Each example includes not only written basslines, but also a series of exercises that stepbystep introduce root motion, chord tones, scale patterns and chromatic halfstep approaches. Quarter notes are the foundation of all music, and are the most basic note values used in modern music. 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. Intended for beginners and professionals, the book deals with playing in 2, creating walking bass lines, 34 time, using a broken feel, modal and slashchord harmony, ballads, and much more. The book will show the musician how to connect familiar chord shapes with the appropriate bass notes. James jamerson from jazz bassist to popular music icon. The jazz bass line book by mike downes is a comprehensive approach to the construction of improvised bass lines. To walk bass lines on the ii v i, all we have to do is learn three different walking patterns. The majority of the presentation will focus on walking bass lines in a 44 meter. Bass lines part one for all of these exercises, we are going to use the cycle of 4ths. If you are wishing to order the pdfmp3 files please go to the correct page as this product is for the pdf file only. Walking bass lines are a very specific and classic jazz piano sound and generally considered an advanced concept. Constructing walking jazz bass lines book ii walking bass lines. Music educational books and sheet music downloads for blues, jazz, funk, latin, gospel, rock, celtic styles for instruments including piano, keyboards, sax, flute.
How to write a walking bass line learn jazz standards. So far we have patterns for each chord change in the 12bar blues except for one, moving from v to iv i. Beginning walking bass lines, the 2 feel, latin rhythms, essential walking bass vocabulary, soloing techniques, ghost notes and much more. Start with the basic book and then move to the advanced book. Accompanying audio includes a jazz trio for practicing standard tunes. Description of the book building walking bass lines. In part three of our walking bass series, we are looking at the final changes for the 12 bar blues. 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. Walking bass lines always sound cool in any style of music, but are essential to jazz blues and. 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. Chord tones root, 3rd, 5th, 7th are the most powerful choice you can make when creating your walking lines.
First off, before we begin, it is important that you take a look at your skillset. A comprehensive guide to constructing walking jazz bass lines for the double bassist and electric jazz bassist is a complete 12key guide to techniques and devices used to. And be sure to read my other jazz guitar corner columns here. Constructing walking jazz bass lines, book 1, the blues in 12 keys. If you like these ideas and want more information, my books walking bass lines for jazz guitar and walking bass lines for bass guitar are available at. Get a hold of the fundamentals before tackling this. Rather than arm you with a few examples of walking bass lines, this book will show. Chords and walking bass part 1 in this lesson ill demonstrate how i approach playing walking bass lines and chords at the same time.
Some of the things i discuss are on making walking bass lines on guitar, how to. Walking bass and chords on a bb blues jazz guitar lesson. Walking bass is most readily associated with jazz, where musicians have used it in ensembles of all sizes and styles. Also recommended in this series by the same author is. Walking bass lines the blues in 12 keys upright bass and electric bass method ultimate easy guitar playalong the doors. Constructing walking jazz bass lines book 1 is an invaluable resource to the aspiring jazz bassist, with potential for learning teaching and great practical application. Walking bass lines for guitar jazz guitar workshop series. Are you trying to find a way in to playing jazz bass. This lesson is the first look into how we construct the actual lines and starts with a primer on arpeggios or chord tones. A walking bass line generally consists of notes of equal duration and intensity typically 14 notes that create a feeling of forward motion.
Easy walking bass lines pdf constructing walking jazz. The walking wednesday bass line this week is so what. The blues in 12 keys, book i in the constructing walking jazz bass lines series is designed to give the aspiring bassist of all levels the tools and devices required to construct professional level jazz bass lines and to build a strong functional awareness of how to function as a professional bassist in any musical setting. If you are looking to begin playing the bass then this how to video is the place to start. A followup to building walking bass lines, this book approaches more advanced walking concepts, including model mapping, the twofeel, several must know changes, and other important jazz bass lessons. In lesson 2, we continued to build patterns for the common chord progressions we see in blues. Please practice handwashing and social distancing, and check out our resources for adapting to.
A walking bass line is the most common approach to jazz bass playing, but it is also used. Playing jazz guitar bass lines with chords the guitar is an extremely versatile instrument, with seemingly endless techniques and tones around every corner. Intended for beginners and professionals, the book deals with playing in 2, creating walking bass lines, 34 time, using a broken feel, modal and slashchord. Simple walking bass line for jazz beginners talkingbass. Walking bass lines helps us learn and reinforce the fundamentals of jazz harmony. In order to play even the simplest of walking bass lines, the student must know the aforementioned chords and the chord tones that make them up within the first 5. Rhythm changes in 12 keys compliments book i the blues in 12 keys by following on with an in depth study of must know jazz chord progressions for. You will also have learned a system for analyzing a bass line that will help you to understand why some bass lines work and others dont. 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. A leading tone is a note that makes the link between the previous bass line and the next chord.
A bassline is the term used in many styles of music, such as jazz, blues, funk, dub and. This is the second lesson in the series devoted to walking bass lines. Please practice handwashing and social distancing, and check out our resources for adapting to these times. Constructing walking jazz bass lines book ii walking bass. Book ii in the constructing walking jazz bass lines series, rhythm changes in 12 keys provides various insights into how the rhythm changes song form may be approached by the jazz bassist. 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. The blues in 12 keys upright bass and electric bass method pdf. Use these lines to get you going the right direction when you start playing a blues. Therefore being in control of them and becoming fluent is crucial. Jazz bass books constructing walking jazz bass lines. Rhythm changes in 12 keys upright bass method mooney, steven on. To read more about walking basslines for guitar, check out my series how to walk basslines for jazz guitar. Constructing walking jazz bass lines book ii, author.
R 3 5 6 7 walking bass line theory basics chris fitzgerald. Also, dont forget to write out your lines at first and really practice these. Simple jazz blues walking bass line breakdown youtube. Pdf the jazz bass book download full pdf book download.
There is a web site, that has an excellent remote learning course for bass. 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. The purpose of this book is to provide the beginning to intermediate jazz bassist a working vocabulary of walking basslines and concepts for improvising. With this tutorial you will learn tips to improve your walking bass technique. In this example, the bass line consists of simple arpeggiations of each chord, giving the overall effect of a simple blues bass line. A guitar in standard tuning will never reach the lower bass notes of a real bass, but. Steven mooney, constructing walking jazz bass lines book. In swing jazz and jump blues, basslines are often created from a continuous sequence of quarter. Jazz bass books bass guitar chords, learn bass guitar. One very important and widely used jazz guitar technique is playing bass lines in combination with chords. You will learn some easy scales and how to play a walking bass line for whatever song you are playing. If we analyse the walking bass lines from a good bassist in a band, we quickly come to realise that there are bass lines that appear over and over, because they sound so good and have proved themselves successful. In this lesson, we will show you a couple of jazz bass lines that will help to open your eyes to the use of chords and chromatics within jazz bass guitar playing.
How to play basic walking bass lines bass wonderhowto. The bass lines in the section are for you to learn, memorize, and play in a real live playing situation. While some knowledge of music theory is necessary, excellent bass lines can be. Five steps to walking basslines on guitar guitar world. This is a short demonstration lesson detailing the basic principles of walking bass lines. If you want to download a free ebook of 15 ii valt i licks then subscribe to my newsletter. Walking bass lines for jazz guitar by stephan badreau is a step by step guide to harmonizing bass lines on the guitar.
Step one root and fifth orientation begin with a quarter note walking bass line utilizing primarily the 1st and 3rd fingers. Jazz bass line construction thelonious monk institute of. I have included your bass lines in here so see if you can find your line as you play through these. Constructing walking jazz bass lines book ii by carlota.
Constructing walking jazz bass lines book ii, length. Rhythm changes in 12 keys is book ii in the constructing walking jazz bass lines series for the electric bassist. A walking bass is a style of bass accompaniment or line, common in baroque music. How to play walking bass lines at the piano cocktail. Now its time to learn how to create a complete bass line from scratch. 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 the end, walking bass lines are the most simple of concepts. Constructing walking jazz bass lines walking bass lines 3 book set for a limited time buy books 1 3 and take our walking bass workshop course free. From jazz bassist to popular music icon by joshua andrew zarbo, b. Playing walking bass jazz guitar comping is really a great full way to comp in a duo setting. This video is the seventh in a series of jazz instructional videos featuring chris fitzgerald, assistant professor of music theory and jazz bass at. Ebooks jazz bass lines bass tab edition constructing.
Looking for a structured way to increase your current skill level. But the truth is that walking bass lines are fairly easy to practice and, like everything in. In this course scott takes you right from the start and gets you gig ready for a real life jazz gig. Adding variation in the bass line rhythms and dealing with higher tempos. In jazz, basslines should generally not be too repetitive unless youre intentionally playing a vamp like in blues or boogiewoogie. Jazz is an inherently harmonically complex style of music. So what walking bass line the complete bass player. How to create bass lines 6 often youll use an ostinato for the head when the whole group plays the melody at the beginning and the end and use a walking bass for the changes when people take turns. Chord tones should be the first stop on the road to learning how to play walking bass lines. Constructing walking jazz bass lines book ii rhythmchanges in 12 keys. These blues bass lines are like having a one chorus lick that you can rely on to always sound good when you play it. It is possible to add rhythmic variations, but in general, a walking bassline drives the song forward step by step.
1446 273 567 1043 260 1447 710 1387 131 142 989 54 1624 913 722 78 1545 166 502 748 1630 1229 274 1486 1054 1562 139 327 1060 833 1405 843 144 941 986 490 317 385 234 30 200 765 1369 1439 1346 1328