7ths as approach notes in 2-feel?

[Jack Clark]

As a beginner, I've been playing a very basic I-IV-V, 2-feel line to "Banks of the Ohio" with my amateur-beginners Bluegrass group, and I thought I'd try taking the I7s to the IVs by using the 7th from the I7 on the second 2-feel beat--by which I mean the third beat of the 4/4 measure. I also tried resolving the V7s back to the Is by using the 7th from the V7s. I thought this was a pretty natural thing to do--supposedly outlining the harmonies--but I'm not liking the result. It doesn't sound wrong, but it doesn't sound really good, either.

I mean, for example, we're playing the tune in D. And going from a D7 to a G by playing a C as an approach note does sound better than resolving an A7 back to a D by playing a G as an approach note, . . . but neither sounds very good to me.

So, even in 2-feel, would I be better off using a whole tone or a half-tone chromatic approach than trying the 7th from the previous chord?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

[Jake deVilliers]

You are best off playing the melody or parts thereof - that way your bass line has something to do with the song, rather than just the changes. And its usually better to play an arpeggio (or part thereof) from the chord currently being played than something from outside.

The 7 isn't working in that song because it isn't part of the melody - the song is based on the third, making it very strongly Major..

Try using the 6 to get to the V chord and the 2 to get to the I chord - its a great way to get movement without interference. You can play E /D B /A E/ D for the closing turnaround - good movement without harmonic interference.

[Jack Clark]

Originally Posted by Jake deVilliers

You are best off playing the melody or parts thereof - that way your bass line has something to do with the song, rather than just the changes. And its usually better to play an arpeggio (or part thereof) from the chord currently being played than something from outside.

The 7 isn't working in that song because it isn't part of the melody - the song is based on the third, making it very strongly Major..

Try using the 6 to get to the V chord and the 2 to get to the I chord - its a great way to get movement without interference. You can play E /D B /A E/ D for the closing turnaround - good movement without harmonic interference.

Thank you, Jake! This is just what I needed. I'm making a personal "sticky" out of your response.

[tstone]

An important role of the bass is to clarify the harmony. That usually -- not always, but usually -- calls for landing on the root of any new chord, normally on a strong beat. So landing on the third of a new chord, as you noted, often doesn't sound good.

It's nice to get the seventh in there, though, as it really helps lead into the new chord. But it's not so nice to jump from the seventh of, say, a V7 chord to the root of the I chord. I would recommend working on walk-ups and walk-downs that incorporate the seventh *and* get you smoothly to the root of the next chord. You lose the pure two-beat feel for a moment, but that's very common.

Here's an example, with two measures each of D, G, A, and D.



I've also put in one chromatic approach, to the A chord, but in general, with music like Banks of the Ohio, I would stay away from half step approaches, they just don't suit the folk style.