Free Walking Bass Theory Book!

[Chris Doherty]

Hey guys, this is my first time posting here , although I've been a regular visitor for about 10 years!

I'd just like to share with you all an unfinished music theory book that I began in 2013. I had planned to use it as part of a university project, but ended up taking different modules. It has since lay in the dark recesses of my laptop, until today, when I stumbled across all the Word documents whilst doing a clear out to save space.

It's certainly not a finished work, but after reading through it, I couldn't shake the feeling that it could be of use to someone who was looking to get into jazz, and in particular walking bass lines. I'll probably never get around to finishing it, which is why I'm sharing it as-is, but if you guys had any feedback I'd love to hear it.

Enjoy!

p.s. Obviously I don't give anybody permission to plagiarise my work, but feel free to share it around for educational purposes.

 

[jeepsk8]

Downloaded, thank you! This is timely, I just joined a band that does some Jazz and walking bass lines are my nemesis. Why? I have no idea. They seem simple enough but I just cannot wrap my head around it fast enough. I know enough theory to be dangerous, but it also tends to slow me down because my analytical side has to know "why" before my creative side can act.

 

[Chris Doherty]

Hey jeepsk8!

Really hope you find it useful. Good luck with the new band!

 

[jeepsk8]

It is very helpful actually. Now I know that all those dastardly chord extensions really tell me what mode I can play. That right there was an eye opener, and I thank you for it.

 

[Chris Doherty]

Glad it helped! Yea when I was first getting into jazz I used to have a bit of a mental block about complex chords until someone explained that to me. Now they're arguably the easiest chords to walk over, because they're self-explanatory!

 

[Phlipper]

Thank you VERY much Chris!

I actually popped over here to ask a theory question related to walking lines, as I am just now trying to tackle jazz. Perfect timing.

 

[jeepsk8]

Glad it helped! Yea when I was first getting into jazz I used to have a bit of a mental block about complex chords until someone explained that to me. Now they're arguably the easiest chords to walk over, because they're self-explanatory!

Anthony Wellington has an awesome video about modes and how to play them, but I had no context on where it applies. Putting these 2 sources together should settle that, lol.

 

[Chris Doherty]

Thank you VERY much Chris!

I actually popped over here to ask a theory question related to walking lines, as I am just now trying to tackle jazz. Perfect timing.

Hey Phlipper, really hope you find it useful! It definitely doesn't cover everything. I just read your post on the other thread. It's great that you understand the Roman numerals system as I use it a lot in the book. In regards to your question as to why you were able to play the same root notes in your lines over a 2-5-1 in C and Am, it's probably because by walking the Dm7 and Cmaj7 over Bm7(b5) and Am7, you were creating cool 9th voicings against the backing track (Bm7(b5)+Dm7 with D in the bass = Bm7(b5)(b9)/D for example - very hip! EDIT Dm7(13) is definitely a better way to write that!). It's because, as you rightly guessed, Am is the relative minor of Cmaj, which means they share all the same notes (almost). It probably didn't work as well over the E7 chord however (assuming that was the 5 in the minor 2-5-1), which contains a G#. This is because in the key of A minor, even though in jazz most of the time you can still play G-natural (in Am7 or C chords for example), when an E chord is played you raise the third (G to G#) to create a dominant chord that wants to pull back to A. This use of G# to create a V-i is what makes something in the key of A minor, as opposed to just being in A Aeolian, which is still the key of C major. A useful rule to remember is that 5 chords are almost always dominant, otherwise they probably aren't actually a 5 chord. In classical music the G# is used much more strictly.

Hope that helps!

Anthony Wellington has an awesome video about modes and how to play them, but I had no context on where it applies. Putting these 2 sources together should settle that, lol.

Aha I'm flattered that you think my work helps you understand Anthony Wellington a bit better! He's a super player, I'll have to check out that video. Definitely interested in how he applies them.

 

[BossOnBass]

Thank you for posting this. Very nice work.

 

[Phlipper]

That does help ... a lot. I switched to guitar and played both progressions into a looper then played bass over both. I'm slowly getting it.

The old saying about old dogs and new tricks ... and teaching calculus to a wombat.

 

[Phlipper]

I should have mentioned when I played over my own loop it was crystal clear the bass lines I used for the progression in C were not fully working like I thought they were in the Amin progression. Playing moderately loud over the TV got some of the tones I thought I heard crossed up. So after figuring that out with my ear I went back to my notebooks to figure out why.

Everything I've ever learned on guitar or bass I learned by ear. So I've resigned myself to having to approach jazz the same way. The difference is that now I go back to the notebooks to see why my lead guitar licks or bass lines work the way they do. And so a little theory is starting to make sense.

It's a cart before the horse thang. But I'm just wired that way I guess.

 

[Chris Doherty]

Glad I could help a bit Phlipper! Good luck with your jazz persuits! There's nothing wrong with learning by ear, lot's of players end up stuck relying on the music in front of them, which ultimately holds them back. Theory is just there to explain why things sound good in the first place.

Thank you for posting this. Very nice work.

Thankyou!!! Means a lot that people are finding it helpful. Who knows, maybe someday I'll try and finish it.

 

[BOOG]

Downloaded, thank you! This is timely, I just joined a band that does some Jazz and walking bass lines are my nemesis. Why? I have no idea. They seem simple enough but I just cannot wrap my head around it fast enough. I know enough theory to be dangerous, but it also tends to slow me down because my analytical side has to know "why" before my creative side can act.

I am always fighting this.

 

[Chris Doherty]

I think (and I could be wrong) that one of the main reasons that overly-analytical guys (I'm guilty of it too) get stumped when it comes to walking bass, and probably jazz in general, is we like having strong rules to follow, when as you'll probably get from the book, with walking bass it's more about having several solutions to a given problem, that all kind of work for different reasons, and may seem to contradict each other.

 

[BOOG]

I've been working on Scott's Bass Lessons Online for a couple of months. Currently, the two modules of Arpeggios, Chord Scales and Scales (it may be called something else but, that's close) for me it seems that once, I get it in my brain and then under my fingers (muscle memory) the right side (creative side) of the brain can then take over. As I learn more and I take time to noodle around I find that right side is able to naturally run with it.

 

[Chris Doherty]

Yea it's just like learning to speak! The bigger your vocabulary, the easier it is to articulate what you're feeling. Every time you get something new under your fingers it's ready and waiting for your creative side to go use, and your musical vocab keeps growing! Then you just need to put it all in the right order to make sense, so I guess music theory is like grammar.

 

[BOOG]

Exactly! To me theory is pretty important but I’ve noticed that a lot of musicians, my father included, not only disregard it but actually snub me for wanting to spend time learning and practicing it. Surprisingly, he gives me gruff and he’s a classical clarinetist. I always thought he’d be happy and impressed that I study it but not so much. Eh, he’s probably just intimidated that I know more of it than he did at my age.

 

[Rhythmman535]

It's a cliffhanger now...Must have "Chord Lengths and the Importance or (of) Certain Notes." You MUST continue!!!

 

[Chris Doherty]

Exactly! To me theory is pretty important but I’ve noticed that a lot of musicians, my father included, not only disregard it but actually snub me for wanting to spend time learning and practicing it. Surprisingly, he gives me gruff and he’s a classical clarinetist. I always thought he’d be happy and impressed that I study it but not so much. Eh, he’s probably just intimidated that I know more of it than he did at my age.

Sorry to hear that about your dad. It's odd, but I actually knew a few classical musicians in uni who thought similarly though. Since their job tends to be just playing what's on the sheet infront of them (to a very high standard - i'm not trying to diminish that at all), theory outside of that just didn't seem that useful to them. It's a shame because they're missing out on so much! Not saying all classical guys are like that btw just funny you mentioned it and I knew a few.

It's a cliffhanger now...Must have "Chord Lengths and the Importance or (of) Certain Notes." You MUST continue!!!

Is that a typo in the book!? aha since posting this I've noticed a few small mistakes here and there in it. Maybe i'll start posting the rest of the chapters here one by one I do have a few half-written ones actually I might have a stab at. Glad you like it!

 

[Rhythmman535]

Sorry to hear that about your dad. It's odd, but I actually knew a few classical musicians in uni who thought similarly though. Since their job tends to be just playing what's on the sheet infront of them (to a very high standard - i'm not trying to diminish that at all), theory outside of that just didn't seem that useful to them. It's a shame because they're missing out on so much! Not saying all classical guys are like that btw just funny you mentioned it and I knew a few.



Is that a typo in the book!? aha since posting this I've noticed a few small mistakes here and there in it. Maybe i'll start posting the rest of the chapters here one by one I do have a few half-written ones actually I might have a stab at. Glad you like it!

Looking forward to it.