Understanding Walking Bass Lines

2003©J.Brent

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A major part of the Bass player's job is to (generally) "tell the truth". That is to say to "let
the other musicians know what the chord is by playing the root on the 1 beat". (At least in
a straight progression [eg. one that doesn't involve a downward line]).

The other part of the Bass player's job is to let the rest of the band know what the next
chord is going to be.

A Bass player doesn't think: | 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - |

A Bass player thinks: 2 - 3 - 4 - | 1

In other words beat 1 of bar 2 is the target note and the 2 - 3 - 4 before it are the notes
leading the band into bar 2 beat 1.

To oversimplify the Bass player's job:

· Hit the root on the first beat.

· Use a leading tone on the 4th beat (it can be either an upper leading tone or a lower
leading tone. Example: you can approach a "target D" from either the C# [lower leading
tone] or from an Eb [upper leading tone]).

· Beats 2 & 3 can pretty much be whatever you like, but most Bass players will prefer to
use tones that are in the current chord.
 Understanding Walking Bass Lines pg 2

Typical Bass Patterns Over Chords That Last 4 Beats

The I > IV walk up (A > D)

[the quality of the chords doesn't matter]

Bar 1 Beat 1: A
Bar 1 Beat 2: B
Bar 1 Beat 3: C
Bar 1 Beat 4: C#
Bar 2 Beat 1: D (target note)

The I > V walk up (A > E)

[the quality of the chords doesn't matter]

Bar 1 Beat 1: A
Bar 1 Beat 2: C#
Bar 1 Beat 3: D
Bar 1 Beat 4: D#
Bar 2 Beat 1: E (target note)

Notice that in both the above examples the "target note" is preceded by 3 ascending
chromatics.

The I > IV walk down (A > D)

[the quality of the chords doesn't matter]

Bar 1 Beat 1: A
Bar 1 Beat 2: G
Bar 1 Beat 3: F#
Bar 1 Beat 4: E
Bar 2 Beat 1: D (target note)

The I > V walk down (A > E)

[the quality of the chords doesn't matter]

Bar 1 Beat 1: A
Bar 1 Beat 2: G
Bar 1 Beat 3: F#
Bar 1 Beat 4: F
Bar 2 Beat 1: E (target note)
 Understanding Walking Bass Lines pg 3

Typical Bass Patterns Over Chords That Last 2 Beats

The I > IV diatonic lower leading tone principle (A > D)

[the quality of the chords doesn't matter]

Bar 1 Beat 1: A
Bar 1 Beat 2: C#
Bar 1 Beat 3: D (target note)

The I > IV tritone upper leading tone principle (A > D)

[the quality of the chords doesn't matter]

Bar 1 Beat 1: A
Bar 1 Beat 2: Eb
Bar 1 Beat 3: D (target note)

The "upper leading tone" example above is the "jazzier" of the two. Try this bass line
over a typical turnaround in G:

Bar 1 Beat 1: G (G Maj)

Bar 1 Beat 2: B
Bar 1 Beat 3: Bb (Bbdim7 - subsitute for Em)
Bar 1 Beat 4: E

Bar 2 Beat 1: Eb (Am)

Bar 2 Beat 2: A
Bar 2 Beat 3: Ab (Ab7 - substitute for D7)
Bar 2 Beat 4: D

Bar 3 Beat 1: G (G Maj)

Play the RH chords on the off-beat.

*******

I have stayed with quarter note examples above and have not addressed the "hiccup" (two
eighth notes on the 4th beat) or the "stumble" (triplet on the 4th beat), however the same
principles apply. That is to say, in general, the target note will be preceded by a
chromatic line - whether ascending or descending.