In this course we are going to transcribe the sax solo from the Dusty Springfield recording of ‘Spooky’.
The solo itself is only 20 seconds long and is based around a blues scale. This course is an ideal starting point if you’ve never transcribed or learnt a solo before.
‘Spooky’ was originally an instrumental song performed by saxophonist Mike Sharpe (Shapiro), written by Shapiro and Harry Middlebrooks, Jr.,[1] which first charted in 1967 hitting #57 on the US pop charts.[2] Its best-known version was created by The Classics IV when guitarist James Cobb and producer Buddy Buie added lyrics centering on a “spooky little girl”.[3] In 1968, the vocal version of the song reached #3 in the U.S. (Billboard Hot 100) and #46 in the UK.[4]
The song’s main riff is sampled in the song “Why’s Everybody Always Pickin’ on Me?” by Bloodhound Gang, released in 1996. Read more about the song here
Learning solos of recordings is a crucial part of developing ones own musical vocabulary, , tone and above all musicianship. The course is four sessions long, so let’s get started!
Don’t forget if you sign up for Bronze Membership, you can watch this course for 50p a day!
