Building Walking Bass Lines

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Thbleof Contenti Preface. . . Goal Statement Acknowledgements. Using the Recording.

TopPriority.......... ReadingMusic Basicsof ReadingMusic Basicsof ChordConstructiotr

Part One OveNiew .

1.1

WalkingtheBlues:FromtheBottomUp.

13 t4 15

M o r eP r a c t i c e w R ith o o t s. . . . . . . . . . . Adding the Fifth . M o r eP r a c r i c e w F i rihf t h s. . . . . . . . . . . T \ v oN e w K e y sf o r t h e8 1 u e s . . . . . . . . . Approach Notes/ChromaticApproach Lineswilh Chromatic Approach. . .. . More PEciica with Chromatic Approach DoubleChromaticApproach.. . . . . . . .

16 1.7 18 19 20

DominantApproach Lineswith DominantApproach N e wK e y sl " o D r o m i n a nAl p p f o a c h. . . . . . . . Lifleswith ChromaticandDominantApproach New Keys for Chromatic arld Dominant Approach

23 ............2 ....25

ScaleApproach. More Practicewith ScaleApproach. Combini[g the Approaches. . . . . .

CombinirgtheApproaches_withAnalysis RhythmChanges-sample Line.. .. . . RhythmChanges.

27 .

28 ... ...29

. ...30 . . . . . . . . . . 3 1 32

Part Tlvo Overview Scales YouShouldKnow. ScalewiseMotion UsingScalewiseMotion

34 36

U n e s w i tS h c a l e w i s e M o t.i.o. .n. . . . MorePracticewith ScalewiseMotion TheNextStep. ScaleMotion on RhythmChanges A4reggiation. MoreArpeggiation. . A WordaboutChordprogressions: TheII_V_I ArpeggiationoDRhythmChanges. . . . Advanc€dApprcach Techniques. U s i n gI o d i r e cRte s o l u t i .o.D ......... Using ChromaticMotion. . . . . . . . . . . .. ChlomaticMotion oo RhythmChanges. A Closing Word

...........39 '..............40 4l

42 43 44

45 47 48

.............50

53

Appendix r../srrgrfle)randardChordprogressions.

StandardProgressiotr #1 StandardProgression #2 . . . . . . . . .. StaqdardProgrcssion#3 S f a n d a r d P r o g r e s#s4i o. n ..........

StandardProgression #5 S t a n d a r d P r o g r# e6 s s. .i.o. n ........ S t a n d a rPdr o g e s s i o#nj . . . . . . . . . . . .

StandardProgression #g StandardProgression #9 Standard Progression #10

54 55 56

57 58 59 ............60 ot

62 63

Preface A v/alking bassline is the most

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GoalStatement The specificgoal of this methodis to fam'iarize you

with the techniquesusedto build walkins bass

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action.It is crucialtoyouruna"rrtunonjtf,"tyou-_"uifJ

Acknowledgments SpecialthaDksto Dr. Linda Ostrander, Tom Hamilton,membersof the BassDepartmentat Berklee college of Music, sonia Friedland.*eEller Friedland, D";iia/-,;;" Rae Friedland, sheny Roth, Michael Merrill, Larry Fishman, and everyone over at Fishman Transduca,.. Thanks to all my students ravehelped

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melearnthe"', "i ,;;i;.

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About theAuthor bassplayerandteacher,Heis a _ EdFriedlandis a Boston-area graduate of fheHighSchoolof Musicand.qri in N"w yort Citv anJ a^former facultymemberof theBassDeparhnent " nJi""iif """ of Music.Hehasbeena fearured cotumni"n air" pti) u"'ilii". His performance credirsincludeLarryCoryell,Vl.f,i""f Ui8""i"t, Robben Ford,-Mike Merheny, LindaHoikiu..j"f.iry aO"r., n"U."lri

LocKwood. Barreoce Whilfield& the Savages, Marthaand the Vandellas,The Drifters,Brook Benton,the Boston & Tokvo produclionsof lirde Sllop of Horrors, rtreOperaCornpuny oi eo-s-iJni Ed_has a M.Ed.from Cambridge Coitege.CamUriOge. ff.ia.fO uri, GHSstringsandFishmanTransiducers.

to autheg."",hJpi*i"o;i

Usin the Reco

A recordingis includedto giv€ you the hands-on learningexpedencethat is crucial to this style o bassplaying.Manyof thegeat walkingbassists neverleamedtl* " Uoot,,o"y;urt *"nt or,t"od l...rl on thebaldstandBecause theseopportunities arenowfew andhardto fi,'d, thetapewill provide youwit a supportive andcomfortable accompamment to yourleamingprocess.

*::Otig usesa split stereomix wirh piano and drumson the right channel,andbassan ,-..* In:. orumson theleft channel.This configuration will allowyou ,o ,urr,,t " basstrackoff andplay with th aswellasgivingyou

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ctearaccess to thebasso""t fo. f""roing,f,enesbyear,and b

The examplesin the book with an icon ($) next to them have a numberthat co[esponds to th€ numberon the recording.Eachexamplei" n..t.iai"a ltne noiil;;;;;, ther counted offwith a click The click is a two-barcountoff, two half notes, andthreequarte,,*ii""".g o*, f"ur blank. Ex. 1...2.. |,2,3,...(play).

Thereare many opportunitiesi[ the book qeate to your own lines.,lhere are examples with chord symbolsandslashesTum off the basstrack, andplay youriwn tn". iii, i, *n", you win be askedto do in the real worrd, you might as well sta now! you can do this with all of the examplesin the book. These exampleshaverecordedbassliles th!

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The last section of the book is fie Appendix, It includes ten commonly playedjazz stat\dad progressions, Thereare no written basslines,but thereare.""ora"a on"r. i pfuyedtheselines as I would pt:l them

withourthinkinsabout"r,.n,,"ti" "ppro""i"r, ,;;l;;,,"r, l:]iitty effort etc.However,I madea conscious to avoidtoomuchrhvthmicembelrishmeit at trrfup.hfri"rgn,n*e is some,Theselines will giveyou an ideaof whatcomesout when all ttr" io"u, pr"r"n'i"Jio ,i], ooot t uu" been assimilate Theywill arsochallengeyour earmuchmore thananything"tr" t" *"'0"*. so whenyou feel ready definitelyleamtheselinesby ear,andtranscribe themif youin.

-tlt eljoy playingwith theothermusicians asmuchasI do.BradHarfieldon pianoand ,,^_.1,:1Oj l,* Jrmuwrn on drumsaretwo of Boslon'sgreatest musicians. I havethepreasure of workingwith thesetwo fine,upstaldingcitizensregularly, andnowsocanvoul

To Pri Top priodty for a bassolaver in_any sryle of music is keepingtiqe. Without this esseltial skil

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canplay,how good you look, how nrcoyour equrpmetrt is, etc.,becauseth style of musichas to havea groove

ffiil:::'1'"Tl'iTilllH the bass prayer "no o-.."ir,oouilni:j:ll-Jdry;:J;"i;H;

here. reeping ,n",,*"i"'",o*""0".1e#iffi,i'r"#ig'lTJiJJ'll;)IlT,r" "id cooperation.

Fornow,let,sfo"u. :l*"8.:h yourtimeis ametrono.".rry"" i.rt r,_" oninAilriau"i-rir"rrrn'in"' thingyouneedto develo one^rready, bu!onel__"arr!lrl, *.0 "::jiTffil:;tn:;:;J:'*n*ve morefun to playwith, ""n lull you;::lll:

soodtimewithout oneYoumavsubstitute themetrono "1to* click for practicingtim"' a d.um -;il",;;;;

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yourtimeandyourwalkingfeefpractice witili" ."i."""." "rr"*ingonbeats aJazzdrumfeer'beats 2 & 4.In 2 & 4 a'eolavea withtheiootp*a .i,i" tr i"i"*bal. usirg themetronome waywill giveyouthemostimporiant this partof ,r,";"r, fi"i" *oJ;;;;- .'. Hereis a simplewayto find 2 & 4 with the metrolome: 1) Thrn on metronometo a medium tempo. 2) S-lapyour kneewith your hand in time with the click 3) Whenyour handis in the air about to "o_" aoronuguin,,tarf counting. I is in the air, 2 is on your knee,3 is in the air, 4 is on your U""". f""nif,rr,onl* a while to get usedto it. By usingthe metronomethis \,!

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rnls clockrunson a rechargeabre batreryLike all rech-t*ot" i"i"rt"r, *nen you usethemfor thefirst trme'you mustleavethemin thecharger for u rongti-"- dn""lour tri"*it""u o "o "nd runqing,it will requre regularmainrenaDce to keeDit fully "rru,g"a.No o"Jt ;;;;;", ..goodenough.,, batteryis charged, when the andrherhythmsectionhoot, up]rf,"." i" no no". ii"U* lrr ,n" *orrd.

ReadineMusic Readingmusic is an importantskill for any musicianto develop.How far into readingyou go dependson what your musical goals are. If you are interestedin becominga professionalmusician,I highly rccommetrdthat you make rcading a priority. Even if you don't seeyourself .'eeding to read music to carry out your musicalgoals,being able to rcad will enhanceyour understandingof music, and make you a better musician.Readingmusic gives you a visual representationof the notes you are playing. Playingthe notesgivesyou an arral understanding, aswell asphysicalor kinestheticknowledgeof where the notesare on the bass.when you combineall three,you havea very completeunderstanding of what you areplaying. As a bass player, you will spend a large part of the time reading chord changesiNtead of actual notes,This book will help you interpret changes.By learning to walk over chord changes,you are discovedngwhat notgsyou have availableto you on a given chord.In order to get the most out of this book, you will haveto readthe examples.You will be able to hearthe examplesplayedon the play-along tapethat accompanies this book, so using your ear to learnthe wdtten examplesis fine. If you combine usingyour earsand your eyes,you will havea betterunderctanding of the material,althoughit is possible to learnthe exampleseitherway. on the next few pagesis a basicreferenceguideto readingmusic.It is intendedas a supplement to help you find the noteson the neck.It is not necessarily the definitivemethodfor sight reading,just a tool to help you get the informationyou needfrom this book. Due to the natureof walking basslines,the ody rhythmicvalueyou will seein this book is a quarternote.In 4/4 time thereare four quarternotesin a bar, itr3/4, therc are three. For further rhythmic hainitrg, I highly rccommend the book, Modern Readins Tett in 414,by l-p.ui,eBellson and Gil Breines(Belwin Mills publishing).

Basicsof R

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Basicsof Chord Construction firct stepin the walkingprocessis to be ableto readthe chordchaflges..lhe ..The chordsymboltells you all the specific information about the chord structure. It is up to you to decode the information and createa bassline thatwill saysomethingaboutthe chord. chords are madefrom scaletonesstackedon top of eachother.Triads(three-lote chords)contain the root,3rd and5th. Four-partchordscontainthe root,3rd, 5th and 7th. C major scale

Hereis a listingof themostcommonry usedchordstructurcs andwhattheycontain.To makethings easier, all theexample chordswin be builtoff therootc. Referto thenumbered scaleaboveif youneedto. Noteswith a [t] signarerowered a half stepfromtheoriginar""aretone,notes*ith a [r] signareraiseda halfstep, Triads (1)

(2) Cm

(3) Cdim

(4)

,3 R

,3 R

3 R

c+

Chord List _ TFiads (1) C majorrriad_ (R, 3, 5) (2) C minortriad, (R,!3,5) (3) C diminishedtdad _ (R, 13,L5) (4) C augmented triad _ (R, 3, ,5)

.

The nextfive chordsare four-notestructurescalled"seventhchords." They add a seventhfiom the root to an existirg triad. The seventhwill eitherbe major(7), minor (r7) or dimid;hed (rt7). Four-Part Chords - SeventhChords (1) (2) CrnajT

(3)

(.4) cm7t5

(s) Cdim?

7 l R

3 R

5 ,3 R

,3 R

ts

b3 R

Chord List'- Tbiads (1) C majo*seventh - (& 3, 5, 7) (2) C domtuantsevenrh_(R,3,5, ,7) (3) C minor seventh- (R, ,3, 5, ,7) (4) C mitrorseventh L5-(R,13,15,17) (5) C diminished - (R, "3,15.,b7) seveutb

Frcm the chord symbolwe y:l *ht"l rotes we can use to bring out the quality of that cho obviousry,the rcot is the mostimDortantnote; it is the bottomof the chori. The 5th of a chord combit with theroot to form a framewotkfor quality' Thatis why theyareimportant notesto know:thr will work otranychora,"g*at"., ot ffird

Triadswith a natunl 3 aremaior,andoneswith t3 a aremhor. A seventhchordwill be determin by what combinationof triad and seventhyoo ,,r". fo, ""*ft",l .q", o,* *r* a natural7 will be maJorseventhchord A majortriadwith a-17win be a domiuant.""""ti"i*u. ' oo "hords with I ,5 0r + symboldo not ptay the natural 5, play the 5 that the chord sy.U"ir"r"

I

PAFIT ONE Overview In Partone of this method,you'll be introducadto threenotesthat wilr be lifelorg companions: the Root, Fifth, and Octave.Thesethree notes are includedin virtually every chord type. The root is the futrdamental,the ground floor that all chords are built off of. The fifth is the fifth note up the major scare from the root. The fifth is the dominantnote. In simple terms, this meansthat the lifth has an over powedng needto go back to the root.

Findingthe Fifth c7 (iirih)

The octaveis the root except- it is eightnotesup the majorscalefrom the root.

FindingtheOctave c7

The R,5, and 8 are the frameworkthat a chord is built on. The R,5, and g do not give you any specificinformationaboutthe chordquality. That meansthey dont tell you if a chordis major or minor, major seventhor minor seventh,etc. Thereforethat thesethree notes are your best choiceswhen first starting to walk through chord changesbecausethey will work on every chord type. Thereare,of course,somespecialcaseswherea chord will havea flatted titlh, suchas a 7t5, or a diminishedchord,and somecaseswherea chordwill havea sharyedfifth, such as an augmentedchord. However,the chord symbolwill let you know that thesefifths will haveto be altercdup or down.In any case'you will not seethesetypesof chordsin part one of this method,you will not haveto thinl about them for now.

11

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simpre warkins rines. once '"".'".1ii:,3:,;"iiiJJ,Jilffij:::: jl" l lt ","9.' ha vou 3 create

"r,,o-u,i""pp,ou"r;!iflil:i|;.i:ff1r.5:',:;i"T,: 1pp-i:.h:,u,", you will haveexpedenc€d thesetechqiqueswith blues

progressions in thJi