The first in a series of bass articles covering a wide array of topics. Email me if you have any suggestions. We’ll start with some common blues patterns.
What is a bass player supposed to do? Here are a few general points:
• Work with the drummer to drive the song forward rhythmically.
• Control the dynamics (again, with the drums)
• Set the feel or groove of the song (with the drummer… notice a pattern here?)
Anytime you hear a great bass line you’re probably also hearing a great bass-drum rhythm section. We’ll get to the bass/drum groove in a future article.
The 1-3-5-6 blues walk. One of the first patterns many bass players learn, but how does it work and why is it so common? First, the notes in the pattern compare to a chord as 1(root)-Major 3rd-Perfect 5th-Major 6th. This is played up as well as down from the octave (1-3-5-6-8-6-5-3) depending on your rhythm and on how long the chord lasts. This fits well over both Major triads and Dominant 7th chords. The bass line contains the 1-3-5 of the chord an the 6 is a good tone for color, to jump to a new chord from, or as a passing tone between 5 and 8. As a variation for Dominant 7th chords try 1-3-5-6-b7. One reason this is such a common pattern is that the I-IV-V chord progression is so common. Many songs are really the same chords with a different rhythm and melody.
This pattern is usually played over all 3 chords in a blues progression. Quarter notes are the typical rhythm for a walking bass line. There are many rhythmic variations and additional notes you can apply to expand this basic pattern. Often how far you can push the envelope depends on the song style. You can usually play more freely over a jazzy blues than a traditional blues tune. I’ll get into some variations in future bass articles.
I’ll also mention an approach to learning songs that I like to take. If you’re playing blues in A, your first pattern will be A-C#-E-F#. The next chord will be D and the pattern will be D-F#-A-B. Don’t think of these as two completely different things, they are both 1-3-5-6. I always look for similarities in chords, progressions, melodies, and from one song to another. I feel this makes it easier to memorize a song and its easier to understand how the song works.
more articles by Sean Gill
