reading and beyond

[txhawaii]

My journey to walking is moving forward yet it's a lifetime of work to ingest.

My biggest accomplishment is I taught myself to read albeit rather slowly and at a school kid level.

With that said, I'm starting to take scores and read them, playing along until they get too complicated or beyond my experience. Eventually I will progress.

With all that in mind, the goals set by most books and lessons to walking bass is to eventually write your own lines or be able to play only with a chord chart. I feel I am way behind in that aspect.

Within my reading, I am now seeing 357ca, R5R3, etc. I'm slowly seeing how they tie together but I'm no there yet.

My question is ... am I doing this the right way? I cannot find a proper teacher locally hence I'm on my own for now. Is this normal progress or am I going down the wrong path?

 

[JRA]

My biggest accomplishment is I taught myself to read albeit rather slowly and at a school kid level.

no matter! you can decipher "the code!" you'll get faster/better at reading (the more you do it) but just being able to crack that code is very cool and it will help you learn things in ways that you could never do before --- congrats!

My question is ... am I doing this the right way?

i'm not sure i can help much,* but with your code-cracking abilities in tow: getting some transcriptions of some well-known 'walkers' (actually playing tunes) would show you how to think inside/outside the box re: chords, their tones, their progressions, and of course, what the cool cats have done. knowing what others have done gives you permission to experiment and do things your way.

there seems to be enough walking bass enthusiasm on the forum (also on the DB side ) that you will get tons of helpful posts and plenty of encouragement to try various sources and points of view. good luck with all of it!


* i've been walking the bass for so long that i don't really remember how i learned what i know and use...lots of players helped me, in one way or another, at one time or another....but i walk lines based on what i'm hearing other players do, and how i can embellish and/or contribute in the moment. it's spontaneous/improvised.

 

[pmatz2]

My journey to walking is moving forward yet it's a lifetime of work to ingest.

My biggest accomplishment is I taught myself to read albeit rather slowly and at a school kid level.

With that said, I'm starting to take scores and read them, playing along until they get too complicated or beyond my experience. Eventually I will progress.

With all that in mind, the goals set by most books and lessons to walking bass is to eventually write your own lines or be able to play only with a chord chart. I feel I am way behind in that aspect.

Within my reading, I am now seeing 357ca, R5R3, etc. I'm slowly seeing how they tie together but I'm no there yet.

My question is ... am I doing this the right way? I cannot find a proper teacher locally hence I'm on my own for now. Is this normal progress or am I going down the wrong path?

Since you don’t have access to a local teacher , what material are you using?

also Skype lessons are available ( if they fit in your budget )

 

[txhawaii]

no matter! you can decipher "the code!" you'll get faster/better at reading (the more you do it) but just being able to crack that code is very cool and it will help you learn things in ways that you could never do before --- congrats!


i'm not sure i can help much,* but with your code-cracking abilities in tow: getting some transcriptions of some well-known 'walkers' (actually playing tunes) would show you how to think inside/outside the box re: chords, their tones, their progressions, and of course, what the cool cats have done. knowing what others have done gives you permission to experiment and do things your way.

there seems to be enough walking bass enthusiasm on the forum (also on the DB side ) that you will get tons of helpful posts and plenty of encouragement to try various sources and points of view. good luck with all of it!


* i've been walking the bass for so long that i don't really remember how i learned what i know and use...lots of players helped me, in one way or another, at one time or another....but i walk lines based on what i'm hearing other players do, and how i can embellish and/or contribute in the moment. it's spontaneous/improvised.

Here's a standard that taught me a lot the other day. I've played through it a couple of times. then try to go back and look at each measure to see why each note is there. that is the biggest progress I've made.

I get confused at times because some notes that don't seem to be chromatic or diatonic pop up outside the chord but I probably shouldn't look too deep into every little step.

next thing is to play the tune with a metronome and just keep going.

 

[txhawaii]

Since you don’t have access to a local teacher , what material are you using?

also Skype lessons are available ( if they fit in your budget )

I've got the usual books and YouTube. I have a subscription to Learning Jazz Standards but without a theoretical background, it's more confusing than anything else.

one of the things that was a wow moment from LJS was seeing how to write a walking line "backwards" if you may...I guess I would say taking the target note and connecting it with the 4th note of the previous chord with like a 3rd of that target note or something like that...haha. basically I thought walking had to be a progression forward like writing.

 

[JRA]

I get confused at times because some notes that don't seem to be chromatic or diatonic pop up outside the chord but I probably shouldn't look too deep into every little step.

that's probably right!

sometimes those "outside" notes are clever, and intentional, and they just work! sometimes they are lucky guesses, and if they work, you can tell everyone your note choices were "clever and intentional!" --- the idea is to make them all work if you can.

but kudos for your efforts! don't give up! good luck!

 

[thehindteet]

I recommend Jim Stinnett's Reading in Bass Clef books. When I was a kid, most of the reading books I encountered tried to keep things simple by having you playing stuff in the sort of box formed by the nut to the 5th fret, whereas Jim's books get you into doing position playing based on the key, so that you're developing your eye for translating the distances between noteheads into some intuitive motion of a finger moving up or down some interval.

 

[Lo-E]

All the learning material is good (and important) but listening to the masters and, as your reading improves, transcribing their lines is the best way to get this stuff in your melon.

I suggest listening to guys like Ray Brown, Ron Carter, Charles Mingus and Oscar Pettiford. They were absolute geniuses when it comes to walking. There are dozens of others but these guys could keep you occupied for a long time.

I also agree with @pmatz2 that Skype or Zoom lessons are still better than nothing. At this early stage a teacher can really make a huge difference.

 

[txhawaii]

All the learning material is good (and important) but listening to the masters and, as your reading improves, transcribing their lines is the best way to get this stuff in your melon.

I suggest listening to guys like Ray Brown, Ron Carter, Charles Mingus and Oscar Pettiford. They were absolute geniuses when it comes to walking. There are dozens of others but these guys could keep you occupied for a long time.

I also agree with @pmatz2 that Skype or Zoom lessons are still better than nothing. At this early stage a teacher can really make a huge difference.

does tb have a list of zoom teachers?

 

[txhawaii]

I recommend Jim Stinnett's Reading in Bass Clef books. When I was a kid, most of the reading books I encountered tried to keep things simple by having you playing stuff in the sort of box formed by the nut to the 5th fret, whereas Jim's books get you into doing position playing based on the key, so that you're developing your eye for translating the distances between noteheads into some intuitive motion of a finger moving up or down some interval.

How is Stinnett's book any more helpful that reading let's say Chambers and other's walking lines?

 

[pmatz2]

I get the sense from reading your post ( could be wrong) that you need a cohesive plan of attack. like all of us you want to know it all and you want to know it now . It seems you’re jumping around. If a Skype instructor isn't an option , pick one of your books and work through it. I sometimes get over whelmed with all the choices and when I do I go back to the basics and reset. You posted a video example. Are those changes covered in one of your books, if so have you completed all the material prior to those changes being addressed.

As others have said but I’ll add to it, once a set of chord changes is covered listen and transcribe the masters playing those changes.

 

[Lo-E]

does tb have a list of zoom teachers?

I'm not sure. That's a resource I've never explored because I live in an area where teachers are plentiful.
One of our members here, @Ed Fuqua, wrote a good book on walking lines. Perhaps he could weigh in on whether or not he's available for online teaching or if he knows someone....

 

[dbsfgyd1]

My journey to walking is moving forward yet it's a lifetime of work to ingest.

My biggest accomplishment is I taught myself to read albeit rather slowly and at a school kid level.

With that said, I'm starting to take scores and read them, playing along until they get too complicated or beyond my experience. Eventually I will progress.

With all that in mind, the goals set by most books and lessons to walking bass is to eventually write your own lines or be able to play only with a chord chart. I feel I am way behind in that aspect.

Within my reading, I am now seeing 357ca, R5R3, etc. I'm slowly seeing how they tie together but I'm no there yet.

My question is ... am I doing this the right way? I cannot find a proper teacher locally hence I'm on my own for now. Is this normal progress or am I going down the wrong path?

I would find a collection of music where you like the bass part and study it. Don't listen to just the bass line. Concentrate of the chord changes. Once you have the chord progression down, Then listen to how the bass part moves or leads the chord changes through the song. Then either learn the figures by ear, or subscribe to a subscription to a transcription service. Best wishes.

 

[salmon256]

I think what makes self teaching hard is the fear of making mistakes or bad habits. If you follow any method book like Ed Friedland book you will be fine. I also felt like you and I am still working on reading but it hit me in a good way that I was also to actually understanding and didn't need to think twice about all my notes names and location on the fretboard up to fret 12. Take your time and enjoy it, Jeff Berlin said to breath and not overthink. It's ok to make mistakes. I highly recommend Hal Leonard Bass Method (Ed Friedland) however I dislike how it goes into tabs later on. I do think though all books can offer something and do not treat them like strict Suzuki methods, it's ok to go back and to jump around in a book, note pages that are important or about learning a new note and may have a great etude to help. I also vouch for Jim Stinnett's book (RIP), he was a super friendly teacher and non-judgemental as he's been in the shoes of a beginner bassist learning music and Contrabass as well like many, starting older was a norm. As for online lessons, look at colleges to see if the bass director offers lessons, there's many websites as well to find teachers. I think online lessons are great for bass guitar and theory. Another bassist who offer lessons on Youtube is Jeff Dingler Bass, his website offers more info. As of now this is all I can share on my journey. I would say enjoy it, don't stress it, learning basic theory and bass clef reading puts you years ahead on many bassist, even if you plan to just play rock or blues you already can form much music with your knowledge. Good luck!!!

 

[txhawaii]

I get the sense from reading your post ( could be wrong) that you need a cohesive plan of attack. like all of us you want to know it all and you want to know it now . It seems you’re jumping around. If a Skype instructor isn't an option , pick one of your books and work through it. I sometimes get over whelmed with all the choices and when I do I go back to the basics and reset. You posted a video example. Are those changes covered in one of your books, if so have you completed all the material prior to those changes being addressed.

As others have said but I’ll add to it, once a set of chord changes is covered listen and transcribe the masters playing those changes.

100%

 

[Topkat13]

You making progress? Having fun? If your answer is yes to both then yes you are doing it the right way.

 

[mrcbass]

I know we all learn differently, but for me: books/instructors are great for getting basics dialed in and for gleaning examples. After that, I find the best way to figure how to do things myself is to just do it. Work off some chord charts and just create your own lines. Start with arpeggios and scales and then just hear it and feel it. It will probably feel very hard at first, and maybe not even sound good. But after a while it just becomes second nature.

If you are continually reading, you'll never find your own way. Reading is a great skill to have as it opens a lot of doors, but it takes the creative juice out of music.

 

[Wasnex]

Knowing the chord tones cold is essential.

Chord tones are safe on every beat.

Jazz places harmonic emphasis on 1 and 3 and rhythmic emphasis on 2 and 4. The general rule is play the root on 1 and another one of the other consonant chord tones on 3.

I think of walking bass as being formed from arpeggios and scales. If you only play chord tones on all four beats, the line is usually arpeggiated. Some songs lend themselves very well to arpeggiated lines, and some do not.

You can place non-chord tones on 2 and 4. There are lot's of strategies you can use. The results is more linear bass lines that rely on the home scale or key center. Building linear lines is more complicated and requires fluency in scales, key centers, and possibly modes

As you advance, you learn to break the rules. Breaking the rules means you don't have to play the root on 1, and you can tastefully use tones that are outside the prevailing key center. Also sometimes the key center is ambiguous rather than clearly defined. At an advanced level, you will be able to tie in chords that are not functional in the prevailing key and interpret them in multiple ways, or you may use artificial/synthetic scales.

When you are in the process of improvising a walking line, you are likely to move in and out of a range of mental processes. You may use your ears, think about the notes and intervals, or think in terms of finger patters, etc. It's all the same information organized and retrieved from your mental stores in a different way. Ideally playing a walking line is fluid and automatic. But when you come across something new, you may have to stop, analyze, and work out a strategy.

Don't worry about mastery as a destination. You may eventually get really good, but you never really master everything. Rather than worrying about it, enjoy the journey.

 

[DRBP]

there has been some great advice here. i agree with pretty much all of it. but here is the real thing- find a jam nite/open mic nite/jam session, etc and GO PLAY! that is what will help all of the rest of the lessons and reading, etc make sense. and it will be maybe a little nerve wracking but most likely… fun. and that is what this is all about! best wishes on your musical journey!

 

[BobDeRosa]

Is your major objective to read better or to play better walking lines? The two don't need to be connected at all, and maybe shouldn't be. As @Wasnex wisely suggests, walking lines are fundamentally about chord tones. Learning how to "spell" all those chord tones -- major, minor, and diminished -- in all 12 keys will get you much farther, faster, than reading charts. In the sample you provided, Sam Jones is using primarily chord tones (not always starting on the root) with occasional chromatic passing notes, and he's one of the best jazz walkers who ever lived.