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LESSON
BOOK
Trying to Learn
Walking Bass Lines?
LEARN THIS FIRST

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FREE LESSON BOOK: Trying to learn Walking Bass Lines? 02

Trying to learn Walking Bass Lines?

LEARN THIS FIRST

Whether you’re an aspiring jazzer or just looking for

some new ideas, learning how to play walking bass
lines is THE quickest way to go from beginner to
badass! But there’s a critical skill that so many bass
players miss out on.

In this lesson, I’m going to reveal exactly what that

skill is and give you four specific exercises to help
you master it.

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FREE LESSON BOOK: Trying to learn Walking Bass Lines? 03

The Two Feel

The number one thing that so many bassists skip over
when they’re learning walking bass lines is the two
feel. The two feel originates from early jazz groups
where the tuba player would play predominantly on
beats 1 and 3 of a 4/4 measure. This allowed time to
breathe between notes.

We still hear that type of feel in many examples of jazz

music today, often referred to as a two-beat or two-
feel. Rhythmically, it places an implied emphasis on
beats 2 and 4 by NOT playing those notes.

Autumn Leaves
FREE Backing Track

With this lesson, we’re also giving you a backing track

that’s based on the chord changes to Autumn Leaves.
This is one of the most popular jazz standards on
record and is made up of almost entirely ii-V-I chord
progressions, which is an essential chord progression
to learn as it occurs so frequently in jazz repertoire.

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FREE LESSON BOOK: Trying to learn Walking Bass Lines? 04

Step One
Root & Fifths
The first and simplest way to create a two feel is by using just two notes
per chord—the root and 5th. Begin by walking up (or down) from the root
to the 5th, as shown in Exercise 1.

Look out for the Amin7(♭5) (half diminished).

Exercise 1
YouTube - 04:25

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FREE LESSON BOOK: Trying to learn Walking Bass Lines? 05

Step Two
Root & Thirds
Now that you can comfortably outline the harmony with roots and fifths,
the next step is to play the root and third of each chord. This is a little
more complex as we’ve got a mix of both major and minor chords.

Exercise 2
YouTube - 06:52

“For each chord we’re playing root

notes and then the third, which
indicates to the rest of the band
whether the chord is major or minor.”

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FREE LESSON BOOK: Trying to learn Walking Bass Lines? 06

Step Three
Root - Third - Root - Fifth
Now we’re going to put a twist on our walking bass line and combine the
two previous exercises. We’re still only using two notes per chord—the
root and 3rd followed by the root and 5th.

Exercise 3
YouTube - 08:46

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FREE LESSON BOOK: Trying to learn Walking Bass Lines? 07

Step Four
Root - Fifth - Third - Root
In the final exercise, we’re going to take this same idea and develop it a
step further. Begin by walking up from the root to the 5th. After the 5th,
play the third of the next chord and then finish with the root note.

Exercise 4
YouTube - 10:11

Homework Once you’ve mastered these four exercises, you can apply the same concept across the entire fretboard.

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