Walking bass lines?

[Arclite]

Any bassists out there?

specifically jazz bassists, feel like schooling me on walking bass lines?

I can read music... slowly, but I do know where the notes are on the frets of the strings.

[dingbat]

I like this site: http://www.studybass.com/

Not sure if it has exactly what you're after though.

-Mark

[Call me jack]

how much theory do you know?

could you explain a i, iv, v progression in the minor key?

i'm a rock musician, with a Jazz background. no expert on the walk, but i can show you some cleaver bits.

[Arclite]

how much theory do you know?

could you explain a i, iv, v progression in the minor key?

i'm a rock musician, with a Jazz background. no expert on the walk, but i can show you some cleaver bits.

Nope.

[Call me jack]

Ok!

Well, jazz is really all about the theory... very technical, complicated theory...

but basically a walking bass line out lines the a chord progression. So i'm gonna just give you a tab of a very common bass line, in a very common jazz key, and i'll let you ask questions from there

stand by while i tab...

-----------------------1-3-1-----------------------------3-5-----1-3----------

-----1-3-1------2x-1-4-------4-1-1-------1-3-1-------3-6-----1-4--------------

-1-4-------4-1-1---------------------1-4-------4-1-1--------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bb_______________Eb_______________Bb____________F_______Eb

now this is probably the most common walk of all time, in jazz. and it's very simple. i would say it's in the Key of Eb Minor, but since it's so up beat, because it is centered, and progresses around the 5th around the you could also use it in Bb minor.

[Call me jack]

The more theory you learn, the better off you'll be. most kid guitarist refuse to learn it at first, but once they do they regret not learning it sooner. I took a theory class in high school (11th grade, 3 years ago) and even though i seldom play the guitar any more, i can still hold my own, every time i do, because of theory.

[Call me jack]

The more theory you learn, the better off you'll be. most kid guitarist refuse to learn it at first, but once they do they regret not learning it sooner. I took a theory class in high school (11th grade, 3 years ago) and even though i seldom play the guitar any more, i can still hold my own, every time i do, because of theory.

[murphy12]

I played bass for years before going solo on 12-string. There used to be a book by Carol Kaye that had all kinds of walking bass-type exercises. Some great DVDs, too.

Try Musician's Friend, or Homespun for them.

[Kent]

Any bassists out there?

specifically jazz bassists, feel like schooling me on walking bass lines?

I can read music... slowly, but I do know where the notes are on the frets of the strings.

Sure wish YouTube were around when I started playing bass. I did it the old fashioned way (i.e. had Jeff Berlin tell me how bad I was for a week)

k

[jonbass]

I'm a jazz bassist.

Call me Jack is right about how helpful theory is when building bass lines.

Walking bass lines essentially outline the chords as they change through a song while keeping a steady beat.

1) The first skill you need is to identify the notes of a chord.

Once you can do that, you can start to create lines that move from one chord to the next. Just use chord tones, start with the root and play the chord tones R,3,5,7 of each chord in a short chord progression. Then find a simple chord progression that changes chords every 4 beats. Start with the root on beat 1 and play chord tones on each beat. On beat 4, try to land on the closest chord tone to the root of the next chord. Do this slowly allowing yourself time to think.

2) The second skill you need is the ability to identify how the chords you are playing relate to the key of the song or section of song. This means knowing what those numbers and letters mean when people say thing like iim7 and V7. This is crucial because it helps you know what notes you can play between the chord tones to make the walking lines more linear and smooth.

The main progressions you should understand are A) iim7-V7-I B) I-IV-V C) I-vim7-iim7-V7. These are essentially talking about chords starting on different notes within a key.

Example - a iim7 is a minor seventh chord starting on the second note of the Major scale. If you are in the key of C, a C major scale is CDEFGABC. The iim7 in that key starts on D (The second note of CDEFGABC). Dminor 7 which has the notes DFAC. If that isn't clear, here is another explanation. ;)

(These are in major keys but you can also find examples in minor keys. It gets a bit more complicated). Once you understand these, you can start adding notes between the chord tones to get to the next chord in your walking bass line.

This will take a bit of work but there are some great online resources explaining chord progressions. Once you do that you can start trying to land on different notes of the chord on beat 1.

3) A third helpful skill is to transcribe basslines that you like. If it sounds good to you, you will want to play it. If this is difficult you can use something like the Amazing X Slowdowner to slow the song down. If you find books with transcribed basslines, make sure you can find the recordings of the songs so you can hear how they sound. Certain lines will become familiar.

A book I still go back to from time to time is Mike Richmond's Modern Walking Basslines. It essentially goes through blues and other typical jazz song forms using a variety of changes showing a variety of walking lines. It then adds some of the tricks like triplets and skips to the lines. It doesn't explain the lines at all but it is a compilation of different ways to make it through basic and some advanced changes. I haven't looked at some of the other books on that page but they seem like they may provide some of the info you need as well.

I hope this helps a bit and I'm not being confusing. I'm often confused myself! :D

Learn your chord tones. Learn how the chords relate to the key of the song. Copy basslines that other people have played. Those are the basics.

If you have any questions feel free to email me as well.

Jon

[Call me jack]

i wish i had the patients to write all that ^^^

are you on a guitar forum by chance? like sputnik?

[Arclite]

stand by while i tab...

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-----------------------1-3-1-----------------------------3-5-----1-3----------

-----1-3-1------2x-1-4-------4-1-1-------1-3-1-------3-6-----1-4--------------

-1-4-------4-1-1---------------------1-4-------4-1-1--------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bb----------------Eb -----------------Bb---------------F-------Eb

now this is probably the most common walk of all time, in jazz. and it's very simple. i would say it's in the Key of Eb Minor, but since it's so up beat, because it is centered, and progresses around the 5th around the you could also use it in Bb minor.

well im slightly confused.... more than slightly.

anyway, it doesn't sound exactly right when I play it.

the top 4 lines of tab (including the blank line) are the four strings?

bottom tab - e (right?)

one tab i know:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------0--2--3--2--0--------------------------------------------

--------2----------------------2------------------------

---3----------------------------------------------------------

rinse. wash, repeat.

[jonbass]

i wish i had the patients to write all that ^^^

are you on a guitar forum by chance? like sputnik?

Haha. I'm a music teacher so i spend a lot of time explaining things. I haven't been on any guitar forums. I go to Talkbass every once in a while when i want to find some info.

[jonbass]

one tab i know:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------0--2--3--2--0--------------------------------------------

--------2----------------------2------------------------

---3----------------------------------------------------------

rinse. wash, repeat.

If you move this pattern across a string and also play the same pattern across the string and up 2 frets you have a walking bassline for all the chords in a basic blues chord progression.

[KingCrimson]

I'm a terrible jazz bassist..But I DO jam almost every day playing blues bass and guitar.

The main thing..is it takes time. Learn 12 bar blues, which is 4 bars of the I, 2 bars of the IV, 2 bars of the I, 1 bar of the V, 1 bar of the IV, 1 bar of the I and then a one bar turnaround, or another bar of the I.

Super easy..and you'll get to the point where someone can just name a key..with your theory you will know which notes sound good, and what the progression will be. You also have a lot of flexibility in what you can do rhythmically, but make sure you're doing this with trusted company, it's easy to piss people off!

Depending on how well you mesh with the other musicians, you can also throw in style changes in the turnaround, drop the tempo, pick it up, switch to a flat-tire shuffle..It's endless!

[Call me jack]

well im slightly confused.... more than slightly.

anyway, it doesn't sound exactly right when I play it.

the top 4 lines of tab (including the blank line) are the four strings?

bottom tab - e (right?)

oh shoot! i for got to mention, the tab program i used was very crude, and i had to use 6 stings.. so thats a 6 string bass tab. my bad, i'll try to fix it.

the bottom is a B and the top is a C

[scotts.Scheinman]

for walking lines a play a lot of ska music. id suguest you look for marloweDK on youtube. hes always a help

[Arclite]

the bottom is a B and the top is a C

Now im really confused.

How the hell would I de-tune a bass to B and C

[KingCrimson]

You wouldn't. Those are the extra strings on a 6 string bass.

Starting with the lowest string, a sixer goes BEADGC, with the bold letters being a four string, and italicized being a five string.

If you'll notice nothing was actually tabbed on the B and C strings, so you can ignore the fact they are even there, just pay attention to the middle 4.

[Arclite]

I see.... but it still doesn't sound right to me. :lol:

I wont have a bass in my hands till sunday night so yeah...

[jonbass]

Ok!

Well, jazz is really all about the theory... very technical, complicated theory...

but basically a walking bass line out lines the a chord progression. So i'm gonna just give you a tab of a very common bass line, in a very common jazz key, and i'll let you ask questions from there

stand by while i tab...

-----------------------1-3-1-----------------------------3-5-----1-3----------

-----1-3-1------2x-1-4-------4-1-1-------1-3-1-------3-6-----1-4--------------

-1-4-------4-1-1---------------------1-4-------4-1-1--------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bb_______________Eb_______________Bb____________F_______Eb

now this is probably the most common walk of all time, in jazz. and it's very simple. i would say it's in the Key of Eb Minor, but since it's so up beat, because it is centered, and progresses around the 5th around the you could also use it in Bb minor.

This is a blues progression but with a minor sound. You are playing up and down the first 4 notes of minor pentatonic scales starting with the root note of each chord. You are outlining the flattened 3rd of each chord so this more like a Bb minor blues. If you played Bb minor7 and Eb minor7 chord with this and played an F7 (it will work because the b3 is a note in the blues scale or you could add a #9 - same thing sorta) for the five you could have minor swing blues.

Instead of repeating the root note, try going down to the Ab at the end of the pattern. This should give it a bit more movement.

[Arclite]

This is a blues progression but with a minor sound. You are playing up and down the first 4 notes of minor pentatonic scales starting with the root note of each chord. You are outlining the flattened 3rd of each chord so this more like a Bb minor blues. If you played Bb minor7 and Eb minor7 chord with this and played an F7 (it will work because the b3 is a note in the blues scale or you could add a #9 - same thing sorta) for the five you could have minor swing blues.

Instead of repeating the root note, try going down to the Ab at the end of the pattern. This should give it a bit more movement.

blahhhh babbleanddrool

i should probably take a theory class, yes?

[Call me jack]

blahhhh babbleanddrool

i should probably take a theory class, yes?

Yes.

Jon, i was aware. i didn't really want to get deep into the theory of it when there was no one to preach to. But thanks. be cause i did miss some stuff.

I played that in jazz band as a Bb vamp a few times, i believe.... but that was several years ago in high school, when i was actually bass player.

rock guitarist or too hopped up on drugs to be able to remember how that stuff works now :p

[jonbass]

blahhhh babbleanddrool

i should probably take a theory class, yes?

Sorry

I get carried away sometimes. A theory class would be very valuable but you may not learn everything you want in regards to bass playing. I would suggest that you find a bass teacher with some jazz knowledge who would be willing to focus on theory for a bit. They will be able to apply it to the bass which is what I assume you really want.

Ask some specific questions and we can probably answer them too.