the world of jazz, it’s often flamboyant

soloists who garner the most attention.

But it’s the rhythm section—the bass

and drums—who make things

really

swing. On gigs where there are no bass and drums, the

guitarist is expected to be the virtual rhythm section. One

cool way to make the groove happen is to strum four-

chords-to-the-bar, à la Freddie Green. But to get things

seriously cooking, you’ll need to lay down bass lines

yourself, and add rhythmic punctuation with well-placed

chordal and melodic counterpoint. ■ How can one

player do the physical and creative work of two? With

practice and persistence, it

is possible to simulate a mini-

ensemble. In this lesson, we’ll work through the basic

secrets

of

the

walking

bass

to jazzy comping

In

by adam levy

a beginner’s guide

basic steps of building a hardy bass-
and-chords groove. First, we’ll iso-
late the essential skills, and then
we’ll merge these elements to create
a solid, swinging accompaniment.

Baby Steps

Let’s start with a simple, two-

measure chord progression—G7-
C7—and the most elementary bass
line that will get us from the root
of the first chord (G) to the root of
the second (C) using scalewise mo-
tion. Jazz bass lines are typically
rendered in steady quarter-notes,
so if we walk an upward line from
one root to the other (beat one, bar
1 to beat one, bar 2), we’ll have to
account for five notes: G, x, x, x, C.
Stepping up through the appropri-
ate scale for G7—G Mixolydian—
we only have four notes (G, A, B,
C). This means we’ll either have to
repeat a note (Examples 1a and
1b) or add a chromatic passing
tone (Examples 1c and 1d). Any of
these solutions is fair play.

Walking downward from G is

simpler, because there are just
enough scale tones to fit—G, F, E,
D, C. But you can still add chro-
maticism if you like, as shown in
Examples 2a and 2b.

Adding Harmony
and Rhythm

The next step is to add harmo-

ny. Here, the job is to outline a pro-
gression’s essential harmonic con-
tent. Of course, on any given beat,
one fretting-hand finger will be
tied up with a bass note, so your
chord palette will be limited to
two- and three-note voicings. Giv-
en such restrictions, the best bet
is to play a chord’s 3 and 7, which
are its definitive tones. On G7, for
example, laying down F and B (the
b7 and 3) above the G bass gives
our ears enough information to
infer G7 (Ex. 3). For other chord
types, use the appropriate 3 and 7
(see table, Definitive Chord Tones).

Now, we could simply let the

chord’s 3 and 7 ring out as whole-
notes, but half the fun lies in
adding syncopated chordal punch-
es to create a swinging feel. The
simplest way to do that is to in-
clude one eighth-note punch per
measure. To practice this, repeat
a one-measure phrase using G7,
and place a chord punch on the
first eighth-note of the measure
(Ex. 4a). Note: Treat all eighth-note
rhythms in this lesson as “swing”
eighth-notes.

Next, shift the punch to the

second eighth-note of the measure
(Ex. 4b), then the third eighth-note
of the measure (Ex. 4c), and so on,
until the punch is on the eighth
eighth-note (the and of beat four).
Make sure to work on this punch-
over-bass concept at a variety of
tempos, from 72 bpm to 200 bpm.
You can make this exercise even
more interesting by repeating a
two-measure phrase, which gives
you eight more possibilities for the
eighth-note punch.

Once the basic one-punch-

per-bar groove starts feeling good,
it’s time to tackle more complex
rhythms. Examples 5a and 5b put
two common jazz-comping
rhythms to work.

Use Your Illusion

Once you’ve made nice with

the previous examples, it’s time to
move on to the final step—putting
it all together. The bluesy, eight-
measure etude (Ex. 6) combines
all the points we’ve discussed, and
offers a few extra goodies. Pay
close attention to the left-hand fin-
gerings, as some of the chords—
particularly C9 in bars 5 and 6—are
nearly impossible to sustain for
their full value without using the
suggested fingerings.

Notice how the rhythmic

chordal phrasing in bars 3 and 4
mimics the phrase in bars 1 and
2. Such symmetry makes comp-
ing musical, and not just a series
of random eighth-note punches.

=============

=

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Ex. 1a

Ex. 1b

Ex. 1c

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Ex. 2a

Ex. 2b

Use this concept as you develop
your own bass-and-chord moves.

Work the etude up to speed

gradually, keeping time with a
metronome or beat box. If you can’t
make your bass line and chords
swing at a slow, sultry pace, you
won’t be able to make them swing
at medium or fast tempos. You may
find it helpful to practice the bass
line (downstemmed notes) and the
chord punches (upstemmed notes)
separately before attempting to
play them all together.

To really get into the swing of

things, try setting your time keeper
at half the actual tempo, using its
clicks as beats two and four. As
awkward as this may feel at first,
it’s a tried-and-true method for

improving swing feel by de-em-
phasizing beats one and three,
which are more favorably accent-
ed in rock than in jazz. Make sure
that your two parts (bass and
chords) are balanced musically. To
get the clearest perspective, record
yourself and listen to the results.
Remember, you’re trying to create
an aural illusion, so the bass line
should have the timbre of an up-
right, and the chord punches
should sound like guitar. Whichev-
er instrument you try to emulate,
keep your chords timbrally distinct
from the bass.

Homework

Okay, so you’ve got the basic

moves under your fingers. Now

what? For walking practice, work
on 12-bar blues progressions at
various tempos in several different
keys—including keys that could
easily make use of open-string
bass notes (such as E, A, D, G, and
C), as well as those that are less
likely to include open strings (such
as Bb, Eb, and Ab). When you’re
comfortable walking and comping
through blues progressions, take
a stab at a few simple jazz stan-
dards, such as “Take the A Train”
or “All of Me.” With a little effort,
you’ll soon be able to walk and
chew gum at the same time.
g

======

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Ex. 3

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Ex. 4c

here’s more to walking bass than learning a few hip bass
lines. As you’re trying to create an aural illusion, the trick is to
get a timbre that suggests acoustic bass. And to really make
the magic work, you’ve got to pay attention to details. Rule

number one: Do not use a pick—the resulting sound is often point-
ed and plucky. For optimum bass-like attack, use the flesh on your
picking-hand thumb. (That’s

not how bassists do it, but it’s the best

way to approximate their timbre on the guitar.) Your attack should
be quick and sure, but not heavy handed. The last thing you want
is the un-bass-like sound of your strings slapping the frets. (After
all, upright basses don’t

have frets.) It’s also a good idea to exper-

iment with where you locate your picking hand, as different points
along the string create subtle timbral changes. In general, you
want to have your hand a little closer to the nut than usual, with
your thumb hovering near the end of your fretboard.

If you’re an electric player, you’ll want to dial in a clean, clear

tone, with little or no reverb. A guitar with a wooden bridge will
give you the most authentic attack and decay, and for a bona fide
bass vibe, use a set of flatwound strings.

—AL

t

bass tone

chord type

3

7

example

maj7

3

7

Cmaj7 = E (3), B (7)

dom7

3

b7

C7 = E (3), Bb (b7)

m7 (or m7b5)

b3

b7

Cm7 = Eb (b3), Bb (b7)

dim7

b3

bb7

Cdim7 = Eb (b3), A (bb7)

definitive chord tones

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C9

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F7

E7

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3

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5

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6

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8

8

8

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8

8

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9 9

10

10

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9

9

9

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12

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(

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C9

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Ex. 5b

oe Pass is likely the best known and most extensively recorded
guitarist to feature walking bass lines in his music. His solo
discs on Pablo (including the

Virtuoso series and Montreux

’75) contain numerous examples of high-caliber walking, and

his duets with vocalist Ella Fitzgerald offer further inspiration.
Lenny Breau was another fine walker. Found on

Five O’clock Bells

[Genes], “Little Blues” illustrates his prowess. Tuck Andress—the
fretboard titan in the guitar-and-vocal duo Tuck and Patti—is yet
another master.

Tears of Joy [Windham Hill Jazz] evinces the out-

er limits of walking guitar lines, and

Reckless Precision, his solo

outing on Windham Hill Jazz, is packed with sauntering bass and
rich counterpoint. Of course, nearly any record by 7-string pio-
neer George Van Eps will motivate wannabe walkers. The new kid
on the block is 8-stringer Charlie Hunter, whose approach has
roots in R&B and straight-ahead jazz. You can hear Hunter in full
swing on his mid-’90s Blue Note discs

Bing! Bing! Bing! and

Ready. . . Set. . . Shango!

If you want to go to the low-end source, check out the undis-

puted kings of jazz bass—Ray Brown and Paul Chambers. Brown
made many great records in the ’50s and ’60s as a member of
the Oscar Peterson Trio, and some of Chambers’ finest walking
can be heard on the 1956 recordings

Cookin’ with the Miles

Davis Quintet and Relaxin’ with the Miles Davis Quintet.

—AL

j

the sound of walking