comping-walking baselines-notes other that root in the bass

rafapak · #1 03-07-2010, 11:33 AM

hi guys

It is said that one of the methods to create walking bass lines on the solo guitar is to approach root of the chord either from half step above or below the root. What if you play voicings that utilize notes other that root in the bass- third , fifth or sevenths ? Are there any rules for creating walking bass lines that apply to voicings with third, fifth or sevenths in the bass?

any comments will be highly appreciated

JimBobWay · #2 03-07-2010, 07:22 PM

One of the best resources I've seen on this subject was a DVD by Bucky Pizzarelli that a friend loaned me. The only downside was that he plays a 7-string, so it required a bit of re-thinking, but the concepts were clear and his playing swung effortlessly! There are good articles elsewhere in this site too (e.g. Walking Bass Guitar | How to Make 1 Guitar Sound Like 2). But by far the best way to get a feel for what works & what doesn't is to play with a good jazz bassist for awhile. If that's not possible, listen to duos like Jim Hall & Ron Carter, Joe Pass & NHOP.

derek · #3 03-08-2010, 10:21 AM

You can approach walking bass by chromatic approach as you mention, using chord tones, either individually, or as an arpeggio, or scale wise. Jody Fisher has a more uncommon approach where you learn 3 note shell voicings and their inversions on the 5th and 6th strings. He is always fingering one of these 3 note voicings when playing basslines so he can throw a chord stab in at will. More comprehensive, but that is Jody.

I play bass some, and have used Ed Friedlands book on teaching jazz bass, and have found it to be of real help to my guitar playing. Good luck.

peterk1 · #4 03-08-2010, 12:33 PM

In Just Jazz Guitar magazine, there has been a series of articles the last two months (two teachers are attacking the same subject at the same time...so 4 articles) on simultaneous basslines/comping which have been very well thought out and presented.

Might be worth taking a look at.

BigDaddyLoveHandles · #5 03-08-2010, 12:49 PM

I think the short answer, though, is that the idea of approaching the root from above or below can be applied to any note in the bass line.

abracadabra · #6 03-08-2010, 04:48 PM

I had this same question a while ago and never really got to the bottom of it. However, I play walking-bass over chords all the time and use scale or chromatic approaches to any chord tone in the bass, not just the root. It sounds really good, to my ears anyway, and the progression is clearly outlined, so I guess you can do whatever you like.

I haven't really studied bass players or their lines though, so I'm not going to pretend to know 'the rules'. Maybe I should sit down with some bass transcriptions.

BigDaddyLoveHandles · #7 03-08-2010, 04:58 PM

Time for a joke?

Q: How many country music bass players does it take to change a light bulb?
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A: 1 ... 5 ... 1 ... 5 ...

timscarey · #8 03-08-2010, 05:00 PM

as a bassist without alot of time to reply....

chromatic approaches of 1,2,or 3 consecutive halfsteps is very common (al a "hey joe")

as far as putting the 3rd or 5th in the bass... it works, especially if you put the root on count 3 or if its the second barr of the same chord.

7ths dont really work on the strong beats (1 and 3) but are great for beats 2 and 4.

in short. you must make the harmony clear on the strong beats, perferably on the first beat of the chord's duration. after that... 1 and 3 are heard as the harmony, 2 and 4 are up to you, and everything basically works.

abracadabra · #9 03-08-2010, 05:13 PM

Thanks timscarey. Been thinking 'this sounds good', which I suppose is all that matters, but always nice to have someone put some proper philosophy into it. I'd put my development in this to one side for a while, but I'll put more thought into what I'm doing next time I pick up the guitar. cheers