Once you have some basic rules down, youll be able to make bass lines over any chord progression. Download and print top quality easy piano sheet music arrangement for intermediate players by edward grieg. Music educational books and sheet music downloads for blues, jazz, funk, latin, gospel, rock, celtic styles for instruments including piano, keyboards, sax, flute. This is the first lesson of the piano shorties series.
Dave frank school of jazz, new york city music videos. In this seventh lesson of a blues piano crash course, learn how to play the simple but challenging walking bass. 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. Even alan broadbent and dave mckenna two of the greats use a few devices and dont try to over complicate things. Sheet music is a handwritten or printed form of musical notation that uses musical symbols to. This is a solo i wrote for the jazz standard autumn leaves using a variety of thecniques that i have learned over my years of playing jazz. Walking bass lines are an essential part of blues and jazz piano especially if youre playing solo or without any. Walking bass with the piano left hand classic jazz piano. 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. T 1 2 a t 3 by chris fitzgerald a 4 t 1 a 2 t 3 a 4 walking bass line theory basics. Print and download in pdf or midi walking bass in g. Playing jazz guitar bass lines with chords the guitar is an extremely versatile instrument, with seemingly endless techniques and tones around every corner. Walking bass line piano tutorial walking bass jazz piano. Instrumental solo, and instrumental part in g major.
Therefore being in control of them and becoming fluent is crucial. So what walking bass line the complete bass player. When learning how to play jazz guitar, many of us are drawn to the coolsounding style of playing walking basslines on guitar while comping rhythm. Build a walking bass line from scales the jazz piano left hand. In this video, i discuss two of the more common walking bass techniques which can be applied to the piano. You will learn some easy scales and how to play a walking bass line for whatever song you are playing. Chord tones root, 3rd, 5th, 7th are the most powerful choice you can make when creating your walking lines. Dave frank is one of the busiest solo jazz pianists and music educators on the scene today. And walking basslines are a continuous sequence of quarter notes, generally played on the beat 4 notes per bar in 44 time walking basslines. A good bass player would have a solid understanding of what is happening with the drums and the chordal instruments. 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. How to create bass lines 5 ostinato or riff bass an ostinato is a repeated rhythmicmelodic. The term walking is used lescribe the moving feeling that quarter notes create in the bass part. Matt redman 10,000 reasons bless the lord bass clef.
The following is an example of a common bass line construction when the harmonic rhythm is moving at the rate of two chords per bar target notes are designated with t, and approach notes are designated with a. A walking bass line is the most common approach to jazz bass playing. Dave found a way to incorporate walking bass lines into his solo piano style in a unique way. Walking bass lines are used in blues gospel, country, rock, ska, rockabilly, rhythm and blues, latin, and many other musical genres.
I got into this by creating and memorizing a bass line tangerine is a good tune for this and then trying to improvise over that same bass line for many choruses. In this lesson well take a look at scale style and intervalic bass lines, and even mix them up a bit. In this 5 minute masterclass, were going create a bass line over a blues in f. Bass lessons beginners guide to walking bass lines bass tab standard string tuning g,d,a,e recommended 1. What follows is a list of progressions that will require the bass to move in interesting ways. This technique resumes in a direct way the style of a bass instrument. I really liked all of the lines that you guys wrote and hope you enjoy playing through this line as well. Walking bass on the piano can be one of the coolest things ever. You dont need create bass lines that are on ron carters level. When creating walking bass lines, its important to outline the root and 5th of the chord. Print and download 10,000 reasons bless the lord bass clef instrument sheet music by matt redman arranged for bass clef instrument or cello or double bass or trombone or bassoon or baritone horn. We learn a really cool walking bass line that you can use under a 251. A walking bass is a bass accompaniment consisting of notes of equal value, usually quarter notes.
How to play basic walking bass lines bass wonderhowto. Blue moon with walking bass and improvisation sheet. If you are looking to begin playing the bass then this how to video is the place to start. The possible noterange of a walking bass can reach from subcontra a to middle c. Autori richard rodgers e lorenz hart arrangiamento per piano di marco farina blue moon with walking bass and improvisation sheet music for piano download free in pdf or midi. In a bluessong the use of the notes of the major triad with the added minor third makes a very good walking bass. For example, when you do steps 1, 2, or 3 above, you are creating the most basic kinds of ostinato. Bass guitar notes lesson for beginners a quick guide. Jazz bass line construction thelonious monk institute of.
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 around. When you want to learn how to play your favorite selections from the american popular songbook music by george gershwin, cole porter, jerome kern, etc. The word treble means high pitches so instruments that play high notes, such as a flute, read the treble clef, and bass means low so low instruments, such as, obviously, the bass, read the bass clef. When starting out with walking bass lines, i would recommend that you always target the root when changing chords. A good way to learn the musical alphabet is to play along one of the bass strings. How to write a walking bass line learn jazz standards. Tricks and shortcuts to find all versions of a bass guitar note.
Chords and walking bass part 1 in this lesson ill demonstrate how i approach playing walking bass lines and chords at the same time. The best way to introduce walking bass lines into your playing is to start with one short common chord progression. Though this is a sound many of us dig, we can often be at a loss as to how to build effective and nicesounding walking basslines on the guitar. However, the root note in a chord does not have to be the lowest pitched note. Speaking generally, the bass is used to add depth to the harmonic content and to connect the rhythm of the drums to the rest of the band. A guitar in standard tuning will never reach the lower bass notes of a real bass, but. The left hand on the piano chords arpeggios and bass. And this major scale box pattern helped me to find where to put my fingers on the.
The goal of a walking bassline is to outline the chord progression but with an interesting. Under each phrase i wrote the logic behind it and how i came up with it. Once you purchase a sheet music, you will be able to download the pdf file right away from the website. Beginners guide to walking bass lines bass tabs bass. How to play walking bass lines at the piano cocktail. But by using slightly more interesting chords, combined with chord inversions, you can create bass lines that sound much more like little musical journeys. I have included your bass lines in here so see if you can find your line as you play through these. Nothing too difficult, just make sure you are stamping your foot two times per second and that you are counting from 1 to 4 in time with your foot beat. In the piano version we see that this fournotesequence is used many times.
Free scores for piano, violin, banjo, mandolin, accordion, classical guitar, bass, saxophone. Autumn leaves solo improvisation guide and walking bass. Walking bass lines are really useful in jazz piano they give you a cool, pro sound and a. Initially, piano players learn to play each chord with the root note as the bass note, the lowest pitched note in the chord. Incorporating the 3rd of the chord will also give your bass line a stronger harmonic foundation. And walking bass lines are a continuous sequence of quarter notes, generally played on the beat 4 notes per bar in 44 time walking bass lines. Walking bass lines are a style of playing in which the bass player plays quarter notes which clearly outline the chords and chord tones, seamlessly outlining one chord and resolving to the next.
Our basic method for bass line construction is pretty straightforward. The root note is determined by the relative pitch of. Bass clef notes on the fretboard lefthanded pdf 536kb to print the notes of any scale or chord for any string instrument, remember you can use the fretboard diagram printer in the tools section. With this tutorial you will learn tips to improve your walking bass technique. Therefore, the bass is played by the left hand on the lower part of the keyboard of the piano. 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. Walking bass lines are a fascinating part of jazz, as they support and mark the harmony underneath the chords and melody. Say the names of the bass guitar notes and you move along one fret at a time. 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. Its important to understand the basss role because its easy to get carried away. The goal of a walking bass line is to outline the chord progression but with an interesting.
A read is counted each time someone views a publication summary such as the title, abstract, and list of authors, clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the fulltext. When piano players copy this idea of walking bass lines, they generally do so by using their left hand to play the same role as that of the bass player. Walking bass line theory basicspart 1by chris fitzgerald. Members of a jazz rhythm section a piano player, jazz guitarist and bassist use the chord chart to guide their improvised accompaniment parts. Okay so now we know the open strings and how to move along the musical alphabet. One very important and widely used jazz guitar technique is playing bass lines in combination with chords. Listen to his cd called giant strides and youll see what i mean. Just like walking with your feet, tyjwalking bass line is one step after the other that takes you somewhere. Print and download the beatles revolution bass tab.
Print and download in pdf or midi autumn leaves solo. In part 2 of this lesson we continue our study of walking bass lines. This is a a way of playing that i use really a lot in situations where theres no bass player, so mostly duo settings with a guitar player, singer or horn player. Walking bass lines part 2 learn jazz piano online with. Walking bass in g sheet music download free in pdf or. Walking bass noterange usually the bass lies in the lower sound range of the music.