hello all,
I've been getting a lot of gigs lately and im more busy as a musician now than ever, so im very happy at the moment.
ive got alot of different styles under my belt, and I've been hired to play with a blues guy from out of town, and while i'm no newb when it comes to walking bass and blues bass, i'm suddenly feeling a bit insecure and like i've been stuck in the same patterns for a while. his music seems to call for a lot of variations on lines....so i need some help!

can you give me some tips on creating blues lines and bluesy waking patterns to sound better? you know, cool approach tones? neat ways to use chromatics? nice shapes and patterns to use?

help a bass player out!

Is it mainly based on I-IV-V?

Don't assume that you will be walking the bass all the time. Blues are an absolute blast to play, and you really have a lot of freedom, especially if there's not a 2nd guitarist.

The Mixolydian and Dorian modes are your friend for up tempo blues. The rest is really based off of feel. It takes some getting used to, but once you get the hang of it, it's a blast.

Yeah, Its all I-IV-V stuff,
And i will be walking the bass, except for about 4 out of 30 songs we are playing.( I've already received the setlist and a CD to rehearse and learn the tracks from,so i know what feel he is going for)
like i'm saying, i do play the blues, i just was hoping for some ideas that might make my tired old lines...i dunno...interesting i guess.

thanks guys

try new rythms ???

Chromatic stuff works great. Try it for connecting chords. The trick would be to aim at the fifth of the chord on the second bar then the octave for the third. Then go down and connect to the next chord.

But before notes,the rhythms,the lenght and the accents on roots are full important. The bassline has to be supportative first of all. I guess by listenning to some blues records you'll pick up some new stuff,

Sly

check out some of these blues bass techniques (the coolest around IMO)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjfhsLuOEWI

Here's some links that may apply to your situation. Check them out when you have time.
Let us know how the gig goes.

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?p=80043 Creating bass lines
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=125536 Creating bass lines - Target Approach
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?p=6770334#post6770334 Creating bass lines for a jam
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=491679 Playing behind/ahead of the beat
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=486412 Blues Turn arounds
http://www.music.vt.edu/musicdictionary/appendix/blues/Bluesprogression.html Blues Progressions explained with samples
http://www.amazon.com/Blues-Bass-Jon-Liebman/dp/0793586682 Blues bass book by TB member Jonster
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=502252 Walking bass lines
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=502819 More blues books

thanks,
i think the turnarounds thread was more what i was going for. i'm gonna have a look and see what i can adapt into my own lines. thanks.

Here's something you might be interested in: 101 blues turnarounds
http://www.amazon.com/Razor-Sharp-Blues-Guitar-Turnarounds-Music/dp/B000PHU7J2

I'm still new to blues but learning some STV helped a lot...his bass player walks all over the place and sounds amazing...really showed me what blues could be (until then I was just playing basic patterns on repeat).