Hi everyone,

I've been thinking a lot lately about what I want to work on in my own playing, and I thought it might be nice to throw it our there to see what technique issues you are running into that you might want input on.

For my part, I still struggle with the creative aspect of playing walking bass lines. I don't just want to play patterns of notes, I want to find a way into the mindset of improvising as a bassist, especially in major keys, which I think is much harder than minor keys.

Perhaps it's a kind of a holy grail, I have to believe there is some way to marry real creativity in the bass with real creativity in the right hand.

To that end I would like to know if there are any inspiring resources any of you who are bassists can recommend (books, specifically) that illuminate walking bass from a theoretical and harmonic perspective, rather than from a technique perspective.

Thanks in advance for any input, and I look forward to hearing what your challenges are.

For walking bass lines I highly recommend Ed Friedland's Building Walking Bass Lines. He presents the theory and harmonic perspective clearly and really helps you to be a more fluid and intuitive "walker".

NFI, just really helped me!

My challenge is to break out of my pet shapes, moves, patterns. I need to shake it up, throw away all the moves I'm comfortable with and get new things under my fingers. And in a year, repeat.

Eric

Hi Eric,

Thanks for the recommendation. I'll check it out. For your challenge, I would suggest you spend some time learning familiar melodies (in both hands) this will put your head in charge rather than your hands. Chances are the moves you rely on will not show up very often in the tunes you will learn.

[/quote]Hi Eric,

Thanks for the recommendation. I'll check it out. For your challenge, I would suggest you spend some time learning familiar melodies (in both hands) this will put your head in charge rather than your hands. Chances are the moves you rely on will not show up very often in the tunes you will learn.[/quote]

Excellent advice - thanks so much Greg!

Greg:

A couple of bass books I like: Chuck Scher's "Improvisor's Bass Method" (generally considered a "classic" jazz bass book amongst bass-heads) and, more specific to your request, "Walking Bassics" by Ed Fuqua.

Check them out at http://www.shermusic.com/.

Thanks, (who was that March Hare?)

I'll check it out.

Certainly the left hand continues to perplex. Not so much technique-wise but more idea-wise. I tend to fall back into tried and proven patterns as well.

I think the band tends to help with that though as it can free up the other hand to work in a lot of two-handed bass grooves.

Copy that !! I've suffered from carpal tunnel syndrome in my l/h since before I started playing Stick, and it's always been my Achilles' heel... even getting into pattern playing is quite hard on some days, I find.
Bob C. 's YouTube lessons are the kind of thing I'd like to see rather more of, last time I looked the walking bass one wasn't there any more, though.
Greg, how about you putting some exclusively bass-oriented lesson vids up, (if/when you get time...) ? Sure there are a few of us out here who might benefit - from basic motors to... well, almost anything, really...

I've always felt the RH melody was the reward and everything else builds to it.
But then I get carried away into the "full orchestra" aspects.
Got to have both, hence The Stick.

The RH lead line demands creative concentration.
What to do with the accompanying hand?
Macro control instead of micro!
The bigger muscles, the basic reflexes.
Make the pattern go up, make it go down.
Space it apart and move it from chord to chord.
Lots of mind left over for your foreground, the melody.

Lots of LH "motors" to suit all genres, jazz too.
Walking bass is as much a rhythmic feel as it is a choice of notes.
You could walk in alternating major and minor thirds - spells out the harmony.
Easy, with just 1st and 4th fingers spaced three frets apart.
Once your hand "sees" the pattern you don't worry about the notes.
Reposition those outer fingers just two frets apart for major seconds with fourths.
Good for both major and minor bass patterns.

I like to consider each hand as two hands, conceptually, that is.
There's the "up-hand", those fingers playing the higher notes per string.
And there's the "down-hand", especially the 1st finger at the lower frets in a handgrasp.
For rhythms I mentally divide my LH between the 1st finger and all the rest.
Then I play the downbeats down-hand, with either 2nd, 3rd or 4th fingers.
A downbeat root is then played with 4th finger when the pattern extends to lower frets.
Or it's played with the 2nd finger when the pattern extends to higher frets.
The 1st finger plays all the upbeats for a macro reflex.
Sometimes I reverse it, playing the downbeats exclusively with the 1st finger.

Playing a RH mode in sync with such a LH pattern brings you surprising intervals.
Then your ears can begin to edit as it all becomes familiar.
And your LH becomes note conscious after all.

Best, Emmett.

Hi,

I like the Video, The Evolving Bassist, by Rufus Reid a lot.
Beside that transcribing Basslines from Ron Carter, Rufus Reid and all the other great Jazz-Bass-Player is always a good Idea.

All the best