Deconstructing "While My Guitar Gently Weeps"

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One of the most beloved and interesting songs in The Beatles catalog is George Harrison's "While My Guitar Gently Weeps." The song not only marked the first time that a non-Beatle played on their recordings (Eric Clapton played the solo, although session drummer Andy White played on one of their first recording sessions), but also used an interesting technique of a six string bass doubling the four string bass (this was called "tic tock" bass in Nashville). This is described in engineer Ken Scott's new memoir Abbey Road To Ziggy Stardust as follows:

"The 4-string bass was sometimes doubled by a 6-string bass on some songs. By this time Paul had acquired a Fender Jazz bass which he used in lieu of his Rickenbacker, and a Fender Bass VI was always around the studio. What possibly happened was that the band had heard German orchestra leader Bert Kaempfert double an upright acoustic bass with a 6-string bass when they were in Germany, and decided to give it a try with electrics. Although they might not have known at the time, the practice was also used in Nashville on a lot of country songs and heven had a name: “Tic-toc bass.” You can hear it on “Piggies,” “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” “Glass Onion,” and “Rocky Racccoon.” The two parts were always played together and never overdubbed individually."

There's a complete section describing the recording and mixing of song in Abbey Road To Ziggy Stardust if you're interested, but in the meantime, enjoy this breakdown of the song (which mostly likely came from tracks from the band's Rock Band game).



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