Use your thumb for the bass notes and your other fingers to comp the chords. Youll notice that the blues below only has three different chords. Jazz bass line construction thelonious monk institute of jazz. In this example, the bass line consists of simple arpeggiations of each chord, giving the overall effect of a simple blues bass line. 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. Position the green notes over the correct notes on the bass fretboard to. If you are playing the blues on your own, using this kind of bass line can also break things up a bit. F blues walking bass line jazz piano this is a great exercise to help you improve your jazz walking bass lines in your left hand on piano.
The possible noterange of a walking bass can reach from subcontra a to middle c. You can start by switching off every measure between root patterns. I am looking to compile a list of blues songs with great walking bass lines particularly in the jump blues style. 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. In this weeks lesson were looking at a very simple walking bass line. Play through the progression using only root notes if it is new to you. Using the 12 bar blues shuffle chunka chunka style for 34 minutes can become quite tedious, so breaking into a few cycles of this 12 bar blues bass line style can add a. 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. A bassline is a melody line played in the bass by a lowpitched instrument such as the piano, double bass, electric bass, tuba, etc. Bass lessons beginners guide to walking bass lines bass tab standard string tuning g,d,a,e recommended 1. 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.
Most blues chord progressions are 12 bars long, although there are also 8, 14, 16, 24 or more bar blues changes. The notes above are all natural however any of this notes can be raised or lowered a half. In this 5 minute masterclass, were going create a bass line over a blues in f. Walking bass lines always sound cool in any style of music, but are essential to jazz blues and great american songbook jazz standards. Walking blues 12 bar blues scale bass tab by lessons scales. Walking a blues now its time to put our root patterns to use.
Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading walking bass for jazz and blues. First of all, if you are new to walking bass, look at my previous lesson. Walking bass line theory basicspart 1by chris fitzgerald. In lesson 2, we continued to build patterns for the common chord progressions we see in blues. Free bass tabs printable, downloadable pdf bass tabs. Below is the bass tablature for the basic blues in e bass line. 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. Using the 12 bar blues shuffle chunka chunka style for 34 minutes can become quite tedious, so breaking into a few cycles of this 12 bar blues bass line style can add a lot of interest, although it can be a little difficult to to play if. Therefore, the bass is played by the left hand on the lower part of the keyboard of the piano. The tonic chord of a blues is a dominant 7 chord, a fact that doesnt fit very well in traditional music theory. An easy method for creating walking bass lines on piano. As im sure you have heard before, practice makes perfect. There are many different 12 bar blues forms though.
Were in the key of bb major so cm7 is the second chord in the key. Walking bass and chords on a bb blues jazz guitar lesson. My favorite artists are louis jordan, wynonie harris, louis prima, and cab calloway. A handpicked collection of licks and grooves covers virtually every style of blues. Includes all bluesmelody and chords, g minor pentatonic scales, g7,c7 and d7 chords, scales and arpeggios. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Nov 22, 2018 f blues walking bass line jazz piano this is a great exercise to help you improve your jazz walking bass lines in your left hand on piano. Walking bass line theory basics pdf file chris fitzgerald. The second part of my walking bass series goes back to one of my favorite upright bassists of the 1960s era jimmy garrison. Your job is to mix up the root patterns over the blues. Here are some tips to aid you in mastering these bass blues licks. The bassline construction method explored here uses chord tones, approach notes and basic reharmonization. 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.
And walking basslines are a continuous sequence of quarter notes, generally played on the beat 4 notes per bar in 44 time walking basslines. Alright, this is just a warmup, good to stretch your fingers out with. All of our bass tab pdf is printable and downloadable so you can enjoy it for years to come. The majority of the presentation will focus on walking bass lines in a 44. 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. Beginners guide to walking bass lines bass tabs bass.
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. This is the act of listening to a recording and notating what one. For more bass tab, bass line examples check out the bass tab page. Bass lines above small g tend to sound thin, while bass lines under contra f sound very dull. Know how to make all your tappers, slappers, hairscrunchy users, 9stringdetunedtoalowcaltocontrabass players pipe down. F blues bass line play along backing track youtube. Easy walking bass line for beginners bass tab blues in f. The video is based on a recording i made and transcribed.
The walking bass line was developed by upright bassists like ray brown, milt hinton, paul chambers, and ron carter, but now its also commonly played on the bass guitar. If youre amazingly extra awesome, youll be able to sing the melody and make a bass line at the same time. Basic 12 bar blues in a the walking bass bass tabs bass. Blues walking basslines in f harmonie mecanique newtonienne. Pdf score of left hand with outline right hand chords. Chords and walking bass part 1 in this lesson ill demonstrate how i approach playing walking bass lines and chords at the same time. Walking bass lines are a fascinating part of jazz, as they support and mark the harmony underneath the chords and melody. 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. The difficulty in walking bass on the guitar lies in the combination of playing chords and bass at the same time. This time really meaty stuff for us bass player a walking line in f blues. R 3 5 6 7 walking bass line theory basics chris fitzgerald.
We can create a walking bass line over the following twelvebar blues chord progression. However, in the long scales and chords for the upright bass 1 of 17 7122011 7. A vaughan 2004 1 jazz walking bass blues in f all of the following exercises are based on typical 12 bar jazz blues in the key of f. Its an excellent way of creating strong sounding walking bass lines because the scales lead the ear from chord to chord very clearly. While some knowledge of music theory is necessary, excellent bass lines can be. The basic ingredients in music are scales, chords, melody, rhythm, and harmony. Jazz educations purpose is to give you the basics you need in learning to play jazz or to improvise. Here is the bass lines for autumn leaves that everyone contributed to last week. The two dots on the right of the bass clef symbol surround the line on which f pitch is written. Our collection of tabs, guitar chords, and video lessons is constantly growing, so check back often to find your favorite songs. Walking bass on guitar is usually played fingerstyle. Bass tablature for 12 bar blues jazz progression in f by bass lessons.
Bass lessons basic 12 bar blues in a the walking bass bass tab. Feb 14, 2018 walking blues 12 bar blues scale bass tab by lessons scales. The complete walking bass method kindle edition by clark, nick, alexander, joseph. The first one is using a single pattern r35r all the way through the changes. Music notation is a great system, but it isnt the most modern, or best system for learn modern bass guitar songs. Bassists can learn to read music notation, chord lyrics charts, or bass tablature. 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. Lessons scales walking blues 12 bar blues scale bass. Mar 25, 2019 in this bass guitar lesson, im going to take you through the 3 core concepts you can use to create walking bass lines. Then open the pdf for this lesson, and look at all that information. Ron carter playing blues in f analyzed notebynote back again with another transcription.
So far we have patterns for each chord change in the 12bar blues except for one, moving from v to iv i. Here we have a walking bass line on the blues in f. The following movable bass scale patterns can be used to play any blues scale on bass guitar. Walking bass line blues in f although the upright bass is different from the harmonica in many aspects we can learn a bunch from studying its role in a jazz band. Jul 15, 2019 the notes in a d blues scale are as follows. This course will deal with alternating 1root5fifth bass parts. Ultimate blues guitar backing tracks features the following tracks plus full tab to play along notefornote. In this series of lessons, well take a look at constructing walking basslines over some common chord progressions that we encounter in the blues. Simple walking bass line for jazz beginners talkingbass. The notes above are all natural however any of this notes can be. 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 green notes represent the tonic notes of the scale. The essence of a walking bass line is created by playing four to the bar, which means playing four 14 notes per measure. 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. Most of the time the bassist will play walking bass lines that outlines harmony through melody. The majority of the presentation will focus on walking bass lines in a 44 meter. The goal of a walking bassline is to outline the chord progression but with an interesting.
F blues bass line play along backing track play in duo with the double bass. Print and download in pdf or midi f blues backing track. 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. This is the most common 12bar blues form aka iivv progression. The second one is more improvised and is using the chord tones. Ultimate blues guitar backing tracks instant download. Its a system that takes weeks or even months to learn the basics, while guitar tab can be learned in a matter. 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.
Its a jazz staple, youve got to be able to walk a line on the blues if you want to play jazz bass. Jazz bass line construction thelonious monk institute of. The symbol of the bass clef is derived from the old german way of writing f. Therefore being in control of them and becoming fluent is crucial. At the top of the page, you can see 3 chord diagrams. Next, well fill in diatonic stepwise approach notes that. Chord tones root, 3rd, 5th, 7th are the most powerful choice you can make when creating your walking lines. Playing a walking jazz guitar bass line is a captivating method of comping for other musicians, and yourself.
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. He is best known for his work with the john coltrane quartet, nevertheless, he has an incredible discography which includes names like ornette coleman, bill evans, archie shepp, sonny rollins, pharoah sanders, alice. Instead of having a few different things to try in this lesson, we are going to learn a written. Basic 12 bar blues in a the walking bass bass tabs. Beginner lessons bass fundamentals music theory general bass lines blues bass walking bass. Here is the basic bass pattern you will play over the e7 chord. Jan 27, 2017 two walking bass lines using triads on a f blues. 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. Looking forward to hearing your walking bass lines over autumn leaves. The challenge is that these recordings were mostly in the 1940s and early 50s. To demonstrate this we are going to use one of the most important chord sequences youll find in jazz music the iivi or 251. The function of the bass is to provide the foundation. The examples shown in this article are from constructing walking jazz. This ebook is a highpotency method for any bass guitarist who wants to practice the techniques used by worldclass players.