Online Bass Instruction with Rusty Springfield
Walking Bass Lines

A "walking" bass line is the term given to the practice of playing four quarter notes per bar while outlining the chord or chords within that bar. This technique blossomed in the early 20th century as jazz developed and the music began to "swing."
History trivia: The term "upright" and "string" bass came into being as the acoustic bass viol came into vogue, replacing the tuba as the "bass" instrument in jazz combos. Instead of a "two beat" feel commonly found in Dixieland, a "four to the bar" approach lent itself nicely to swing.
The whole idea in constructing a walking line is to identify the chord being played, and then lead the ear to the next chord in a smooth, musical manner. The intervals between notes are very often just whole steps and half steps.

For our first example, we will assume that we are outlining a one-chord-per-bar pattern. The first note of a walking bass line is usually the root of the chord. (Sometimes the "third" is played first just to lend some variety.) The second note in this four note pattern should be a chord tone to immediately identify the "quality" of the chord. It is often the third or seventh interval in the chord, since they tend to be the strongest chord tones.

The third note of a walking bass line is usually a chord tone as well, but may also be a non chord tone that is used to connect the second and fourth notes in the line.

The fourth note in this four note pattern is called the "approach note" and tends to be either a whole or half step above or below the chord root in the next bar. I prefer half step approach notes for their natural "gravitational" pull to the next note.

An excellent way to learn this technique is to write out some practice walking bass lines using familiar chord patterns or jazz tunes as a template. A simple blues progression also works nicely.It never hurts to listen to the masters. Go out and find a CD with Ron Carter on it.
Go to the next lesson: Example Bass Lines