Walking Bass Lines
by Pablo Satek

The walking bass consists of bass accompaniment or counterpoint, most often constructed in intervals of a fourth. Approaching bass lines from a guitarist's perspective, we can add chords, achieving an end result resembling a mix of bass and piano. The "right notes" for a walking bass are notes found within the chord (R 3 5 7), some tensions (9, 11, 13 depending on the type of chord), and some chromatic notes.

To develop this technique we need to keep three points in mind:


1. Begin with the root of the chord.
2. Play one note per beat (four notes per bar in 4/4 time).
3. On the last beat, play a chromatic note leading to the next chord.


EX.1 Over a ii-V-I cadence, apply the concept of the walking bass line.


EX.2 In these lines I've added a chord on the first beat of the walking bass line.


EX.3 We can also change the chord to the upbeat of the first beat.( eight note)

Here I wrote a walking bass line over a song of mine, based on a classic cadence motion.

I hope you've enjoyed this series of articles and that the information I've shared enhances your music.

Pablo Satek

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About the Author:
PABLO SATEK

Guitarist/educator Pablo Satek was born in San Fernando, BA, Argentina in 1973 and began taking guitar lessons at the age of sixteen. Inspired by the Beatles, he started his first band while in high school and played rock n’ roll and blues. His musical perspective was altered through listening to Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, and John Coltrane and he began to focus on jazz studies. Among his teachers were Sacri Delfino, Luís D’Agostino, Marcelo Kitai, Ernesto Jodos, and Pino Marrone.

In 1999 Pablo completed a degree in music at the I.T.M.C., a branch of the Guitar Institute of Technology (GIT) in Los Angeles. In Argentina, he also participated in clinics and workshops with Scott Henderson, Sid Jacobs, Armand Sabal-Lecco (Paul Simon’s bassist), John Stowell, and Robben Ford. Later he was fortunate to study briefly with Joe Diorio in Los Angeles, and John Abercrombie in New York.

Discography

2002 Pablo Satek- Solo Jazz Guitar (transcription book available from author)
2004 Beatles for Solo Guitar (transcription book available from author)
        PABLO SATEK in Concert
        Basic Triology

Besides his career as a solo musician Pablo performs with his trio S3JAZZ with Agustín Strizzi on drums and Martín Schavelzón on double bass. Pablo is a columnist for El Guitarrista magazine and can be heard on tours of North and South America and Europe where he appears as a clinician and performer in various jazz festivals. Pablo currently teaches at the I.T.M.C. in Argentina.

For more information about Pablo Satek, please visit his website at: www.pablosatek.com.ar