Steve1968
Verified buyer
01/14/25
The course is great, Sean does an excellent job of making it simple to understand.
Walking Bass & Comping for Jazz Guitar
Fingerstyle Techniques for Bass Lines & Comping
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Sean McGowan
Educator
Genres
About this course
Walking bass lines and jazz comping techniques provide guitarists with a sophisticated and orchestral approach to playing solo guitar and accompanying others in any situation where there’s no bassist. Sean McGowan offers an intuitive, and very effective approach to learning these skills in his second TrueFire course, Walking Bass & Comping for Jazz Guitar.
”In this course, we’ll explore a variety of formats including 12-Bar Blues, Rhythm Changes, and jazz standard progressions. We’ll start by building a walking bass line through the changes and then gradually add in chord voicings, just as you would in a real-time performance situation."
Sean will guide you through 10 performance studies where you’ll explore substitutions, triplets, and other rhythmic devices to add momentum. You’ll work with a variety chord forms, 2-5-1 and cycle-four progressions incorporating pedal tones and cluster voicings, big band voicings, shout rhythms and many other aspects of this exciting technique.
Sean starts the course with a primer covering essential left and right-hand techniques you'll need to develop before playing multiple parts in time. These exercises will help you develop independence between the bass and chord parts, achieve different articulations, and build a solid swing time feel. The exercises start out very simply by using the thumb and then add chord voicings and rhythms with a "claw" technique, which gradually increase in difficulty and syncopation.
Sean will then perform the following ten etudes and then break them down note-for-note explaining all of the key techniques and approaches along the way. You will develop your own Walking Bass & Comping technique by playing your way through the course.
All of the performances are tabbed and notated for your practice, reference and study purposes. You’ll also get Guitar Pro files so that you can play, loop and slow down the tab and notation as you work through the lessons.
Grab your guitar and let your fingers do the walking with Sean McGowan!
”In this course, we’ll explore a variety of formats including 12-Bar Blues, Rhythm Changes, and jazz standard progressions. We’ll start by building a walking bass line through the changes and then gradually add in chord voicings, just as you would in a real-time performance situation."
Sean will guide you through 10 performance studies where you’ll explore substitutions, triplets, and other rhythmic devices to add momentum. You’ll work with a variety chord forms, 2-5-1 and cycle-four progressions incorporating pedal tones and cluster voicings, big band voicings, shout rhythms and many other aspects of this exciting technique.
Sean starts the course with a primer covering essential left and right-hand techniques you'll need to develop before playing multiple parts in time. These exercises will help you develop independence between the bass and chord parts, achieve different articulations, and build a solid swing time feel. The exercises start out very simply by using the thumb and then add chord voicings and rhythms with a "claw" technique, which gradually increase in difficulty and syncopation.
Sean will then perform the following ten etudes and then break them down note-for-note explaining all of the key techniques and approaches along the way. You will develop your own Walking Bass & Comping technique by playing your way through the course.
All of the performances are tabbed and notated for your practice, reference and study purposes. You’ll also get Guitar Pro files so that you can play, loop and slow down the tab and notation as you work through the lessons.
Grab your guitar and let your fingers do the walking with Sean McGowan!
What you'll learn
- Create walking bass lines on guitar
- Create melodic walking bass lines
- Apply jazz comping techniques
- Create solo jazz guitar arrangements
- Develop flexible chord fingerings
Release date: 11/07/2017 • 3h 06m runtime
Sample lessons
Substitution Blues
Overview
Substitution Blues
Performance
Substitution Blues
Breakdown
All the Things We Are
Overview
What's included
33 lessons • 11 charts
Walking Bass & Comping for Jazz Guitar
Hi, I'm Sean McGowan. Welcome to Walking Bass & Comping for Jazz Guitar. Using a walking bass line and comping technique offers a sophisticated and orchestral approach to playing solo guitar, as well as accompanying others in a duo or ensemble situation where there's no bassist.
In this course, we'll explore a variety of formats including 12-Bar Blues, Rhythm Changes, and jazz standard progressions. In each of these 10 studies, we'll start by building a walking bass line through the changes and then gradually add in chord voicings, just as you would in a real time performance situation.
First, I'll demonstrate each etude and then I'll break it down for you note for note explaining all of the key techniques and approaches as we go. You'll have standard notation and tab to work with and you can loop or slow down any section to work with the materials at your own pace.
So, grab your guitar and let's get started!
In this course, we'll explore a variety of formats including 12-Bar Blues, Rhythm Changes, and jazz standard progressions. In each of these 10 studies, we'll start by building a walking bass line through the changes and then gradually add in chord voicings, just as you would in a real time performance situation.
First, I'll demonstrate each etude and then I'll break it down for you note for note explaining all of the key techniques and approaches as we go. You'll have standard notation and tab to work with and you can loop or slow down any section to work with the materials at your own pace.
So, grab your guitar and let's get started!
Preparatory Exercises
Before we get started on the études, let's learn some essential left and right hand techniques we'll need before playing multiple parts in time. These exercises will help you develop independence between the bass and chord parts, achieve different articulations, and build a solid swing time feel. The exercises start out very simply by using the thumb, and then add chord voicings and rhythms with a "claw" technique, that gradually increase in difficulty and syncopation.
Saint Pete Blues
This étude features two choruses of a standard 12-bar jazz blues in the key of F. The first chorus illustrates a walking swing bassline in 4/4, followed by a chorus that adds tenth double-stops and syncopated chords.
Saint Pete Blues
Here's "Saint Pete Blues". This étude features two choruses of a standard 12-bar jazz blues in the key of F. The first chorus illustrates a walking swing bassline in 4/4, followed by a chorus that adds tenth double-stops and syncopated chords.
Saint Pete Blues
Learning and practicing walking four basslines will help you to understand how to connect smoothly from one chord to the next in a blues progression. This bassline features some pull-off techniques and rhythms that help to propel the swing feel and simulate an acoustic bass. The second chorus focuses on balancing chord hits – both held and short – on top of a moving bassline through the standard harmonic changes.
Substitution Blues
Another 12-bar jazz blues in the key of F, this étude adds some color by incorporating new chord voicings and substitutions, including an alternate turnaround.
Substitution Blues
Here's "Substitution Blues". Another 12-bar jazz blues in the key of F, this étude adds some color by incorporating new chord voicings and substitutions, including an alternate turnaround.
+ 26 more lessons
Reviews
19 results
douglove1000
Verified buyer
10/24/22
drop that pick !
It's a great course, ideal for enhancing the autonomy of your fingers (right hands)... for those who are bound to that pick, it's an awesome challence. Taking an additional course on walking bass (for bass!) can help
chrysalus
Verified buyer
02/07/22
Walking Bass & Comping for Jazz Guitar
Five stars - This course is great and what I've been looking for. If you like playing bass but find it limiting - especially when playing solo or playing with backing tracks, then this is the course for you. You will learn how to play play bass parts and combine them with introducing rhythmic comping grooves. Just like it says on the tin!
husSar
Verified buyer
01/21/22
Thanks
BenjaminJung
Verified buyer
01/12/22
Hand-on lesson on walking bass
Great lesson! I could apply the exercises to directly to my playing.
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