Jun 17, 2009 how to create an appropriate walking bass line for jazz tunes. A walking bass line is the most common approach to jazz bass playing. R 3 5 6 7 walking bass line theory basics chris fitzgerald. A walking bass line is a more creative form of bass playing than the other swing styles because you choose new notes each time you play the same song. Improve your bass playing and add to your vocabulary now. Its a system that takes weeks or even months to learn the basics, while guitar tab can be learned in a matter. Constructing walking jazz bass lines, book 1, the blues in 12 keys. Walking bass lines i did my first gig with an improvosed walking bassline fly me to the moon today, and man, jazz is hard. Fundamental concepts for walking bass a systematic method ebook by george urbaszek. When piano players copy this idea of walking bass lines, they generally do so by using their left hand to play the same role as that of the bass player.
The course covers standard head arrangements, walking lines and solos for bass. Walking bass line jazz standards swing tune bass by. Especially since im assuming here most of them will just have quarter notes or eight notes. A followup to building walking bass lines, this book approaches more advanced walking concepts, including model mapping, the twofeel, several mustknow changes, and other important jazz bass lessons. In this lesson i share some essential walking bass patterns. Here is an example of walking a line by switching between 1231 and 53. This tutorial takes a look at five different approaches to playing walking basslines in a 12bar blues progression. Use the same method that is illustrated with the ii v is. This is a nononsense book that gets quickly to the heart of the matter.
Even just pencilling in the notes on the notation would get you through a walking bass book. The term walking is used lescribe the moving feeling that quarter notes create in the bass part. And i really recommend marks study book of bass guitar. Jazz bass line construction thelonious monk institute of. This is the most common movement between chords, its literally everywhere, so having some great bass riffs under your fingers will really help you. Paypal will automatically convert from us dollars to your currency using the exchange rate at the. Usually, the lower end of the spectrum is made to stay on. As a self taught musician ive been making a living as a blues bass player for more than twenty years. What songs in any genre do you think have the best walking bass lines i love the song all my loving by the beatles. Therefore being in control of them and becoming fluent is crucial. Cd includes a jazz trio for practicing standard tunes.
This lavishly produced volume large format and hardcover is a wondrous celebration of the instrument, including its origins and history, and the weird and wonderful shapes it has taken. Using the 12 bar blues shuffle chunka chunka style for 3. Free bass tabs printable, downloadable pdf bass tabs. Constructing walking jazz bass lines book iii water fall publishing. Start with the basic book and then move to the advanced book. In this example, the bass line consists of simple arpeggiations of each chord, giving the overall effect of a simple blues bass line. It starts off by giving the basic patterns which will help you get started and improvising walking bass lines really fast. This post highlights some legendary books that any bass player can learn from. How to play walking bass lines at the piano cocktail piano. The first level will be to develop bass lines using triad chord tones only and resolve to the next chord root in the most economical way i. This is a very famous book that has been around for ages. Chord tones root, 3rd, 5th, 7th are the most powerful choice you can make when creating your walking lines. Just like walking with your feet, tyjwalking bass line is one step after the other that takes you somewhere. A slightly embellished version of this kind of line would also be typical of a basic boogie woogie type bass line, as in the following example.
Walking bass definition is an evenly accented repeated bass figure often in short octaves used especially in piano blues. Walking bass definition of walking bass by merriamwebster. Pay close attention to the quality of the chords dominant seven or minor. A jazz blues progression written in all twelve keys. A bass line is a melody line played in the bass by a lowpitched instrument such as the piano, double bass, electric bass, tuba, etc. Popularized by piano greats lennie tristano and dave mckenna, among others, the walking lh bass line can effectively subtitute for a rhythm section, if desired, and provides a rhythmic and melodic foundation for rh improvisations. Simple walking bass line for jazz beginners talkingbass. Bassists can learn to read music notation, chord lyrics charts, or bass tablature. Famous bass lines songbook finding quality material to work on when youre a bass player is no easy task.
A walking bass line generally consists of notes of equal duration and intensity typically 14 notes that create a feeling of forward motion. Walking bass line theory basicspart 1by chris fitzgerald. Walking bass lines are a style of playing in which the bass player plays quarter notes which clearly outline the chords and chord tones, seamlessly outlining one chord and resolving to the next. When creating walking bass lines, its important to outline the root and 5th of the chord. Bass lessons beginners guide to walking bass lines bass tab standard string tuning g,d,a,e recommended 1.
Now if youre serious about your walking bass lines, you. Incorporating the 3rd of the chord will also give your bass line a stronger harmonic foundation. Dave frank school of jazz, new york city music videos. Just like walking with your feet, the walking bass line is one step after the other that takes you somewhere. The modern electric bass guitar patterns presented here are designed to teach the student guitarist and bassist the basics of playing effective walking bass line accompaniment for instrumentalists and vocalists. Another one for ed friedlands building walking bass lines. Walking bass lines are an essential part of blues and jazz piano especially if youre playing solo or without any. An example of four common chord progressions found in jazz, including a blues, minor blues, modal song form and rhythm changes. Dedicate at least 3060 minutes each day to playing the bass. Fundamental concepts for walking bass a systematic method will show you stepbystep how to make up your own walking bass lines for jazz, country, rockabilly etc this manual can be used by anyone wanting to learn how to play improvised walking bass on any instrument in any time signature.
Here are some tips to aid you in mastering these bass blues licks. Jazz bass line construction thelonious monk institute of jazz. We already have our root notes to act as waypoints, so we just need three extra notes in each bar to move from one to another. Walking bass definition of walking bass by the free dictionary.
Nothing too difficult, just make sure you are stamping your foot two times per second and that you are counting from 1 to 4 in time with your foot beat. As someone very new to walking basslines with somewhat limited music theory this book has helped tremendously. The symbol of the bass clef is derived from the old german way of writing f. It is possible to add rhythmic variations, but in general, a walking bassline drives the song forward step by step. Dont judge a book by its cover instead, try and wait for the last line following our massively popular and lovingly selected list of the 100 best opening lines from books, its now time. I submit nhop on how about you, from the album skol. Exercise 1 demonstrates this with several examples. The bass lines are good and one simple addition to know is that just about any chord walking bass line, you can always use a leading tone that is, 12 step below to whatever is the next chord. Lifetime achievement award, pittsburgh jazz society, duquesne university, outstanding dedication to bass performance and pedagogy and lifetime achievement award from bass player magazine 2008. Walking bass lines always sound cool in any style of music, but are essential to jazz blues and great american songbook jazz standards.
Every chord change in the blues should be viewed as an opportunity to create harmonic movement and interest for the listener. One of the most captivating performances by a bass player ive ever heard. The term walking is used to describe the moving feeling that quarter notes create in the bass part. Top 20 amazing bass lines of all time with tab sheet. Get this concept clear in your mind and your whole perspective on bass playing will change for the better.
Essential walking bass line patterns discover double bass. If you know how to create a walking bass line, you can be more creative in your jazz playing. You can do this same exercise with any of the patterns. Im currently trying to learn how to play a walking bass line, but im struggling a bit, especially as i dont really know what to aim for. It is big help to hand positions and building walking bass lines. Constructing walking jazz bass lines book i the blues in 12 keys new 2hr mp3 playalong free. The possible noterange of a walking bass can reach from subcontra a to middle c. Music notation is a great system, but it isnt the most modern, or best system for learn modern bass guitar songs. Heres my explanation of groove, where i pick apart these tricky concepts and demonstrate 3 fundamental grooves to unlock this concept. Constructing walking jazz bass lines book i the blues in 12 keys new 2hr mp3 playalong free download featuring all chord progressions in 12 keys from part ii of the book available from website. I think it came up okay, but creds to the people who can just walk over everything all smooth.
Here is the bass lines for autumn leaves that everyone contributed to last week. Jazz bass line construction thelonious monk institute of jazz online jazz handbook. If you are playing the blues on your own, using this kind of bass line can also break things up a bit. A jazz bassist must learn how to walk a line based on the chords of a tune. What is the best walking bass line youve ever heard. As well as functioning as a bass line, it can also be used as a kind of lead guitar line in a rockabilly style. The walking bass line was developed by upright bassists like ray brown, milt hinton, paul chambers, and ron carter, but now its also commonly played on the bass guitar. Now we have our chord tones in place, we can move on to creating a walking line through our i vi ii v progression. Building walking bass lines bass builders includes online access. The specific goal of this book is to familiarize players with the. Resources on jazz bass killer walking bass blog medium. Chords and walking bass part 1 in this lesson ill demonstrate how i approach playing walking bass lines and chords at the same time.
Ive found that expression and feel is what a bass player needs to bring to the gig and to the jam. Walking bass by johnny rector book and online audio sheet. This is an important concept to remember, the walking bass line is. A bassline also known as a bass line or bass part is the term used in many styles of music, such as jazz, blues, funk, dub and electronic, traditional music, or classical music for the lowpitched instrumental part or line played in jazz and some forms of popular music by a rhythm section instrument such as the electric bass, double bass, cello, tuba or keyboard piano, hammond organ. Playing with a walking bass line is a style of piano playing that is used most often in solo jazz performance. A walking bass line simply walks through the appropriate scale of each chord, one note per beat, hitting every beat of each measure. This is the first step in developing walking bass lines. Walking bass line jazz standards swing tune bass tab by misc unsigned bands.
The second part catalogs dozens of famous bass players with short. A twobeat and walking bass line on the changes of the tune beautiful love 2. Looking forward to hearing your walking bass lines over autumn leaves. Learn to play the bass line and the thirds and sevenths all at one time. Aside from of course an extensive knowledge of blues standards and grooves. Walking bass line piano tutorial walking bass jazz piano. When starting out with walking bass lines, i would recommend that you always target the root when changing chords.
The function of a bass player in the jazz combo is to work with the piano player and drummer to provide both a harmonic and rhythmic stability for the tune. There is a web site, that has an excellent remote learning course for bass. John goldsby, the jazz bass book technique and tradition. As im sure you have heard before, practice makes perfect. If youre amazingly extra awesome, youll be able to sing the melody and make a bass line at the same time. These riffs work over almost any chord which then moves up by an interval of a 4th to the next chord. Beginners guide to walking bass lines bass tabs bass. A compendium of techniques for great jazz bass lines including. And walking bass lines are a continuous sequence of quarter notes, generally played on the beat 4 notes per bar in 44 time. A comprehensive guide to constructing walking jazz bass lines for the double bassist and electric jazz bassist is a complete 12key guide to techniques and devices used to construct walking jazz bass lines in the jazz tradition. The two dots on the right of the bass clef symbol surround the line on which f pitch is written. Im currently trying to learn how to play a walking bass line, but. Building walking bass lines bass instruction pdf free download.
75 560 378 988 1514 156 1038 873 1222 457 983 1102 1267 1178 237 404 667 911 18 1157 1218 224 1304 803 412 531 393 261 1349 637 370