59th August

 This dislocated date thing is getting out of control.

I’ve got a few days left to write a meaningful post for September, while it still is September.

But while it’s still ‘August’ let me tell you what’s been going on.

Not much. That is, the day job and a lot of bass guitar practise. I’ve always wanted to play waking bass lines effectively and have been able to, in a basic way, for decades. But, it’s a skill I never worked on.

The secret to better walking bass turns out to be two-fold.

Step 1. Break down the key parts of each chord (root, fifth, third) along with chromatic approach notes. Start each sequence with the root and go into the next root with a chromatic approach note. Do this until it all sounds repetitive and predictable and then muck about. E.g. start on a third, go to a fifth using a chromatic approach note, avoid the root all together. Essentially play what feels good. Do this over and over again through stacks of jazz standards (and other tunes) paying attention to the form of the tunes so that, after a while, you can stop looking at the chord chart and just feel it.

Step 2. At the same time as step 1, listen to the greats playing walking bass lines. Hear how they move the tune along, how they know when to push, when to hold back. Listen.

And it’s working. Another ongoing, probably endless exercise. Luckily I love it.