This is the most common movement between chords, its literally everywhere, so having some great bass riffs under your fingers will. Playing jazz guitar bass lines with chords terence wright guitar. Module 2 scales passing tones walking bass lessons. Creating walking bass using scales can be tricky because its hard to get the notes within the scale to line up perfectly with chord changes. Mark has thought very carefully about the stepwise learning process of walking bass lines. As you follow the scales, you will always go up low to high then back down high to low. For me it the important part is the bass line, so i give that priority over the chords. Bass lines incorporate many basic improvisational concepts and fundamental musical building blocks such as chord tone outlining with chromaticism, bop scales, and use of sequence that are essential tools for improvising in the jazz. However, just wanted you to know the tracts to download were not attached to the lesson, only the pdf. Jazz standards walking bass line bass by lessons bass.
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. The majority of the presentation will focus on walking bass lines in a 44. While reading from the book, play along with the bassist on. 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. It is common practice by jazz bassists to simplify a walking bass line by playing only. Walking bass lines are a fascinating part of jazz, as they support and mark the harmony underneath the chords and melody. Developing a walking bass lines is a subject that many of my students guitarists and bassists alike have been interested in. Bass lessons basic 12 bar blues in a the walking bass bass tab blues basic 12 bar blues in a the walking bass by. In this lesson ill demonstrate how i approach playing walking bass lines and chords at the same time. The bass lines in the section are for you to learn, memorize, and play in a real live playing situation.
How to improvise walking bass lines in this lesson i will show you how easy it is to get started with walking bass. Simple walking bass line for jazz beginners talkingbass. We explore how to walk that bass in your left hand up basic triad shapes and scale fragments. Essential walking bass line patterns discover double bass. And lucky for us, once you have some basic rules down, its not all that difficult. Walking bass and chords on a bb blues jazz guitar lesson. 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.
Jazz bass line construction thelonious monk institute of jazz. Twobeat bass lines are also used in playing ballads. Walking bass lines helps us learn and reinforce the fundamentals of jazz harmony. Walking bass lines course free backing tracks and pdf files. Constructing walking jazz bass lines, jazz bass books and educational material in 12 keys for the jazz bassist.
Learn how to improvise walking bass lines just by looking at the chords. If you know how to create a walking bass line, you can be more creative in your jazz playing. Bass players guide to walking bass lines online bass courses. Keeping your right hand pizzicato consistent, emphasizing quarter notes, utilizing open strings, and learning to play at fast tempos these are all crucial. The wonderful thing about it is that walking a basic bass line is not all that difficult once you learn a few simple steps. Walking bass improvisation for beginners bass road bass lessons.
In this lesson i share some essential walking bass patterns. The intervalic bass line is created from your knowledge of what notes make particular chords. Jazz bass line construction thelonious monk institute of. 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. Walking bass lines always sound cool in any style of music, but are essential to jazz blues and. If youre amazingly extra awesome, youll be able to sing the melody and make a bass line at the same time. Bass players guide to walking bass lines join s getting free bass tips and lessons every sunday my weekly newsletter is packed full of bass tips, news, and lessons, plus youll get an exclusive free copy of the bass guitar resource book.
Basic 12 bar blues in a the walking bass bass tabs bass. Ballads are slow tunes that can be played with or without swing rhythms. These riffs work over almost any chord which then moves up by an interval of a 4th to the next chord. Once you know that, you can read the chord symbols easily enough. Martin taylor walking basslines for jazz guitar for all musicians wishing to learn fantastic bass lines. For when you have to learn to play the bass right now. These blues bass lines are like having a one chorus lick that you can rely on to always sound good when you play it. If you are wishing to order the pdfmp3 files please go to the correct page as this product is for the pdf file only. I have included your bass lines in here so see if you can find your line as you play through these.
Walking bass line examples and analysis chris fitzgerald. Sep 16, 2014 walking a bass line with the left hand is a skill every jazz, rock, and pop pianist should know. Chordal movement highlights the harmonic function of the walking bass. 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. Bass lines incorporate many basic improvisational concepts and fundamental musical building blocks such as chord tone outlining with chromaticism, bop scales, and use of sequence that are essential tools for improvising in the jazzfusion idioms. Begin with a quarter note walking bass line utilizing primarily the 1st and 3rd fingers. Improvisation, i know, a big word to put in the same sentence with a beginner. Pdf this paper describes a contourbased algorithm for the realtime automatic generation of jazz walking bass lines, following a given harmonic. We now take a closer look at the important characteristics of milt hintons line that reveal some of the fundamental. It is possible to add rhythmic variations, but in general, a walking bassline drives the song forward step by step. Discover the 3m system for walking bass 3 simple methods to create walking bass lines module 2. As jazz musicians, we spend a lot of our practice time trying to learn to think, hear, and play our way through complicated chord progressions as improvisers. This bass line was written by nigel, one of the students at around the module 7 or 8 stage of the courseand whilst its not a world beater im sure youll agree that its a very passable walking bass line.
In this course, ill show you a strategic and simple way to construct and improvise walking bass lines right there on the spot using chord tones and different intervals. The term walking is used to describe the moving feeling that quarter notes create in the bass part. Walking bass lines for jazz guitar pdf file adg productions. In this weeks lesson were looking at a very simple walking bass line through the chord changes of the jazz standard autumn leaves. As always you can download the examples as a pdf here. The process works and i am now on the way to playing walking bass lines with a jazz band. Walking bass line tutorial in 3 steps with bass tab. Developing a cohesive walking bass line eric elias. To get the walking feeling, play the famous 4 jazz walking bass rhythm by picking straight quarter notes. Watch this lesson to learn how to harmonise a scale.
If you ever get confused or feel insecure, you can always return to this. Aug 10, 2014 to get backing tracks and pdf files to each lesson just pop your first name and email into the side bar field if you have mastered the patterns from module 1 and module 2 you can now play very solid and good sounding walking lines without repeating yourself every two bars. In this introductor y lesson we look at the course concepts and how we should approach our. The concepts are easy to understand and its something all bass pros know about, but rarely share. Before we go on, heres a short video clip of me playing a walking bass line to the chord progression of fly me to the moon. Dec 05, 2018 7 reasons to practice walking bass lines.
As a subscriber you are getting a free backing tracks and pdf files with tab and notation to illustrate each lesson. Playing a walking bassline is one of the coolest things ever. Walking bass lines in a 44meter swing style can also be used in playing ballads. The possible noterange of a walking bass can reach from subcontra a to middle c. Your free backing tracks and pdf download walking bass. When playing in a triple meter 34 or 68, walking bass lines are constructed the same as in a 44meter. The aim is to learn the agreement progression, where chord changes take place and everything. 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. An easy method for creating walking bass lines on piano.
With scalar movement, the walking bass gains more melodic liberty, while chromatic movement gives the line direction, increasing the sense of forward motion. Root notes walking in this step, i want you to focus on remembering the bass line above. Basic 12 bar blues in a the walking bass bass tabs. Heres a backing track to practise all the ideas from. How to play walking bass in less than 5 minutes scotts bass. Chunky c this just so happens to be done in the key of a but you can play this in any key you like by following the same pattern for the chosen key. The student is taken through various exercises slowly and methodically and everything is explained in great detail. This online statement bass guitar walking bass lines can be one of the options to accompany you subsequent to having extra time. Walking bass lines supplement this is a supplement for the lesson on walking bass. The following example shows a walking bass that follows these.
Helps to develop an intuitive sense of harmonic rhythm chord changes by orienting to the bass line. 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. Walking bass line theory basicspart 1by chris fitzgerald. Nothing too difficult, just make sure you are stamping your. Connect the chord changes, experimenting with different string groups but. Walking the ii v i in combo, youll learn that the ii v i is one of the most important chord progressions in jazz. You can now test these basic techniques in the following way. A walking bass line generally consists of notes of equal duration and intensity typically 14 notes that create a feeling of forward motion. When playing in a triple meter 34 or 68, walking bass lines. Moreover, those lines can be heard on the most of great jazz recordings.
Its an excellent way of creating strong sounding walking bass lines because the scales lead the ear from chord to chord very clearly. Walking bass lines always sound cool in any style of music, but are essential to jazz blues and great american songbook jazz standards. Your free backing tracks and pdf download walking bass lessons. To walk bass lines on the ii v i, all we have to do is learn three different walking patterns. Beginners guide to walking bass lines bass tabs bass. I really liked all of the lines that you guys wrote and hope you enjoy playing through this line as well.
I did purchase the blues practice tracks so no problem. Walking bass line theory basics pdf file chris fitzgerald. Apr 02, 2016 mark, a very good starting lesson and breakdown on walking bass lines. Jazz is an inherently harmonically complex style of music. Use these lines to get you going the right direction when you start playing a blues. Playing a walking jazz guitar bass line is a captivating method of comping for other musicians, and yourself. Before we get started, make sure you grab a handy free pdf and backing tracks.
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