Chris Squire Bass Transcription: The Ancient

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Bar 48: Miguel doesn’t appear to be playing a low D, but I can hear it, hence the octave.
Bars 67 (04:31) and 73 (05:20) onwards - the octave stabs played under the Moog solo in G major. I could have scored these 3/4, 2/4, 3/4 and 5/4, but it felt truer to the piece to think two syncopated bars of 4/4 plus one of 5/4, because of the overall 4/4 Moog theme. Elsewhere, as you will see, I have scored the bass in certain time signatures irrespective of what the rest of the band is doing; this is something that Yes often does, anyway - Steve’s steel has already entered the fray at Bar 9 in a different time sig from Chris, Alan and Rick!
Bars 84-128 (06:05): moving between compound time (12/8) and simple time: feel it by understanding that the quaver tempo is the same throughout! The sustained low A in bars 90, 95, 111 and 116 - I’m hearing it, so I’m scoring it! Likewise the low B flat in bars 87, 94, 110, 114 and 115!
Bars 129-135 (08:21): Rick is playing a straight 4/4, but you can feel the logic to the dotted quaver+semiquaver groups with the time sigs I’ve scored. I have used 8ve here, but not later on in 154 onwards, where the octave jumps seemed more important to show.
Bars 145-149 (10:06): a reiteration of bar 104, in a cyclical descent of diminished 3rds. I find the minor 3rd semiquaver interval on the 3rd beat a real workout for my fourth finger (small hands!) The chromatic ascent in bar 149 the second time is held syncopated crotchets, rather than single syncopated quavers.
Oh gosh, the hot mess that is bars 154-215 (11:03). Continuing the spooky harmonic theme of diminished 3rds, this time ascending as well as descending, I decided that since we start on D, the key should be D minor; with each jump, I allowed Sibelius to ‘feel’ the modulation, so that’s the reason for all the accidentals. If you read music well, you should nevertheless pay attention (hence the reminder of the B flat in bar 207)! The keys to understanding this section are 1) that long phrases start on octave D quavers, which is why I’ve double-barred wherever that happens, and 2) the modulating descents in 5/8.
Bars 211-213 (11:57) are the best compromise of timing I was able to make, but I’m not sure it’s accurate. This whole section, I feel, is the weirdest and most freeform of all; when they did it live, Steve played something completely different, a chordal passage with a very glassy sort of reverb, and it lasted far longer. I imagine that it was having to endure this bit that made Rick, bored out of his skull, decide to get someone to bring him a curry.
216-230 (12:04) - I could have just scored repeated bar symbols, but it didn’t feel right to do so.
I did consider scoring both “So the flowering creativity...” and Steve’s solos (after all, I included the guitar in my transcription of “Turn of the Century”), but it felt too long to do. If you are interested in playing that beautiful solo, I must recommend Mick Barker’s book “Steve Howe Guitar Pieces”.
Bar 271 (15:31), the acoustic bass: does anyone recognise that Chris did this same opening figure during “Soon, oh soon the light” - ? Same sequence in the middle section of Lennon's "Don't let me down" too.
Bar 276 (17:39). This theme works better in its first iteration at bar 42, but I really don’t get why it has to come in after “Leaves of Green” has soothed the listener from the earlier challenge of the entire middle section. As Bette Midler said at the conclusion of her version of “Going to the Chapel”, “That is the pits ending to a really terrific song.”

[@fictionmusic3402]

incredibly well done! Thanks very much

[@bernab]

One of my favorite pieces of music.

[@tenebr1sm]

amazing!!!! this really shows how much of a beast chris was!!!!

[@miguelbass]

Simon, thank you for your brilliant work. I am still analyzing your comments, as time permits. Regarding bar 48, I am in fact playing both D notes, since the low D in the bass guitar is the open string just next to the other string (G) where I play the high D, a perfect octave above. ruclips.net/video/tf2MQv7OtR0/видео.html

[@sigil5772]

Haha! Now you point it out, I see it!