[Dixielandjazz] bass(tuba) line for slow tunes

[David Richoux]

Jim,

This is something I posted to the Tubenet list (a very good forum for  
tuba and other low brass -
http://forums.chisham.com/index.php - you can read it without  
registering.)

The question was about improvised "Walking Bass Lines on tuba," asked  
by a young player, so I hope it is not too basic.

It could apply to just about any song, fast or slow.

> There is an old book by Joe Tarto that really goes into the heart of  
> the Walking Bass line http://charlescolin.com/descript.htm#CC3907
> (but it is out of print and hard to find.)
>
> Some songs have a very standardized pattern that many bass or tuba  
> players just do (because they work well) - others are left up to the  
> player's choice.  If the song is 2 Beat or 4 Beat traditional dixie  
> jazz, "old school" blues, swing, even early Rock or R&B what I  
> usually do is play the chord changes and play sequences of notes (on  
> the beats) that make up the chord, my choice of notes off the root  
> may vary by what the melody or harmony/counterpoint is doing,  
> whether the chord is major, minor or whatever.
>
>  I don't try to get too tricky with my choice of notes - most of the  
> time my job is to keep the tempo right (the piano, banjo or rhythm  
> guitar can fill in the more complicated parts of the chords, but we  
> do all have to mostly agree on the chords! I also add quicker runs  
> or arpeggios that help the rest of the band lead up to significant  
> structure features of the song (breaks, verse to chorus, first &  
> second endings, key changes, things like that.)
>
>  It is probably harder to describe in text how to do it (I hope this  
> made some logical sense,) but lots of listening to other bands  
> (recordings or live) and picking out what is happening on the bass  
> line sure helps!  A song like Fats Domino's version of "Blueberry  
> Hill" has a very clear example of walking bass line. There is a bit  
> of syncopation on the beat rather than straight quarter or eighth  
> notes, but that is showing a taste of New Orleans style...

Dave Richoux

On Jul 7, 2009, at 6:48 PM, Jim Franz wrote:

> New to dixie/trad jazz w/45 years of playing what's on the page.
> Getting by on faster tunes, but slow tunes, especially Louis  
> Armstrong tunes like Kiss to Build A Deam On, and When It's Sleepy  
> time Down South - I am lost trying to play a decent bass line. Many  
> recordings I can barely make out that there is a bass line, let  
> alone hear it.
> Since so many tuba players answered the recent head-count, I wanted  
> to ask how a tuba player learns to play a slow interesting bass line.
> Jim Franz