How do you play walking bass lines?
i read scot's lesson on walking bass lines, but i still don't get it. he says play chord tones on the first 3 beats an then a leading tone which is a half step away from the root of the next chord. that seems easy, but when i saw the notes on his example bass lines, he doesn't do it that way. how can i learn how to walk bass lines? it seems like a lot of fun to play piano this way.
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here's an article that addresses the most common styles of walking bass:
https://www.jeff-brent.com/lessons/basslines.html
https://www.jeff-brent.com/lessons/basslines.html
the easiest walking bass line for ii v i in jazz piano for
| d-7 | g7 | cmaj7 | cmaj7 |
is:
(expressed here in scale degrees in c)
1 2 3 4 #4 | 5 4 3 2 | 1 2 3 4 | 5 4 3 2 |
the root should always land on beat 1 unless the chord lasts for 2 measures in which case we usually walk to the 5th.
| d-7 | g7 | cmaj7 | cmaj7 |
is:
(expressed here in scale degrees in c)
1 2 3 4 #4 | 5 4 3 2 | 1 2 3 4 | 5 4 3 2 |
the root should always land on beat 1 unless the chord lasts for 2 measures in which case we usually walk to the 5th.
it doesn't seem to me that anyone really answered the question. how to walk the bass throughout a tune. i teach my kids to walk a i-iv-v progression and then do a walk-up from ii to v to i as follows:
i iv v i
1 3 5 6 4 6 8 9 5 4 3 2 1
c e g a f a c d g f e d c
ii v i
2 3 4 4# 5 4 3 2 1
d e f f# g f e d c
when this is comfortable, any chord, including dim and aug can be played in this fashion. all we want to do is play the part that a bass player would play if present. there are other patterns that work well for minor keys.
i hope i shed a little light on this.
i iv v i
1 3 5 6 4 6 8 9 5 4 3 2 1
c e g a f a c d g f e d c
ii v i
2 3 4 4# 5 4 3 2 1
d e f f# g f e d c
when this is comfortable, any chord, including dim and aug can be played in this fashion. all we want to do is play the part that a bass player would play if present. there are other patterns that work well for minor keys.
i hope i shed a little light on this.
so i've learned a couple of base lines which is nice and all. let's me practice improv over a walk but what it doesn't do is teach me how to construct a walk on the fly. randy suggests starting with 1 5 1 and an approach note, probably chromatic, to the next root. i've got a very long ways to go...
spfldpianist,
how do you pick what note to play before the next chord if it's not a leading tone? like on the 1st chord u played an a on beat 4 then you move to the f instead of a leading tone f#. and on the 4 chord you play d to g instead of g# to g.
how do you pick what note to play before the next chord if it's not a leading tone? like on the 1st chord u played an a on beat 4 then you move to the f instead of a leading tone f#. and on the 4 chord you play d to g instead of g# to g.
if it's not a leading tone (chromatic approach note from above or below) then it should be a scale tone from above or below, or a chord tone of the chord you are still on.
1 5 8 5 is nice but it isn't walking, it's hopping.
alternating between walking and hopping is a nice combination.
1 5 8 5 is nice but it isn't walking, it's hopping.
alternating between walking and hopping is a nice combination.
littlerascal,
jeff brent (a.k.a. 7) posted a link to his article that does a good job of exactly what he described: "an article that addresses the most common styles of walking bass". he also alluded to the "hiccup" and "stumble" that can add to the flow and rhythmic interest of the line.
you mentioned that scot did not always use a chromatic leading tone in his examples of bass lines. that is true but in the last written example he has 12 chord changes (including the last looping back to the first) and he uses a chromatic leading tone in 10 of them.
it is not a firm rule that it must always be chromatic, it is just typical and useful to think that way if your ear is in doubt as to where to go.
"spfldpianist" gave a good example of a very basic walking bass pattern common to boogie woogie and simple swing styles. ("in the mood" etc)
maybe you could post some chord changes and people could post some bass lines for you to try.
you might want to listen to jazz hammond players like: richard "groove" holmes, jimmy mcgriff, jimmy smith, jack mcduff and joey defrancesco because they usually walk bass with their left hand. (most can walk bass with the pedals but usually they use the lower keyboard with the left hand and just kick the pedals for accents)
jeff brent (a.k.a. 7) posted a link to his article that does a good job of exactly what he described: "an article that addresses the most common styles of walking bass". he also alluded to the "hiccup" and "stumble" that can add to the flow and rhythmic interest of the line.
you mentioned that scot did not always use a chromatic leading tone in his examples of bass lines. that is true but in the last written example he has 12 chord changes (including the last looping back to the first) and he uses a chromatic leading tone in 10 of them.
it is not a firm rule that it must always be chromatic, it is just typical and useful to think that way if your ear is in doubt as to where to go.
"spfldpianist" gave a good example of a very basic walking bass pattern common to boogie woogie and simple swing styles. ("in the mood" etc)
maybe you could post some chord changes and people could post some bass lines for you to try.
you might want to listen to jazz hammond players like: richard "groove" holmes, jimmy mcgriff, jimmy smith, jack mcduff and joey defrancesco because they usually walk bass with their left hand. (most can walk bass with the pedals but usually they use the lower keyboard with the left hand and just kick the pedals for accents)
yes (!) to flapjack's great post. just transcribe hammond players -- they are *all* playing lh bass, and it usually just sounds sick, especially with the recordings of the greats flapjack mentioned. it can easily be transferred to piano, although you need to use your ears to make sure the lh doesn't sound jumpy or erratic -- that's a good skill to develop anyway, in terms of technique.
i personally don't think the notes matter all that much -- it's more about preserving (conserving?) the rhythm and giving what limited harmonic support and/or direction you can with only one note at a time.
also, grace notes, like you play with the hammond in the lh, i find don't tend to work that well on an acoustic piano. you can confirm this by trying it out yourself or listening to dave mckenna records or anyone else who walks in the lh. great gospel pianists tend to walk bass quite a bit, as well -- there's a homespun videocassette which illustrates this technique pretty well.
i personally don't think the notes matter all that much -- it's more about preserving (conserving?) the rhythm and giving what limited harmonic support and/or direction you can with only one note at a time.
also, grace notes, like you play with the hammond in the lh, i find don't tend to work that well on an acoustic piano. you can confirm this by trying it out yourself or listening to dave mckenna records or anyone else who walks in the lh. great gospel pianists tend to walk bass quite a bit, as well -- there's a homespun videocassette which illustrates this technique pretty well.
here's something else to check out-https://www.music.sc.edu/ea/jazz/improv/219/244basslinesf.pdf
at
smg, that's great! it's like a compilation of transcriptions. that's a pretty serious list of bass line choices.
i picked up a few walking bass lines by transcribing bass players on some blues tunes. so i had to do it the hard way. this list is cool. it should keep anyone busy for awhile.
i picked up a few walking bass lines by transcribing bass players on some blues tunes. so i had to do it the hard way. this list is cool. it should keep anyone busy for awhile.
and how do you know when to use a bass line during a song. can you play bass lines for any song or is only for jazz standards? can you play bass line from beginning to the end or a song. i watch this guy play bass line on autumn leaves, but it seems so confusing to what he is doing. anyone know what he is doing in this vid?
vid: he's just playing chords on lh then switches to walking the bass. then he goes back and forth.
jazzwee, that walking bass line looks complicated and chord are hard too. do you think you can transcribe what he is playing?
he's actually doing the same thing as discussed above. however, he's playing the changes really quickly. so it appears more complicated than it is. remember that there's 4 quarter note beats in each bar of autumn leaves. so that's 4 bass notes per chord.
play it slowly, then it's not so intimidating. to start with, practice two bass notes per chord, like the 1 and 5.
there's a lot of information above already. transcribe something slower.
play it slowly, then it's not so intimidating. to start with, practice two bass notes per chord, like the 1 and 5.
there's a lot of information above already. transcribe something slower.
littlerascal, i listened more closely and it's really easy, assuming you know how to play autumn leaves inside and out. his bass lines appear to be very simple and looks exactly like jazz+'s example, mixed with 1-5-8 of each chord. his chords are shell voicings sounding like root 7.
first thing before you start getting complicated, know the tune inside and out. you must have the form down 100% and can read a book and have conversation while doing the chords.
i can't give the answers for you. you have to put some sweat in this and then you'll learn. but just so you know, most people here can listen to that and pick out the bass line exactly. he is not doing anything difficult at all.
start with the basics dude. learn the song inside and out with chords and melody. then ask the questions. doing walking bass is advanced stuff if you can't tell what chords he's using.
good luck.
first thing before you start getting complicated, know the tune inside and out. you must have the form down 100% and can read a book and have conversation while doing the chords.
i can't give the answers for you. you have to put some sweat in this and then you'll learn. but just so you know, most people here can listen to that and pick out the bass line exactly. he is not doing anything difficult at all.
start with the basics dude. learn the song inside and out with chords and melody. then ask the questions. doing walking bass is advanced stuff if you can't tell what chords he's using.
good luck.
https://www.creativebasslessons.com/ just sent me an e-mail..figured i'd link it here for people dealing with this.....
there is a ray brown masterclass on youtube
definitely worth watching.
also listening to gene harris @ maybeck will surely inspire how things can be done on piano.
definitely worth watching.
also listening to gene harris @ maybeck will surely inspire how things can be done on piano.
i watched a guy walk the bass line on "saving all my love for you", in a cheezy club one night. somehow that stayed with me and i have been able to walk the bass on just about any song. strange huh?
dr. whack might have some good insight on this subject. not only is he a outstanding key bass player, but can also solo over changes, chew gum, converse with drunk clientel and scarf down a pound of chicken wings all while keeping a solid key bass groove....need to see it to believe it!
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