• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Walking Bass Lines - helpful instructional videos

Chili_Time

Chili_Time

Oct 11, 2016
239
395
Tennessee
#1
The videos below showed up in my Youtube sidebar so I watched them since I had the day off. I have to say this was very eye opening and maybe it just clicked since I have been drilling major & minor triads so much and trying and failing to improvise decent bass lines to play with chord sheets. Anyway, after watching this video and following the guidelines I played a little and was like... hey that sounds decent! So I went to guitar pro and wrote out a walking bass line about 24 bars long over a ii V I progresion and while not great it did not make my ears bleed. If you are interested I don't think it can be explained much easier than in these videos. I'm sure it can get a lot more complicated but this video is like a gateway drug to walking bass line addiction. It has probably been linked before but throwing up here in case someone else wants to check it out.



 
  • Like
Reactions: Ramana
#3
fearceol said:
Here is another set of walking bass lessons from Dave Marks that start very basic and build from there.

dave marks walking bass lesson - YouTube
Click to expand...


Thanks! I watched 1 to 4 and his explanations are great. His chord inversion explanation helped a lot. I've read this stuff before but I guess my knowledge base was not to the point where I could really begin to understand it. Good stuff to go study and practice. Love his accent.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: fearceol
#9
JRA said:
IMO: walking bass line instructors often pay too much attention to note choice and not enough to rhythm/'feel' which is especially important at tempos below 160-200 BPM. just sayin'....:)
Click to expand...

You have to learn to walk (excuse the pun ;) ) before you can run. The rhythm/feel comes later when you are comfortable with chord progressions etc. Not much use having great rhythm/feel if you don't know what notes to play. Besides..."feel" can't be taught.
 
#10
fearceol said:
You have to learn to walk (excuse the pun ;) ) before you can run. The rhythm/feel comes later when you are comfortable with chord progressions etc. Not much use having great rhythm/feel if you don't know what notes to play. Besides..."feel" can't be taught.
Click to expand...
i respect your opinion, but i'm glad for my own experience! the jazz drummers who taught me could recognize wrong notes, but otherwise didn't care so much...they wanted me to lay down the correct feel! that was in the beginning --- nowadays i'm teaching drummers some feel. "it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing!"

also: you can spend your life trying to coax out the 'perfect notes' for yourself. to what avail without the feel? IME: the notes are easier (if know something/anything?), the feel can be liberating = try working on your feel and see if the notes don't come more easily....just sayin'! it's obviously a combination.....

good luck on your journey! :thumbsup:
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back