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Building a 12 Key Facility for the Jazz Bassist 

PART 1.      BUILDING A 12 KEY FACILITY FOR THE BASS  by Steven Mooney

The following series of examples cover how to build a 12 key Facility on the Bass, and can be applied to the upright bass and electric bass.

It is essential for the aspiring jazz bassist to  have a 12 key facility.

What does this mean?

A 12 key facility simply means the ability to be able to play in all 12 keys, this in itself has many stages.

The first stage is to be able to play the scales , modes and arpeggios in all 12 keys , and will be discussed in the first series of articles on the CONSTRUCTING WALKING JAZZ BASS LINES  " How to Walk Bass Lines Blog ".

When the bassist has a thorough understanding of the scales and modes and has them under the fingers in all twelve keys , the next step  is to apply the knowledge to tunes.

It is advisable to start with the Blues in 12 keys and then move on to Rhythm Changes in 12 keys.

This is a method that has been used by countless numbers of jazz masters worldwide.

Why start with the Blues?

One reason that comes to mind is that when on a session or sitting in on a gig its inevitable that someone is going to call a Blues and its not going to be a Blues in F every time.

Another reason to start with the Blues is to build confidence. Moving tunes through 12 keys is not an easy task for any instrument, when playing the upright bass there is the added obstacle of intonation.

If we break down the Blues progression we begin to understand whats actually going on in terms of  form and chord structure.

The Jazz Blues progression contains the chord progressions found over and over again in jazz standards of all types and eras.

When we add Rhythm Changes into the equation the majority of chord progressions used in functional harmony have been covered.

This is why most players start out playing the Blues and Rhythm Changes in 12 keys when developing a 12 key Facility.

For examples of Jazz Blues and Rhythm Changes lines see the free examples at<http://constructingwalkingjazzbasslines.com>

For an in depth study of the Blues in 12 Keys the following book is available Constructing Walking Jazz Bass Lines Book I Walking Bass Lines - The Blues in 12 Keys.

For an in depth study of the Rhythm Changes in 12 Keys the following book is available

Constructing Walking Jazz Bass Lines Book II  Walking Bass Lines - Rhythm Changes in 12 Keys.

Books are available from the above  website or online at  Amazon, Barnes & Noble , Book Depository etc.

The following examples are fundamental exercises for developing a 12 key facility.

The first part of this 12 part article series is the scales, modes and arpeggios in the key of Bb major. You will notice there are no suggested fingerings. It is strongly suggested for the Bassist to use all the available fingerings in an effort to completely learn the fingerboard and develop muscle memory.

For the Upright Bassist if you dont already have " Simandl " you should seriously think about getting it. This is the classical method book used by professional double bassists of all genres worldwide, this has suggested fingerings for learning the positions on the upright/double bass.

It is strongly advised to practice with the bow to develop intonation and technique.

For the Electric Bassist with limited knowledge of fingerings use the contact mailing list on my website <http://constructingwalkingjazzbasslines.com>in the subject box write " I need help with fingerings" and i'll send some examples.

This article was written and submitted by Steven Mooney.

Below are the links to the scales, modes and arpeggios over 2 octaves for part 1 of the 12 part series.

JOIN THE MAILING LIST  at <http://constructingwalkingjazzbasslines.com>with  " 12 key facility "  in the subject line to be notified of the part 2 update.

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B MAJOR SCALES MODES AND ARPEGGIOS 2 OCTAVES 

BLUES IN F   

The following example is the first part of our look at the Blues in F as part of the "Building a 12 key facility for the jazz bassist" article.

The  example outlines a fundamental jazz blues progression using triads in the bottom register of the instrument. 

This covers material outlined in  BOOK I  THE BLUES IN 12 KEYS  AVAILABLE WORD WIDE  ON AMAZON, BARNES & NOBLE, BOOK DEPOSITORY, ANGUS & ROBERTSON ETC. 

The blues progressions will  be taken through all the keys as part of the article.

Enjoy .

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PART 3    Building a 12 Key Facility for the Jazz Bassist   

courtesy of        Constructingwalkingjazzbasslines.com 

Part 3 of the 12 part series includes 

The Modes and arpeggios in the Key of C over 2 octaves. 

The Blues in Bb using Triads 

Featuring

Harmonic Rhythm 

Diatonic chord structures 

Thank you to those of you who have read the articles and taken the time to leave you're comments, if you're viewing the article for the first time, take the time to read Parts 1 & 2 of the article and view the written out bass examples.

It is advised to apply the principles of the Blues in Bb in Pt.3  to the previous example of the Blues in F.

Compose and write out your bass lines, develop your own bass line melodies using the triad. This will enable you to develop your own voice as a bassist .

Being able to walk the Blues or any tune for that matter,  in the lower register of the instrument using the triad is a great skill to have and not as easy as some may think.

Those of you who have already done it or continue to practice it are aware of the obvious benefits.

The written out exercises of the Blues and  modes and arpeggios for Pt.3 can be viewed at 

http://constructingwalkingjazzbasslines.com/building-a-12-key-facility-.html

all examples from Pt 1 and Pt 2 can be seen using the same link.

Enjoy the article .