# Walking bass

Quarter-note lines that outline harmony — jazz/blues foundation; voice-leading transfers to rock/metal approaches.

## Walking lab — ii–V–I in G

Three bars of quarter notes over Am7 → D7 → Gmaj7. Beats 1–3 are chord tones; beat 4 is a chromatic
approach a half step from the next bar's root. The page prints it as TAB, marks it on the neck and
loops it, so bar 3 walks downward to hand the loop back to Am7.

```
   1  2  3  4  1  2  3  4  1  2  3  4
G|-----------|-----------|-----------|
D|-----------|----4--7--6|-5---------|
A|----3--7--4|-5---------|----5--2---|
E|-5---------|-----------|----------6|
```

- **Am7** — A · C · E · C♯. Chord tones A C E; C♯ climbs a half step into D.
- **D7** — D · F♯ · A · A♭. Chord tones D F♯ A; A♭ falls a half step into G.
- **Gmaj7** — G · D · B · B♭. Chord tones G D B; B♭ falls a half step into A.

The whole line sits between frets 2 and 7 on three strings — one hand position, no shifts.

## Simple rules

Chord tones on strong beats; approach next roots; mostly quarters.

## Chord tones

Prioritize chord tones; beat 1 usually a chord tone. See /theory/western/.

## Approaches

Half-step, scale step, chromatic — one type per practice day.

## II–V–I seed

Dm7–G7–Cmaj7; invent quarters; rewrite skeletons each session.

## Rock / metal transfer

Chromatic approaches into power roots and gallop downbeats.

## Common faults

Ignoring changes, robotic root–fifth only, rushing.

## The three approach notes in the lab

None of them belongs to the chord it is leaving — a chromatic approach earns its place by where it goes.
C♯ into D is the major third of A, so for one beat the ear hears A7 instead of Am7, which is the ordinary
way to point at D. A♭ into G comes from above so the line falls into bar 3, and it doubles as the ♭5 of
D7. B♭ into A is what turns three bars into a loop. Direction matters more than spelling: approaching
from below pushes, approaching from above settles.

## A walking line has to be a line

The usual failure is twelve right notes that do not go anywhere, because each bar was invented on its own.
The lab's line climbs through bars 1 and 2 and falls through bar 3 — one rise, one fall, which is why it
loops without sounding restarted. Move by step unless you have a reason, change direction once a phrase
rather than once a bar, and when you leap, leap to a chord tone.

## Voice-leading mini-drill
Am→E with approach into the new root.

## Approach into gallop
Walking bar then gallop bar — inevitable downbeat.

## What to do when you lose the form

Decide the recovery before you need it. Drop to roots on beat 1 until you know where you are; count bars
rather than beats, because the bar is what you actually lose; and rejoin at the next landmark (the IV in
bar 5, the turnaround in bar 9) instead of the place you fell off. Practise it: loop the lab, stop in
bar 2, rejoin on beat 1 of bar 3.

## Chromatic approach gym
Cycle open-string targets; half-step below on beat 4.

## 12-bar skeleton
Original walking pass over a blues outline in A.

## Name aloud
Say the chord on beat 1 each bar.

## Evenness test
16 bars at 60 — restart if any quarter rushes.