Lets Do It Again Bass Tab

Step one: Know Your Chord Progression and Chord Tones

We're defining a very simple 3-step process for playing an awesome walking bass line under Whatsoever chord progression.  An crawly bass line requires a few essential characteristics:

• Stability
• Motion (energy)
• Blitheness (enhancing harmony and melody)

Then, the first thing we take to exercise is identify our chord progression.  This is where you start, and then you tin can decide the advisable chord tones (a.thousand.a. arpeggio) for each chord. Allow'due south have a chord progression like this:

Now What?

Of course, you ever want to play an astonishing and flexible bass line. But, how?  When nosotros know our chords, we tin can identify our arpeggio.  In one case nosotros take that figured out, all we demand to do is make sure our bass line relies on the 4 notes in our arpeggio for each chord. The four notes in an arpeggio would typically be:

• (R) the root note
• (third) the third – which would typically be major or minor
• (5th) the fifth
• (7th) the seventh – which would Besides typically exist major or minor

Note: We want to consider the 7th even if the chord progression is not specifying 7th chords. We desire to do this because the 7th plays in of import function in constructing whatsoever kind of bass line.  You lot should assume that the 7th isimplied even if it isn't actually beingness played (this is one of those astonishing psychoacoustic phenomenon that you want to be aware of)!

Beefcake of an Arpeggio

Go on in mind that its ideal to know your chord tones ASAP.  That way, you can improvise and be expressive on bass, in realtime.  In other words, you want to be able to translate a chord into an arpeggio within a couple of seconds (if not faster).  That kind of familiarity volition brand information technology easier to play and create at the same time – which is actually, really fun!

Take a look at the table beneath and the "anatomy of an arpeggio" on the correct.  Both will assist explain the exact notes in our arpeggio for each of the iv chords in our progression.  These represent the pool of notes y'all'll want to be playing.  Also, these are the notes you want to exist able to identify near immediately, so that you can improvise and etch better walking bass lines.  This isn't really optional, so simply do the work to memorize chords and arpeggios.  You'll be very, very glad y'all did!

Next, we desire to split out a very special kind of tone from our chord tones – we desire the "common tones".  We're going to see how mutual tones assistance us adjacent.

Review Your Chord Tones/Arpeggios

On the previous page, we identified our chord progression and we talked almost using chord tones (a.k.a. arpeggios) to build out the skeleton of our walking bass line.  Below, you can see an instance of the skeleton of our eventual walking bass line tab.  Find that we are starting with ascending arpeggios for each chord.  This is too elementary to pass for a bass line, merely it is even so where we want to start.

Load this jam rail and play along.

Step 2: Know Your Mutual Tones

Now, nosotros need to introduce the thought of common tones. We've already identified our chord tones and we'll employ these as scaffolding for our walking bass line.  But, if we look again at our chord tones (see the info below), we'll notice a lot of tones in "common" between the chords.  For instance, the tone "A" is the root of our A chord (Five), the 5th of our D chord (I) and the *implied* 7th of our Bm chord.  I've tried to make this really clear by identifying all our common tones in below (look for matching common tones).

D: D-F#-A(-C#)
A7: A-C#-Due east(-G)
Bm: B-D-F#(-A)
One thousand: K-B-D(-F#)

Common Tones and Move

Recall dorsum when we were talking about stability and motility?  Common tones get in easier to build stability and motion into your bass guitar lines. A common tone is merely a tone that exists in two side by side chords. For instance, every bit we motion through our chord progression starting on D and nosotros moved to A, the common tone would be the notation "A".  The annotation A is the 5th of D, while it is the root (R) of A.

Nosotros want to use this to our advantage, and then that chord motion/transitions can be "glued" together, so to speak.  So, we desire to organize our note choices using mutual tones to maintain stability during chord transitions.

Check out the modified bass tab beneath.  Here, we tin can see common tones in apply (with the same color-coding as the table above).

Load this jam track and play along.

Elegance and Stability

Notice how the transitions from the D > A7 and from Bm > G both pin quickly around common tones.  The bass tab shows we're using an A (fret 7 on the D string) in the measure that is using the D major chord.  Then, on the A7, nosotros outset the measure on this verbal same annotation.  It makes for an elegant and stable transition between D > A7 because they share a common tone!  Plus, its all the better that the common tone is the root of the A7 chord…

We saw how chord tones provide stability.  Now, we tin run across how mutual tones maintain that stability and add motion.  It is especially effective to use common tones during chord transitions.  Next, nosotros're going to see how we can create even more move.

Step iii: Contour and Flow Create Motion

There are a couple of terms that we'll want to use to talk about the final step of our walking bass tutorial.  The first term is "Profile".  Contour is a term that describes the transitions from annotation to notation.  Bass lines with a smooth contour are more desirable, stable and ultimately more energetic.  A jagged profile (when your fingers leap all over the fretboard) is less desirable, less stable and distracting.

Before nosotros await more deeply at contour, let's introduce the second term: "Flow".  Flow refers to the predictability the listener experiences from note to note.  The pursuit of flow should inform our selection of chord tones and common tones.  Ultimately, you want the listener to be able to anticipate where you're going with your bass line.  If they can conceptualize where yous're going, that means they're engaged!

The best means to create contour and flow are:

• Rhythmic variation
• Chromatics ("incorrect" notes)
• Leading tones (more on this in a minute)

Rhythmic Variation

Put simply, rhythmic variation is irresolute up the rhythm of your phrases so that it flows differently.  Simply allow the rhythm to fluctuate betwixt larger and smaller subdivisions of the shell.  In the next bass tab example, yous'll see utilize of 1/8th notes mixed with 1/four notes.  Fifty-fifty this simple rhythmic variation contributes interest and motility to our bass line.

Chromatics ("Wrong" Notes)

Chromatics aren't necessarily "incorrect" notes, but they are NOT in the key.  This ways that they aren't natural chord tones and they will typically audio "tense".  But, every bit long as that tension "resolves", it tin can sound groovy!  In the walking bass line tab beneath, I've used a chromatic at the end of measure ii.  I play a C on the 4th trounce of measure 2.  Our chord progression is in the key of D major, which doesn't contain a C (it contains C#).  Also important – the A7 chord that governs measure two uses C# as a chord tone.  Would you recall that'southward a strike against my notation choice?  NO, there'southward method to this madness!  Detect how elegantly, the C# moves to the C (my chromatic selection) and then on down to B?  Chromatics need to be resolved, and then I end my "chromatic line" on B.

Leading Tones

A leading tone is a tone that is a half-step beneath a specific note:

• B is the leading tone of C.
• A is the leading tone of Bb.
• F# is the leading tone of G.

In fact, F# is my note pick as measure 3 transitions to measure four in the bass tab beneath.  F# is the 7th degree of a Grand major calibration (that'southward the definition of a leading tone).  The effect that F# has "leading" into measure 4 is that it sounds every bit if we're "leading" the listeners' ear to a final destination, right?  We are!  In this instance, F# is a chord tone within Bm AND it is a annotation that lives in our home primal (D major).  So, this isn't a chromatic, instead it is a leading tone.

In the example below, you'll find all iii important upgrades to our bass line – rhythmic variation, chromatics and leading tones. Walking bass should be an expression of stability, motion, contour and menstruation.

Load this jam rail and play along.

You can download the final walking bass line tab here: View Tab

Notation: Information technology is besides unlikely that your bass line will accept the correct mix of stability AND movement unless you lot combine your note choices with adept profile and catamenia.

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Source: https://www.musicprotest.com/walking-bass-line-3-steps/

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