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I don't know who pioneered the starts around 0.46. He's using the bottom E string most of the time and (mostly) one chord per beat. The bass moves around a lot, but notice the chord shape remains more or less constant. He seems to be using a Maj 6 shape with occasional very small finger shifts to change chord, probably between a dominant 9 and diminished, or even dominant #9. There is remarkable economy here. There appears to be a lot of half step above and below the root note and chord, and it's not clear (to me at least) that roots are always used. The Maj 6 shape can substitute for minor 9 so you'd be using an inversion. It can also be used as a dominant 13. So you could use the one shape for a II V I progression. However, you'd have to use plenty of half steps, which could lead to its over-use. Playing as quietly as Martin does may overcome some of that over-use, especially of the passing chord is more bass than chord. It's also probably where the dim and dom 9 come into play. I am fascinated by the economy this style brings and wondered if anyone could shed further light?
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09-21-2017 03:55 AM
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Man, I really need to spend some serious time zoning in on Andreas Oberg! Martin is great too but I have somehow heard more of him than Andreas. Wonderful clip, thanks for posting.
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I think Whit Smith's "Chordination" video is a really great introduction to this style.
I do think that in terms of walking bass, if you want to craft good, authentic sounding lines, it's important to listen to and study the masters: Ron Carter, Sam Jones, Ray Brown, etc. A lot of guitarists sound pretty bad playing walking bass because it's very easy to overuse chromatic movement.
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Originally Posted by pcsanwald
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Sorry, don't know what happened with the other vids. Here's Howard Paul. starts around 4.21 mins
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Sorry, this post got messed up big time. I wrote a something on the Howard Alden video which completely disappeared. He is doing a similar thing. He leads with his second finger so we see that Maj 6 shape, but then drops the harmony and just plays bass. He can do that because he's on a seven string. Howard is old school and played banjo. The earlier players would take a chordal type solo and it would be one chord per beat. A challenge even for today's better players.
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I remember Jim Hall talking about this...he said with a good strong bassline, you can get away with a lot on the chord stabs...
A very fun way to play--when there's no bassist!
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Jeff, yes a good walking bass line goes a long way. But there's so much more going on here. I'm being too lazy to figure it all out but the chords are moving with the bass i.e. the chords changes with every beat. Ordinarily, that is almost impossible to do due to awkward leaps etc. So it's good use of substitutes, chromatics, and finding the path of least resistance to keep it all fluid. Ultimately, the goal is to provide good accompaniment and getting too fancy, or compromising too much might get you some funny looks. Martin Taylor will have a vast knowledge of harmony from his solo playing, and he seems to be putting that to good use here. It's also about his sensitivity i.e. volume and effortless delivery. It's a rare skill.
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Basic stuff I do:
1. Slide the target chord around a fret below or above, sometimes two frets.
2. Approach a chord with a 7th, say this shape 7X67XX as an E7, also used for a dim7 chord
3. Move between inversions of the same chord with the above-mentioned shape. E.g.:
3X44XX
4X34XX
5X45XX
6X56XX
7X57XX
That is G Maj7, followed by Abdim7, D7, Bbdim7, finally G Major. Works from a G7 chord too.
4. ii/V in F could be:
3X33XX
5X55XX
6X67XX
7X78XX
8X89XX
which is Gm Am Bb7 B7 C7
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Originally Posted by christianm77
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I'll do one now!
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Originally Posted by christianm77
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Graham and Rob, those are great examples but using mostly three note chords. The principles could be applied to block chords I guess, but the economy is already embedded so why would you bother. Christian, much closer. Good effort. Martin's approach is economical and the advantage is presumably he can apply it at any tempo. I think he is likely using some of the things you use, but is avoiding certain shapes that force the fingers into major reshuffles, which can be tiring.
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Martin is pretty mega but he doesn't play with a plectrum.
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Originally Posted by christianm77
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Originally Posted by grahambop
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Are we talking about something more then leading into a chord chromatically with a chord of the same quality that a half step above or below and that is played on the upbeat prior to the chord change?
And of 4—F#M7
downbeat of 1 —GM7
and of 2–Eb7
Downbeat of three —E7
and of 4 Ab-7
Downbeat of one —A-7
and of 2 —Db7
Downbeat of three —D7
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Never thought about it. Guess I use my thumb, though. (Maybe b/c the sound is less trebly?)
Seems like more trouble to jump around with the pick from bass to chords. Maybe I'm wrong...
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Originally Posted by NSJ
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Originally Posted by fasstrack
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Originally Posted by christianm77
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One day I'll get around to figuring out what he's doing. For the moment, the big takeaway for me is the economy, or effortlessness and fluidity of this style. Economy of playing means minimal effort while achieving the same effect as more complex, dense or literal playing. It frees you up to concentrate on feel and driving the rhythm for the soloist. I don't think what Martin is doing is especially complicated, but as someone pointed out it is hard to hear what is going on in this video. There are, though, a couple of useful secrets hidden in there somewhere to add to the toolbox.
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No i didn't actually, as was pointed out above. My bad.
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Originally Posted by vsaumarez
Barry Harris / Oliver Nelson - Dom7/Diminished,...
Today, 03:11 PM in Improvisation