What is the next step in learning walking bass?

a couple well regarded resources around here:




Your recording says "Jazzy in Dm" ...implying you are thinking in scales
walking bass has more to do with thinking in chords.
It sounds like you are playing along with a I - vi - ii V.
If you don't understand what "I - vi - ii - V" means, read the PDF linked in my signature.

 

Page 5 of Ed Fuqua's book.

Bd7 -----Eb7---------Bd7---------Eb7...........%
1-2-3-5..8-b7-8-10..8-b7-6--b7..8-b7-6-b7|8-b7-6-b5

So yep more chords tones. something on each beat. Friedland's book first, as it is good about getting you started, then once started Fuqua's book is a must have.

I got the 1-2-3-5 stuff from Friedland. And that now is how I think. Fuqua's book is pure standard notation so I transpose his stuff into scale degrees, perhaps not the right thing to do, but, I understand it this way. .

Good luck.

 

Yes.

you are essentially playing "root, root, root, <other tone>"

that's less of a walk and more hopping in place for 3 beats and then stepping towards the next root

the basic , super simplified, entry level formula for a 4 beat walking bass line measure is:

1. root note
2. passing tone leading to
3. a chord tone
4. passing tone leading to next root

embedded in this formula is of course the assumption that you know your basic harmony and chord tones

 

I once asked a skilled jazz player how to learn good walking bass lines
he said, simply: "Transcribe Ray Brown"

 

True that. worked up 10 Ray Brown lines once, began to notice his patterns, where bars 4 and 8 had variations (of course).

 

Since you say you know chords:
1. Take a familiar melody. Or write one yourself.
2. Reharmonize. Nothing too fancy if you don't want to go all out. Maybe start easy with basic harmonic functions: Tonic, Dominant, Subdominant (plus its parallel, the II chord), including their variants.
3. Write a walking bass. Look for the suggestions of the fine posters before me for inspiration.

Especially #2 will get you really familiar with the harmony from which you can construct your lines. Writing the harmony yourself also ensures you won't get lost as easily.