Jazz bass line construction thelonious monk institute of jazz. How to comp walking bass guitar lines like joe pass. Walking bass lines for jazz guitar by stephan badreau is a step by step guide to harmonizing bass lines on the guitar. This concept works well when constructing bass lines that ascend over the 251 in the first two bars. 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. Walking bass guitar is an important comping style for any jazz guitarist to study when learning how to play jazz guitar chords if you are new to playing walking bass guitar lines and want to learn an easy method for learning them, i highly recommend checking out this guide that i published before working through the material in this lesson this article is aimed at the guitarist who already. Walking bass lines the blues in 12 keys upright bass and electric bass method. Jazz walking bass is the foundation, support and framework for jazz. Lessons in this segment focus on the fundamentals of bass playing.
Bass lessons beginners guide to walking bass lines bass tab standard string tuning g,d,a,e recommended 1. Rhythm changes like the blues is an essential part of the jazz musicians vocabulary. 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. This is a short demonstration lesson detailing the basic principles of walking bass lines. Constructing walking jazz bass lines book ii by carlota. Oct 07, 2010 now with mp3 playalong backing tracks of rhythm changes in 12 keys outlining the chord substitutions used in the book. How to play walking bass lines at the piano cocktail piano. Apr 26, 2017 wallace stelzer is a professional jazz bass player and content creator from houston, texas. Better includes all basic features plus 2 coaching sessions and graded homework assignments. Included is over 150 choruses of walking jazz bass lines over the jazz blues lines in 12 keys. 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.
If you are wishing to order the pdfmp3 files please go to the correct page as this product is for the pdf file only. This is an important concept to remember, the walking bass line is. Walking the ii v i in combo, youll learn that the ii v i is one of the most important chord progressions in jazz. Description of the book building walking bass lines. The blues in 12 keys upright bass and electric bass method pdf. Part 1 of the book outlines and demonstrates the various techniques used by professional jazz bassists to provide forward motion and a strong harmonic and rhythmic foundation into bass lines. Also included in each example are the scales, modes and. Simple jazz blues walking bass line breakdown talkingbass online bass lessons.
When constructing a walking bass line, you need only to keep in mind that, when finished, you bass line should hold a melodic property. One last idea for this lessonlisten to jazz organ players like larry young. Jazz guitar makes full use of many theoretical concepts, and also tends to use a lot of the more difficult concepts in music, such as improvisation and proper usage and implementation of the chromatic scale. Walking bass lines are a very specific and classic jazz piano sound and generally considered an advanced concept. This manual can be used by anyone wanting to learn how to play improvised walking bass on any instrument in any time signature. Now with mp3 playalong backing tracks of rhythm changes in 12 keys outlining the chord substitutions used in the book. Walking bass workshop constructing walking jazz bass lines. The function of the bass is to provide the foundation. I have included your bass lines in here so see if you can find your line as you play through these. Quarter notes are the foundation of all music, and are the most basic note values used in modern music. Just like walking with your feet, the walking bass line is one step after the other that takes you somewhere.
Sep 30, 2012 constructing walking jazz bass lines book iii bass tab edition jazz bass lines over. Simple jazz blues walking bass line breakdown duration. Please practice handwashing and social distancing, and check out our resources for adapting to these times. Pdf this paper describes a contourbased algorithm for the realtime automatic generation of jazz walking bass lines, following a given harmonic. Therefore being in control of them and becoming fluent is crucial. Organists tend to play what i call functunal bass lines. Walking bass lines part 2 learn jazz piano online with. With this tutorial you will learn tips to improve your walking bass technique. The bass lines in the section are for you to learn, memorize, and play in a real live playing situation. 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. In the end, walking bass lines are the most simple of concepts. To get started with walking bass lines it is important to be aware of the root notes in each of the chords you are playing. Constructing walking jazz bass lines book i the blues in 12 keys.
In part 2 of this lesson we continue our study of walking bass lines. Just like walking with your feet, tyjwalking bass line is one step after the other that takes you somewhere. 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. Constructing walking jazz bass lines book ii walking bass. Looking for a structured way to increase your current skill. Chord tones root, 3rd, 5th, 7th are the most powerful choice you can make when creating your walking lines.
Rhythm changes in 12 keys is a complete guide demonstrating how to construct walking jazz bass lines in the jazz tradition. Jazz bass books walking bass line in 12 keys upright. How to play basic walking bass lines bass wonderhowto. The blues in 12 keys, book i in the constructing walking jazz bass lines series new 2hr mp3 playalong free download featuring all chord progressions in 12 keys from part ii of the book available from website. How to play walking bass lines using chord tones youtube. In this video lesson, james discusses a dorian walking bass. Jazz is one of those few styles that expands and goes past the average intermediate phase. 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. This walking bass lines lesson shows you how to break out of those. Most often the bass lines are played by an acoustic or upright bass.
How to create bass lines 2 3 play in four quarters. Beginners guide to walking bass lines bass tabs bass. I really liked all of the lines that you guys wrote and hope you enjoy playing through this line as well. The description below is for the pdf and audio files. Walking bass lines the blues in 12 keys upright bass and electric bass method pdf created date 10272016 9.
Simple walking bass line for jazz beginners talkingbass. Playing jazz guitar bass lines and chords terence wright. On metaphors of jazz walking bass killer walking bass. Constructing walking jazz bass lines book ii walking bass lines. Chords and walking bass part 1 in this lesson ill demonstrate how i approach playing walking bass lines and chords at the same time. 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. Special online offer for the remainder of the covid 19 social. 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. These blues bass lines are like having a one chorus lick that you can rely on to always sound good when you play it. Good course includes video lessons, audio instructions and downloadable lesson pdf files. Are you trying to find a way in to playing jazz bass.
Students and readers of constructing walking jazz bass lines. Chords and walking bass lines part 2 if you have any questions or comments then feel free to leave them here or on the video. If you are looking to begin playing the bass then this how to video is the place to start. Retrouvez constructing walking jazz bass lines, book i. How to play walking bass lines at the piano cocktail. There is a big tendency for players to seek for advanced and complicated topics while they still did not master the basics. Walking bass is most readily associated with jazz, where musicians have used it in ensembles of all sizes and styles. This is the first step in developing walking bass lines. This video is the seventh in a series of jazz instructional videos featuring chris fitzgerald, assistant professor of music theory and jazz bass at the university of louisville school of music. Jazz bass line construction thelonious monk institute of. Exercise 1 demonstrates this with several examples. This is the usual second step for players who want to master walking bass before moving to chromatic lines. The following is an example of a common bass line construction when the harmonic rhythm is moving at the rate of two chords per bar target notes are designated with t, and approach notes are designated with a.
Bass lines part 2 adding chords to your bass lines mark white is an associate professortraveling clinician for. Simple jazz blues walking bass line breakdown youtube. So what walking bass line the complete bass player. A walking bass line is the most common approach to jazz bass playing. Sep 27, 2012 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. Intermediate walking bass lines for jazz guitar explores the creation of walking bass lines played over chord sequence using scale tones. Mar 14, 2014 this video is the seventh in a series of jazz instructional videos featuring chris fitzgerald, assistant professor of music theory and jazz bass at the university of louisville school of music.
You will learn some easy scales and how to play a walking bass line for whatever song you are playing. 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. Looking for a structured way to increase your current skill level. Also, dont forget to write out your lines at first and really practice these. Easy walking bass lines pdf constructing walking jazz bass lines. Apr 02, 2016 simple jazz blues walking bass line breakdown talkingbass online bass lessons. Jazz bass tab and bass clef books, bass guitar lessons, jazz bass tabs, blues bass tabs for the. A walking bass thats reduced mostly to a iv alternation will sound a lot like countryfolk. 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. 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.
Easy walking bass lines pdf constructing walking jazz. Pdf a contourbased jazz walking bass generator researchgate. Jazz walking bass is the pulse, heartbeat, and backbone of jazz music, and its like walking. Part 1 of the book outlines and demonstrates the various techniques used by professional jazz bassists to provide forward motion and a. Jazz bass books, constructing walking jazz bass lines. 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. Walking bass line theory basicspart 1by chris fitzgerald. In the next step of constructing walking bass lines, we will play what bass players refer to as half time, where the half note is the rhythmic focus of the line. Take two different chords and you want to move as stepwise as possible between the roots of the two chords.
T 1 2 a t 3 by chris fitzgerald a 4 t 1 a 2 t 3 a 4 walking bass line theory basics. Click here to download the free 3 concepts to play a 251 pdf. Playing a walking jazz guitar bass line is a captivating method of comping for other musicians, and yourself. Well there is a huge number of jazz albums with great walking basslines probably my favourite for walking lines is paul chambers and of course if there is one album that everybody has or likes even if they arent a jazz fan is miles davis kind of blue. The purpose of this book is to provide the beginning to intermediate jazz bassist a working vocabulary of walking basslines and concepts for improvising. Building walking bass lines bass instruction pdf free download. 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. It is absolutely crucial for the student to learn the material in the correct order and not to go ahead of oneself. 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. Jul 11, 2019 jazz bass books and free video lessons for the upright and electric bassist. To walk bass lines on the ii v i, all we have to do is learn three different walking patterns. 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. While some knowledge of music theory is necessary, excellent bass lines can be.
A complete guide demonstrating the devices used to construct walking jazz bass lines in the jazz tradition. Wallace stelzer is a professional jazz bass player and content creator from houston, texas. But the truth is that walking bass lines are fairly easy to practice and, like everything in music and life, the more you practice the more comfortable you will become when playing in this style. The possible noterange of a walking bass can reach from subcontra a to middle c. The term walking is used lescribe the moving feeling that quarter notes create in the bass part. How to write a walking bass line learn jazz standards. Best includes better plus graded assignments on all lessons and 4 coaching sessions.
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