Why did nobody tell me this sooner? It would have spared me a lot of heartache

#4
micguy said:
"A chromatic approach note can be any melody note that approaches a target note by step. Chromatic approach notes are always outside the prevailing scale or harmony but sometimes notes that are in the relevant scale are treated in the same way as chromatic approach notes."
Click to expand...

Interesting quote. He completely contradicts himself in consecutive sentences.
 
  • Like
Reactions: retslock, Jim Nazium, _Tay_ and 4 others
#5
Lee Moses said:
Interesting quote. He completely contradicts himself in consecutive sentences.
Click to expand...

He says they're technically not, but they're pretty close - "treated the same way". I say we call 'em all grace notes, use some of that grace to give the OP a B on the quiz, and move on.

The point of music theory is to help communicate and explain certain concepts, many of which are helpful in making interesting, and sometimes better music. But when we get wrapped up in technicalities, I say we drop the theory talk, and just play what sounds good.

Good sounding music is the goal. Theory is not - it's a tool to help us get good music, not the goal in and of itself.
 
  • Like
Reactions: red_rhino, tonym, /\/\3phist0 and 13 others
#6
They used to be called leading tones, but that name was wrong, because leading tones only appear below the note they lead to. A better term, as you already know, is approach tone.

Approach tones are any note that leads to a chord tone, either from above or below. They are always within one tone of the note they are approaching. In other words, they are either a whole step or a half step away, in either direction. This is good news for improvisers. As you aim for a chord tone to settle on, it gives you four choices of notes to play right before it. I am not saying all will sound good. Based on the key and the chord, some are better choices than others.

So how do we incorporate variety into our walking bass lines? Well, thinking only in terms of linear lines — not addressing ping pong type basslines, or lines that bounce around willy-nilly — popular thinking says there are three ways to move from chord to chord:
  1. Like a scale
  2. Like an arpeggio
  3. Chromatically
  4. A hybrid of the above three
So really, four different ways. Add to that, you can walk up or down. This gives you eight or more possibilities to get from one chord to the next. That is a lot of variety. You could play through the changes eight times, and never do it the same way twice.

As already mentioned, some note choices are better than others. How can you know ahead of time which notes will sound better? The answer to that, is music theory. At the very least, understanding scales, keys, and chords will give you the tools you need to make better decisions than just playing and hoping for the best. Theory allows you to bypass the trial and error phase of figuring out what sounds good.

Good luck in your pursuit of walking perfection. It really is an entire course unto itself.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: red_rhino, Whousedtoplay, retslock and 5 others
#8
dreamadream99 said:
But playing what sounds good, is completely ineffective if you are trying to play the right notes the first time. Playing what sounds good only works if you have had the time to try them all out before hand.
Click to expand...

Do you practice? If so, why? - seems you don't need it.

There are only 12 notes. I've actually played all of them, and all of the combinations enough times that I can know what will sound good. The first time.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Groove Doctor
#9
micguy said:
Good sounding music is the goal.
Click to expand...
no argument here.

micguy said:
Do you practice? If so, why? - seems you don't need it.
Click to expand...
I do not practice walking bass anymore. I don’t need to.

micguy said:
There are only 12 notes. I've actually played all of them, and all of the combinations enough times that I can know what will sound good. The first time.
Click to expand...
congratulations. You are past the experimental phase. Good for you. Trial and error have served you well.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: BatBasstard
#10
dreamadream99 said:
no argument here.

I do not practice walking bass anymore. I don’t need to.
Click to expand...

We have radically different mindsets. Regardless of how good I am, I'm never gonna stop practicing the things that make me good. The hundredth time I play a tune*, I still work on it ahead of the gig to find something new in it to keep it fresh.

*Yes, there are tunes I've performed that many times.
 
  • Like
Reactions: BatBasstard, gazzatriumph, SteveCS and 5 others
#11
Most commenters are missing the point of the OP, chromatic approach notes are a useful tool in walking bass. I've had several guitar-playing friends switching to bass who discovered chromaticism in basslines that isn't prevalent in guitar parts.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Groove Doctor, GregT and Bassic_desires
#12
Lee Moses said:
Assuming you mean that bar of E is E major, the G# is not chromatic. It's the 3rd (and thus a chord tone) of E major. So it could be viewed as a diatonic approach note, but not chromatic.

Now you could do the same thing going from E minor to A, and then the G# would be chromatic.
Click to expand...
My mistake. I almost said A# on the way to B and should have.
 
  • Like
Reactions: bmusic
#13
themickster said:
It's taken me years to find this, and I wish someone had told me sooner. I only found today, whilst looking up walking basslines. Think about when we do maybe a bar of E with G# on beat four, then a bar of A, that G# is what's known as a chromatic approach note. I can get on with my life now.
Click to expand...


I wouldn't call it a chromatic approach if G# is a chord tone.

Maybe this will blow your mind though. Chromatic approaches can come from below or above. So G# to A, or Bb to A.

Here's an online book that has some useful info on walking bass: [Bob magnusson] the_art_of_walking_bass_a_method_(book_za.org) | PDF (slideshare.net)

Chromatic Approach is discussed in section 3, which starts on p. 29.

After that, take a look at Chromatic Surround , which starts on p. 33.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mikewalker, InhumanResource and Pocket Dave
#14
Wasnex said:
I wouldn't call it a chromatic approach if G# is a chord tone.

Maybe this will blow your mind though. Chromatic approaches can come from below or above. So G# to A, or Bb to A.

Here's an online book that has some useful info on walking bass: [Bob magnusson] the_art_of_walking_bass_a_method_(book_za.org) | PDF (slideshare.net)

Chromatic Approach is discussed in section 3, which starts on p. 29.

After that, take a look at Chromatic Surround , which starts on p. 33.
Click to expand...
My mistake on the G#/A. You weren't the first to spot it. I've used both kinds of chromatic approach for years, without knowing what it was called, but thanks for letting me know.

Drucifer said:
Most commenters are missing the point of the OP, chromatic approach notes are a useful tool in walking bass. I've had several guitar-playing friends switching to bass who discovered chromaticism in basslines that isn't prevalent in guitar parts.
Click to expand...
I play them in more than walking basslines
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Wasnex
#15
Great points here re: chromatic vs diatonic.

My own experience with walking basslines has been that starting out simple in a song has merits; On a major blues/mixolydian tune, I'll sometimes start going 1-3-5, in 3rd intervals, then take a whole step to the 6 and follow that with another 3rd interval up to 1. Later in the song, I might throw in a 6-4 ping-pong after the 1, then walk down from there.

Sometimes for turnarounds that don't necessarily resolve on 5, I'll start on 1, skip to 3 and do a chromatic walk-up to 5, skip to 6 and continue the chromatic theme up to 1. Maybe the next verse I'll do a 1-6-2-5 turnaround, followed by a chromatic approach note back to 1 on the #7.

Then there's the whole 2-5 vs 5-4 thing, with 2-5 being more jazz swing flavored.

Some blues shuffles lend themselves to a more pentatonic-centered walk. There are a couple of local hot-shot blues/rock guitarists I back who's pentatonic solo leanings favor that.

A couple of useful play-along videos I found that are super-easy to get into, both from the same artist, Matt Schofield, with different backing bands:

1.Shuffle/Strong-Swing walk example with 2-5 turnaround; With this, try both the chromatic walkup and 1-6-2-5 mentioned above on the turnaround; Both work well.



2. Shuffle with Pentatonic Walk:



And my own attempt a walking a big-band style swing bassline:

 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Grizelda100
#17
micguy said:
We have radically different mindsets. Regardless of how good I am, I'm never gonna stop practicing the things that make me good. The hundredth time I play a tune*, I still work on it ahead of the gig to find something new in it to keep it fresh.

*Yes, there are tunes I've performed that many times.
Click to expand...

I may have missed your point, but I'm genuinely curious why you need to practice when you already know what sounds best on the first attempt every time? If you already know all of the combinations of notes and have determined what is best before even playing it, what are you practicing? Or do you just need to keep practicing to keep that memory of the best notes in your mind?
 
#20
dreamadream99 said:
...popular thinking says there are three ways to move from chord to chord:
  1. Like a scale
  2. Like an arpeggio
  3. Chromatically
  4. A hybrid of the above three
Click to expand...
How is "scale" different to "chromatic"?

Are you saying the "chromatic" approach would include the use of notes that aren't part of the scale?
(E.g. We are playing a piece of music in Em but use G# as within the walking bass line?)

Thanks for clarifying.

FWIW I do ocassionally use a 2-step, 2-semitone run up from one note to another, just for effect.
(E.g. D -> D# -> E) I've never seen anyone particularly advocate such an approach, but in the right circumstances, it seems to gives the effect of lazily grooving up to the target note, like a slide up, breaking out of the confines of just sticking within the confines of the scale.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back