It starts off by giving the basic patterns which will help you get started and improvising walking bass lines really fast. Bass lessons basic 12 bar blues in a the walking bass bass tab. The term walking is used lescribe the moving feeling that quarter notes create in the bass part. Learn how to build and play walking bass lines on guitar and combine these with chords. In part 2 of this lesson we continue our study of walking bass lines. For more information on laying down unstoppable bass lines, check out bass grooves. 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. Here is the basic bass pattern you will play over the e7 chord. For example bo diddley is a classic bass line, as is help me, as is baby i want to be loved etc.
The majority of the presentation will focus on walking bass lines in a 44. 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. 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. Basic 12 bar blues in a the walking bass bass tabs bass. This week for walking wednesdays we worked our way through the classic tune so what. Walking bass blues a study in contrasts key of db download pdf. Each topic is indexed by a video time marker below. Ballads are slow tunes that can be played with or without swing rhythms. Chords and walking bass part 1 in this lesson ill demonstrate how i approach playing walking bass lines and chords at the same time. Twobeat bass lines are also used in playing ballads.
The majority of the presentation will focus on walking bass lines in a 44 meter. Instead of having a few different things to try in this lesson, we are going to learn a written. Bass lines and walking bass lines can be two different things. 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. In this lesson i am more focusing on how to write the basslines for. Adhere to this basic rule and you can even tackle the approach notes in a similar fashion, creating the effect of walking to the new chord in onefret steps. The blues is almost universally known, so if you ever find yourself playing with new people, you can always use some of these blues bass lines to start making music instantly. As im sure you have heard before, practice makes perfect. How to play grooving bass lines making music magazine. The possible noterange of a walking bass can reach from subcontra a to middle c.
How to play walking bass lines at the piano cocktail piano. This book starts out with a conceptual discussion of how to internalize rhythms, and then explores many popular styles, including blues, reggae, motown, and rhythm and. Just like walking with your feet, tyjwalking bass line is one step after the other that takes you somewhere. There are many ways to combine the chordal, scalar and chromatic elements to create a.
Jan 28, 2018 how to play complete 12 bar blues shuffle bass lines in a. While some knowledge of music theory is necessary, excellent bass lines can be. Walking bass lines in a 44meter swing style can also be used in playing ballads. The term walking is used to describe the moving feeling that quarter notes create in the bass part. S7 e7 all of me example bass line john marley 3 3 3 5 2 2 4. I really liked all of the lines that you guys wrote and hope you enjoy playing through this line as well. Learn how to build and play walking bass lines on guitar and combine these with chords video, guitar tabs, and backing track. The fundamentals of music are pitch and rhythm which are placed in a grid of five lines and four spaces called staff.
When you combine all three, you have a very complete. For ascending lines im using the scale degrees 1 2 3 5. Here are some tips to aid you in mastering these bass blues licks. 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. There are many generic blues lines, but what you need to find is the originals, so find a chess catalogue, a willie dixon, catalogue etc and find when the lines were first used. 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.
In this example, the bass line consists of simple arpeggiations of each chord, giving the overall effect of a simple blues bass line. This is the first step in developing walking bass lines. 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 always you can download a pdf of the examples here. Walking bass line examples and analysis chris fitzgerald. It seems like that should make it easier but it actually makes it a little more difficult. Jazz bass guitar lesson walking bass guitar tab video. Beginners guide to walking bass lines bass tabs bass. Some of the things i discuss are on making walking bass lines on guitar, how to. Essential walking bass line patterns discover double bass. How to create bass lines 2 3 play in four quarters.
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. The bassline construction method explored here uses chord tones, approach notes and basic reharmonization. With your left hand practice walking bass lines through the chord changes and with your right hand practice comping. If you have problems hearing it be sure to use either. Basic 12 bar blues in a the walking bass bass tabs. This is the most common 12bar blues form aka iivv progression. Take two different chords and you want to move as stepwise as possible between the roots of the two chords. From the funkiest bass grooves to the most lyrical bass solos, from the 50s up until 2020. The symbol of the bass clef is derived from the old german way of writing f.
To walk bass lines on the ii v i, all we have to do is learn three different walking patterns. Exercise 1 demonstrates this with several examples. R 3 5 6 7 walking bass line theory basics chris fitzgerald. A walking bass line is the most common approach to jazz bass playing. 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. Use your thumb for the bass notes and your other fingers to comp the chords. On this video the backing track has a very full sound and the bass can sound a little overpowered on smaller speakers. 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. This just so happens to be done in the key of a but you can play this in any. The two dots on the right of the bass clef symbol surround the. Ill be covering blues rock and jazz blues in upcoming lessons. Another helpful tip is to practice playing rhythmic comping figures.
While walking bass in a band is generally played by the bass guitar or double bass player, being able to play walking bass lines is an essential skill for jazz guitarists when playing without a bass player. Organists tend to play what i call functunal bass lines. The whole song is really just two chords a d7 and eb7. Below is the bass tablature for the basic blues in e bass line. Simple walking bass line for jazz beginners talkingbass.
Walking bass on guitar is usually played fingerstyle. Jazz bass line construction thelonious monk institute of jazz. 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. We have a bass line and then we can walk that bass line several ways. Building walking bass lines pdf free download epdf. The difficulty in walking bass on the guitar lies in the combination of playing chords and bass at the same time. Just like walking with your feet, the walking bass line is one step after the other that takes you somewhere. Description of the book building walking bass lines. This paper describes a contourbased algorithm for the realtime automatic generation of jazz walking bass lines, following a given harmonic progression. The two dots on the right of the bass clef symbol surround the line on which f pitch is written. This is an important concept to remember, the walking bass line. Combine walking basslines and jazz guitar chords, with martin taylor mbe. Bass lines part 2 adding chords to your bass lines mark white is an associate professortraveling clinician for.
One last idea for this lessonlisten to jazz organ players like larry young. Easy walking bass lines pdf constructing walking jazz bass lines. Simple jazz blues walking line breakdown talkingbass. Dedicate at least 3060 minutes each day to playing the bass. Bass lessons beginners guide to walking bass lines bass tab standard string tuning g,d,a,e recommended 1. May 15, 2014 this installment covers the performance and analysis of three walking bass lines used as intoouttro examples in previous videos from the series.
S7 e7 bass bass a7 10fr d7 5 a7 d7 bass bass e7 a7 9 e7 a7 bass bass 10fr d7 10fr d7 g7 d7 d7 g7 bass bass 8fr c. Walking bass line theory basicspart 1by chris fitzgerald. In this lesson i share some essential walking bass patterns. His book bass groves comes closer to what i think you are asking about.
Play through the progression using only root notes if it is new to you. Walking bass lines the blues in 12 keys upright bass and electric bass method pdf created date 10272016 9. Walking bass and chords on a bb blues jazz guitar lesson. How to play complete 12 bar blues shuffle bass lines in a. More than 470 free transcriptions for bass and other instruments on basslessons. Walking bass part 1 i mostly talked about how to combine the two and how to. These riffs work over almost any chord which then moves up by an interval of a 4th to the next chord.
This is the first in a short series of lessons devoted to playing bass on a 12 bar blues. Walking the ii v i in combo, youll learn that the ii v i is one of the most important chord progressions in jazz. The following video is provided to assist the bassist to familiarize themselves with some of the rhythmic phrases used in the jazz walking bass line vocabulary. When playing in a triple meter 34 or 68, walking bass lines are constructed the same as in a 44meter. Walking bass lines for guitar guitar lessons for beginners, jazz. I have been playing bass for a few years and i am trying to learn walking bass lines on my own. Eds book gives examples of several ways to walk to the next chord. The video contains the performance and the slow version with tab on.