Walking bass in bebop and jazz in general

[Kitschead]

Hi I'm 16 years old and I'm a relatively new player. I've been playing double bass for almost a year and I played bass guitar before that. I just really need help with my walking bass lines. Whenever I try to play a walking bebop line I just seem to go up and down a chromatic scale and it doesn't sound too good. It seems that i'm either doing just a basic 1-3-5 thing or playing up and down chromatically. Is there something I should be doing to improve? Help would be appreciated.

[brivello]

Getting lessons from a professional would be your best bet. If that's not available, go on amazon and find some "how to books," there are plenty of them out there.

It really just comes down to how much time you are willing to put into practicing. Play at slower tempos with a metronome, transcribe walking basslines that you like ect.

good luck.

[Kitschead]

Yeah I'm getting lessons from a pretty excellent teacher so I guess it might just be something that comes with time. Thanks a lot.

[Chris Fitzgerald]

There's a basic primer here, and many wonderful books on the subject out there. Transcribing lines you think sound good from recordings is really the way to go.

[David Kaczorowski]

Originally Posted by brivello

find some "how to books," there are plenty of them out there.

1. The Evolving Bassist by Rufus Reid

eventually you'll also want a copy of Modern Walking Bass Technique by Mike Richmond.

[Ed Fuqua]

Originally Posted by David Kaczorowski

1. The Evolving Bassist by Rufus Reid

eventually you'll also want a copy of Modern Walking Bass Technique by Mike Richmond.

What, no love for BigEgoHead's book?

[David Kaczorowski]

I haven't seen it my man. Send me a copy to check out so I can talk it up. Congrats on getting published.