Stupid bass question . . .
Matt...@aol.com
BJ Feddish
>> I think I have a good idea, and quite probably have already learned a few off of recordings and just don't know it. I imagine it to be a blues type line where the bass follows a line of notes successively up or down a given scale - sort of like a boogie riff. <<
Someone could go on for hours as to what a walking bass line is but in a nutshell what you hear in allot of jazz and blues is walking bass lines. They are more than just notes of the scale, you derive them from chord tones, scale tones and leading tones. When to use what when is a major part of learning to play the bass.
The same theory for walking bass likes can be applied to all forms of music so it’s a great place for a new bass player to start. I would recommend Ed’s book “Building Walking Bass Lines” at http://www.edfriedland.com/books.htm .
Bryan
kip
matt asked:
>what exactly is a walking bass line?
its a style of bass playing based on arppegiating a chord. you take the principle notes (triad) of a chord and play them in steps as a means of establishing the rhythm of the song while supporting the key through its chord changes.
most bluegrass and traditional country concentrate on I and V (eg, G and D in a song in the key of G), so that a measure looks like this:
| I V | I V | I V | I V |
each note gets 2 beats (one and two and one and two and...). that's like playing:
| G and D and |G and D and | G and D and | G and D and |
in a bluesy walking line, the four measures might have this figure:
| I - III - IV - V | I - III - IV - V | I - III - IV - V | I - III - IV - V |
each note gets 1 beat. that's like playing:
| G - B - C - D | G - B - C - D | G - B - C - D | G - B - C - D |
another 4 beats per measure walking figure might be:
| I - III - IV - #IV | V - IV - III - II | I - III - IV - #IV | V - IV - III - II |
again, each note gets one beat. that's like playing:
| G - B - C - C# | D - C - B - A | G -B - C - C# | D - C - B - A|
some bassists (tom gray, for example, on 'sweet Georgia brown' or any boogie woogie jazz song like 'Beat me Daddy, 8 to the Bar'--clever title!) will have an 8 beats per measure figure where 2 notes are played for each pulse, or beat, like this:
| I - III - V - III - I - III - V - III | I - III - V - III - I - III - V - III | (repeat)
which is like playing:
| G - B - D - B - G - B - D - B | G - B - D - B - G - B - D - B| (repeat)
make sense? some good examples of walking bass include anything by Ray Price, Dwight Yoakam (esp. 'This Time', 'King of Fools'), early Stanley Brothers w/ George Shuffler, Merle Haggard ('Big City' is the classic walking bass song'), and of course Tom Gray with the early Gents.
> It there any TAB diagrams online that explain exactly what a walking bass line is?
here's a bass tab of Patsy cline's version of 'Walkin After Midnight': http://www.bassmasta.net/c/cline,_patsy/108918.html
some Elvis songs are at:
http://www.bassmasta.net/p/presley,_elvis/
id suggest contacting tom gray and see if he can be a resource. personally, i love a good walking bass line but i prefer it in other styles of music (eg, country shuffles, swing, rockabilly, blues, jazz, etc) more than bluegrass. YMMV.
hope this helps...now ill go back and proofread what i wrote! close enough.
kip
Dave Dillman
each note gets 2 beats (one and two and one and two and...). that's like
playing:
| G and D and |G and D and | G and D and | G and D and |
Just a little nit pick... most of us learned to count 8ths 1 and 2 and
3 and 4 and so that might confuse some (speaking for myself many of us
are easily confused)
Maybe something like G 2 D 4?
Dave Dillman
kip
i was basing all my stuff on 4/4 time which seems to be most of bluegrass
(except for the waltzes and 6/8 stuff). i also assumed everyone would count
4 beats to the bar.
kip
Bob Schacht
matt asked:
>what exactly is a walking bass line?
its a style of bass playing based on arppegiating a chord. you take the principle notes (triad) of a chord and play them in steps as a means of establishing the rhythm of the song while supporting the key through its chord changes.
skipping down,
. . . some bassists (tom gray, for example, on 'sweet Georgia brown' or any boogie woogie jazz song like 'Beat me Daddy, 8 to the Bar'--clever title!) will have an 8 beats per measure figure where 2 notes are played for each pulse, or beat, like this:
| I - III - V - III - I - III - V - III | I - III - V - III - I - III - V - III | (repeat) . . .
I have always associated "boogie woogie" with the VI, i.e.,
| I - III - V - VI - VIII - VI - V - III |
or
| G - B - D - E - G - E - D - B | in the key of G.
This is how I've always played it. The VI is what makes it Boogie Woogie.
Am I off-base, so to speak?
> It there any TAB diagrams online that explain exactly what a walking bass line is?
here's a bass tab of Patsy cline's version of 'Walkin After Midnight': http://www.bassmasta.net/c/cline,_patsy/108918.html
some Elvis songs are at:
http://www.bassmasta.net/p/presley,_elvis/
Bob
kip
| I - III - V - VI - VIII - VI - V - III |
or
| G - B - D - E - G - E - D - B | in the key of G.
From: bgBa...@googlegroups.com [mailto:bgBa...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Bob Schacht
Sent: Thursday, January 19, 2006 12:37 PM
matt asked:
>what exactly is a walking bass line?
its a style of bass playing based on arppegiating a chord. you take the principle notes (triad) of a chord and play them in steps as a means of establishing the rhythm of the song while supporting the key through its chord changes.
In addition, it may involve other notes of the scale in the present key. It often consists of playing on the 2nd and 4th beats as well as 1st and 3rd, usually in a linear sequence.
skipping down,
. . . some bassists (tom gray, for example, on 'sweet Georgia brown' or any boogie woogie jazz song like 'Beat me Daddy, 8 to the Bar'--clever title!) will have an 8 beats per measure figure where 2 notes are played for each pulse, or beat, like this:
| I - III - V - III - I - III - V - III | I - III - V - III - I - III - V - III | (repeat) . .
Dave Dillman
notes would be 1 2 3 4 and a measure of all eighths would be 1 and 2
and 3 and 4 and.
So to use your example it would be G(1) 2 D(3) 4. More clear?
Bob Schacht
bob said:VI, i.e.,
I have always associated "boogie woogie" with the
| I - III - V - VI - VIII - VI - V - III |
or
| G - B - D - E - G - E - D - B | in the key of G.
sure, why not. but then you have an example like 'Rock This Town' which
has the 8 note figure |I III IV V# - V V# IV III|. and
there is the case of 'Boogie Woogie Boy of Company B' which i dont
believe (but im often wrong about andrews sisters material) has a VI in
the bass line. or you could substitute the VIII chord with a flatVII.
| I - III - V - VI - VII? - VI - V - III | and then back to the root.
Or, in the key of G,
| G - B - D - E - G - E - D - B |
| G - B - D - E - G - E - D - B |
i was trying to keep my examples simple. maybe i should have used the
term 'basic rock' 'country shuffle', or 'swing',
but then again, we like lively discussions around here. right?
Thanks for your work as list manager!
Bob
kip
something we count differently. i always hear 4 beats in a measure of 4/4. i
can play 8th notes, triplets, or whatever, but i just dont hear anything but
4 beats.
you know the old doors song 'Love Me Two Times'? when the drummer is playing
those 1/4 note triplet crashes at the end of the chorus? if you listen
closely, the bass pedal is still in 4/4. when i play triplets in a solo or
some other place where it is the right thing to do, i STILL tap my foot in
4/4. in fact (honestly, im not bragging, but simply describing how i
experience meter in my playing), i can tap one hand in 3/4 and the other
hand in 4/4. and talk over it. its just how i learned american music.
maybe thats why i dont have a gig right now?!
kip
-----Original Message-----
From: bgBa...@googlegroups.com [mailto:bgBa...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf
Of Dave Dillman
Sent: Thursday, January 19, 2006 1:22 PM
To: bgBa...@googlegroups.com