Walking Bass-Lines - The Jazz Piano Site [PDF]

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Walking Bass-Lines Introduction A bass-line is a melody line played in the bass (by a low-pitched instrument such as the piano, double bass, electric bass, tuba, etc.). And walking bass-lines are a continuous sequence of quarter notes, generally played on the beat (4 notes per bar in 4/4 time).  

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Walking Bass-lines The goal of a walking bass-line is to outline the chord progression but with an interesting melodic line that provides a counter-melody (as above). In Jazz, bass-lines should generally not be too repetitive (unless you’re intentionally playing a vamp – like in Blues or Boogie-woogie).   Walking bass-lines make wide use of: Stepwise movement Walking up or down a diatonic scale Walking up or down the chromatic scale Arpeggios Chromatic approach notes (notes one semitone above or below your target note) & other passing notes Octave jumps

5th jumps Repeated notes (playing the same note twice)

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Interval skips generally following some kind of pattern

Walking bass-lines must outline and support the chord progression by targeting the root or 5th (and occasionally 3rd) of the chord. In a sense, this is the opposite of improvisation, where the 3rd and 7th (Guide Tones (http://www.thejazzpianosite.com/jazz-piano-lessons/jazz-improvisation/guidetones/)) are the most important notes. In walking bass-lines, the root and 5th are the most important notes as these really emphasise the tonality of each chord.   And the most harmonically important beats for the bass-line are beats 1 and 3 (in 4/4 time) as this is when the chords generally change. You want to target the root or the 5th of the chord on beats 1 or 3 of the bar, especially when the chord changes. This is interesting because Jazz generally has a backbeat (i.e. accenting beats 2 & 4).   Some general walking bass-line tips are: The most important notes for a bass-line are the root & 5th, while the chord above the bass note (Upper Structure (http://www.thejazzpianosite.com/jazz-piano-lessons/jazzchord-voicings/upper-structures/)) emphasises the 3rd & 7th (Guide Tones). Target the root note on beat 1 of each bar (at least to begin with, as this will create a strong sounding bass-line which clearly outlines the chord progression. The bass-line implies the chords when you do this. You can then get more adventurous.) Use leading-notes on beat 4 before moving to the next chord. Say we wanted to target the root note of CMaj7, then we could use the following leading-notes: Chromatic (D♭ to C) Diatonic (D to C) 5th/Dominant (G to C) Encircle the note (D♭ to B to C) Keep it movin’ and mix it up. Make sure you change directions (up and down), change patterns (steps and skips – so it doesn’t just sound like a scale or an arpeggio), diatonic and chromatic – all the while keeping a strong ‘four feel’.

To add some interest and variety, you can also: Play staccato or legato Play in swung eighth notes (rather than quarter notes)

Add ornamentals like lls and grace notes

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Play multiple notes at once (double stops) Use Pedal Point (see below)

For example, let’s take a II-V-I in C and create a walking bass-line:   Chords

Dm7

G7

CMaj7

Pedal Point

D, D, D, D

G, G, G, G

C, C, C, C

Arpeggio (hopping)

D, F, A, C

G, B, D, F

C, E, G, B

Arpeggio (walking)

D, F, A, F

G, B, D, B

C, E, G, B

Diatonic

D, E, F, A

G, A, B, D

C, E, G, E

Chromatic

D, F, A♭, F#

G, A♭, A, D

C, E, G, D♭

Double with chromatic approach

D, D, A♭, A♭

G, G, D♭, D♭

C, G, A, D♭

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Part I

Jazz Piano Tutorial - Walking Basslines (Part I)

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Part II

Jazz Piano Tutorial - Walking Basslines (Part II)

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