Gospel Piano Bass Lines

Lesson Goal: To quickly internalize some bread and butter Gospel Piano Bass Lines… by ear, intellect, eye, and muscle…

Table of Contents

---

Left Hand Rocking Octaves Gospel Piano Bass

Rocking octaves in the left hand are a simple, but effective way to establish a deep groove in Gospel Piano…

Left Hand Rocking Octaves (Straight Rhythm)

Here is a slow, straight time application to a four-bar chorus in the key of C…

---

Technique & Interpretation: (1) Play all the downbeats with a full sound, but play all the upbeats a bit more subdued, (2) Allow the chromatic pickup to build momentum into the top of the next repeat, (3) Never allow your hands and wrists to become rigid, (4) Play with “sticky pinkies”, full arm rotation, and keep your hand and wrist moving in a continuous circle from left to right and in and out an low to high and back again.

---

Left Hand Rocking Octaves (Swing Rhythm)

Here’s a medium tempo variation of the gospel piano bass above…

back to… Table of Contents

---

Bouncing Gospel Piano Bass Lines

Half-time bouncing bass lines are a joyous and easy way to really groove at slow to medium tempos…

Let’s apply the idea to “the big three” chords (I, IV, V) in an extended Blues form…

---

Don’t try to memorize this! Instead, study and internalize the pattern. The basic pattern is simple (if you studied your scales and chords the right way): Chord root on beat 1 and “the 5” of the chord on beat 3, embellished every two bars by a two-note pickup (5-b7) that feeds the next downbeat, and a chromatic walk-up that feeds each change in harmony.

back to… Table of Contents

---

Shout Gospel Piano Bass Lines

Shout Music is when the congregation really gets fired up!

Shout Gospel Piano Bass Lines on the I Chord

Here are some “bread & butter” shout gospel bass lines on the I chord in the key of C…

Variation 1

The above may look complicated on the surface, but the pattern is quite simple. Think, hear, and feel the two “target notes”: C (Do) on beat 1 & G (So) on beat 3. The other notes are simply three note chromatic pickups that either ascend or descend into each target note.

Technique Tip: The proper way to walk is to drop the weight of your hand into each note. Try to sound like a bass player thumping out juicy, round, big, fat notes.

---

Variation 2

Think, hear, and feel the “target notes”, C & G and “feed” them chromatically from above or below…

Rhythmic Conception and Interpretation: Feel each chorus as coherent 2-bar and 4-bar ideas, not as isolated notes or four-note segments that end at the bar lines.

---

Variation 3

This variation takes part of the ascending line and displaces it one octave lower…

---

Variation 4

The entire ascending line displaced one octave lower…

Can you think of some other ways to connect the target notes?

---

Frank Improv for your consideration…

---

Shout Gospel Piano Bass Lines on the I & IV Chords

Shout Music makes me think of one word: JOY! And learning how to shout requires fluency with a variety of shout bass lines…

Here are some “bread & butter” shout bass lines on the I-IV chord progression in the key of C…

Variation 1

Pattern Appreciation: Don’t try to “memorize” this. Remember: Study first, practice second! That said, the pattern is not at as complicated as it seems. The “target note” C (Do) is always approached with three note chromatic pickups, either ascending or descending. F (Fa) is a bit different: While it can be approached chromatically from below, this just doesn’t sound right approached from above. The smoothest sounding-feeling approach is Mixolydian scale-wise. This is just one of those things you learn by experience and by trusting your ears above all else.

Technique Tip: The proper way to walk is to drop the weight of your hand into each note. Try to sound like a bass player thumping out juicy, round, big, fat notes.

back to… Table of Contents

---

Variation 2

Here we just exchanged the ascending line with the descending line and vice versa…

Rhythmic Conception and Interpretation: Feel each chorus as coherent 2-bar and 4-bar ideas, not as isolated notes or four-note segments that end at the bar lines.

---

Variation 3

A tasty hybrid of variations 1 and 2…

Can you think of some other ways to connects the chord tones to each other?

back to… Table of Contents

---

Gospel Shout Drums, Practice Tracks (MP3s)

Gospel Shout Drums

back to… Table of Contents