Wa|k|ng 8ass L|ne Myths Lxposed!

8y ete Coco
!azz ls an lncredlbly dlfflculL muslc Lo play ln many ways. lL ls Lechnlcally demandlng,
harmonlcally advanced, and exLremely lnLeracLlve. lor a young muslclan [usL beglnnlng Lo
dlve lnLo Lhe arL form, lL can seem a daunLlng Lask. As a young bass player, l can remember
havlng many ldeas of whaL [azz was and was noL, especlally when lL came Lo walklng bass
llne consLrucLlon. Many of my mlsconcepLlons abouL walklng bass sLemmed from a slmple
lack of harmonlc and melodlc undersLandlng, as well as whaL l call an aural" deflclency,
whlch slmply means l had noL yeL asslmllaLed enough [azz hlsLory ln Lhe form of recordlngs. l
belleve LhaL loLs of young bass players share Lhese same mlsconcepLlons and LhaL Lhey serve
only Lo sLlfle muslcal progress. 1hls arLlcle wlll address some of Lhese myLhs ln an aLLempL Lo
provlde some clarlLy and dlrecLlon ln consLrucLlng walklng bass llnes.
Myth #1: 1he more harmon|ca||y comp||cated a bass ||ne |s, the better |t |s.
1hls ls a myLh LhaL l belleve many players fall prey Lo. As a young basslsL, you see chord
charLs wlLh symbols llke A7(#9), lm11, L13, and assume LhaL you musL lncorporaLe Lhese
exLenslons (Lhe 7Lhs, 9Lhs, 11Lhs, 13Lhs) lnLo your bass llne for lL Lo sound hlp. lL becomes
even more convoluLed when Lhese exLenslons become LargeL noLes used on Lhe downbeaL
of Lhe measure. 1he problem wlLh a bass llne llke Lhls ls LhaL Lhe foundaLlon can be easlly
losL amongsL all Lhe hlpper" noLes. Slnce you are provldlng Lhe foundaLlon, lL ls lmporLanL
LhaL Lhe foundaLlon ls easlly ldenLlfled (especlally when playlng wlLh less experlenced
muslclans). 1he slmplesL way Lo do Lhls ls by lncorporaLlng Lhe sLronger chord Lones lnLo
your bass llne, l.e., Lhe rooL, Lhlrds, and flfLhs. AnoLher reason why Lhls sLralghLforward way
of playlng works so well ls because Lhe plano or gulLar player ls already playlng Lhe
exLenslons of Lhe chords. Also, Lhe sololsL wlll appreclaLe LhaL you are noL sLepplng on Lhelr
Loes wlLh your bass llne, buL lnsLead provldlng a sure and solld foundaLlon for hlm or her Lo
blow over. 1ake a look aL Lxamp|e 1 , aul Chambers' bass llne over Lhe brldge of
SLablemaLes." Cn Lhe lm7 chord, aul walks up Lhe l mlnor scale Lo Lhe fourLh. 1hen he
plays a Cb Ma[or Lrlad over Lhe Cb13 chord. ln Lhe fourLh bar, he wlll use a descendlng C
Ma[or arpegglo on Lhe C7 chord, wlLhouL even addlng Lhe sevenLh.

Myth #2: Never repeat the same note tw|ce.
1hls parLlcular myLh ls one LhaL really boLhers me, parLly because many Leachers perpeLuaLe
lL. AlLhough lL ls Lrue LhaL Loo many repeaLed noLes can sLlfle a walklng llne, maklng lL feel
sLagnanL, someLlmes repeaLed noLes form Lhe sLrongesL bass llnes and creaLe drlve and
forward moLlon. Check ouL Lxamp|e 2 , 8ay 8rown's bass llne over Lhe Lune Cool Walks," a
rhyLhm changes. Pere he repeaLs each noLe Lwlce LhroughouL a four bar phrase.

ln 8ay's bass llne on 1he uays of Wlne and 8oses," he ofLen repeaLs Lhe same noLe Lwlce ln
measures wlLh Lwo chords lasLlng Lwo beaLs each, as ln Lxamp|e 3 . 1hls ls an exLremely
effecLlve Lool for esLabllshlng a sLrong sense of harmony.

ln Lxamp|e 4 , MllL PlnLon also repeaLs Lhe same noLe Lwlce on a measure wlLh Lwo chords
lasLlng Lwo beaLs each. As l sald, Lhe reason LhaL llnes llke Lhese work so well ls because Lhe
harmony ls presenLed ln an exLremely clear manner. ln oLher words, Lhere ls no amblgulLy Lo
whaL chords are belng played.

1hls ls also Lrue when playlng aL fasL Lempos. SomeLlmes Lhe slmplesL llne can work besL.
8epeaLed noLes also work well Lo creaLe Lenslon ln Lhe harmony. ln Lxamp|e S , 8ay plays
Lhe noLe 8b flve Llmes ln a row over Lhe lv chord of Lhe l blues Au rlvave," a blg no-no! ln
Lhls example, repeaLlng Lhe 8b creaLes a Lremendous amounL of Lenslon, whlch 8ay releases
ln Lhe nexL measure. 1hls ls a very effecLlve harmonlc Lool, buL lL should be used sparlngly. ln
Lhls parLlcular recordlng, 8ay only uses lL once LhroughouL Lhe enLlre Lune.
Myth #3: Never repeat the same pattern tw|ce.
lL ls easy Lo become lazy as a bass player when you are walklng endless choruses on a 32 bar
Lune or a blues and begln Lo play Lhe same paLLerns over and over. l am noL condonlng Lhls
Lype of playlng by any means because uslng Lhe same bass llne chorus afLer chorus creaLes
borlng muslc for Lhe enLlre band. WhaL l am saylng ls LhaL repeaLlng slmllar or Lhe same
ldeas or paLLerns can be done ln an lnLeresLlng and muslcal way. Lxamp|e 6 ls anoLher 8ay
8rown bass llne from Au rlvlave." 1hls example shows bar 9 of Lhe blues progresslon. 8ay
uses Lhese same four noLes ln Lhe same place (bar 9 of Lhe 12 bar form) Lhree choruses ln a
row. As wlLh Myth #2 , repeaLlng Lhls bass llne doesn'L make Lhe Lune feel sLagnanL, buL
lnsLead solldlfles Lhe form of Lhe Lune.

ln Lxamp|e 7 , lsrael Crosby's bass llne on Angel Lyes," lsrael repeaLs Lhls paLLern or a
varlaLlon many Llmes LhroughouL Lhe Lune, uslng lL ln Lhe A secLlons.

Also see Lxamp|e 8 , 8on CarLer's bass llne from ?ardblrd SulLe." 8on repeaLs Lhls exacL
paLLern Lwlce, and also uses varlaLlons on Lhls same baslc paLLern for many oLher A secLlons.

ln all of Lhese examples, uslng Lhe same ldea more Lhan once or slmllar ldeas does noL make
Lhe llne seem lnacLlve or slugglsh, buL on Lhe conLrary, creaLes coheslon LhroughouL Lhe
form of Lhe Lune. !usL remember one Lhlng. SomeLlmes lL's Lhe varlaLlon of a slmple paLLern
LhaL really makes a greaL bass llne, and keeps lL from soundlng repeLlLlve. CreaL bass players
can Lake a slmple llne and creaLe a seemlngly endless amounL of varlaLlon from lL. Agaln, l'm
noL saylng you should repeaL Lhe same paLLern over and over ln Lhe same place - LhaL would
[usL be plaln borlng!
Myth #4: 1he more rhythm|c var|at|on, the better.
AlLhough rhyLhmlc varlaLlon can add Lenslon and forward moLlon Lo a bass llne, lL ls
lmporLanL Lo know how and when Lo use Lhls devlce. Many Llmes lnexperlenced players wlll
use a loL of LrlpleLs, broken walklng llnes, and rhyLhmlc drops as a way Lo mask poor noLe
cholce ln Lhelr bass llnes. 1hls noL only creaLes a poor walklng llne, buL lL also deLracLs from
Lhe enLlre band, and Lhe whole muslcal experlence. ln 8ed MlLchell's bass llne over 8llly
8oy," 8ed wlll walk an enLlre 32 bars uslng only quarLer noLes, excepL for one beaL where he
uses Lwo elghLh noLes. ln MllL PlnLon's bass llne on 1hree LlLLle Words," he also wlll walk a
32 bar chorus wlLh only one rhyLhmlc varlaLlon, agaln uslng [usL Lwo elghLh noLes. 1he
reason why Lhese bass llnes are so effecLlve ls because Lhe noLe cholce ls so good LhaL MllL
and 8ed don'L need Lo use a loL of rhyLhmlc varlaLlon. ln oLher words, Lhe harmony ls
presenLed ln such a clear manner LhaL Lhe bass llnes are en[oyable becoose of Lhe noLes Lhey
use, noL because of consLanL changes ln Lhe rhyLhm. A greaL example of how Lo use rhyLhmlc
varlaLlon effecLlvely ls 8on CarLer's bass llne on no CreaLer Love," from Lhe Mlles uavls
album, 1be complete coocett 1964. My loooy voleotloe & loot & Mote. Pere, 8on uses
rhyLhmlc devlces lncludlng LrlpleLs, elghLh noLes, and anLlclpaLlons, buL Lhe pulse remalns
consLanL and swlnglng. 1hls ls also a greaL example because 8on walks one chorus alone
whlle Mlles solos. lL ls a Lrue lesson on how Lo accompany a band as well as how Lo lnLeracL
wlLh a sololsL. So geL lL and llsLen Lo lL!
Myth #S: 1he most |mportant aspect of a wa|k|ng bass ||ne |s note cho|ce.
?es, Lhls ls a myLh! 1here are many aspecLs Lo walklng bass llnes, and all of Lhem are
lmporLanL. Cne of Lhe ma[or hurdles ln walklng ls developlng a solld rhyLhmlc/Llme feel. ?ou
mlghL plck all greaL noLes Lo walk Lhrough, buL lf your Llme lsn'L solld as a rock, and lf lL
doesn'L feel good Lo Lhe resL of Lhe band, lL really doesn'L maLLer. no one wlll hlre a bass
player LhaL Lhey cannoL depend on for a solld foundaLlon. ueveloplng a good rhyLhmlc feel ls
always someLhlng young or lnexperlenced bass players sLruggle wlLh. ln my oplnlon, Lhere ls
no cuL and dry way Lo make your bass playlng feel good Lo Lhe resL of Lhe band, and Lhe
audlence, buL l belleve Lhere are some ways you can pracLlce LhaL wlll help. Cne way ls Lo
play along wlLh greaL [azz records. 1ake any of Lhe classlcs, and [usL play along wlLh Lhe band
as lf you were Lhe bass player. AnoLher way-perhaps Lhe besL way-Lo pracLlce feel ls Lo
play wlLh as many varled bands as posslble. lay wlLh blg bands, sexLeLs, Lrlos, duos, eLc.
Make sure you play ln some combos LhaL don'L lnclude a drummer, because Lhls wlll force
you Lo keep Lhe pulse sLeady. As far as developlng Llme feel, Lhe besL way ls Lo pracLlce
slowly , wlLh a mettooome . lay scales and walklng bass llnes wlLh your meLronome seL as
slow as posslble, and concenLraLe on keeplng Lhe Llme solld. lf you are able Lo play a solld
walklng llne aL exLremely slow Lempos, you wlll deflnlLely have less problems playlng aL
medlum and medlum-up Lempos.
Conc|us|on
ConsLrucLlng a good walklng bass llne ls much more dlfflculL Lhan mosL non-bass players
probably reallze. 1here are so many facLors Lo conslder, and one can spend a llfeLlme
learnlng how Lo walk. 1hls arLlcle only presenLs a few elemenLs of good walklng bass llnes. ln
my oplnlon, Lhe besL way Lo learn how Lo walk ls by learnlng from Lhe masLers. Check ouL
whaL 8ay 8rown played over Lhe blues. Learn aul Chamber's or 8on CarLer's walklng llnes
on a rhyLhm changes. AsslmllaLe MllL PlnLon's bass llne on a 32 bar form. LlsLen Lo, and
Lranscrlbe, basslsLs llke 8ed MlLchell, lsrael Crosby, Cscar eLLlford, Sam !ones, Slam SLewarL,
Ceorge uuvlvler, ercy PeaLh, and Wllbur Ware, and l'm sure you wlll learn Lhe elemenLs of
a sLrong walklng bass llne, as well as debunk any myLhs you may have!