Bassline Help for a Jazz/Blues Progression

You mean the actual Scale/Arpeggio that relates to the chord?

As in A7 - A-B-C#-D-E-F#-G-A

A7 Arpeggio - A-C#-E-G

This?

That would be the world famous 12 bar blues in the key of A.

Well start by learning a 1 3 5 7 arpeggio for each chord and built from there.

A7 A C# E G
D7 D F# A C
Em E G B
D#o7 = D# F# Ab C
F#7 F# A# C# E
B7 B D# F# A

Roots and 5ths are key as a bassist. People have made careers just playing roots and 5th over similar progressions.

Those are all just 7th chords, should be a breeze!

Just use your major scale and lower the 7th a half step

BillyIVbass said:

D#o7 = D# F# Ab C

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I think you mean A, not Ab.

BillyIVbass said:

Roots and 5ths are key as a bassist. People have made careers just playing roots and 5th over similar progressions.

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+1 The real slick ones use the 3rd as well!

BassFace01 said:

Hey Tb'ers!

So my stand-in teacher this week assigned me a jazz/blues progression, unfortunately my lesson was over before I could even ask him about it or tell him I was unfamiliar with the chords, or jazz in general.

Here are the chords: A7 - D7 - A7 - (Em A7) - D7 - D#o7 - A7 - F#7 - B7 - E7 - A7 F#7 - B7 E7


Absolutely no idea... if anyone can shed some light for this ignorant bass player I'd greatly appreciate it. Anything to do with help creating something that grooves, or what the progression is in simpler terms, anything at all is appreciated!

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look up in the sky,it's a bird,it's as plane, no it's friedlands walking bass book.....learn your chord tones and work through the book would be my advice

Play it in simple chord voicings to get a hear of changes in the tune and how they relate to each other too, this for 4 string bass -

A7 - Mid (finger) 12th (fret) A (string)
Index 11th D
Ring 12th G

D7 - Index 10th E
Mid 10th D
Pinky 11th G

E Min - Mid 12th E
Index 10th A
Ring 12th D
Pinky 12th G

D#o7 - Index 11th E
Mid 12th A
Ring 13th D
Pinky 14th G

F#7 Same shape as D7 from 14th E

B7 Same shape as the A7 from 14th A

E7 Same shape as the D7 from 12th E

Just a couple, it's nice to outline what the tune sounds like in simple chord voicing's to hear the tonality of the chords/changes in relation, and lend an ear to how you might approach putting a line to it too (sing one in your head over them etc, Scalar, Arps, Extensions, Chromatic approach tones/Chromaticism, Passing notes, Patterns, then translate/play them on the Bass and form a basis of your line including continuity of flow, tension and release, rhytmic skips/variations on rhythms/pattern), just 2 cents, make it connect and flow through the changes.

Another tip, record the sequence of chords if you can and cycle them, practise getting your line together over them, ideas that work, flow and compliment, you'll hear them in context, anything that doesn't compliment/satisfy the harmony, you'll hear it.

elgecko said:

I think you mean A, not Ab.

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Good call, thanks!

BillyIVbass said:

Well start by learning a 1 3 5 7 arpeggio for each chord and built from there.

A7 A C# E G
D7 D F# A C
Em E G B
D#o7 = D# F# Ab C
F#7 F# A# C# E
B7 B D# F# A

Roots and 5ths are key as a bassist. People have made careers just playing roots and 5th over similar progressions.

Click to expand...

All great information on this string. For those that live and breath interval numbers, like I do, try something like this - look first at the big picture. We have:


Bunch of major dominant chords so I know a R-3-5-b7 is going to work under most of them. The Em being minor will need the b3 and if that is Em A7 in one measure then two notes for each chord is called for. I'd have to decide how I was going to handle the D#o7.

My point spend some time with the sheet music - I look for what I can use over most of the chords - the answer to that is R-3-5-b7 would be my go to bass line pattern and like said above roots and fives into a groove is a candidate, but, with all the dominant sevenths I'd want to get some b7's in there somehow. Why am I saying this? Finding the bass line, for this piece that lets me go into a groove, is what I'm looking for. That worked out first then frees me to concentrate on the groove.

Check out Skitch's post on placement.

Good string.

Here's an example of that progression*. The main distinguishing factor is the IV to IV#dim7 change in the 5th & 6th bars.


*(this is in the key of G instead of A)

MalcolmAmos said:

I'd have to decide how I was going to handle the D#o7.

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The D#o7 is just the D7 chord from the preceding measure with its root raised a half step:

D7: D F# A C
D#o7: D# F# A C

Think "Route 66."

Febs said:

The D#o7 is just the D7 chord from the preceding measure with its root raised a half step:

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LOL! I actually played with a keyboard player many years ago that would call that chord a "D7 with a raised root".

Never ran across D#o7 before - I was leaning toward R-b3-b5-bb7 or a full diminished D#.

MalcolmAmos said:

Never ran across D#o7 before - I was leaning toward R-b3-b5-bb7 or a full diminished D#.

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I'm not sure what it is you're saying here. Are you suggesting that a D#o7 is something different than the part of your post I've put in bold?

In many circles it's just called a diminished chord. The 3 & 5 are flatted, the dominant seventh is already flatted (as opposed to a major seventh).

Skitch it! said:

This is how I'd think about it too, kind of like a tritone sub chord, E.G. the first 3 chords of Autumn Leaves :- Amin7 - D7 - Gmaj7, tritone substitute D7 for G#o7, so it runs - Amin7 -G#o7 - Gmaj7 for the chromatic drop and tension/release. Tbh, my theory is a little rusty, it was quite a while back that I was working through the stuff, I need a freshener

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A G#o7 is not a tritone sub for D7. Tritone subs share a common 3rd and 7th. A G#7 would be a tritone sub for D7 because they share the F# (Gb) and C (B#).

Febs said:

A G#o7 is not a tritone sub for D7. Tritone subs share a common 3rd and 7th. A G#7 would be a tritone sub for D7 because they share the F# (Gb) and C (B#).

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Correct, shared and inverted, it's been a while, I need to shed a bit of theory, thanks for the correction and the reminder, I'll delete the post, as not to confuse

Febs said:

I'm not sure what it is you're saying here. Are you suggesting that a D#o7 is something different than the part of your post I've put in bold?

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What I was thinking is the little zero with out a strike through normally means a full diminished bb7 or 6.....
and the little zero with a strike through means a Minor seven flat fifth m7-5 or ø 1-b3-b5-b7.

I think only the original song writer knows for sure which way he wanted this chord played. It happens so fast it does not matter all that much, no one in the audience will hear the difference. Giving it more thought full diminished chords only appear, in the World I walk around in - when using harmonic minor and this is not the case here.

So....... the song writer, The Shadow and The Green Hornet are the only ones that know for sure.

One more - the instructor that gave the progression to the OP.