Need help with this walking bass line.

[The1bassist06]

Me and my buddy are jamming at a winery and one of the songs on the setlist he gave me was this one.

I got the first part of what to play which is F G G# G F but he starts walking the bassline is where I get lost. Im not familiar at all playing jazz. Any tips?

 

[Stumbo]

Does your buddy have a chord chart you can use for his arrangement?

Thus may help:
Kenny Burrell - Midnight Blue

 

[Schlyder]

Invalid Link Removed

here's a better chart.

 

[Mushroo]

When is the gig? If it's a few months away, you have time to take some lessons with a local jazz teacher and/or work from a book like Ed Friedland's "Building Walking Bass Lines." If the gig is coming up soon, in my opinion there is no shame in telling your buddy, "I don't know how to play jazz, can we pick a different song for the set list?" Or he can play it as a solo tune while you enjoy a glass of wine. No offense but if you don't even know the difference between G# and Ab, you need to learn the basic building blocks of music theory (like "what are the notes of F Minor?") before you can even consider learning how to play jazz walking bass. But if your heart is totally set on playing this song, with your current skill set, then my advice is to transcribe the bass line from the recording and play it note for note, ignoring for the time being the "why" behind each note choice.

 

[The1bassist06]

... you are not familiar at all playing jazz but have a jazz gig... drool
What instrument do you play if "he starts walking the bassline is where you get lost?"

It's not a jazz gig. We are playing most pearl jam, alice in chains and Zepplin tunes except we are playing it all acoustic. He plays in the jazz band at college and randomly threw this song in there on the setlist on me. I play bass in my free time and for fun with my buddies and know some basic theory. I am by no means a jazz musician lmao.

 

[The1bassist06]

Does your buddy have a chord chart you can use for his arrangement?

Thus may help:
Kenny Burrell - Midnight Blue

Thank you! This actually helped a lot!

 

[The1bassist06]

When is the gig? If it's a few months away, you have time to take some lessons with a local jazz teacher and/or work from a book like Ed Friedland's "Building Walking Bass Lines." If the gig is coming up soon, in my opinion there is no shame in telling your buddy, "I don't know how to play jazz, can we pick a different song for the set list?" Or he can play it as a solo tune while you enjoy a glass of wine. No offense but if you don't even know the difference between G# and Ab, you need to learn the basic building blocks of music theory (like "what are the notes of F Minor?") before you can even consider learning how to play jazz walking bass. But if your heart is totally set on playing this song, with your current skill set, then my advice is to transcribe the bass line from the recording and play it note for note, ignoring for the time being the "why" behind each note choice.

Not gonna lie it has been awhile since I have brushed up on my scales. Now that you said F minor I feel dumb for not figuring out that was what key the song was in. Im just gonna improv it on the spot and hopefully it works lol. As long as no there is no musicians there dissecting my playing I think ill be good.

 

[Rhythmman535]

If you can transcribe the actual bass line from the recording you'll be well on your way.

 

[bass12]

... you are not familiar at all playing jazz but have a jazz gig... drool
What instrument do you play if "he starts walking the bassline is where you get lost?"

I believe the OP was referring to the recording, not to his friend.

 

[bass12]

For the walking section I would suggest keeping it really simple. Two beats of root and two beats of fifth per bar will be much more effective than one beat of root and three beats of confusion per bar.

 

[Mike Dimin]

1. Chord Tones
2. Scale Tones
3. Chromatic Tones
In order of priority