Bb jazz blues guitar walking bass blues guitar, jazz guitar. As an active member of the new york city jazz scene, wallace has participated in jazz festivals, spoken and performed live on radio, and played at many prestigious jazz clubs and concert halls around the country. How to play walking bass lines jazz piano lesson left hand lines. The description below is for the pdf and audio files. Walking bass lines are a fascinating part of jazz, as they support and mark the harmony underneath the chords and melody. So far we have patterns for each chord change in the 12bar blues except for one, moving from v to iv i. Easy walking bass lines pdf, constructing walking jazz bass lines. Listen to his cd called giant strides and youll see what i mean. Build a walking bass line from scales the jazz piano left hand. In part three of our walking bass series, we are looking at the final changes for the 12 bar blues. If youre amazingly extra awesome, youll be able to sing the melody and make a bass line at the same time.
We explore how to walk that bass in your left hand up basic triad shapes and scale fragments. But the truth is that walking bass lines are fairly easy to practice and, like everything in music and life, the more you practice the more comfortable you will become when playing in this style. A walking bass is a bass accompaniment consisting of notes of equal value, usually quarter notes. Learn to play common jazz chords, progressions and lines with your guitar these effective educational books for beginner and advanced players. Print and download in pdf or midi autumn leaves solo. Therefore being in control of them and becoming fluent is crucial. Dave frank school of jazz, new york city master class archive. Dave frank school of jazz, new york city music videos. The bass lines are good and one simple addition to know is that just about any chordwalking bass line, you can always use a leading tone that is, 12 step below to whatever is the next chord. This is an important concept to remember, the walking bass line is. And walking basslines are a continuous sequence of quarter notes, generally played on the beat 4 notes per bar in 44 time. Walking bass lines are a very specific and classic jazz piano sound and generally considered an advanced concept. Pdf a contourbased jazz walking bass generator researchgate.
An easy method for creating walking bass lines on piano. Jazz guitar lessons with tabs, analysis and audio files available for download. I highly recommend our summer jazz workshops which are offered in the u. Walking bass lesson 3 jazz blues fundamental changes. Nov 21, 2016 walking bass for jazz and blues is a complete method to help beginners master each element of blues and jazz walking bass. The use of ascending and descending stepwise scale patterns form the contrapuntal rhythmic foundation on which the. Chord tones root, 3rd, 5th, 7th are the most powerful choice you can make when creating your walking lines.
Walking bass workshop constructing walking jazz bass lines. In lesson 2, we continued to build patterns for the common chord progressions we see in blues. All of me, by seymour simons and gerald marks arranjed by leon bourlon all of me jazz sheet music for piano, alto saxophone, guitar, bass download free in pdf or midi. Popularized by piano greats lennie tristano and dave mckenna, among others, the walking lh bass line can effectively subtitute for a rhythm section, if desired, and provides a rhythmic and melodic foundation for rh improvisations. The most common chord movement in the blues not to mention jazz, rock, pop and countryfollows the circle of 5ths, where chords descend in intervals of perfect 5ths, for example from d to g to c. It is designed to develop strong harmonic skills, rhythm, phrasing and note choice. Under each phrase i wrote the logic behind it and how i came up with it. Just like walking with your feet, tyjwalking bass line is one step after the other that takes you somewhere. Walking bass on the piano can be one of the coolest things ever. This paper describes the new voicing algorithm for live piano comping in traditional jazz music.
The goal of a walking bass line is to outline the chord progression but with an interesting. Walking bass for jazz and blues is a complete method to help beginners master each element of blues and jazz walking bass. The term walking is used lescribe the moving feeling that quarter notes create in the bass part. Once you have some basic rules down, youll be able to make bass lines over any chord progression. Youll learn the turnaround progression, the blues scale, and 3 exercises to practice improvisation. A bassline is a melody line played in the bass by a lowpitched instrument such as the piano, double bass, electric bass, tuba, etc. And walking bass lines are a continuous sequence of quarter notes, generally played on the beat 4 notes per bar in 44 time walking bass lines. Solo techniques for unaccompanied pizzicato jazz double. Wallace stelzer is a professional jazz bass player and content creator from houston, texas. Playing a walking jazz guitar bass line is a captivating method of comping for other musicians, and yourself. Well there is a huge number of jazz albums with great walking basslines probably my favourite for walking lines is paul chambers and of course if there is one album that everybody has or likes even if they arent a jazz fan is miles davis kind of blue. When accompanying by using walking bass lines, you can turn the piano into an entire rhythm section. In this lesson we will be creating a simple walking bass line over a basic jazz blues progression.
Apr 26, 2017 wallace stelzer is a professional jazz bass player and content creator from houston, texas. Teclado aula 62 walking bass piano aula 1 iim7 v7 i7m. Walking bass line theory basics pdf file chris fitzgerald. In this lesson well take a look at scale style and intervalic bass lines, and even mix them up a bit. T 1 2 a t 3 by chris fitzgerald a 4 t 1 a 2 t 3 a 4 walking bass line theory basics. Autumn leaves solo improvisation guide and walking bass. Except for the guitar, piano is the only instrument that has. This collection of jazz etudes is intended to aid with the development of basic jazz vocabulary and inside playing. The bass lines are good and one simple addition to know is that just about any chord walking bass line, you can always use a leading tone that is, 12 step below to whatever is the next chord. Incorporating the 3rd of the chord will also give your bass line a stronger harmonic foundation. Chords and walking bass part 1 in this lesson ill demonstrate how i approach playing walking bass lines and chords at the same time. This technique resumes in a direct way the style of a bass instrument. The walking bass technique with the piano left hand has great effect.
Each of these etudes is designed to clearly outline the chord progression so that the solo line reflects all the harmonies of the tune. The following is an example of a common bass line construction when the harmonic rhythm is moving at the rate of two chords per bar target notes are designated with t, and approach notes are designated with a. How to write a walking bass line learn jazz standards. Walking bass lines always sound cool in any style of music, but are essential to jazz blues and great american songbook jazz standards. Jazz bass line construction thelonious monk institute of jazz. The possible noterange of a walking bass can reach from subcontra a to middle c. It is common for the harmonic rhythm to vary within most chord progressions.
Playing with a walking bass line is a style of piano playing that is used most often in solo jazz performance. When the harmonic rhythm of a progression of a song is two chords per bar, the bass. Walking bass line piano tutorial walking bass jazz piano. Jazz piano lesson left hand lines for any chord progressions duration. Walking bass and chords on a bb blues jazz guitar lesson. A walking bass line is a more creative form of bass playing than the other swing styles because you choose new notes each time you play the same song. The function of the bass is to provide the foundation. The best way to introduce walking bass lines into your playing is to start with one short common chord progression. This is a a way of playing that i use really a lot in situations where theres no bass player, so mostly duo settings with a guitar player, singer or horn player. Simple walking bass line for jazz beginners talkingbass. As a jazz bass player, the best quality of a walking bass line is the primary concern. Walking bass line theory basicspart 1by chris fitzgerald. Obviously the sound of the contrabass is warmer and softer than the percussive sound of the piano and some shadings are impossible with the piano, for example glissando or bender.
When starting out with walking bass lines, i would recommend that you always target the root when changing chords. In this lesson i am going to go over a walking bass comp on a 12 bar bb jazz blues and how you play it on guitar. Are you trying to find a way in to playing jazz bass. If you are wishing to order the pdfmp3 files please go to the correct page as this product is for the pdf file only. Walking bass lines are used in blues gospel, country, rock, ska, rockabilly, rhythm and blues, latin, and many other musical genres. Walking bass learn piano online with david magyel jazz. Walking bass with the piano left hand classic jazz piano. Walking bass, improvisation, jazz harmony theory, technique. Jazz bass line construction thelonious monk institute of. Looking for a structured way to increase your current skill level. If you know how to create a walking bass line, you can be more creative in your jazz playing. Sep 26, 2010 the walking bass technique with the piano left hand has great effect. Some of the finest performers and teachers of jazz appear at these workshops. The book will show the musician how to connect familiar chord shapes with the appropriate bass notes.
The function of a bass player in the jazz combo is to work with the piano player and drummer to provide both a harmonic and rhythmic stability for the tune. When creating walking bass lines, its important to outline the root and 5th of the chord. Therefore, the bass is played by the left hand on the lower part of the keyboard of the piano. Dave found a way to incorporate walking bass lines into his solo piano style in a unique way. In this 5 minute masterclass, were going create a bass line over a blues in f. And walking bass lines are a continuous sequence of quarter notes, generally played on the beat 4 notes per bar in 44 time.
Walking bass lines are really useful in jazz piano they give you a cool, pro sound and a. Simple jazz blues walking line breakdown talkingbass. How to play walking bass lines jazz piano lesson download the exercises for this lesson here. A walking bass line is the most common approach to jazz bass playing. How to play walking bass lines at the piano cocktail piano.
All of me jazz sheet music for piano, alto saxophone. Walking bass and chords is one of the greatest ways to comp if you are the only one playing behind a soloist like a horn or a singer. A bass line is a melody line played in the bass by a lowpitched instrument such as the piano, double bass, electric bass, tuba, etc. As an active member of the new york city jazz scene, wallace has participated in jazz festivals, spoken and performed live on radio, and played at many prestigious jazz clubs and concert halls around the. I think this chord movement gives the music a feeling of flowing downhill. Walking bass lines supplement this is a supplement for the lesson on walking bass. The video is based on a recording i made and transcribed. Improvise jazz piano with walking bass line piano with jonny. Walking bass lines for jazz guitar by stephan badreau is a step by step guide to harmonizing bass lines on the guitar. Walking bass lines for jazz guitar digital sheet music. A jazz bassist must learn how to walk a line based on the chords of a tune. Jazz bass line construction thelonious monk institute of jazz online jazz handbook welcome to the bass chapter of the thelonious monk institute of jazzs online jazz handbook.
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