Walking Baseline

Question 1

Rule 1

Answer 1

outline the triad of the chord. That includes tones: root, 3rd and 5th.

Question 2

Rule 2

Answer 2

always target the root when changing from 1 chord to the next. (You can mix this up later down the line but this will set strong foundations).

Question 3

Rule 3

Answer 3

change chords by either a chromatic approach pattern, or from a whole step above or below the target note.

Question 4

Triads & Upper Neighbors

Answer 4

approach I use is to arpeggiate a triad for the first three beats of each measure. Then, on beat four, I add a note that is a half-step above the root of my next chord. This note is called an upper neighbor. Here is an example of a bass line using triads and upper neighbors in C Major.

2-5-1 walking triads & upper neighbors bass line in C Major

This approach can also be swung by adding eighth notes as shown below.

Question 5

Approach 3—Steps

Answer 5

Our final approach uses half steps and whole steps to create a more melodic sounding accompaniment. The bass line is constructed using the following formula: Root, up whole step, up half step, up half step. As a result, I wind up approaching each root from a half step below. After walking upward by steps for a couple chords, I will need to step downward to remain in the same register of the piano. Notice below how I walk down the C Major scale in measure 15. In measure 16 I begin walking up the C Major scale again, but I am careful to omit the F in the stepwise pattern because it causes an undesirable dissonance.