A minor key blues walk similar to the major 1-3-5-6..

[swooch]

Hi guys,
I'm playing "All your love" with the blues band I recently joined, and I'm at a loss when it comes to the faster part. Preferably I would like to play some slow-groovy thing like the standard 1-3-5-6 / 1-3-5-6 / 1-3-5-6 / b7-6-5-3 with one note per beat, but that doesn't really work in a minor key song. Do you know any other walking bass lines with a similar feel to it? Preferably something non-syncopated, to make it stand out a bit from the riff-based slower part.
Thanks!

[MalcolmAmos]

Minor Chord Tones.
R-b3-5-b3 or R-b3-5-8 or R-b3-5-b7 for a minor seventh. The minor pentatonic R-b3-4-5-b7 or blues scale R-b3-4-#4-5-b7 would work over a minor chord progression. The blues scale would work over an all dominant major progression as well.

Love pentatonic you get 3 chord tones and two safe passing notes. More than enough to make some great bass lines.

Good luck.

[winstonthecat]

Funny, when I played this in a 3-piece band (guitar, bass, drum), I switched to a Major scale shuffle at the fast part, but listening to the original, it does stay in the minor key. I would play it as a shuffle with R-R-5-5-b7-b7-8-b7. It is not as syncopated as the riff, but seems to fit well. To me, the b3 doesn't fit too well, maybe as a passing tone once in a while for variety.

[raymondl3]

I've played that tune before. The tricky thing about a minor Blues walk is to not make it sound too Jazzy. I remember minor pentatonic working pretty well on that but also 1-b3-5-6 ideas.

[lowendfriend]

On first listen, it feels like a move to the major key alright, but it's got too many flatted notes.

The SRV version is quite similar right down to first impression of major key change.

(All Your Love I Miss Lovin')

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIzwwTYEN64

[JimmyM]

just copy what tommy shannon's doing.

[phatbass]

R-b7(below)-5(below)-b7-R.

[JimmyM]

Originally Posted by phatbass

R-b7(below)-5(below)-b7-R.

hey, that's good. always liked that kind of thing in minor blues. might want to throw a R-b3-5 (low)-Bb (low) occasionally, too.

[swooch]

Hey guys.
Thanks for all the suggestions. I'll try them out at our next band rehersal. Last time I ended up doing 1 5 b3 7 which was a sounds a bit too much bossa nova to me.

And yeah, it's funny how it sounds as if it should be a major-key change. Perhaps we should do that for real if it doesn't clash too much with vocals or guitar leads.

[phatbass]

Also, on this song, maybe I'd just try just pumping an 1/8th note shuffle on the root.

[Deathblade Eric]

Originally Posted by phatbass

Also, on this song, maybe I'd just try just pumping an 1/8th note shuffle on the root.

Pretty much what John McVie did on the Bluesbreakers version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUUEtCBhn_Q