Double Bass Is it really useful to memorize bass lines?

[Jack Clark]

This is a very general question from a beginner. I'm familiar with, and have carved in gold, Ed's system for really learning a tune, but I'm asking a much more general question, below.

You see, two nights ago I was privileged to be a fan at an annual musicians' party in Palm Desert. You probably know the type of evening: A Monday night, dozens of local pros and a few lucky fans like me at the home of one of the musicians. Mixing up the combos, playing jazz for hours straight. These guys don't play with each other very often because they each have their own regular gigs. And there were 8-10 vocalists, male and female, with whom the rhythm sections had never played. (One bassist had just moved down from Seattle—one of the local singers introduced him.) Everything spontaneous—tunes, keys, rhythms, arrangements. Great jazz, all night. What a concert!

No sign of a real book or even a single sheet of music the whole night. Nobody brought any music with them, just their instruments. The bassists were playing full bass lines—two feel, walking, both. My impression was that most often they didn't have anything memorized in any particular key, they just played whatever tune needed to be played at the moment, in whatever key, in whatever arrangement.

So, finally, my question: To get to that point, does it really do any good at all to actually memorize bass lines to tune after tune?—whether they are your own bass lines or those transcribed from the greats? Or is it more useful to just study the bass lines of the greats to learn what patterns they tend to use in certain situations?

 

[electracoyote]

When you are in a jam or impromptu situation, it becomes a matter of knowing the outline or sequence of the tune and then patterns, scales, intuition, and that sixth sense about what is going on around you. They don't always know from measure to measure exactly what they will play until they get there, but when they get there, they make great choices. Extempore performances by cats with that kind of experience is simply magical.

Until you get there, memorizing a tune note-for-note is a great tool. Don't dismiss it.

 

[leonche64]

Coyote has good advice. You have to learn the basics before you can freestyle. Every song has a unique structure, but patterns repeat. It is through learning these songs that you develop the skill to recognize patterns and anticipate changes. The more you know the more you can draw from.

 

[BassBob1]

I think it can be worth memorizing lines depending on the situation. On one hand if you were in a serious cover band you would probably want to have the original bass line down to a T. On the other hand a guitar playing friend of mine put together a band for a fundraiser (maybe more gigs after that too) and asked me to play with them. We are doing all covers of various artists from the allman brothers to incubus and who knows what else. With that project I don't really have all the lines memorized but know what they should sound like and know what each song needs. With original bands I have been in I would sometimes change up my bass lines from show to show or rehearsal to rehearsal while still keeping the main idea.

I guess my point is that it depends. You should be able to memorize lines when needed but also should be able to improvise/jam and play along with a song you may not entirely know. You just have to work up to that point.

 

[Ross Kratter]

Jazz is all about spontaneity, especially when it comes to bass lines. It is important to know the melody and the changes to any tune, in any key. However, memorizing bass lines in jazz, in my opinion, ruins the whole spontaneity factor. I never go on a gig and play any specific bass line on any specific tune unless the leader asks for it.

 

[NorthArchRising]

Getting your theory down is most important and having a few stand out chops you can play in every key is what i find useful, if your theory is good you can really open up and react with the other musicians and let the real creative moments flow

 

[SplitNick]

I would say keep memorizing lines. It is good for you. Just don't be married to the lines when the opportunity to create is at hand.

 

[JSK5String]

I think it can be worth memorizing lines depending on the situation. On one hand if you were in a serious cover band you would probably want to have the original bass line down to a T. On the other hand a guitar playing friend of mine put together a band for a fundraiser (maybe more gigs after that too) and asked me to play with them. We are doing all covers of various artists from the allman brothers to incubus and who knows what else. With that project I don't really have all the lines memorized but know what they should sound like and know what each song needs. With original bands I have been in I would sometimes change up my bass lines from show to show or rehearsal to rehearsal while still keeping the main idea.

I guess my point is that it depends. You should be able to memorize lines when needed but also should be able to improvise/jam and play along with a song you may not entirely know. You just have to work up to that point.

+1 Very well said BassBob1. I'm in a classic rock cover band. Been in the same one for almost 30 years and we gig regularly around town. My personal feeling on the topic is that it depends on the bass line. If the line is very recognizable and drives the song, or if the song would suffer w/o it, then I'll learn it as close to note for note as I can. Tunes like Crazy Lttle Thing Called Love, Allright Now, Hold Your Head Up & Maggie Mae fall into that category. Other tunes that are driven by a different instrument, or where we've decided to try to put a different spin on the song, then I'll go for the general feel, or maybe grab the main riff, and then I take it from there.

All that said, I also think it depends on what kind of band you're in. If you're in an original band who throws in a cover or two, then the audience would expect you to put your own take on the song all the way around. If you're in a tribute band, then you'd better play the songs they way they were written (or the way they we're played live by the song-writer, if that's the vibe you're going for). If you're in a cover band doing all different tunes, then you have a little wiggle room to go either way. I've seen some cover bands that try to play every song exactly like it was written and they pull it off very well. I've seen some cover bands who put their own spin on every song and they pull that off equally well. Then again, I've seen some cover bands trying trying to do both who couldn't pull off either and they sucked (usually because they couldn't sing worth a darn). So, I've written all this and come to the conclusion that it totally depends.

 

[JSK5String]

I would say keep memorizing lines. It is good for you. Just don't be married to the lines when the opportunity to create is at hand.

+1 to this also. I tell my students that every player has his or her "thing" that they tend to default to, a style they like. When you learn their lines, you can get into their heads and pick up their style & feel. When people say they are influenced by someone, it usually means they learned a bunch of their lines when they were starting out and then they tend to write in that person's style for their own stuff.

 

[colliningram]

I've seen a lot of guys who seemingly know every tune in the book. Knowing a tune is different than memorizing a bassline. Start working on building a repertoire of melodies and chord progressions to tunes. Get your theory down and then write (often on the spot) your own basslines to tunes. When you show up to a gig nobody wants to hear the same bassline over and over and they also don't want to hear someone elses line. They want to hear what you are coming up with on the spot. Thats the spirit of jazz.

As far as that show you saw I would assume the bassist was relying on his repertoire and his ear. This might be a ways down the road for you but many great bassists have enough aural skills to realize what the chord is in relation to the tonic. Any chord they can't figure out by ear alone can be assumed based on where theory says the chords they can hear are likely to move to.

As far as actually memorizing bass lines I'd only concern myself with the standards (eg. So What, All Blues, A Night In Tunisia, Song For My Father, Killer Joe, Maiden Voyage) that already have unique basslines associated with them. Other than that focus on your comping skills.

 

[meandering]

Some interesting points here... i would say that a lot depends on your playing level. If you are a beginner, it is essential to memorize some classic walking lines (blues, rhythm changes, standards). There are way too many choices for a beginner to simply create a good walking line. In addition to the correct notes, the accents and general feel (swing) should be emulated. There are many books of transcribed lines that can be helpful, but listening to and studying the recordings is essential.

As you advance, there will naturally be less dependence on your memorized lines. However, take the time to build the foundation (if you haven't already). As Clark Terry said "imitate, assimilate, innovate"

 

[Michael Case]

This is the DOUBLE BASS JAZZ TECHNIQUE forum. I'm not trying to devalue anybody's experience, but most of the posts on this thread don't relate to the OP at all.

I think it's a good idea to transcribe some walking lines, then find phrases that you like and study them. It's a way of building vocabulary that will seep it's way into your improvisation once you've truly internalized those phrases.

 

[JSK5String]

This is the DOUBLE BASS JAZZ TECHNIQUE forum. I'm not trying to devalue anybody's experience, but most of the posts on this thread don't relate to the OP at all.

I think it's a good idea to transcribe some walking lines, then find phrases that you like and study them. It's a way of building vocabulary that will seep it's way into your improvisation once you've truly internalized those phrases.

No offense, but I would disagree. Bass parts are bass parts, whether they're played on a DB, an electric, tuba or they're sung. Every style of music has certain songs where the bass part drives the tune and some where it doesn't.

 

[fmoore200]

I am a novice jazz player, but what I have felt helpful is to write out and memorize your own walking lines to standards. I have been learning to play at a slow tempo, and once I have memorized my own lines and I know what I want to hear, I play along to the record and let my ear takeover. I rely on the patterns that I have created only as a reference point..it doesn't always work to perfection, but I feel like I am slowly (but surely ) getting better at coming up with my own lines on the spot.

I also do the same for ii-V-I progressions, since you see so many of them in standards..

 

[Huy Nguyen]

There's nothing spontaenous about a canned bassline. In jazz, nobody wants to play with someone who can't come up with their own ideas, esp when it comes to something as simple as a bassline. People will put up with newbies but don't expect to gig with real players like that. IME, a canned bassline gets played about 1% of the time. Repeated phrases? Sure, but not in the context of an entire chorus. Michael has it right - use it as a learning tool.

Get a doublebass jazz teacher... and Ed's Walking Basslines book.

 

[dvh]

Playing a memorized line isn't spontaneous. It's playing a memorized line. While I think it's good to memorize some lines along your musical learning journey I think it's far more important to memorize songs which, as has been pointed out, gives you the background familiarity to be spontaneous and improvise knowledgeably.

 

[fmoore200]

How does a bassist memorize a tune? Are we supposed to memorize the melody? That's fine, but nobody wants a bass player to play the melody. So then what to memorize? The changes? But a bass player WALKS over the changes. By the rational that a bassist should memorize tunes, the logically he will be memorizing walking lines.

 

[Kenner]

No offense, but I would disagree. Bass parts are bass parts, whether they're played on a DB, an electric, tuba or they're sung. Every style of music has certain songs where the bass part drives the tune and some where it doesn't.

+1

 

[mcm]

no

 

[transition]

How does a bassist memorize a tune? Are we supposed to memorize the melody? That's fine, but nobody wants a bass player to play the melody. So then what to memorize? The changes? But a bass player WALKS over the changes. By the rational that a bassist should memorize tunes, the logically he will be memorizing walking lines.

Not at all. Even if you decide you're always going to play 4 quarter notes in every measure and never deviate from that rhythm, there are a ton of different ways to play any given progression.

Memorizing changes is not at all the same as memorizing what to play over those changes.