Make Your Walking Bass Swing
Notes, notes, notes…It’s all about ‘da notes, right? We dutifully study “roots and fifths”, using chord tones and approach notes and enclosures… and then cool rhythmic skips, drops and left hand pull offs… all these get lots of attention during lessons and online discussions. But famously:
It Don’t Mean a Thing if it Ain’t Got That Swing
Whether you have many miles of walking bass under your belt or you are quite new to the swing thing, the key is to make it feel good. No cool note combo, or sophisticated reharmonization, or incredibly virtuoso-like drop can bail out a bass line that just doesn’t swing. On the other hand, a relatively simple line that feels good, will get you the gig every time.
But hey, I’m playing mostly quarter notes, so what could possibly go wrong?
Plenty! But the good news is that there are just two tweaks that can inject the swing into your walking bass lines…Watch!
Learn how to construct walking bass lines and much much more in our Online Course
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