# Walking bass for guitar



## Luan (Jul 2, 2007)

Any ideas of how to do it?
I like when it is used with chromatics that are a half step of a chord tone, but I don't know exactly how I have to approach it. Which chord tones do I have to use?
More than songs, I would the explanation of how to construct the typical basslines, and how to use the chords.
Thanks alot


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## distressed_romeo (Jul 2, 2007)

I'm still working at this to be honest. Basically you want a chord tone on the 1 and the 3, and a passing tone, be it a scale note or a chromatic note, on the 2 and the 4. Any chord tone is fine, but generally you want to avoid emphasising roots and fifths as that can sound a little stiff if you do it too much; thirds and sevenths are better.

That's basically it. It's a simple idea in theory, but can be hard to put into practice. I've found practicing simple changes (such as 2-5s) in each position is a great way to get a handle on it before approaching more complex changes.


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## telecaster90 (Jul 2, 2007)

distressed_romeo said:


> I'm still working at this to be honest. Basically you want a chord tone on the 1 and the 3, and a passing tone, be it a scale note or a chromatic note, on the 2 and the 4. Any chord tone is fine, but generally you want to avoid emphasising roots and fifths as that can sound a little stiff if you do it too much; thirds and sevenths are better.
> 
> That's basically it. It's a simple idea in theory, but can be hard to put into practice. I've found practicing simple changes (such as 2-5s) in each position is a great way to get a handle on it before approaching more complex changes.



Pretty much what you said, you also want to make your basslines lead into the chords that come up. You can do this chromatically or with a shared note in both chords.


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## MetalMike (Jul 2, 2007)

telecaster90 said:


> Pretty much what you said, you also want to make your basslines lead into the chords that come up. You can do this chromatically or with a shared note in both chords.



^This is where you should begin. Here's a really simple exercise demonstrating that concept. You use the bass notes to give it a bit of a groove. This is about as far as I go on subject. I've been working on trying to get the simultaneous walking bassline/guitar thing down for awhile now. Hope this helps you get started.


```
E||--------------------------|------------------
B||--------0--------2--------|-----3--------2---
G||--------0--------2--------|-----4--------2---
D||--------0--------2--------|-----4--------2---
A||--------------------------|-------------------
E||--0-----------2--------3--|-----------2------
```


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## Luan (Jul 2, 2007)

Thanks a lot guys!
I just discovered that using inversions are very cool.
For example, you have 4 beats of Fmaj7, so you play with the inversions (root, 2nd and 3rd) and it sounds nice, plus you can use notes of the scale.
Thanks a lot again


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## distressed_romeo (Jul 3, 2007)

No problem man! Keep us posted with your progress, as I'm really interested in this style at the moment.

A thought...has anyone here tried Ron Carter's 'Building Jazz Basslines' book? Looks like it could be a good study aid, and obviously Ron Carter's the fucking man when it comes to this stuff.


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## Mingus1 (Jul 27, 2007)

Hello,
You should check out Paul Musso's book: "Teaching Your Guitar to Walk" on Mel Bay. Chord tones? Start with the root on every downbeat then connect them chromatically, with arpeggios, or diatonically...voila, a solid bassline.
Peace
Dave



Luan said:


> Any ideas of how to do it?
> I like when it is used with chromatics that are a half step of a chord tone, but I don't know exactly how I have to approach it. Which chord tones do I have to use?
> More than songs, I would the explanation of how to construct the typical basslines, and how to use the chords.
> Thanks alot


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## Mikey D (Jul 27, 2007)

Hey, long time since I've been on here. This sheet I found on the 'net sums up walking lines quite well, obviously it is aimed directly at bass, but you can transfer the concepts to walking and comping on the guitar.

I'm currently working on this sort of thing for my 8 string...as a bassist I need more info on the comping as the walking comes fairly naturally to me.

Any more comping ideas? Not so much rhythmic placement, but more actual shapes to play over the walking line as I have gone as far as I can with diads. Ideally some nice 3 note shapes on the D-G-B on guitar so I can transfer it to my 8.


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## Mikey D (Jul 27, 2007)

I may as well post this here as well. Feedback/comments appreciated.

Giant Steps - 8 String Guitar/Bass


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## distressed_romeo (Jul 27, 2007)

Hey Mikey, long time no see! 

Fucking awesome video! Beautiful chops and tone. It's inspired to me go practice a little now!

See, when I attempt this style, I have the reverse problem you describe; the comping's not too bad (although I really need to work at voice leading), but walking basslines still aren't very intuitive for me.

Regarding chords, have you experimented with drop 2 and 3 voicings?


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## distressed_romeo (Jul 27, 2007)

Mingus1 said:


> Hello,
> You should check out Paul Musso's book: "Teaching Your Guitar to Walk" on Mel Bay. Chord tones? Start with the root on every downbeat then connect them chromatically, with arpeggios, or diatonically...voila, a solid bassline.
> Peace
> Dave



Mel Bay's jazz books have always been excellent in my experience. 'Walking Bass For Guitar' is another good one.


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## Mikey D (Jul 27, 2007)

Cheers, re the tone , but thats just he guitar straight into tascam us-122 and out of creative speakers into mac powerbook microphone. Sounds much better thru my rig!

I'm not too happy with some of the chords being clipped/not played properly, but decided to just get something up there as there aren't many 8 string videos that aren't charlie hunter and it helps me see what i need to rectify in my playing (which is a fair bit at the moment, but we still have time!!!)! 

I have tried drop 2, more as a way of learning the concept before I arrange for big bands next year. The problem I found on guitar is that the voicings are not too easy to play while walking, but I'll no doubt keep trying it as a I like the sound when harmonizing the melody. Haven't tried drop 3 yet.

Also note: I have another video of the 8 if you haven't seen it, John Scofield's Chank


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## josh821 (Aug 4, 2007)

I picked up how to do it by watching Joe Pass' Hot Licks video "Solo Jazz Guitar". It's mostly about chord substitutions and whatnot but he has a fairly lengthy section in there about walking bass lines that makes it incredibly easy to understand. The nice thing about it is he doesn't just show the bass line but how the bass line and harmony can be mixed together to make it interesting. He's also incredibly insane so it's fun to listen to him speak/play.


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## Luan (Oct 21, 2007)

I'm still working on this.
My current teacher at music school is a genious on this subject.

Anyone has an idea of what chords to use?
For example, if I have a G7 in 4 bars, what can I play?
Drop 3 inversions of that?

It would be cool if anyone could write a comping for a blues in this manner.


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## telecaster90 (Oct 21, 2007)

Mikey D said:


> I may as well post this here as well. Feedback/comments appreciated.
> 
> Giant Steps - 8 String Guitar/Bass



Awesome awesome vid


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## distressed_romeo (Oct 23, 2007)

Luan said:


> I'm still working on this.
> My current teacher at music school is a genious on this subject.
> 
> Anyone has an idea of what chords to use?
> ...



Luan, when I get a chance I'll do some tabs of the stuff I've discovered so far. In the meantime, you could check out Jimmy Bruno's 'No-nonsense Jazz Guitar' DVD, as that's got a great section on basslines that makes it a lot easier to understand the 'thinking' behind them (plus he demonstrates it on a seven!).


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## Luan (Oct 24, 2007)

That woulde be nice!

Thanks

other question, any ideas of what chords to use for a G7 chord for example?
Inversions or what?


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## distressed_romeo (Oct 25, 2007)

Luan said:


> That woulde be nice!
> 
> Thanks
> 
> ...



Inversions are always good, plus some subsitutions (tritone substitutions, diminished chords, the occasional ii chord etc.) or extensions (ninths, elevenths, thirteenths, etc.).

Like I said, I'll do a tab once I've got a spare moment (veeeeery busy right now) as it'll be useful for me as well.


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## Luan (Oct 25, 2007)

Thanks a lot, really


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## distressed_romeo (Oct 28, 2007)

Here's an example of a simple bassline for a G7 chord harmonised with three-note chord voicings.


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## Luan (Oct 28, 2007)

What chord is the fourth one?

Thanks a lot!!!!!!


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## distressed_romeo (Oct 28, 2007)

Luan said:


> What chord is the fourth one?
> 
> Thanks a lot!!!!!!



That's a diminished voicing. Alternating between tonal voicings and diminished voicings like that sounds a bit Wes Montgomery-ish to my ears.


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