Jazz Piano Lesson: Dorian Walking Bass Lines

Lesson Goal: To quickly internalize common practice Dorian Walking Bass Lines in all keys… by ear, intellect, eye, and muscle…

Prerequisites

Basic music reading skills… the LOVE of music… and the discipline to study and practice.

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Why Learn Walking Bass?

A great way to outline the Dorian harmony and keep the time flowing in a swing context is to play a walking bass line… typically played as a relentless string of quarter notes, where the primary chord tones (1-3-5-b7) tend to fall on strong beats and where these chord tones are connected by diatonic passing tones or approached with a three-note chromatic pickup… as you will see below…

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Dorian Walking Bass, Variation #1…

piano-ology-jazz-school-dorian-tonality-walking-bass-1

Performance Suggestion: Don’t try to play these lines legato. Give each note a pleasing thump as if you are playing a standup bass!


Dorian Walking Bass, Variation #2…

piano-ology-jazz-school-dorian-tonality-walking-bass-2

learn more… Jazz Piano Lessons


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