Chords and walking bass part 1 with jens larsen guitar. When creating walking bass lines, its important to outline the root and 5th of the chord. Walking bass lines part 2 learn jazz piano online with. In this lesson i am going to go over a 2 chorus example on the song solar and demonstrate how you can construct bass lines, make some rhythmical variations and use passing chords and leading notes. Intermediate walking bass lines for jazz guitar explores the creation of walking bass lines played over chord sequence using scale tones. Satb with piano, electric guitar, electric bass and percussion upright citizens brigade comedy. 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 bass line is a melody line played in the bass by a lowpitched instrument such as the piano, double bass, electric bass, tuba, etc. One of the most captivating performances by a bass player ive ever heard. We learn a really cool walking bass line that you can use under a 251. Intermediate walking bass lines for jazz guitar by. In this 5 minute masterclass, were going create a bass line over a blues in f. We teach you all the key aspects, so you can improvise swinging walking bass lines that your band members will love. In part 2 of this lesson we continue our study of walking bass lines.
Once you purchase a sheet music, you will be able to download the pdf file right away from the website. Walking bass lines for jazz guitar by stephan badreau is a step by step guide to harmonizing bass lines on the guitar. Walking bass lines are a fascinating part of jazz, as they support and mark the harmony underneath the chords and melody. Due to the nature of walking bass lines, the only rhythmic value you will see in this book is a quarter note. In this article were going to focus on a few specific things that you can practice to help you play walking bass lines at the piano. How to play walking bass lines jazz piano lesson left hand lines.
Here is a clip from one of the practice sessions where i was demonstrating different substitutions for. The description below is for the pdf and audio files. In this lesson well take a look at scale style and intervalic bass lines, and even mix them up a bit. Playing with a walking bass line is a style of piano playing that is used most often in solo jazz performance. Learn how to play walking bass lines on the double bass with these free video lessons. S7 e7 all of me example bass line john marley 3 3 3 5 2 2 4. How to play walking bass lines jazz piano lesson download the exercises for this lesson here. Play a blues walking bass line on the piano by robin mansur.
The key to playing great walking bass and chords together is to start with a solid bass line. These blues bass lines are like having a one chorus lick that you can rely on to always sound good when you play it. Music educational books and sheet music downloads for blues, jazz, funk, latin, gospel, rock, celtic styles for instruments including piano, keyboards, sax, flute. Once you have some basic rules down, youll be able to make bass lines over any chord progression. The majority of the presentation will focus on walking bass lines in a 44 meter. This configuration will allow you to turn the bass track off and play with the piano and drums, as well as giving you clear access to the bass track for learning the lines by ear, and by. Studying the bass and becoming a great bass player takes years, perhaps decades of practice, but there are a few guidelines that you can follow to get started. Incorporating the 3rd of the chord will also give your bass line a stronger harmonic foundation. The problem is, there are lots of rules and then a billion more exceptions about how to get from one place to the other. A bassline is a melody line played in the bass by a lowpitched instrument such as the piano, double bass, electric bass, tuba, etc. How to play walking bass lines at the piano cocktail.
The blues in 12 keys upright bass and electric bass method pdf. In reality, if you ask people, nobody will be able to sum them all up and most people who do walking bass well either only use a handful of specific trick, or they are so deep in it that they cant even describe what they are doing. This paper describes a contourbased algorithm for the realtime automatic generation of jazz walking bass lines, following a given harmonic progression. When starting out with walking bass lines, i would recommend that you always target the root when changing chords. Lessons in this segment focus on the fundamentals of bass playing. Walking bass lines are an essential part of blues and jazz piano especially if youre playing solo or without any.
How to play a walking bass line like a pro tips, tricks and. Walking bass line piano tutorial walking bass jazz piano. Chords and walking bass part 1 in this lesson ill demonstrate how i approach playing walking bass lines and chords at the same time. This lesson is the first look into how we construct the actual lines and starts with a primer on arpeggios or chord tones.
I submit nhop on how about you, from the album skol. 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. In this seventh lesson of a blues piano crash course, learn how to play the simple but challenging walking bass. 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. Chord tones root, 3rd, 5th, 7th are the most powerful choice you can make when creating your walking lines. Walking bass on the piano can be one of the coolest things ever. Walking bass lines are a fascinating part of jazz, as they support and mark the harmony underneath the chords and. 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. A guitar in standard tuning will never reach the lower bass notes of a real bass, but. One very important and widely used jazz guitar technique is playing bass lines in combination with chords. Bass lessons beginners guide to walking bass lines bass tab standard string tuning g,d,a,e recommended 1. What is the best walking bass line youve ever heard. It is found most commonly in blues and jazz, but as you learn bass guitar, you will hear its influence in almost any style of music.
This is the second lesson in the series devoted to walking bass lines. 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. The function of a bass player in the jazz combo is to work with the piano player and drummer to provide both a harmonic and rhythmic stability for the tune. Jazz bass line construction thelonious monk institute of jazz online jazz handbook welcome to the bass chapter of the thelonious monk institute of jazzs online jazz handbook. The left hand on the piano chords arpeggios and bass. Popularized by piano greats lennie tristano and dave mckenna, among others, the walking lh bass line can effectively subtitute for a rhythm section, if desired.
I have included your bass lines in here so see if you can find your line as you play through these. Walking bass lines are an essential part of blues and jazz piano especially if youre playing solo or. Playing jazz guitar bass lines with chords the guitar is an extremely versatile instrument, with seemingly endless techniques and tones around every corner. The book will show the musician how to connect familiar chord shapes with the appropriate bass notes. Walking bass lines for jazz guitar digital sheet music. Walking bass lines are a very specific and classic jazz piano sound and generally considered an advanced concept. And walking basslines are a continuous sequence of quarter notes, generally played on the beat. How to walk bass lines with approach notes youtube. 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. Therefore being in control of them and becoming fluent is crucial. While some knowledge of music theory is necessary, excellent bass lines can be. Walking bass line theory basicspart 1by chris fitzgerald. In this lesson i want to first demonstrate 4 exercises that you can use to gain the necessary vocabulary to solo over a turnaround with chords. This is a nice websiteblog about playing upright bass.
Walking bass lines are really useful in jazz piano they give you a cool, pro sound and a. This is the usual second step for players who want to master walking bass before moving to chromatic lines. A walking bass is a bass accompaniment consisting of notes of equal value, usually quarter notes. Build a walking bass line from scales the jazz piano left hand. Beginners guide to walking bass lines bass tabs bass. 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 improvising over the chord progression of the song. Jazz piano lesson left hand lines for any chord progressions piano courses online loading. One of the nicest ways to comp in a duo setting is to play walking bass and chords at the same time. Simple walking bass line for jazz beginners talkingbass. A fundamental aspect of bass line construction allows that any target note may be approached by a halfstep leading tone. It is full of ideas, examples, chord voicings and substitutions, as well as short chord progressions for you to try your new. This is the first lesson of the piano shorties series. Learn how to play a walking bass pattern and and pretty funky right hand riff on the piano or keyboard.
In this example, the bass line consists of simple arpeggiations of each chord, giving the overall effect of a simple blues bass line. There is a big tendency for players to seek for advanced and complicated topics while they still did not master the basics. Being able to play a walking bass line in your left hand is an. 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. Also, dont forget to write out your lines at first and really practice these. 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. It is absolutely crucial for the student to learn the material in the correct order and not to go ahead of oneself. The walking wednesday bass line this week is so what. Walking bass lines are used in blues gospel, country, rock, ska, rockabilly, rhythm and blues, latin, and many other musical genres. The bass lines in the section are for you to learn, memorize, and play in a real live playing situation. So what walking bass line the complete bass player.
It would be cool if there was some instruction on what fingerlings to use for the base lines and chords. These leading tones may approach the target note from a halfstep below or above this fundamental tenant may apply in almost any situation in any chord progression in a walking bass style the following fourmeasure examples are repeated four times. These lessons are easy to understand and can make a huge difference to your playing. Dave frank school of jazz, new york city music videos. This blues lesson is great for intermediate to advanced pianists. First we place the root note of each chord on the downbeats ex.
Walking bass lines for jazz guitar bookaudio files. How to play a blues walking bass line on the piano piano. Specifically, it shows you how to improvise a fairly straightforward, steady twelve bar in the key of f using a walking bass line a common left. Jazz bass line construction thelonious monk institute of. Chord tones should be the first stop on the road to learning how to play walking bass lines. It is full of ideas, examples, chord voicings and substitutions, as well as short chord progressions for you to try your new learned skills. Walking bass lines piano tutorial 5 minute masterclass.
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