———             ——— 
———    BLUES    ———
———             ——— 

Basic 12 Bar Blues in A — the Walking Bass
by: Chunky C

This just so happens to be done in the key of A but you can play this in any
key you like by following the same pattern for the chosen key.  The tempos
listed are only sugestions.  You should pactice these with a metronome.  In
all actuality, you should always pactice with a metronome so that your
timing will always be spot on.   Remember, the bass is part of the rhythm
section!

4/4
tempo~ 160 bpm

(A)                         (D)                        (E)
G |—————————|—————————|     G |—————2—4—|—5—4—2———|    G |—————4—6—|—7—6—4———|
D |—————2—4—|—5—4—2———|     D |———4—————|———————4—|    D |———6—————|———————6—|
A |———4—————|———————4—|     A |—5———————|—————————|    A |—7———————|—————————|
E |—5———————|—————————|     E |—————————|—————————|    E |—————————|—————————|
    1 2 3 4 ...

Play the pattern thus:
      A x2
      D x2
      A x2
      E x1
      D x1
      A x1
      Wash, rinse & repeat. 

There are many variations to the 12 bar blues.  This just so happens to be the
one that was taught to me by my piano teacher oh so many many years ago. :[


—————————————————————————————
—— Variation on a Theme #1 ——
—————————————————————————————

Play each note twice. The first note on the beat and the second note on the
'eh'(1/16th note). The timing should be something like 1 & e 2 & e 3 ...
A tempo of about 120 bpm is a good place to start with this variation.

4/4
tempo~ 120 bpm

(A)
G |——————————————————|—————————————————|
D |—————————2——24——4—|—5——54——42——2————|
A |—————4——4—————————|—————————————4——4|
E |—5——5—————————————|—————————————————|
    1 &e2 &e3 &e4  e   1


—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
—— Variation on a Theme #2 with an alternate fingering ——
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

(A)
G |—————————|—————————|
D |———————4—|—7—4—————|
A |———4—7———|—————5—4—|
E |—5———————|—————————|
    1 2 3 4 ...

———————————————————————————————————————————————————
—— Variation on a Theme yet again ... sort of :] ——
———————————————————————————————————————————————————

Eperiment with Staccato, slurs, slides, etc. to liven it up a bit.




Happy walking everyone and keep the low end Rock'in!

Chunk