This article is written by Toru Hoshino, a jazz bassist and instructor based in Japan who teaches online lessons to students worldwide. In this article, he shares a free download of ready-to-use bass lines for ten jazz standards.
Here’s a collection of practical, usable bass lines built around well-known tunes that come up constantly at jam sessions and live gigs.
Every line here is simple enough for a beginner to use as-is, so put them to work in your walking bass practice or your next session prep.
Contents
Tunes Included
- Blue Bossa
- Blue Haze
- Cantaloupe Island
- Fly Me to the Moon
- Isn’t She Lovely
- Mack the Knife
- Moon River
- Over the Rainbow
- Smile
- Watermelon Man
Download
The bass lines for each tune are available as free PDFs. Download them from the link below:
Who This Is For
- Anyone wanting to try a jam session for the first time
- Anyone who wants a solid grip on bass lines for common session tunes
- Anyone getting started with improvisation or walking bass
Put these to good use in your daily practice.
Having a solid bass line memorized is a great start — getting feedback on how you’re actually playing it is the next step, and that’s exactly where a teacher comes in.
Want Personalized Feedback on Your Playing?
This is exactly the kind of thing that’s hard to fix alone — and where having a teacher makes all the difference.
At Line on Bass, I offer an online lesson service where you send me a video of your playing, and I give you specific, detailed feedback — every single day if you want.
Students from around the world are using this to fix exactly these kinds of issues and steadily improve their jazz bass skills.