You just spoke to my first mistake.
Watching others do it, it looks easy.
When I try it...
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What NOT To Do On Walking Bass
- Thread starter Quinn Roberts
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- walking walking bass
Watching others do it, it looks easy.
When I try it...
You just spoke to my first mistake.
Watching others do it, it looks easy.
When I try it...
Same, I can do an okay job. Those who don't know a good one from a bad one may not notice how bad mine are, but those that do
I've grown quite fond of thirds, I absolutely love the line; R,b3,5,7 on a ii chord resolving to the third of V on beat one.
Quinn Roberts said: ↑
What is the opinion of playing the fifth of a chord on beat one?
Quite true, and any choice of note, played on any beat by the bass, would be subject to the same dependencies, whether it was a walking pattern or not.
A conscientious bassist must pay sufficient attention to the big picture in order to choose passing notes which fit, and also to decide when starting a bar using other than the root of the current chord is acceptable, and it all hinges on what is before and after - and again, this applies whether the bass is playing a walking pattern or not.
Mind you though, if the bassist IS playing a walking pattern, that does offer more opportunities to screw up.
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What is the opinion of playing the fifth of a chord on beat one?
~
Quite true, and any choice of note, played on any beat by the bass, would be subject to the same dependencies, whether it was a walking pattern or not.
A conscientious bassist must pay sufficient attention to the big picture in order to choose passing notes which fit, and also to decide when starting a bar using other than the root of the current chord is acceptable, and it all hinges on what is before and after - and again, this applies whether the bass is playing a walking pattern or not.
Mind you though, if the bassist IS playing a walking pattern, that does offer more opportunities to screw up.
~
I've recently gotten hipped to this guy's lessons:
There are a lot of resources about walking online from people such as Scott Devine and others. They do a great job, so I'm not knocking them; but a lot of it is pretty basic and pretty old hat for advanced/professional players. The above cat has some nice and useful stuff for cats who have been playing for a while.
There are a lot of resources about walking online from people such as Scott Devine and others. They do a great job, so I'm not knocking them; but a lot of it is pretty basic and pretty old hat for advanced/professional players. The above cat has some nice and useful stuff for cats who have been playing for a while.
~
Hmmmm....
Could not see the YT interface, only the pic.
When I clicked to reply, it showed me the code of the clip, which when put into the below format, now works for me.
That guy has posted a rather big bunch of lessons on YT !
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Strange - now your post shows the 'Play 'button and it doesn't look like you edited your post.
Could it be this board, or possibly my browser ?
Anyway, both your post and mine seem to allow the clip to be played now.
EDIT :
I just now checked my own post, and the board seems to have changed MY tags for the clip to be the same as yours.
And either one now plays.
Weird....
~
I thank you very much for the video post! I can't wait to check this out, people like ScottDevine and them are great, but I don't always agree with their approaches.~
Strange - now your post shows the 'Play 'button and it doesn't look like you edited your post.
Could it be this board, or possibly my browser ?
Anyway, both your post and mine seem to allow the clip to be played now.
EDIT :
I just now checked my own post, and the board seems to have changed MY tags for the clip to be the same as yours.
And either one now plays.
Weird....
~
Some really good advice on the first 20 or so posts I read. Dont have energy to read the next 7 pages but.....
1) Let your ears be the judge. There are no rules in jazz, but some of the advice is worth heeding. For example, the root is a safe bet on the 1, the 3 and 5 are good to break up the monotony, shy away from b2 and 4.
2) Consider what you are supporting with your bass line. It does not live in a vacuum. If you playing behind a melody, use a line that supports the melody either by mimic or counterpoint. If its a solo, play what fits the soloist. If he goes high register, consider going low and vice versa.
3) Study the walking lines of the greats. You will find the art of the bass line goes much deeper than the how to books.
4) My strong recommend for a bass book is Mike Richmond's "Modern Walking Bass Technique," Written in 1983 and still one of the best. Mike is an upright player and his lines reflect upright style. If you want to sound like an upright player, this is the book to study. I normally play 4 fingered, but I learned this book with a mix of upright 3 and electric 4 finger techniques. You will definitely be moving around the neck with Mikes line.
4) I would suggest touching base (no pun) with an instructor after you get thru 1 or two lessons with Mikes book. If that isnt possible and you have fingering quesions, I will try to help via this forum.
1) Let your ears be the judge. There are no rules in jazz, but some of the advice is worth heeding. For example, the root is a safe bet on the 1, the 3 and 5 are good to break up the monotony, shy away from b2 and 4.
2) Consider what you are supporting with your bass line. It does not live in a vacuum. If you playing behind a melody, use a line that supports the melody either by mimic or counterpoint. If its a solo, play what fits the soloist. If he goes high register, consider going low and vice versa.
3) Study the walking lines of the greats. You will find the art of the bass line goes much deeper than the how to books.
4) My strong recommend for a bass book is Mike Richmond's "Modern Walking Bass Technique," Written in 1983 and still one of the best. Mike is an upright player and his lines reflect upright style. If you want to sound like an upright player, this is the book to study. I normally play 4 fingered, but I learned this book with a mix of upright 3 and electric 4 finger techniques. You will definitely be moving around the neck with Mikes line.
4) I would suggest touching base (no pun) with an instructor after you get thru 1 or two lessons with Mikes book. If that isnt possible and you have fingering quesions, I will try to help via this forum.
if you know enough to play some good notes over the changes: don't forget the feel! i see too many posts on this subject implying that the note choice is so magic that "i'll get to the feel later." that's bull 
. if you can produce a great feel, from the get-go = the note choices are easier...immediately, indubitably, guaranteed!
. if you can produce a great feel, from the get-go = the note choices are easier...immediately, indubitably, guaranteed!
I need to read through the whole thread, so perhaps I am repeating what was already said.
For me, this was quite an epiphany when first mentioned. I had a habit of playing mostly I-IV-V blues/rockabilly and always treating the root as the root. A teacher told me to walk down, i.e. treat the root as the octave so to speak. I sneak that into songs (mostly during solo's) now and then and it works wonders.
For me, this was quite an epiphany when first mentioned. I had a habit of playing mostly I-IV-V blues/rockabilly and always treating the root as the root. A teacher told me to walk down, i.e. treat the root as the octave so to speak. I sneak that into songs (mostly during solo's) now and then and it works wonders.
