Walking Bass Line – Rhythm Changes
In this masterclass we’re going create a bass line over a Rhythm Changes in Bb.
Walking bass lines are a fascinating and important part of jazz, as they create the foundation of the harmony underneath the chords and melody and can easily change the colour of any chord, for example by playing the 3rd in the bass instead of the root.
Bass lines are a great tool for piano players and other instrumentalists. You can use this or any other bass line for playing solo piano, learning different rhythm changes heads, and for practicing solos.
I would recommend that you listen to the great bass players and compose your own bass lines over songs you’re working on. I would recommend checking out Oscar Pettiford, Ray Brown, Paul Chambers, Ron Carter, Sam Jones, Percy Heath and Jimmy Garrison. The bass line we’re going to create is a combination of several bass lines I have transcribed from the bass players mentioned above.
As this is a lesson about the bass line, we will be using only basic voicings in the right hand, for example major 6 or 69 voicings, dominant 13, minor 9th etc.
Lesson Downloads
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Rhythm Changes Walking Bass Line Lesson Notation File Type: pdf
Related Lessons
In jazz, Rhythm Changes is a common form. It’s very popular in jam sessions and a crucial part of everyone’s piano repertoire.
We discuss some important principles for creating a simple walking bass line and then apply the principles in the context of 251 progressions.
Tritone Substitution is a useful reharmonisation technique that can be used to add harmonic interest and variety to a chord progression.
Practice Tips
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While the key of Bb is most common for Rhythm Changes tunes, there are some great tunes in other keys as well. Try transposing this bass line to nearby keys such as F, C and Eb.
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Tuomo covers many of the key principles of creating a walking bass line. Take note of these and see if you can improvise a bass line through a Bb Rhythm Changes.
- Similarly, using the principles explained by Tuomo, try moving away from Rhythm Changes and creating bass lines for other tunes you know.
