Master the 1235 bass line
1235 is on my mind today.
It came up in a lesson with a student. We were working on the jazz standard Beautiful Love, and the melody opens with exactly that: 1, 2, 3, 5. In minor. So, 1, 2, b3, 5.
Beautiful Love, V Young
That made me think of Coltrane, who used this phrase all over his solos. Forwards, and backwards too: 5, 3, 2, 1.
It also works beautifully in walking bass. Play it over a bar and the chord tones land where they should: 1 on beat one, 3 on beat three, the heavy beats. The 2 is just passing through.
Then the 5 on beat four sits a step away from both the IV chord and the vi minor, so it leads into either one smoothly.
It has direction, and it’s reversible. Works in major or minor.
Compare it to 1234. When you’re heading to the IV chord, that 4 arrives early and kills the effect of the IV a bit before it gets a chance.
In a major context the 4 can rub against the 3 anyway. That’s why you so often hear #4 used instead, which then doubles as a chromatic approach or enclosure.
So: one little cell. A melody, a solo idea and a walking line, all at once. Autumn Leaves is a close cousin, but there it goes 1236.
Feel like this was a lot of theoretic info?
The main point is: get 1235 under your fingers. There are many uses for it.
Practice Spark
Walk a blues using 1235 throughout.
Then try it backwards, 5321, over the same progression. Different pull.
If you want to work on walking lines with me in real time, join our live practice. You can lurk or join with camera on:
