Transcribing Notes From John Neil (Head Transcriber)
Rebel Rebel – David Bowie – Song Breakdown
Melody
A big hit from probably my favorite David Bowie album – Diamond Dogs. The vocal range is E3 to G#4.
Download the Melody Sheet Music Here
Keyboard
The keyboard consists of the piano part, which sounds like an old barroom upright. It sits back pretty far in the mix, so I did what I could to hear what’s going on. I added some more to the intro/beginning of verse 1, so the keyboardist has something to do. The actual piano comes in at bar 25 (or it is turned way down in the mix before that). Same with the re-intros and 1st half of verse 2.
Download the Keyboard Sheet Music Here
Rhythm/Lead Guitar
This is where the iconic riff is, as well as some chords going on. I made the picking pattern down on 1/4 notes, but I also said “& discretion”, as the staccato 8th note measures may need to be played all downstroke, etc.
Download the Lead Guitar Tab Here
Strum Guitar
Both the strum guitar & ukulele follow the strum part that can be heard in the right channel of the recording.
Download the Strum Tab Here
Ukulele
Download the Ukulele Tab Here
Bass
A pretty busy bass part. It sounds like it may be played with fingers as opposed to a pick.
Download the Bass Tab Here
Drums
I did the drums with the cowbell put in, as it seems to be an integral part of the beat, though this puts the hi-hat at the foot, which could be difficult. I put a note that stick hi-hats can be played instead of cowbell, in which case the foot wouldn’t have to be as busy.
Download the Drum Music Here
Download the Lead Sheet Here
