Question for Jazz bassists

[Mamberg Jr]

I need help improving a walking bass line based on chords... I tried with autumn leaves and I was ASS!!! Any tips to walk like Glenn Cornick and Paul Chambers???

[itchyfingers]

Stay in time. Don't get fancy. Also, don't get stuck playing through each change. Step back and look at the first line as four segments of Cminor. Look at the second line as a ii-V-I over the shifted tonal center of Gminor. Stays on that same theme for the next line, then back to the first line (back to Cminor). Then you're back to Gminor, nail the half step walk-down on the second to last line, and the last line is identical to the second.

[Mamberg Jr]

Stay in time. Don't get fancy. Also, don't get stuck playing through each change. Step back and look at the first line as four segments of Cminor. Look at the second line as a ii-V-I over the shifted tonal center of Gminor. Stays on that same theme for the next line, then back to the first line (back to Cminor). Then you're back to Gminor, nail the half step walk-down on the second to last line, and the last line is identical to the second.

Where are you getting Gminor from??? What key are you talking about???

[itchyfingers]

The tune is in Gminor. You can transpose it to any key, and the 5th, 6th, and 7th bar of the tune is the ii-V-I turnaround of that key.

[greatmutah]

Itchy dropping some theory and progression dissection of the turnaround. I dig.

[Mamberg Jr]

I thought it was a major key... the Chet Baker version is in Gmajor...

[Ostinato Rubato]

I thought it was a major key... the Chet Baker version is in Gmajor...

See the forrest for the trees in regards to what Itchy is saying. Forget about the key. As you move from chord to chord in the progression there will be common tones, where you can lay back and hold the pitch. Pitches love it when you hold them, and give them the vibrato.

[Mamberg Jr]

I thought it was a major key... the Chet Baker version is in Gmajor...

See the forrest for the trees in regards to what Itchy is saying. Forget about the key. As you move from chord to chord in the progression there will be common tones, where you can lay back and hold the pitch. Pitches love it when you hold them, and give them the vibrato.

Alright... so think of chords individually???

['63-Strat]

1. Listen to itchy.

2. The Chet Baker version is most certainly *not* in a major key.

[Mamberg Jr]

Now I’m confsed as hell... 2-5-1 would suggest that the 1 (g# major) is the key???

[itchyfingers]

Ok let's back up, but before we do that, get that dang G major out of your head! The key of the tune is G minor, just trust me on this. So we're literally on the same page, here's a basic chart:

The first thing I would recommend is play through the changes as they are written, just the root notes, whole notes in time with the changes. That should get boring relatively quickly, but really focus on your attack and release of each note. Make the practice worth it.

Then, play the arpeggiated chord in time with the beat in quarter notes, leaving the fourth beat for you to seek out the next chord position: root, third, fifth, move, root, third, fifth, move, etc. If you get cocky, go ahead and add the seventh where you were moving.

Step outside and try to walk a bassline that lands on each root note as the tune goes thru the changes. Swing 8th notes into each root. As long as you are playing in time, it really shouldn't "matter" what you play on beats 2-3-4, as long as you nail that root note on the 1!

At this point, it can feel like you're "chasing" the tune, can barely keep up with the changes. Which leads me into my original post: stay in time, don't get fancy, and don't get stuck playing through each change.

Refer to the chart in this post. Step back and look at the first line as four bars of the tonal center Cminor. You've got C - your root note, F - the fourth, Bb - the minor 7th, and Eb - the minor third. Don't worry about making the change to the F or Bb or Eb initially, just play Cminor over those four bars.

Look at the second line as a ii-V-I over the shifted tonal center of Gminor. It's important to at least be aware of this ii-V-I, as it opens up more notes and ideas for you to be able to use. The whole tune bounces back and forth between these two tonal centers, so by stepping back from playing through each chord change, and viewing it on more of a 30,000 ft level, you could say the whole tune only has two chords... :wink:

I'm not sure I'd play it this way in a performance, but this is how I break down tunes and really get to know them. And look, I'm certainly no pro, just trying to get across that its a good idea to review and dissect a tune before you attack it. Above all listen to what the rest of the band is playing, and sync up your timing and note choice.

Good luck, dude.

[soulsurfer]

miles davis can be a true lesson for anyone....
play on dude

[jgreenwd]

The tune is commonly played in Eminor (Bill Evans Trio), which is the relative minor to Gmajor. If he's just looking at the key signature and has limited theory background, that may be where it's coming from.

[banana hammock]

The first thing I would recommend is play through the changes as they are written, just the root notes, whole notes in time with the changes.

IF you haven't done this already do it!
I've burned myself a few times by trying to learn a walking line before really knowing the chords. Sure I'd know it's in A and theres an F# somewhere but thats it. Then I'd get to a change and get all confused and rethink what scale is being used and BLAH.

Now I ride out the root notes until I know what chords are there. Once that is done, walking between is much easier, because going from chord 1 to chord 2, there are probably only a few routes to take and mostly depends on major or minor.