Jazz bass line construction thelonious monk institute of jazz. Book ii in the jazz guitar workshop 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 guitarist. We will take the principal chords, major 7, 6, dominant 7, minor, diminished, and minor 7 flat 5 and walk bass lines on the sixth or fifth string. 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. This ebook includes 21 examples of how chord tones can be played across blues, shuffle, walking, salsa, funk and many other styles. Therefore being in control of them and becoming fluent is crucial. There are any number of possibilities for moving from one chord to. 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. Most of the time, bass guitarists stick to playing singlenote lines. I think this book is really good for learning how to play walking bass. Walking bass and chords solar one of the nicest ways to comp in a duo setting is to play walking bass and chords at the same time. Following are a few books we especially suggest you consider. The idea of this book is to give a few answers to the question, how do i harmonize walking bass lines when ive never done it before.
Apr 26, 2017 wallace stelzer is a professional jazz bass player and content creator from houston, texas. Simple walking bass line for jazz beginners talkingbass. 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. 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. This is the first step in developing walking bass lines. Looking forward to hearing your walking bass lines over autumn leaves. How to create bass lines 2 3 play in four quarters. Dec 27, 2014 walking bass and chords are a great way to comp on guitar in a duo setting, the most famous example is probably joe pass, but you will see it with others like tuck and patty, emil ernebro and. Learn to masterfully combine jazz chords with walking basslines taylor, martin, alexander, joseph, pettingale, tim on. While some knowledge of music theory is necessary, excellent bass lines can be. Mar 21, 2018 when learning how to play jazz guitar, one of the things that many players want to explore and get under their fingers is walking basslines. Building a 12 key facility for the jazz bassist is an excellent resource for those that want to dig a little deeper in to. There are 24 modules and each lesson, a cd and notationtab of the module material, comes in the mail every 2 weeks. Playing a walking jazz guitar bass line is a captivating method of comping for other musicians, and yourself.
It builds up from rootfive and adds more from there. This may be the most comprehensive, effective, and entertaining selfpaced bass instruction course ever created. 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. This is the second lesson in the series devoted to walking bass lines. I always recommend this book along with bob magnussons walking bass book.
Here is the bass lines for autumn leaves that everyone contributed to last week. 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 website. After you get through these two books, then get todd johnsons walking bass modules. This digitaldownload course is available from the teach me bass. To begin to create a walking bass line, the next step is to start using the arpeggios of each chord. How to play walking bass lines at the piano cocktail piano. 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. Beginners guide to walking bass lines text bass tab by bass. Chord tones bass book by gerardo colon as the author astutely observes, learn your chord tones well and you will avoid a lot of headaches. Bass lessons beginners guide to walking bass lines bass tab standard string tuning g,d,a,e recommended 1. 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 lesson is the first look into how we construct the actual lines and starts with a primer on arpeggios or chord tones. Includes exercises to enhance the playing of chord changes and bass lines, plus bass solos that illustrate specific styles including walking blues, jazz. This is a lesson to start up playing walking bass with chords on the guitar. Remember to play each note in time with your foot, but id personally recommend that you take your time in being able to get used to playing the notes at your own pace so that you could either remember the notes, or be able to site read them. A jazz bassist must learn how to walk a line based on the chords of a tune. Walking bass lines are a style of playing in which the bass player plays quarter notes which clearly outline the chords and chord tones, seamlessly outlining one chord and resolving to the next. Review from just jazz guitar magazine by jeff barone walking bass lines for jazz guitar, by stephen badreau, focuses on a skill that all jazz guitarists should explore. Books on the blues, rhythm changes, standards, as well as books for learning and developing technique. Beginners guide to walking bass lines bass tabs 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. Sep 07, 2017 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. 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. How to write a walking bass line learn jazz standards. Since its walking bass piece each note is a quarter note.
These notes create a lot more colour in our lines as they really describe the character of each chord i. Martin taylor walking bass for jazz guitar fundamental. Apr 29, 2016 books on bass guitar chords offers resources to show you bass guitar chord charts, suggest the best bass chords for beginners, and to help you learn how to play bass chords. Studies for bass 3volume setebookpdf versionthese three books from david motto make up one of the great sightreading resources of all time.
Walking bass and chords part 2 jazz guitar lesson youtube. The course covers standard head arrangements, walking lines and solos for bass. Bass guitar chord chart for beginners bass books and. Wallace stelzer is a professional jazz bass player and content creator from houston, texas. This traditional approach has evolved for a reason. We are going to start with three main types of scaleschords. 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. Music educational books and sheet music downloads for blues, jazz, funk, latin, gospel, rock, celtic styles for instruments including piano, keyboards, sax, flute.
Bass guitar chord chart for beginners bass books and music. A complete guide to bass chords open position and movable chord shapes and how to play them. This book teaches guitarists how to play chords and bass lines simultaneously while providing insight to bass line construction. Includes exercises to enhance the playing of chord changes and bass lines, plus bass solos that illustrate specific styles including walking blues, jazz swing, and bossa nova. Just think of slash chords as certain chords being played over a certain bass line. Discover the best bass guitar songbooks in best sellers. 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. Playing a bass note in between each chord fills in the time between each chord and creates the sound of motion walking from one chord to the next. Chords and walking bass part 1 in this lesson ill demonstrate how i approach playing walking bass lines and chords at the same time. 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. Christopher will show you a four chord turnaround, then add the bass line notes that connect the chords. When learning how to play jazz guitar, one of the things that many players want to explore and get under their fingers is walking basslines.
The cd includes recordings of the lesson materail as well as detailed explanations by mark. 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. Chord tones should be the first stop on the road to learning how to play walking bass lines. Knowing how to play a walking bass line while playing chords is a skill that will reap many rewards for the serious guitar player. Learn to masterfully combine jazz chords with walking. Intermediate walking bass lines for jazz guitar explores the creation of walking bass lines played over chord sequence using scale tones. Authentic bass tab authentic bass tab editions led zeppelin. Five steps to walking basslines on guitar guitar world. Jazz bass books walking bass line in 12 keys upright. 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.
Constructing walking jazz bass lines book iv building a 12 key facility for the jazz bassist. Apr 28, 2015 to begin to create a walking bass line, the next step is to start using the arpeggios of each chord. Though learning how to walk a bassline and comp at the same time can take a lot of experience and time in the woodshed, there are a few rules and pointers you can follow in order to get you off on the right foot as you begin to explore the world of. The key to playing great walking bass and chords together is to start with a solid bass line. The function of the bass is to provide the foundation. Here you fill find jazz walking bass line books, excellent resources for learning to play jazz walking bass lines. If this kind of work is new to you, it may take several weeks or a month to get comfortable with walking lines between chords. Walking bass and chords are a great way to comp on guitar in a duo setting, the most famous example is probably joe pass, but you will see it with others like tuck and patty, emil ernebro and. In this lesson i am going to go over a walking bass comp on a.
Slash chords are particularly important to us as bass players as they give us a certain amount of power in the band. First we place the root note of each chord on the downbeats ex. Playing jazz guitar bass lines and chords terence wright. T 1 2 a t 3 by chris fitzgerald a 4 t 1 a 2 t 3 a 4 walking bass line theory basics. It will simplify the adding of chords to the bass line. Take two different chords and you want to move as stepwise as possible between the roots of the two chords. Find the top 100 most popular items in amazon books best sellers.
Chord tones root, 3rd, 5th, 7th are the most powerful choice you can make when creating your walking lines. Books on bass guitar chords offers resources to show you bass guitar chord charts, suggest the best bass chords for beginners, and to help you learn how to play bass chords. Teach me bass guitar is a oneofakind master class in bass guitar taught by roy vogt, head of the bass department at nashvilles prestigious belmont university for 30 years. Learn from the internationally acclaimed master of jazz chord melody guitar as he teaches you, stepbystep, how to play walking basslines on guitar and combine them with rock solid rhythm guitar chords. Jazz guitar workshop walking bass lines rhythm changes in 12. When piano players copy this idea of walking bass lines, they generally do so by using their left hand to play the same role as that of the bass player. 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. Jazz bass line construction thelonious monk institute of. We are going to start with three main types of scales chords.
Nov 12, 2015 the idea of this book is to give a few answers to the question, how do i harmonize walking bass lines when ive never done it before. If the chord being played is a c major and we play the 3rd e or the 5th g, then we are inverting the chord to create a unique sound. This is the usual second step for players who want to master walking bass before moving to chromatic lines. Available singly or as a set, in print or ebook form, with accompanying audio. Were still using the when chord changes play the root rule for the time being. Chords and walking bass part 1 with jens larsen guitar. Walking up or down into a chord is a really nice way of making a transition from one chord to another. It is used in country, bluegrass and jazz very often, but you can use it in other genres as well. In situations where the chord duration is multiple bars.
Intermediate walking bass lines for jazz guitar by. Rhythm changes like the blues is an essential part of the jazz musicians vocabulary. The majority of the presentation will focus on walking bass lines in a 44 meter. Feb 05, 2015 this book teaches guitarists how to play chords and bass lines simultaneously while providing insight to bass line construction. Misc cool walking bass pattern bass tab this cool walking bass pattern is fun to play, and also a good warmup. Walking bass for jazz guitar distils over 40 years of virtuosity and skill into one beautiful jazz guitar book. Oct 26, 2019 walking up or down into a chord is a really nice way of making a transition from one chord to another. Walking bass and chords bb blues jazz guitar lesson. As we already have the root and fifth, we will be adding thirds and sevenths. Walking bass line theory basicspart 1by chris fitzgerald. Walking bass with chords on the guitar guitar lessons.
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