g blues

[marine18]

how do you play a G blues in a walking style with a swing feel and in a straight eigth

[Mushroo]

Play quarter notes that outline the chord changes, I guess.

[teleharmonium]

I'm not sure if that's intended as an (incredibly) broad question, or if you are asking specifically about the rhythmic feel, or what ?

Straight eighths would refer to what the drummer is playing in a blues shuffle rather than something you would be expected to do on the bass.

What part of this task are you having trouble with ?

[marine18]

its for an audition. i have to play a g blues in those formats

[teleharmonium]

So what part of that can't you do ? Do you know the chords and the structure of a blues in G ? Are you clear that you need to listen to the bass drum, snare, and hi hat for the 4/4 rhythm and not be distracted by eight notes being played on the cymbals ?

Honestly if you're asking this question, you're not ready for a full on discussion of rhythmic feel and other nuances such as getting the right swing feel, the right flow or contour of the bass parts, and putting the roots and chord tones on the more important beats for chord outlining, tension, and turnaround purposes.

What is the purpose of the audition ?

[enricogaletta]

I'm not sure I understand right your question, it's a weird one, you can't play a swing file with straight octave notes.
Cheers. Enrico
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[Lowtonejoe]

Originally Posted by marine18

how do you play a G blues in a walking style with a swing feel and in a straight eigth

Swinging almost requires you to change timing at the right place but you can give an illusion of this by accenting your notes properly. Swinging through accenting at the right time teaches you good control of your dynamics.



Joe.

[Mushroo]

Ohhhh... I think I get it... you have to play a blues in G with a straight-8th feel, then stop, then play a second blues in G with a shuffle feel, is that correct?

We could answer the question better if you told us which part you are stuck on. Is it the straight vs. swing that you don't understand? Is it the "walking" part? Do you know the G blues changes?

[marine18]

both

[MalcolmAmos]

Check out what Scott has to say about swing and the bass line. YouTube - ‪How to improve your swing feel - WALKING BASS LESSON with Scott Devine‬‏

[Mushroo]

How much time do you have to prepare for the audition? If possible, you should sneak in a private lesson (or two) with a good teacher.

If that's not possible for whatever reason, you can still learn on your own. There are lots of good "how to play blues bass" books and DVDs available, plus lessons on Youtube and even here on Talkbass. There's even a pretty good description of the blues form on wikipedia! And of course the best way to learn is always to listen to the masters. Listen to some songs by your favorite blues artists and learn the bass parts, then you will understand how to play the blues!

Good luck! What are you auditioning for?

[marine18]

atlanta institute of music

[monroe55]

Miles Davis, "All Blues". Its in the G.
Listen to it around 90-100 times over and over. You'll know what to need to do.
Good Luck witht\ the audition.

[SLaPiNFuNK]

All Blues is also in 6...

It sounds like they want a walking swing blues, and a straight eighth note line...

for the straight eight line, you could do something like this (one number per eighth note)

1 1 5 6 b7 5 6 5 | repeat in each chord.

For the walking line... if you don't know how to walk through changes, you could do a standard blues like: (one number per quarter note)

G7
1 3 5 6 | b7 6 5 3 | 1 3 5 6 | b7 6 5 3 |

C7 - - - | - - - - | G7
1 3 5 6 | b7 6 5 3 | 1 3 5 6 | b7 6 5 3 |

D7 ----------C7---------- G7 -------D7
1 3 5 6/5 | 1 3 5 6/5 | 1 3 5 3/4 | 1 1 1 5 |

[teleharmonium]

I'm sure the comment about straight eights is referring to the drummer playing a blues shuffle, not to the bass line.

[SLaPiNFuNK]

There are lines like that though... i forget what it is called

[Stumbo]

YouTube - ‪Classic Swing Blues Walk - Bass Lesson by Mark Stefani‬‏
YouTube - ‪Blues/ Swing- Guitars drums bass‬‏