is it just me who doesnt dig walking bass at all!?

[varunkapahi]

whenever some walking thing comes up i always go meh
walking for a couple of measures is ok or a part is ok, walking for a whole damn tune or section at those slow tempos is just too boring for me. maybe thats why i dont dig jazz much either, atleast all the jazz with straight walking bass all over.
i like it groovy, i like twist and funky rhythms i cant get this walking thing into my head, its just not me. it sounds like playing just any notes up or down to the next chord! anyone feels this way? can i really avoid the full on walking to eternity bit and still be a bass player?

[Jazz Ad]

I think it's way too much work for the results you get. Boring it is.

[MalcolmAmos]

Consider them runs and use them when YOU feel they are needed.

You are correct it is like missing the target and then recovering. If that's not lifting your kilt - forget it.

[dougjwray]

I recommend some Ron Carter.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUoGn...ext=1&index=21

[Shakin-Slim]

I find walking bass the best sounding technique. I cannot think of a single instrument that sounds as good as an upright when walked with. And I like a lot of instruments. When I was a kid I used to do two things, practice my golf swing and pretend I played upright bass, always just walking. I love the sound. It's all dependent on how it is done. Someone can easily make it boring. To me, it's a way of life :P

[Schlyder]

listen to some Paul Chambers, and also listen to Jaco doing walking lines. If you get bored listening to those two.... check your pulse.

[Jazz Ad]

I get bored when playing them, not listening.
It takes a lot of concentration and the result isn't always up par with the effort.

[Bruce Lindfield]

Originally Posted by varunkapahi

whenever some walking thing comes up i always go meh
walking for a couple of measures is ok or a part is ok, walking for a whole damn tune or section at those slow tempos is just too boring for me. maybe thats why i dont dig jazz much either, atleast all the jazz with straight walking bass all over.
i like it groovy, i like twist and funky rhythms i cant get this walking thing into my head, its just not me. it sounds like playing just any notes up or down to the next chord! anyone feels this way? can i really avoid the full on walking to eternity bit and still be a bass player?

I think you just haven't listened to the right stuff yet!

So - for example on "So What" - the moment when the walking bass line comes in, is just one of the most sublime moments in recorded music.

"Kind of Blue" is the most popular Jazz album ever and everybody loves it - and the groove is Paul Chambers walking bass line!

Or listen to "Somethin' Else" by Cannonball Adderley - everybody I have played that album to, is grooving along to the walking bass lines - people love it!

Another sublime moment is on the album "Blues and the Abstract Truth" by Oliver Nelson - first track "Stolen Moments" - when the walking bass line comes in - it is just the best feeling!

[Schlyder]

exactly... not too many instruments you can play quarter notes and sound great.

[GtenderG]

I've played plenty of blues gigs and yes I find it boring many times. It's not my passion for sure. That said, it's integral to alot of music and comes with the territory. You could be a master wood worker, capable of beautiful scuptures out of wood. But if the job just calls for shelves.... You just build the best damn shelves you can

[Schlyder]

Just need to practice more walking tunes....and knowing your fretboard inside and out, knowing all your inversions of the chords you most commonly encounter.
Using tritones and chromatics, approaching from 1/2 step above or 1/2 step below chord tones. Drops. Creating flow and momentum. Many things to not be bored with

[varunkapahi]

Originally Posted by Schlyder

listen to some Paul Chambers, and also listen to Jaco doing walking lines. If you get bored listening to those two.... check your pulse.

yep that stuff is cool, i love how jaco redefined walking in his own way its cool because it really grooves but its usual quater note walking which puts me to sleep atleast if i have to play it.

like i have this book in which theres a blues piece, i dig blues but this one has walking bass. its shuffle blues but when i read through it am like *** man why would some one want to play that

[Bruce Lindfield]

Originally Posted by Jazz Ad

I get bored when playing them, not listening.
It takes a lot of concentration and the result isn't always up par with the effort.

Originally Posted by Schlyder

Just need to practice more walking tunes....and knowing your fretboard inside and out, knowing all your inversions of the chords you most commonly encounter.
Using tritones and chromatics, approaching from 1/2 step above or 1/2 step below chord tones. Drops. Creating flow and momentum. Many things to not be bored with

I must say that I used to feel a bit like Jazz Ad, when I only played bass guitar - walking lines never seemed to work and didn't feel "natural" - it was a lot of hard work to get them to sound anything like the classic recordings.

But then, when I started to play Double Bass it all suddenly fell into place and walking lines started to become great fun and just felt right - I was happy to play long, quarter notes all night - and all the other possibilities started to become fascinating as well!

[varunkapahi]

Originally Posted by Schlyder

Just need to practice more walking tunes....and knowing your fretboard inside and out, knowing all your inversions of the chords you most commonly encounter.
Using tritones and chromatics, approaching from 1/2 step above or 1/2 step below chord tones. Drops. Creating flow and momentum. Many things to not be bored with

indeed there is a lot one can think and put behind the walking approach but its the feel i honestly dont enjoy much

[Frankjohnson]

Like it or not, our job isn't always about interesting lines, fills or leads. Typically (not always - I know).......our job is to be a consistant backdrop for the melodic parts to go over top of. Walking basslines provide that structure, and without them on songs where they are an inportant part....the song just aint the song anymore.

Songs like T Bone Shuffle, Empty Arms, Statesboro blues and so many more just dissolve into an endless array of other blues like tunes.

That being said - yeah...sometimes, you can grow weary of it, but its part of the job, and if you don't play it like you own it.....it can become very Blah very quick.

I actually live for those lines, and find them my strongest playing style. Thats just me though.

FWIW - Blues IS my passion......so I can respect the other side of the coin.

[lomo]

My likes are varied, but my favorite BASS sound is a good walk.

[zenrad]

Really good players make walking lines into works of art. I'm not one of them, but I keep trying and I appreciate hearing those who are good at it.

There are some great listening suggestions above. I like listening to Coltrane, humming the melody over the solos and listening to how the bass is supporting the changes and leading your ear to the next chords.

[varunkapahi]

Originally Posted by Frankjohnson

Like it or not, our job isn't always about interesting lines, fills or leads. Typically (not always - I know).......our job is to be a consistant backdrop for the melodic parts to go over top of. Walking basslines provide that structure, and without them on songs where they are an inportant part....the song just aint the song anymore.

Songs like T Bone Shuffle, Empty Arms, Statesboro blues and so many more just dissolve into an endless array of other blues like tunes.

That being said - yeah...sometimes, you can grow weary of it, but its part of the job, and if you don't play it like you own it.....it can become very Blah very quick.

I actually live for those lines, and find them my strongest playing style. Thats just me though.

FWIW - Blues IS my passion......so I can respect the other side of the coin.

i agree totally, infact as a bass player i totally dig sticking to one groove and to support others by laying the foundation. but when it comes to walking i really think i could play any notes really and i dont have to think about the groove or rhythm because its straight quater notes and as long as am near the chord tones or most of the times not its ok because they sound like chromatically aproaching the notes or something

[Shakin-Slim]

there's a lot of groove in those quarter notes. That's the thing. If you're just playing quarter notes you will fall asleep. Some of those notes should be a little overweight, some a little slim. Push the limits of the beats. As long as your job is being done. Oh and if you want to check another way of playing along to jazz stuff without walking listen to Mingus' Changes albums. There is a lot of walking but a lot of incredible other stuff too

[somegeezer]

All the way through a song is definitely too much. You gotta add bits and pieces or I will fall asleep. I'm not a fan of playing them at all. I like real technical rhythms.