How to make Walking Bass Lines —Use passing notes—
It’s OK only to play tones composing chords, like “1st-3rd-5th-3rd”, but it’s too simple and might sounds uncool.
In order to make it cool, we use “passing notes” .
Passing notes are tones but chord composition, used in bass lines.
We use tones like these following.
①Tones on scale (For example: F major scale in F key)
②A half above or a half below next tone
We have to decide 4 tones in a bar. It’s better to use root (1st) on the first beat.
So next, we decide other three notes (on three beats) from composition of chords or passing notes.
When one bar has more than one chord, use root (1st) at the chord changing point.
And, it’s better to use the tones composing chords on the third beat.
Then let’s analyze the bass line sample of F blues.
Please print out the bass line sample of F blues.
Hand a pen !
Let’s write tonic solfa numbers at the point using tones composing chords.
It has become like this following. Red number is tonic solfa.
The points unwritten numbers are passing notes.
Next, let’s analyze passing notes.
In the passing notes, write “S” on the tones on scale, and write “C” on the tones a half above or a half below next tone.
“S” is the initial letter of Scale, and “C” is the initial letter of Chromatic.
It has become like this following.
We basically play tones composing chords, but using passing notes can make our bass lines smoothy.
How was this lesson? Could you understand how to make walking bass lines?
Here this lesson is finished. See you again!