Bassits that use walking bass lines.

[Humbled]

Tony Marvelli is great at it, IMO.

 

[Space Pickle]

Lots of good resources, but if you are talking about traditional jazz, I would get a copy of the Real Book and transcribe lines yourself. IMHO, you'll get a lot more out of it than just reading notes in a tutorial.

I agree with this dude. There are many great books and videos on the subject I'm sure, but the best way to learn is to get lifting. Walking bass is really not that complicated, especially if you have listened enough to develop a good understanding of the sounds involved.

 

[Ewo]

A great way to get familiar with Paul Chambers is Miles Davis's _Kind of Blue_ album. "So What" is a fantastic lesson in Dorian mode. Good idea to cop Miles's solo, too, IMHO. Cool illustration of playing melodies off the extension of a static minor chord, and that's something you can readily apply in walking bass lines.

Don't think anybody's mentioned Jerry Coker's _Patterns for Jazz_ book, yet. Some cool stuff on running ii-V progressions, and even though the book's intended for melodic instruments the patterns work well on bass, IMHO. Just gotta think through the fingerings on bass, so they're comfortable. There's a bass clef version available.

 

[70spbase]

Carol Kaye

 

[pnchad]

Ray Browns book

Rufus Reid's book The Evolving Bassist

Ron Carters book

 

[radioface]

When it comes to walking bass lines, jazz bassist are where it's at. One can listen to recordings and watch videos but I would recommend hitting the books and then catching as many jazz bassists playing live as possible. I have found local players to be most inspirational because I could go and watch/listen to them play weekly and then take what I learned at the clubs, home, for some serious shedding. Local players also, are more accessible to talk to and exchange ideas with, than big name people who are just passing through.

 

[Schlyder]

Paul Chambers is the man. But Brown, Carter, and a bunch of other cats are right there too.

LOL I have about half the books mentioned in this thread in my library. All great resources.
The key thing is though, to listen to lots of tunes, and transcribe lines.

 

[PJ Muzikmansky]

Three good examples:

"C jam blues" from the album "we get requests" by the Oscar Peterson Trio (Ray Brown on bass).

"Giant Steps" and "Mr PC" from the album "Giant Steps" by John Coltrane (Paul Chambers on bass).

"Cool Blues" from the album "Cool Blues" by Jimmy Smith. (Great walking bass played on Hammond B3 organ by the man himself)

 

[bassistheplaceofcourse]

Ron Carter & Jimmy Garrison. Start with the others people have here listed first though...

 

[okcrum]

Lots of good resources, but if you are talking about traditional jazz, I would get a copy of the Real Book and transcribe lines yourself. IMHO, you'll get a lot more out of it than just reading notes in a tutorial.

I'm thinking the folks who wrote the books all did this already. You won't use the instructional books on a gig, but you'll get a lot of mileage out of the Real Books, either the three original volumes or the three newer Hal Leonard ones.

Most players only use the older 1st volume though.

 

[Pillsy]

Three good examples:

"C jam blues" from the album "we get requests" by the Oscar Peterson Trio (Ray Brown on bass).

"Giant Steps" and "Mr PC" from the album "Giant Steps" by John Coltrane (Paul Chambers on bass).

"Cool Blues" from the album "Cool Blues" by Jimmy Smith. (Great walking bass played on Hammond B3 organ by the man himself)

Giant Steps? Are you trying to scare him away. LOL

 

[hsech]

Listen to old SRV and you will hear a ton of them.

 

[hsech]

Listen to old BB King and Buddy Guy and you will also hear a lot of walking lines.

 

[monsterthompson]

interesting thread.

 

[Humbled]

Good speakers, headphones, or earbuds required:



Tony Marvelli

 

[lsabina]

I started into this territory a couple of years ago after years of playing blues and rock bass and guitar.

What helped me unlock walking bass lines was developing a good understanding of chord theory (I had a teacher for about 6 months to help me) and then working through the Real Book with assistance from Band in a Box and iRealBook software.

So, knowing what notes, arpeggios or scales to play over what chords/chord progressions, along with the ability to read jazz charts, brought me from not being able to play squat to being reasonably competent in about a year...at least competent enough to hang with an intermediate amateur jazz ensemble/workshop group.

This. If you don't understand how chords are constructed or how the different types of chords function within the context of a chord progression, no amount of transcription will elevate you to a true understanding of walking bass.

 

[Tom Brogan]

All good info. The George Urbaszek and Ed Fuqua books are two of my favorites on this subject.

 

[PJ Muzikmansky]

Giant Steps? Are you trying to scare him away. LOL

Pillsy, LOL...no, but I figure... why not aim high ?

I remember when I first started out playing jazz on E.B. I'd listen to Giant Steps and think "I'll never be able to play that!"

Well, I stuck with it and now I can walk through the changes quite well at the original tempo...It's just a matter of practise.

I also think it helps if one has a genuine love for the piece of music being practised. Those tunes I quoted above are all pieces that I particularly love.

Above all, I think it pays to listen to as much good jazz - especially the stuff from the 50's and 60's - as possible. There really is no better way to train one's ears IMO.

 

[BassMick]

Big thanks to everyone! I appreciate the tremendous help!

 

[squidtastic]

Pillsy, LOL...no, but I figure... why not aim high ?

I remember when I first started out playing jazz on E.B. I'd listen to Giant Steps and think "I'll never be able to play that!"

Well, I stuck with it and now I can walk through the changes quite well at the original tempo...It's just a matter of practise.

I also think it helps if one has a genuine love for the piece of music being practised. Those tunes I quoted above are all pieces that I particularly love.

Above all, I think it pays to listen to as much good jazz - especially the stuff from the 50's and 60's - as possible. There really is no better way to train one's ears IMO.

Great points.

BassMick, the takeaway is this: practice, practice, practice... and give it time. I, too, had that "OMG, I'll never be able to play this!" reaction when hearing Giant Steps for the first time. Something to note, BassMick, is that I started realizing that Chambers was playing patterns on that tune -- I just didn't hear them at first; thought he was playing completely random notes. So, I was bummed at first because I thought I would have this enormous mountain of theory to climb. When I realized that there were a lot of similar "shapes" he was playing, the tune opened up for me. The theory absolutely still matters, but Chamber and the other greats often utilized familiar shapes. Rarely do jazz bassists (in bop, anyway) come up with completely random lines.