Play Walking Bass Lines with Chord on Guitar by Acousphere Shige Every guitarist want to play walking bass with chord style, Such as Joe Pass and Tuck Andress. Once you understand this concept well, Your playing style will be spread. It's like a fly into the sky ! I am doing my music group "Acousphere". I used a lot of this walking bass with chord concept to our arranging with different groove or type of music. Please check our version of "Ai No Corrida" on YouTube. Anyway I will explain how to make walking bass with chord style. Please look at left picture. It's a common jazz chord progression. This is from "It's only a paper moon" Below chord symbol, I put a chord form. There are many other possibility of chord form, But please decide chord form which you play for arrangement. Then eliminate bass tone from that chord form. Because we put new walking bass line. I put number on tabulature based on chord form. Then we have to think and create new walking bass lines. Before we start, we have to understand what walking bass line is. Walking bass lines should "walk" literally. So stepwise or chromatic line is good. For example, Gmajor7th chord to Aminor7 (Measure 1 and 2), Bass lines should start from G. must go to A. If you just go up scale in diatonic, Bass line will be G - A. It's too soon to arrive ! We need 4 note before hit the A. In this case use delayed resolve concept. So bass line will be G - F# - G - A. Still it's too soon ! We need one more note to go. Let's use chromatic concept this time. In G to A, there is G# between. So just put it between 3rd note and 4th note. Bass line will be G - F# - G - G# - A. Finally we got right walking bass lines ! Tuck Andress said this "reasonable bass lines" We are guitarist. We don't need advanced bass lines like bassist does. Please understand reasonable bass line concept first. My example of reasonable bass line is this score. Also I made movie of playing this walking bass lines on YouTube. Everyone can see on website. So please check it out. Tuck Andress said "If I can do it, anybody else can do it !" Don't give up ! Let's study Tuck&Patti Style of music together !