Transcribing Notes From John Neil (Head Transcriber)
Sunshine of Your Love – Cream – Song Breakdown
Melody
Sunny lyrics by beat poet Pete Brown, delivered by both Jack Bruce and Eric Clapton – alternating lines. The vocal range is E3-A4.
Download the Melody Music Here
Keyboard
There isn’t a keyboard part in this song, Cream being a power trio. I wrote out a part that loosely follows the guitar and bass. One thing to note is that the chords starting at bar 5 are 7 chords for a while, then are triads starting on verse 2.
Download the Keyboard Sheet Music Here
Lead/Rhythm Guitar
There is one main electric guitar part, then there is an overdubbed solo over it in the solo section. I have the keyboards & strum guitar/ukulele holding down the rhythm part during that time. If you have more than 1 guitar player, that person can just play a normal verse/chorus under the solo. One thing to note is that the chords starting at bar 5 are 7 chords for a while, then are triads starting on verse 2. There are lots of cases of 1/4 note bends … that’s where the “sass” comes out on the note, rather than a full or half bend.
Download the Lead Guitar Tab Here
Strum Guitar
There isn’t an acoustic strum part in this song, nor ukulele, so a part was made up, which also includes the bluesy guitar riff (optional).
Download the Strum Tab Here
Ukulele
Download the Ukulele Tab Here
Bass
This part follows closely with the bluesy guitar riff throughout the song.
Download the Bass Tab Here
Drums
The drums were a challenge because the toms are tuned closely (also one seems to be the same tuning as the snare, and one seems to be about the same as the bass drum). It sounds like there are more than 3 toms, but I arranged it for 3, which should work well (and is how many there are in one live clip I found). The bass drums is played very dynamically, and some of the hits get lost beneath the other drums, but I tabbed what I could make of it. It’s more difficult when there aren’t very many mics or panning (other than everything right) on the different drums of the kit.
Download the Drum Music Here
Download the Lead Sheet Here
