If youre amazingly extra awesome, youll be able to sing the melody and make a bass line at the same time. Alright, this is just a warmup, good to stretch your fingers out with. Sep 24, 2019 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. Walking bass line theory basics pdf file chris fitzgerald. Playing a walking jazz guitar bass line is a captivating method of comping for other musicians, and yourself. Looking forward to hearing your walking bass lines over autumn leaves. When creating walking bass lines, its important to outline the root and 5th of the chord.
Our collection of tabs, guitar chords, and video lessons is constantly growing, so check back often to find your favorite songs. Jazz bass line construction thelonious monk institute of jazz. We can create a walking bass line over the following twelvebar blues chord progression. 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. The bass lines in the section are for you to learn, memorize, and play in a real live playing situation. The goal of a walking bassline is to outline the chord progression but with an. Walking bass licks some help for those new to walking. 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. Music notation is a great system, but it isnt the most modern, or best system for learn modern bass guitar songs. 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. Walking bass for jazz and blues fundamental changes. How to create a walking bass line if you know how to create a walking bass line, you can be more creative in your jazz playing. The bass lines are good and one simple addition to know is that just about any chordwalking bass line, you can always use a leading tone that is, 12 step below to whatever is the next chord. 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.
Here is the bass lines for autumn leaves that everyone contributed to last week. Use these lines to get you going the right direction when you start playing a blues. At the top of the page, you can see 3 chord diagrams these are the chords which constitute the song. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading walking bass for jazz and blues. 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. Walking bass for jazz and blues is a complete method to help beginners master each element of blues and jazz walking bass. Your job is to mix up the root patterns over the blues. Walking bass lines always sound cool in any style of music, but are essential to jazz blues and. Jazz guitar lessons with tabs, analysis and audio files available for download. Practicing in all keys is going to consolidate your knowledge of the patterns as well as help you to freely move around the entire fret board. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Free bass tabs printable, downloadable pdf bass tabs. While some knowledge of music theory is necessary, excellent bass lines can be. The complete walking bass method kindle edition by clark, nick, alexander, joseph.
As im sure you have heard before, practice makes perfect. This is an important concept to remember, the walking bass line is movement. 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. Jazz bass line construction thelonious monk institute of. Walking bass and chords is one of the greatest ways to comp if you are the only one playing behind a soloist like a horn or a singer. In lesson 2, we continued to build patterns for the common chord progressions we see in blues. All of our bass tab pdf is printable and downloadable so you can enjoy it for years to come. In this weeks lesson were looking at a very simple walking bass line through the chord. To support practising of this material i created pdf files containing tab and notation to illustrate. Walkin the blues by steven mooney walkin the blues walking bass line transcription includes bass tab.
Ill teach you the concepts and theory behind jazz guitar walking bass lines and show you how to apply it to a blues in bb. Well also throw in chords in between the bass line. Alright, this is just a warmup, good to stretch your fingers out with, its simple, and works quite well as an improv. Easy walking bass lines pdf constructing walking jazz bass lines. The majority of the presentation will focus on walking bass lines in a 44.
Walking a blues now its time to put our root patterns to use. Instead of having a few different things to try in this. Walking bass lines are a fascinating part of jazz, as they support and mark the harmony underneath the chords and melody. Walking bass and chords on a bb blues jazz guitar lesson. The video is based on a recording i made and transcribed.
Chords and walking bass part 1 in this lesson ill demonstrate how i approach playing walking bass lines and chords at the same time. Milt hinton vibraphone blues theres a reason hes gotten at least 9 honorary doctorates. The possible noterange of a walking bass can reach from subcontra a to middle c. Chord tones root, 3rd, 5th, 7th are the most powerful choice you can make when creating your walking lines. Its a jazz staple, youve got to be able to walk a line on the blues if you want to play jazz bass. So far we have patterns for each chord change in the 12bar blues except for one, moving from v to iv i.
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. And walking basslines are a continuous sequence of quarter notes, generally played on the beat 4 notes per bar in 44 time walking basslines. This lesson for electric bass covers an easy walking style blues bass line in the key of e. This is the most common 12bar blues form aka iivv progression. Then open the pdf for this lesson, and look at all that information. Bass lessons beginners guide to walking bass lines bass tab standard string tuning g,d,a,e recommended 1. Use your thumb for the bass notes and your other fingers to comp the chords. 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. Practicing in all keys is going to consolidate your knowledge of the patterns as well as help you. Apr 23, 2020 in this jazz guitar lesson, youll learn how to play a jazz blues in bb walking bass on guitar. Walking bass lesson 3 jazz blues fundamental changes. 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.
Walking bass on guitar is usually played fingerstyle. Heres what you get a complete guide to walking bass lines so you learn how to play on the most common chord changes in blues and. The blues scale, perhaps the most used in modern music to play lines, whether melodies or riffs, allows us to approach the blues sound without having to play within a blues structure. Bassists can learn to read music notation, chord lyrics charts, or bass tablature. Therefore, the bass is played by the left hand on the lower part of the keyboard of the piano. Theyre always late anyway ive also made a fast and a slow walking bass blues backing track for. As an active member of the new york city jazz scene, wallace has participated in jazz festivals, spoken and performed live on radio, and played at many prestigious jazz clubs and concert halls around the country.
Lessons scales walking blues 12 bar blues scale bass. Wallace stelzer is a professional jazz bass player and content creator from houston, texas. These blues bass lines are like having a one chorus lick that you can rely on to always sound good when you play it. The notes above are all natural however any of this notes can be raised or lowered a half. The rhythm is basic, using quarter notes and the tones of a major scale.
Its a system that takes weeks or even months to learn the basics, while guitar tab can be learned in a matter. Walking bass blues without iv in bar 2 19870506 download pdf. Nov 21, 2016 walking bass for jazz and blues is a complete method to help beginners master each element of blues and jazz walking bass. The two dots on the right of the bass clef symbol surround the line on which f pitch is written. How to write a walking bass line learn jazz standards. Apr 26, 2017 wallace stelzer is a professional jazz bass player and content creator from houston, texas. Dedicate at least 3060 minutes each day to playing the bass. Play through the progression using only root notes if it is new to you. The majority of the presentation will focus on walking bass lines in a 44 meter.
Bundle of 48 backing tracks and 12 pdf files with chord changes. For people interested in learning how to play walking bass lines, its hard to find something no. Sidesliding or side stepping the root note is nearly always approached from either a semitone above or a semitone below the root note though sometimes from a note that is in the arpeggio of the preceding chord. Youll notice that the blues below only has three different chords. The symbol of the bass clef is derived from the old german way of writing f. Very easy to learn and play for the beginning bass player. Instead of having a few different things to try in this lesson, we are going to learn a written. The difficulty in walking bass on the guitar lies in the combination of playing chords and bass at the same time. I am looking to compile a list of blues songs with great walking bass lines particularly in the jump blues style. Walking bass for jazz and blues fundamental changes music.
Simple walking bass line for jazz beginners talkingbass. It is the most extended scale in poprockjazz because of its versatility, because it always sounds good, always sounds like blues. Walking blues 12 bar blues scale bass tab by lessons scales. Bass lessons basic 12 bar blues in a the walking bass bass tab. It is designed to develop strong harmonic skills, rhythm, phrasing and note choice.
A bassline is a melody line played in the bass by a lowpitched instrument such as the piano, double bass, electric bass, tuba, etc. The possible noterange of a walking bass can reach from subcontra. R 3 5 6 7 walking bass line theory basics chris fitzgerald. In this lesson, you will learn how to write and play a walking bass line over a 12bar blues in f. This just so happens to be done in the key of a but you can play this in any. 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. If you know how to create a walking bass line, you can be more creative in your jazz playing. This helps define the harmony and is one of the keys to developing walking bass as an improvised skill. Walking basslines the goal of a walking bassline is to outline the chord progression but with an interesting melodic line that provides a countermelody as above. In this example, the bass line consists of simple arpeggiations of each chord, giving the overall effect of a simple blues bass line. In part three of our walking bass series, we are looking at the final changes for the 12 bar blues. Walking bass noterange usually the bass lies in the lower sound range of the music.
The challenge is that these recordings were mostly in the 1940s and early 50s. Below is the bass tablature for the basic blues in e bass line. Basic 12 bar blues in a the walking bass bass tabs bass. Just like walking with your feet, tyjwalking bass line is one step after the other that takes you somewhere. In this lesson im providing you with a simple walking bass line through a 12 bar blues progression in a jazz blues style. Walking bass line theory basicspart 1by chris fitzgerald. Basic 12 bar blues in a the walking bass bass tabs. You can play alone or with a band, but without the bass player. Learn to play common jazz chords, progressions and lines with your guitar these effective educational books for beginner and advanced players. In jazz, basslines should generally not be too repetitive unless youre intentionally playing a vamp like in blues or boogiewoogie. You can start by switching off every measure between root patterns. Beginners guide to walking bass lines bass tabs bass. 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.
Bb jazz blues guitar walking bass blues guitar, jazz. In this 5 minute masterclass, were going create a bass line over a blues in f. Here are some tips to aid you in mastering these bass blues licks. Walking bass line piano tutorial walking bass jazz piano. This set of playalongs and chord charts is a great addition to the walking bass lines course. I am introducing to you a complete course on how to create walking bass lines from scratch. Dec 16, 2015 i am introducing to you a complete course on how to create walking bass lines from scratch. Walking bass lines always sound cool in any style of music, but are essential to jazz blues and great american songbook jazz standards. Here we have a walking bass line on the blues in f. The function of the bass is to provide the foundation.
My favorite artists are louis jordan, wynonie harris, louis prima, and cab calloway. Feb 14, 2018 walking blues 12 bar blues scale bass tab by lessons scales. First of all, if you are new to walking bass, look at my previous lesson. After browsing our selection of free bass tab pdf, view our video lessons to help you get started learning your favorite songs from start to finish. In this lesson i am going to go over a walking bass comp on a 12 bar bb jazz blues and how you play it on guitar. When starting out with walking bass lines, i would recommend that you always target the root when changing chords.
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