What is a walking bassline?

Buy the book "Building Walking Bass Lines" by Ed Friedland.


See my sig, too.


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"Walking" is a term used to describe the feeling that quarter notes create in the bass part. Its most often used in jazz.

You need to have some grasp of music theory to be able to create one. There are many diiferent techniques you can use in creating one.

By the book mentioned above. I have it and its a pretty detailed book. If you dont want to take the time to learn to create your own lines and just be taught a few riffs to get by, then dont buy the book. This book makes you use all the techniques provided by creating your own lines over chord changes. Which is what you have to do in the real world.

 

Lots of other types of music do have walking bass lines - like (original) Ska, Blues etc. Even in Classical music!!

But the characteristic sound is 4 quarter notes to the bar, which move smoothly from one note to the next, even when the chords change - so there shouldn't be any big jumps and ideally you keep moving up or down as long as possible, in "steps" of a tone or semi-tone. So you are stepping or walking through the chord changes, one step at a time - hence walking, rather than running or jumping about.

Of course there are variations, but the more you add, the less it sounds like walking and you have to be careful you don't lose the feel or swing of the line. The best players can make really simple lines sound great with their feel, rhythmic forward motion and note-choice.

 

Running and jumping about is a whole other story.

 

A good excercise would be playing the tones that make up the chord you're dealing with for the measure that you're at, just to get you familiar with what the chord tones are, where they are and how they sound against the harmony.

|| Cmin7 | F7 | BbMaj7 | BbMaj7 ||

The chord tones:

| C Eb G Bb | F A C Eb | Bb D F A | Bb A F D |

 

You can incorporate larger intervalic distances than the ones you have described i.e. half and whole steps, in your lines and it will still swing. A good player can make a line swing that simply incorporates the chord tones of the chord, see the above example.

 

Well, I was just explaining what the characteristics of a walking bass line are and why it's called that - to say it is just the chord tones, doesn't explain what makes it a walking bassline - just play the chord tones and you don't necessarily have a walking bassline !

 

No need for me to explain what's already been stated, so your assertion that I'm saying, which I'm not, that walking is just chord tones is ludicrous.

My contribution is that you need to know what the chord tones are, how they sound against the chord and be prepared to play them in any inversion before you set your sights on chromatic and whole step movement. My specific point to you is that swing is a feel that is not restricted to chromatic or whole step motion, that is if you want to keep things interesting.

 

I think you're being a bit paranoid there - I was just saying that that doesn't help to answer the original question - although as you say it could be a way to prepare to play this kind of thing.

 

Paranoid??? Are you stalking me and I don't know about it or did you post to the wrong thread?

Again, I'm not trying to explain what's already been said, I'm trying to add to what has been said.

 

Didnt I just say that?

 

No - you didn't - you just said four quarter notes in the bar. So, these could be from anywhere - so if you jumped about or just played the same note throughout - it would not be a walking line.

So I was trying to explain how the feel of a walking bass line is to do with a smooth transition and moving note by note in a continuous direction...etc.

 

Does this mean when you run out of fingerboard space you switch to an instrument that has a higher range until you reach a point where the sound is only audible to say hamsters and gerbils?

 

Well, Paul Chambers managed it pretty well - if you listen to any of his walking lines!!

 

Bruce and Phil: How did this turn into a "my explanation is better than yours" thread?

Gentlemen, (and I use the term in its broadest sense with the best of intentions), I think your two original answers plus Cass's (all taken together) more than adequately explain what Albini-Fan was looking for. No need for criticism of the other contributors....

 

Question asked, question answered.
We're done here.

Chris A.