Help me expand my bass knowledge

[waytoodeep03]

Can you give me 1 or 2 good running bass lines, or riffs that I can use in just about every slow song?

Or better yet what is theory behind it? When I listen to bassists on cd I hear them hit maybe a IV and run off of that or something. I am getting bored with hitting just one note on slow songs and when I do a run it is just a chromatic, or a major up or down the scale to the next corrsponding note or to the octave.

I want to get a general idea on where to start so when I am playing with the keyboard and he hits a half note I want to be able to run off of that note.

[cassanova]

Try arpegiation between the changes, its not overly complex and if played right adds a lot of flavor. Scalewise motion is also a very tastefull way to connect to the next chord.

In ballads, I feel that playing with a less is more approach is often the best approach.

[EricTheEZ1]

You need to read up on scales/positions/chord changes. I strongly suggest getting a respectable book on theory or simply googling various phrases and reading up as much as possible. Walking Basslines are all about the tie between melodic content and chord changes. You can walk more when there are more chord changes.

A basic walking bassline is emphasizing the chord and then "walks" to the next chord that is going to be played. It usually follows the scale that you're in and sometimes involves chromatics. That's all I can really comment on now. Like I said, google the crap out of those topics. Very few info sites give you wrong info when it comes to theory.

-Eric.