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It sounds like you guys are doing combo work, but with a full band...?

What kind of jams are you doing? Basic blues progressions, or are you comping over set chords?

Just listen to a few recordings of some professionals, and get a strong grasp on not just chords, but entire scales, and how they modulate. If you need help with the scales and all of the alterations on the bass I can totally help you with that.

That is if you are working with a key signature that has no flats or sharps... Thats C major, or A minor. Other than that be aware of the chords that you use. Pedaling over the tonic (root) wont get you much better sound than a Jr. High bassist.

Walking in swing isnt an easy task for someone who is new to the idea. I have a bit of trouble trying to get a student to begin walking for the first time, it might be a bet harder in text... So Ill try my best to give some solid advice thats easy to follow.

First off I think you should go check out an easy tune, or a progression that doesn't involve to much thinking. (in comparison from a tune like... Impressions from Miles Davis, or Cherokee... Yeah, good luck!)

I would recommend Freddie Freeloader by Miles Davis as a good starting point. All the chords are dominant seventh, and there are only 4 different keys to learn. Its also a very straight forward tune that gives the listener a lot of fresh ideas and new toys to play with. Lets see what I can do with this.

This is with me assuming that you know scales, scale degrees, seventh chords (1,3,5,7), how to read a peice of music, and an understanding of who the hell Miles Davis is at the bare minimum. First off, I will write out the changes. Not the tune... Just the changes. If you want to learn the tune, transcribe it by ear. It will be best for you.



I think that if you have some manuscript paper available (can be printed from a website you can find on google) you should write out these changes on paper like any other peice of music. This would make it easier to see, and it will allow you to write notes out for yourself.

First off, recognize that a good walking line has a few basics. Always hit the tonic (root) note on the downbeat. That means when you have a Bb7 chord, you better hit a Bb on the downbeat of the first measure it was assigned. If the chord goes out for more than 1 measure (such as the first four measures) you do not have to land back on the tonic until the next change. Normally I would land on it halfway just for feel, but you are free to do what you want with that mid section. The importance of putting the tonic on the downbeat is to give the rest of the performers an outline of where they are in the song, and what sounds good. If you dont land on that tonic at the downbeat your gonna have a confused group of players if they are not confident in what they are doing. (any good old pro would just plow right over that mistake)

Now as for the rest of a measure, do mostly what you want. You can either half a** the whole concept and just play random notes, or you can be smart with what you are doing. Ill try to give as much as I can for this part...

Now lets start with the first four measures. All in Bb7. Thats B flat dominant 7.
(Bb - C - D - Eb - F - G - Ab - Bb)
( 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - b7 - 8 )

Almost any note in the Bb7 scale is usable for the rest of the measure, and the rest of the next 3 measures. I would personally suggest that when you start a new measure inside these four, avoid using the 2nd 4th and 7th on the downbeat. These are all dissonant notes in the scale. If you ever use these notes, make sure it is a last ditch effort to play something, or on any other beat in the measure. Pay attention to the chords voices. Note that the flat seven defines the sound of the chord. If you just play the 1, 3, 5, 8 in that chord, it leaves the listener or performer to the idea that the change could either be major or dominant, and for someone to play that major 7th over that dominant 7th chord would make someone puke. The 3rd is also important to define the chord. If it were flat it would make a minor chord. But in this case it is not, so that minor third over the major third would also make someone puke.

IF YOU ARE LOST ANYWHERE, TRY PLAYING THESE THINGS. You will understand by the sound at the very least.

So just choose any 4 notes in the scale you want for each measure. Avoid dissonant notes on the downbeats, and hit the tonic on the first downbeat of the duration of that chord.
Now continue to the 5th measure. The changes move to the Eb7 chord. Now the same rules carry on to this chord, but there are a few more new ideas that should be caught on to. When moving from the Bb7 to the Eb7 chord, never play the note Eb on fourth beat of the last measure of Bb. In other words. Make sure the last note you play before you change isnt the note you are going to change to. That makes for a very lame feeling, and no one will ever listen to you. Also if you run up and down the Bb7 and Eb7 scales, there is only one difference between the notes. I will line the two chords next to each other in example...

Bb C D Eb F G Ab Bb
Eb F G Ab Bb C Db Eb

Whats the difference between these two scales? Take a look right now at the third of the Bb scale, and the seventh of the Eb scale. That D switches to a Db. Beyond that, the rest of the ideas go. Be aware also that the dissonant notes also switch around, so be aware of that. If you develop the scales on the bass like a pattern, it will never be hard to tell what notes are where. I will post this pattern in my next post. So once you move back to the Bb7 chord in the 7th measure, swap that Db back to the D to resolve the sound back to its specified key.

Beyond that follow the rest of the rules that I stated. Remember though, that these are all rules in music. This can be broken but in mostly rare occasion, and if they are you are preparing yourself to get what my music instructor would call "out". Always be open to anything, and just experiment with it.

Try out this tune though. Its on Miles Davis's album "Kind of Blue". Very popular in the education field, and it has a TON of genius ideas. May sound easy, but try to manipulate that crap. Good luck! The same ideas would pass on over to any other swing tune. If you are trying other styles though the ideas might change a bit. This would also apply to the ideas of a shuffle, and a majority of the ideas pass to a balled (except for the overall style. That totally changes.)



UGH IM WIPED! Someone else say something razz 2 hours of typing!