as possible within the first run down.
Take care y'all.
Enjoy the process and keep playing.
Christopher
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