Walking bass lines

Exploring Walking Basslines for "All of Me"

So, we're going to stick with "All of Me" for a little while longer and look at another type of bassline you could play as an accompaniment, which is the walking bassline.

Introduction to Walking Basslines

• This is a little bit more challenging than a two feel.
• I strongly recommend that you master the two feel first.

Creating a Walking Bassline

Perhaps the easiest way to make a walking bassline is to use a triad: root, third, and fifth.

• In C, that could be just that.
• Don't forget, you could also go in the opposite direction: starting high and going low when the chords go around the cycle, in other words, up in fourths.

Navigating the Fourths

If you use the ascending version of the triad over, for instance, II, V, I in C (D minor, G7):

• By the time you get to C, because it's going up in fourths, you're going to be too high.
• You really want to avoid playing bass lines in this octave below middle C, as that's too high for the bass.

Solution: Play at least one of them in a descending direction.

• Start in the same way and go down to G, then to the right register for the I chord, the C chord.

Scale-Based Basslines

Another important way of generating a bassline, apart from triads, is to use the scale of the chord.

• This is particularly useful if you're going to play two bars on one chord.
• You could go up the scale to the third and change direction, going back down to the fifth.
• Alternatively, you could use a five-finger position.

Both of those figures take up exactly two bars.

• You need to adapt them for major or minor chords or follow the scale of the chord (Mixolydian or Dorian if necessary).

Implementing Run Ups

Now, if you are playing around a 2, 5, 1, or any set of chords that go up in fourths, you can do what I call a run up.

• From D to G, and then you can do the same thing to take you from G to C.

Both these run ups involve:

• The first two notes being a tone apart
• Then going up in semitones.

This will work for any type of chord (major or minor) where you are putting in an extra note.

• For the D minor, you're putting an F sharp in to take you to the G.
• For the G chord, you're putting an A sharp in to get to the C when you want to get there, not too early.

Keeping the Roots in Place

These run ups put the roots of the chords on the first beat of the bar where you need them.

• Again, if you play two run ups in a row, it's going to take you possibly higher than you want to go.
• Instead of doing the run up on the G, consider going down the scale, in other words, a run down.

Applying the Run Down

Now we've omitted the F sharp on the way down because it's a G7 chord, and you don't need to add any extra notes.

• It's just a straight scale down the G7 scale (Mixolydian).

Memorizing Formats

Memorize these formats for chords whose roots go up in fourths:

• The run up is a tone first, then up in semitones.
• The run down simply follows the scale of the chord.

Octave Jumps

Another way of keeping the bass line low is to include an octave jump.

Here's another solution to the chord sequence: D minor, G7, C major.

• There's your octave jump in the G chord, taking you to the same C as we had in the previous example.

Chromatic Linking Notes

The last thing I'm going to show you is the use of chromatic linking notes, which is an important part of the professional bass player's arsenal.

• The AB there in the D minor bar is not in either chord.
• It's a linking note to take us to the G.

Practice Tips

You'll be playing all these things in the bass line in the next track for "All of Me."

• In the first chorus or 32 bars, I've stuck to the triad patterns that I demonstrated earlier.
• Then, on the repeat (the second 32 bars), I've mainly used the scale type bass lines that we've just been discussing.

It's really important to practice these because even with a simple triad pattern, the fingering can really trip you up.

Developing an Organic Approach

Practice these different methods over the same chords and try to develop an organic approach to it.

• For instance, when you repeat the A section, you'll notice I play a few variations.
• If you go down instead of up, you can create a different bass line for the same chords.

So, have fun!