Hey guys, been playing guitar on and off for about 10 years but just now picking up bass. Obviously my natural tendency is to use a pick however I want to learn the proper "walking" technique. Anyone got any good exercises or techniques I can try to properly learn this?
Thanks!
I guess no one knows how to do this technique
I've been waiting for a REAL bass player to chime in, but failing that... I don't see where a pick would affect a walking bass line. It seems like a fretting-hand thing to me.
From what I remember of playing bass, decades ago, a good walking bass line is the opposite of staccato. You want to hold the notes, not chop them off quick. So, you have to hold down the note being fretted while you fret the next note, to make a smooth transition.
I've seen bass players who move their whole hand between each note. This gives a mechanical effect, like a metronome.
actually I was more referring to the right hand technique using the index and middle finger to "walk" on the strings instead of using a pick
I'm a beginner at bass but here's what I claim to know-
Walking bass usually refers to a fretting hand style with lots of passing tones.
To play with my index and middle finger I anchor my thumb on the edge of my Jazz Bass' front p/u when I play the e string, the e string when I play the a string, the e or a string when I play the d string and the a or d string when I play the g string.
Also, I sometimes use the adjacent string as a stop after my finger plucks a string.
I love walking bass. I bought a bass and put Thomastik nickel flat wound strings and dial out any punch from the amp and bass specifically to get a good warm tone while playing walking bass.
Last edited by Don; 11-17-2003 at 06:50 PM.
cool deal Don...so got any good exercises or techniques to better learn this walking style?
I'm afraid I don't have any. I just practice playing a piece until it sounds good (enough).Originally posted by MascisMan
cool deal Don...so got any good exercises or techniques to better learn this walking style?
IMO the two main things with a right-hand finger technique on bass are (a) consistency - of both rhythm and emphasis (b) good ability to move between and specially skip strings.
Both elements are down to practice ...
(a) The big advantage of fingers on bass is the right hand damping that you can get and the consequent groove you can build. Practice different rhythms on a single string, paying attention to evenness between fingers, the space you create with damping and keeping to the beat.
(b) Anyone can walk their fingers on a single string. The difficult part is a smooth transition between strings and skipping strings. Work out your own exercises based on things like E A D G, E E A A D D G G, E E E A A A D D D G G G, E D A G, E E D D A A G G, etc, etc, etc. And learn some of the classic bass lines - some of the Cream stuff is great bass practice - Sunshine of Your Love, Badge, etc.
Once you've mastered the basics of fingerstyle bass, you can start to try things like intervals, octaves with thumb and finger, snapping, thumb-tapping, etc.
sweet, thanks r-senior!
MascisMan:
DISCLAIMER -- I am a guitar player, NOT a bass player!
However, I noticed a vibraphone lessons website which has "Walking Bass Lines" information which (I believe) you will find both informational and useful...YMMV, ie:
MALLET JAZZ Lessons: "Constructing Walking Bass Lines" by James Walker © 2001:
http://www.malletjazz.com/lessons/bassline.html
Last edited by Old Tele man; 12-01-2003 at 02:45 PM.
A good (extremely simple) exercise for walking bass begins with your left hand.
Key of A
Thumb behind the neck to relax and spread your fingers.
Middle finger in A position on E string.
Play a major, 5 note scale starting on the E string: A
C# - E on the A string
F# - A (octave) on the D string
Just practice playing those 5 notes up and down slowly but with a little walking groove....real basic boogie woogie.
When you get comfy walking up and down, play a G instead of the A octave for something different and to keep from getting bored.
Using those five notes you can change them around in a walking pattern until you're comfy. Try using the first two fingers on your right hand, alternating them as you walk.
If the key of A is a bit of a stretch for ya, start in the C position on the E string.
See if that works for ya!
Last edited by doc540; 01-06-2004 at 08:28 PM.
Ayatollah of Dumbassollah
facebook: Stephen Doc Watson
Doc nailed it with a major scale. I find it easier to remember the positons in the scale rather than the specific notes to a given scale at first. That way you can play in any scale you want by remembering the pattern. You'll pick the note names up as you go.
The basic walk is (tones in the scale and 'I' being the tonic):
I, III, V, VI, VII, VI, V, III and so on. There are tons of variations based on that, and if you mess around a bit you'll hear them.
Like Doc said, play it with a little feeling and you'll be Walkin' the bass in no time!
A friend in need is a good reason to screen your calls.
I agrre with you the only thing I would add would be to start with the basics. learn a little music theory first. Example:Originally posted by telecast
Doc nailed it with a major scale. I find it easier to remember the positons in the scale rather than the specific notes to a given scale at first. That way you can play in any scale you want by remembering the pattern. You'll pick the note names up as you go.
The basic walk is (tones in the scale and 'I' being the tonic):
I, III, V, VI, VII, VI, V, III and so on. There are tons of variations based on that, and if you mess around a bit you'll hear them.
Like Doc said, play it with a little feeling and you'll be Walkin' the bass in no time!
Whole step = 2 frets =1
half step = 1 fret =1/2
Major scale has (8) steps with a half step between (3 and 4) and (7 and 8): 1 (1) 2 (1) 3 (1/2) 4 (1) 5( 1) 6 (1) 7 (1/2) 8
Minor scale has (8) steps with three variations:
Natural: has a 1/2 step between (2and3) and (5 and 6)
1 (1) 2 (1/2) 3 (1) 4 (1) 5 (1/2) 6 (1) 7 (1) 8
Harmonic: has a 1/2 step between (2 and 3)and (5and6) and (1 and a 1/2) steps between (6and7) and a 1/2 step between (7 and 8): 1 (1) 2 (1/2) 3 (1) 4 (1) 5 (1/2) 6 (1and1/2) 7 (1/2) 8
Melodic: has a 1/2 step between (2 and 3)and (7 and 8) ascending the scale and descends in a natural scale with 1/2 steps between (2 and 3)and (5 and 6):
1 (1) 2 (1/2) 3 (1) 4 (1) 5 (1) 6 (1) 7 (1/2) 8 (1) 7 (1) 6 (1/2) 5 (1) 4 (1) 3 (1/2) 2 (1) 1
Practice walking the 4 scales up and down in the open and first positions. you can start on any note as long as you know what the steps are you can't go wrong. Be a four finger player your little finger is worth its wait in gold.
jam on!
DES
Y'all listen to Grog! He's giving you good stuff.
Especially "Be a four finger player your little finger is worth its wait in gold. jam on!"! This won't feel natural or comfy at first, but if you keep that thumb behind the neck and practice it'll get easier and easier.
And you'll thank us later for the pinkie advice!:)
Ayatollah of Dumbassollah
facebook: Stephen Doc Watson
I was going to chime in here but ole Doc beat me to the punch...
Anyways, I maybe wrong here but as a classical guitarist turned bass player (turned electric guitarist too, but that's another story...) I tend to use a modified version of the rest and free stroke thing classical guitarist use. A rest stroke is when you pluck the string with the tip of your nail and then "rest" it on the next string up doing it in alternating steps with the first two fingers. Only on Fender basses the string is way too thick for pure finger nail rest strokes so I just use a combo of nail and flesh...
Does this make sense or am I just blabbering??
-Kevin
GAS: Gear Acquisition Syndrome
TAS: Telecaster Acquisition Syndrome
BAS: Bass Acquisition Syndrome
...but I don't have SAS: Stratocaster Acquisition Syndrome...not yet anyway...
Good stuff from all.
I get a lot of mileage from the '4-finger' approach - especially when playing major chord triads and major scale tones. If you anchor your MIDDLE finger on the root - you almost can't miss because your index, middle, and pinky fingers all will fall naturally onto frets that produce nice sounding scale tones across THREE STRINGS! (the root string and the next 2 higher strings).
Here's a pretty good link that gives the 'visual' to the 4-finger approach and applying major chord/scale tones to your bass lines.
http://www.harmony-central.com/Bass/...with_the_Bass/
If you don't have a callous on yer pinky - ya ain't doin' it right! :spin
Last edited by Telebluesfan; 02-01-2004 at 10:56 PM.
im a baby player too like don-i absolutely agree with all he said right down to the Thomastiks-and would add that with all the rest of the good things-i try to get a very clear note, and also try to use open strings when possible-not duplicating the guitars range
try to pluck sideways rather than upward-this will help with nice walking passages
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