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. The recording uses a split stereo mix with piano and drums on the right channel, and bass and drums on the left channel. Pianist, composer, and longtime keyboard contributor andy laverne has played and recorded with such. The modern electric bass guitar patterns presented here are designed to teach the student guitarist and bassist the basics of playing effective walking bass line accompaniment for instrumentalists and vocalists. In part 1 we created waling bass lines over major and minor 251s using the tones of the triad in combination with chromatic or stepwise approach patterns. In part 2 of this lesson we continue our study of walking bass lines. Fundamental concepts for walking bass a systematic method. Cool walkin bass faber level 3a piano adventures lesson book duration. No need to wait for a book, you will receive a pdf file, so you may start playing your. A lot of people ask me about this and say that its too difficult, how should they practice. Practising the piano is an interactive, multimedia ebook series which shows you exactly what you need to do to get the most out of your practice time. When creating walking bass lines, its important to outline the root and 5th of the chord.
This means when you are playing and creating on the fly you really need to have your stuff together. The book starts at a beginning level and moves progressively to an advanced level. They may be interesting for improvisation, and for playing electronic keyboardarranger or accordion, or using a guitar for additional accompaniment and a bass guitar for the bass line. You can learn piano up to times faster compared to other methods. Pastorius, this book will teach you the roots of the essential walking bass style.
Therefore being in control of them and becoming fluent is crucial. But as a piano player, the notes are usually all what you have to do. Diana mascari presents walking anchor bass as part of his free music theory. It is designed to develop strong harmonic skills, rhythm, phrasing and note choice. This configuration will allow you to turn the bass track off and play with the piano and drums, as well as giving you clear access to the bass track for learning the lines by ear, and by transcription. In this example, the bass line consists of simple arpeggiations of each chord, giving the overall effect of a simple blues bass line. When starting out with walking bass lines, i would recommend that you always target the root when changing chords. 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. Real world jazz tunes here, a lot of explanation of theory and harmony, and plenty of exercises.
And walking basslines are a continuous sequence of quarter notes, generally played on the beat 4 notes per bar in 44 time walking basslines. Dave frank school of jazz, new york city music videos. Keyboardists at all levels will benefit from this books focus on. This is a group of articles i wrote to give you an understanding of what practicing is and how you should go about it. Constructing walking jazz bass lines walking bass lines 3 book set for a limited time. A walking bass line is simply a melodic bass line found mainly in jazz and blues styles in which you walk around in quarter notes connecting the chords we can create a walking bass line over the following twelvebar blues chord progression instead of having a few different things to try in this lesson, we are going to learn a written bass line. Walking bass mascari piano studios piano lessons, music. A great tip for practicing walking bass lines is to open your real book or fake book and practice reading tunes just the chord changes, not the melody. Why you should practice walking bass lines even if you dont play bass. How to play walking bass lines at the piano cocktail. A stepbystep method for developing extraordinary technique on the bass guitar strengthen your overall facility on the instrument with this series of exercises and lessons, presented in an effective themeandvariation format. A walking bass line generally consists of notes of equal duration and intensity typically 14 notes that create a. 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.
I have explored a lot of jazz piano books this past year and a half and some of these piano online courses. This cool walking bass pattern is fun to play, and also a good warmup. Alfred 1a piano books, keyboards and related equipment, computers with our website posted, video projection equipment. To complete one or two pages in the alfred basic piano library level 1a varies based on student level. I think he maybeck recital hall recording has him jamming on walking piano bass for most of his songs. You can practice each one in four ways, ascending in complexity. A bassline is a melody line played in the bass by a lowpitched instrument such as the piano, double bass, electric bass, tuba, etc. In this lesson well take a look at scale style and intervalic bass lines, and even mix them up a bit. In my opinion this books greatest shortcoming is that it doesnt incorporate the rh very much. Fundamental concepts for walking bass a systematic method will show you stepbystep how to make up your own walking bass lines for jazz, country, rockabilly etc. Music notes for ebook and online audio sheet music by johnny rector. With your left hand practice walking bass lines through the chord changes and with your right hand practice comping. Playing keyboard bass lines lefthand technique for. Now i am starting to work on exploring jazz piano ii.
Incorporating the 3rd of the chord will also give your bass line a stronger harmonic foundation. Bass dvds bass improvisation bass lines books bass play alongs bass solos and transcriptions bass technique. When youve seen my lesson about treble clef notes, you know how to find all the notes on the staff with a treble clef, especially if you remember the trick how to memorize them the facenotes. Music tech teacher, music technology lesson 018 bass clef. Listen to his cd called giant strides and youll see what i mean. Walking bass on the piano can be one of the coolest things ever.
The only book available today that teaches how to practice at the piano, not just what techniques you need scales, runs, handfinger independence, endurance, jumps, tone, relaxation, etc. Walking bass lines are an essential part of blues and jazz piano especially if youre playing solo or. Teachers using this text may assign either entire or partial pages as homework depending on the students ability. Simple walking bass line for jazz beginners talkingbass. They are great to keep organized there is plenty of room to write all the songstheory assignments, and i love how there is a tracker at the top of each page for the students to track their practice time each day. There are surprisingly few books that deal with the art of practising. Master walking bass for jazz and blues with this complete bass guitar method. Saxophone sheet music, easy piano sheet music, violin music, jazz guitar. Mel bay walking jazz lines for bass jay hungerford on. Learn the most efficient practice methods, musical playing, relaxation, and mental play playing the piano or the music in your mind which has been neglected by most teachers.
There are a couple of exceptions as youll see but for the most part were looking at one line for ascending and one line for descending. Walking bass lines are a very specific and classic jazz piano sound and generally considered an advanced concept. Playing keyboard bass lines lefthand technique for keyboards. Keep reading to find out how to find all bass clef notes.
Bass tablature for cool walking bass pattern by misc. To easily find all bass clef notes, we also have a little trick. Jazz piano tutorial walking basslines part i duration. I practice patterns on the left by themselves, until i feel comfortable adding the melody.
Find all the books, read about the author, and more. Funky jazz walking bass piano practice composerchap. R 3 5 6 7 walking bass line theory basics chris fitzgerald. I know its not really art and it only represents a gross simplification of the actual practice, but it can give you a starting idea. This technique resumes in a direct way the style of a bass instrument. We want to practice the walking bass with the help of typical harmony sequences often found in songs. I know the basics of playing took 2 years of private lessons before playing classical music so nothing on chords, so am not looking for a classical technique book. After some months of practice with this book ive edited my comments.
But i want to get competent at playing the keys, in order to practice knowing and hearing changes. During this phase, you go from learning to mastery. The winner for me, and for a lot of others, is exploring jazz piano i by tim richards. Dave found a way to incorporate walking bass lines into his solo piano style in a unique way. Walking bass line theory basicspart 1by chris fitzgerald. Walking bass by johnny rector digital sheet music for e. In the beginning we can ignore the third of the chord and just use the root and the fifth for a walking bass. Music educational books and sheet music downloads for blues, jazz, funk, latin, gospel, rock, celtic styles for instruments including piano, keyboards, sax, flute, guitar, violin, bass, clarinet, mandolin online music lessons, digital sheet music downloads. First, play through the examples above and then practice example 4 until you. Jazz bass line construction thelonious monk institute of. For example, when you do steps 1, 2, or 3 above, you are creating the most basic kinds of ostinato.
This is the first book ever written on how to practice at the piano. The best way to introduce walking bass lines into your playing is to start with one short common chord progression. I teach piano and these are the same books my teacher used when i took piano lessons 20 years ago. How to practice studybass fundamentals one studybass. Walking bass for jazz and blues is a complete method to help beginners master each element of blues and jazz walking bass. Chord tones root, 3rd, 5th, 7th are the most powerful choice you can make when creating your walking lines. Cool walkin bass piano adventures3alesson book youtube. The walking bass technique with the piano left hand has great effect. He is the author of the bestselling hal heonard book and video series, joy of improv and breakthrough to improv, was an associate professor of piano at berklee college of music in boston from 19872004, and was a cofounder of the new york school of jazz 198386. How to create bass lines 5 ostinato or riff bass an ostinato is a repeated rhythmicmelodic. In this article were going to focus on a few specific things that you can practice to help you play walking bass lines at the piano. I feel the melody is easier to be the secondary goal in practicing, once you have the rhythm down its easier to follow along with the right hand. Walking bass for jazz and blues fundamental changes. Can anyone recommend a good book to teachdrill chord technique.
Walking bass for jazz and blues fundamental changes music. In this post, i want to give you a free download aimed at helping you develop your practice routine for bass, your practice schedule and to provide some helpful tips on how to maximize your time when it comes to learning new skills, songs and techniques on bass. It is in stereo, with the bass and drums on the left and piano and drums on the right. Something that can make or break your progress is knowing how to practice. The book deals with playing in 2, creating walking bass lines, 34 time, using a broken feel.
Mel bay publications digital sheet music at sheet music plus. Walking bass line piano tutorial walking bass jazz piano. This book is designed to develop sight reading skills in bass students. Jazz walking bass books constructing walking jazz bass lines. Dave frank is one of the busiest solo jazz pianists and music educators on the scene today. Jazz pianists are always on the lookout for good bass players. How to practice walking bass lines for all jazz instrumentalists. One of the best examples of a pianist who uses his left hand to function like a. 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. Walking bass by johnny rector book and online audio. Bass dvds bass improvisation bass lines books bass play alongs bass solos and transcriptions bass technique search within.
Walking bass with the piano left hand classic jazz piano. Since its walking bass piece each note is a quarter note. Walking bass lines part 2 learn jazz piano online with. Walking bass lines for guitar jazz guitar workshop series. For ascending lines im using the scale degrees 1 2 3 5. Bass guitar lessons online the original online bass course since 2006. The series is the culmination of years of experience by graham fitch, one of the uks leading independent piano teachers. Unlike a solo, a walking bass line doesnt pause between phrases. Improve your practice routine for bass with this book. Once you have some basic rules down, youll be able. Just messing around with some walking bass on the piano. A slightly embellished version of this kind of line would also be typical of a basic boogie woogie type bass line, as in the following example. For this walking bass line im going to use only two scale patterns as the foundation for the whole thing. In the piano version we see that this fournotesequence is used many times.