For this walking bass line im going to use only two scale patterns as the foundation for the whole thing. Its made up of the root, 3rd, 5th and 6th degrees of an e major scale for all of you music theory buffs out there. As im sure you have heard before, practice makes perfect. Share, download and print free sheet music for piano, guitar, flute and more on the worlds largest community of sheet music creators. Well play through it so you can get it under your fingers and then well have a look at what is going on in there so you can integrate parts of it into your own vocabulary and develop your own walking style. There are a couple of exceptions as youll see but for the most part were looking at one line for ascending and one line for descending. A good starting point when constructing walking bass lines is to use the intervals of the root, 5th and octave. To walk bass lines on the ii v i, all we have to do is learn three different walking patterns. Here are some tips to aid you in mastering these bass blues licks. Intermediate walking bass lines for jazz guitar by. Lessons in this segment focus on the fundamentals of bass playing. Apr 02, 2016 simple jazz blues walking bass line breakdown talkingbass online bass lessons. I have included your bass lines in here so see if you can find your line as you play through these.
Every chord change in the blues should be viewed as an opportunity to create harmonic movement and interest for the listener. Walking bass line theory basicspart 1by chris fitzgerald. A walking bass line is simply a melodic bass line found mainly in jazz and blues styles in which you walk around in quarter notes connecting the chords we can create a walking bass line over the following twelvebar blues chord progression instead of having a few different things to try in this lesson, we are going to learn a written bass line around. For ascending lines im using the scale degrees 1 2 3 5. Walking bass lines the blues in 12 keys upright bass and electric bass method pdf created date 10272016 9. As always you can download a pdf of the examples here. Chords and walking bass part 1 in this lesson ill demonstrate how i approach playing walking bass lines and chords at the same time. The majority of the presentation will focus on walking bass lines in a 44 meter. When starting out with walking bass lines, i would recommend that you always target the root when changing chords. When creating walking bass lines, its important to outline the root and 5th of the chord. How to play basic walking bass lines bass wonderhowto.
How to play walking bass lines using chord tones youtube. Youll receive a pdf of all the lines played in the lesson, an arpeggio reference sheet and the backing tracks in c major and f major. One last idea for this lessonlisten to jazz organ players like larry young. Simple jazz blues walking bass line breakdown talkingbass online bass lessons. Bass lines part 2 adding chords to your bass lines mark white is an associate professortraveling clinician for.
The essential guide to walking bass for bass guitar players introduction 2 1. The essential guide to walking bass amazon web services. Here is the basic bass pattern you will play over the e7 chord. A leading tone is a note that makes the link between the previous bass line and the next chord. While walking bass lines are most commonly associated with jazz and blues, they are also. Walking bass line piano tutorial walking bass jazz piano. Building bass lines 5 it is common practice by jazz bassists to simplify a walking bass line by playing only on beats one and three, usually during the beginning of the tune when the melody is being played. A walking bass line in four beats for the chord a add accidentals according to the chord quality could appear as b, a, c, e. Simple jazz blues walking line breakdown talkingbass.
This is the usual second step for players who want to master walking bass before moving to chromatic lines. Simple walking bass line for jazz beginners talkingbass. Exercise 1 demonstrates this with several examples. I really liked all of the lines that you guys wrote and hope you enjoy playing through this line as well.
Walking bass lines always sound cool in any style of music, but are essential to jazz blues and. Playing jazz guitar bass lines and chords terence wright. 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. The two dots on the right of the bass clef symbol surround the. A walking bass line is simply a melodic bass line found mainly in jazz and blues styles in which you walk around in quarter notes connecting the chords. Jazz bass line construction thelonious monk institute of. 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. Walking bass licks some help for those new to walking. I have not really warmed up to jazz either however, a great book for the general and jazz application of walking lines is ed friedlands building walking bass lines with cd. Fundamental concepts for walking bass a systematic method ebook by george urbaszek. A bassline is the term used in many styles of music, such as jazz, blues, funk, dub and. This is the first step in developing walking bass lines. If you are looking to begin playing the bass then this how to video is the place to start. Description of the book building walking bass lines.
He is best known for his work with the john coltrane quartet, nevertheless, he has an incredible discography which includes names like ornette coleman, bill evans, archie shepp, sonny rollins. In part 2 of this lesson we continue our study of walking bass lines. Instead of having a few different things to try in this lesson, we are going to learn a written. The two dots on the right of the bass clef symbol surround the line on which f pitch is written. This is the most common movement between chords, its literally everywhere, so having some great bass riffs under your fingers will.
Essential walking bass line patterns discover double bass. The blues in 12 keys, book i in the constructing walking jazz bass lines series new 2hr mp3 playalong free download featuring all chord progressions in 12 keys from part ii of the book available from website. The description below is for the pdf and audio files. If you are wishing to order the pdfmp3 files please go to the correct page as this product is for the pdf file only. In general, it is a good strategy to play the root of the chord on the downbeat of the. So what walking bass line the complete bass player. The fundamentals of music are pitch and rhythm which are placed in a grid of five lines and four spaces called staff.
Dedicate at least 3060 minutes each day to playing the bass. These blues bass lines are like having a one chorus lick that you can rely on to always sound good when you play it. Incorporating the 3rd of the chord will also give your bass line a stronger harmonic foundation. Playing a walking jazz guitar bass line is a captivating method of comping for other musicians, and yourself. It doesnt matter whether you are playing jazz or blues. For beginning bass lines, the root of the chord is the most common target note to play because it is the fundamental note of the chord. Simple jazz blues walking bass line breakdown youtube. We can create a walking bass line over the following twelvebar blues chord progression. Paypal will automatically convert from us dollars to your currency using the exchange rate at the. Walking bass lines for jazz guitar by stephan badreau is a step by step guide to harmonizing bass lines on the guitar. 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. One of the most common places to find walking bass lines is in blues music.
This is a short demonstration lesson detailing the basic principles of walking bass lines. Build a walking bass line from scales the jazz piano left hand. There is a big tendency for players to seek for advanced and complicated topics while they still did not master the basics. The bassline construction method explored here uses chord tones, approach notes and basic reharmonization. In this weeks lesson were looking at a very simple walking bass line through the chord. In this lesson i share some essential walking bass patterns.
Organists tend to play what i call functunal bass lines. The term walking is used lescribe the moving feeling that quarter notes create in the bass part. How to create bass lines 2 3 play in four quarters. You will learn some easy scales and how to play a walking bass line for whatever song you are playing.
Just like walking with your feet, tyjwalking bass line is one step after the other that takes you somewhere. Use these lines to get you going the right direction when you start playing a blues. A walking bass line is the most common approach to jazz bass playing. The symbol of the bass clef is derived from the old german way of writing f. How to play walking bass lines at the piano cocktail. When i was in college and dinosaurs roamed the earth, my teacher suggested keeping a library of walking bass licks in order to keep my walking lines interesting and not as repetitive. The last piece of advice is that you should listen to bass players and take inventory of what they are doing. Walking bass lines are really useful in jazz piano they give you a cool, pro sound and a. It is absolutely crucial for the student to learn the material in the correct order and not to go ahead of oneself. This style heavily utilizes the roots and 5ths of chords. In unaccompanied solo performance, basslines may simply be played in the lower register. In part 1 we created waling bass lines over major and minor 251s using the tones of the triad in combination with chromatic or stepwise approach patterns. 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. Learning how to play walking bass lines can be challenging, especially for beginners.
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. Walking the ii v i in combo, youll learn that the ii v i is one of the most important chord progressions in jazz. Walking bass line theory basics pdf file chris fitzgerald. Beginners guide to walking bass lines bass tabs bass. The bass lines in the section are for you to learn, memorize, and play in a real live playing situation. While some knowledge of music theory is necessary, excellent bass lines can be. Notice that in bar 2 the line moves ab a bb instead of fully outlining the eb7. Get the walking bass tabs, notation, and backing track from this lesson, then take your walking bass lines to the next level with my guide. Jazz bass line construction thelonious monk institute of jazz. This simplification is known as a twobeat bassline. Bass lessons beginners guide to walking bass lines bass tab standard string tuning g,d,a,e recommended 1. Awesome lesson for beginners, especially for blues fans.
Just like a saxophonist might use the charlie parker omnibook so as to have some soloing licks at the ready, bassists can also use walking bass licks or. With this tutorial you will learn tips to improve your walking bass technique. To get started with walking bass lines it is important to be aware of the root notes in each of the chords you are playing. Take two different chords and you want to move as stepwise as possible between the roots of the two chords. In this lesson i am more focusing on how to write the basslines for faster moving chord progressions like a rhythm.
This is a a way of playing that i use really a lot in situations where theres no bass player, so mostly duo settings with a guitar player, singer or horn player. These riffs work over almost any chord which then moves up by an interval of a 4th to the next chord. Walking bass is so instrinsic to the blues that you would be hard pressed to find a better example. 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. Approach notes usually occur on the beat before a target note. The possible noterange of a walking bass can reach from subcontra a to middle c. With scalar movement, the walking bass gains more melodic liberty, while chromatic movement gives the line direction, increasing the sense of forward motion. Kinda old school as its written in 100% notation no tab no where and about half of the exercises require transcribing to various keys lots of listening and pencil. Below is the bass tablature for the basic blues in e bass line. In this lesson we will be creating a simple walking bass line over a basic jazz blues progression.
This tutorial takes a look at five different approaches to playing walking basslines in a 12bar blues progression. Intermediate walking bass lines for jazz guitar explores the creation of walking bass lines played over chord sequence using scale tones. The following is an example of a common bass line construction when the harmonic rhythm is moving at the rate of two chords per bar target notes are. Bassist wilbur ware was a master at creating swinging lines utilizing these intervals. The first lesson will be building walking bass lines in the 44 meter swing style. Chord symbols have been omitted purposely, for that would necessitate. Pdf this paper describes a contourbased algorithm for the realtime automatic generation of jazz walking bass lines, following a given harmonic.