Category: Walking Bass

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 more advanced walking bass technique: building lines that don’t always start each bar on the root.

This one’s for anyone who’s thought, “my approach to building bass lines feels a little one-note.” Today we’re covering a more advanced way to construct a walking bass line: deliberately not playing the root as the first note of the bar.

A Bass Line That Deliberately Skips the Root on Beat 1

Here’s a bass line over the first 16 bars of “Fly Me to the Moon.”

Give it a listen — does it sound natural to you, with no real sense of anything “off”?

Here are 3 things I kept in mind while building this line, plus 3 things to watch out for.

3 Things I Kept in Mind

1. Keeping the Flow Smooth

Take bar 2: starting on F (the minor 3rd of Dm7), the line moves F (m3rd) → E (9th) → D (root) → A (5th).

Looking back from the previous bar, the Am bar’s 2nd through 4th notes form a smooth descending line: C → B → A. Rather than awkwardly forcing a jump from that 4th note, A, straight to D (the root of the upcoming Dm7), I deliberately landed instead on F (the m3rd of Dm7) — to keep that smooth descending motion intact.

2. Landing on the 3rd

As in bar 2, I land on the 3rd a lot throughout this line. The 3rd is the note that splits major from minor in character, which makes it a great note for projecting a chord’s distinct flavor. In short: when you’re not leading with the root, leading with the 3rd instead is a solid, reliable choice.

3. Mixing in the Root Too

Even after landing on the 3rd, I make a point of working the root in shortly after — doing this gives the whole bar a clear sense of the underlying chord. One detail: if the root shows up as the 2nd note right after a 3rd-note start, it can sound like the root landed a beat late by mistake. So I deliberately placed the root as the 3rd note of the bar instead.

3 Things to Watch Out For

Don’t Overdo It

As a baseline, it’s still ideal for the first note of a bar to be the root, most of the time. Use a non-root opening note here and there, as more of an occasional accent. In this example, only 5 bars out of 16 open on a note other than the root.

This Works Better During Improvising Than During the Melody

During the melody (the “head”), the actual tune’s melody is often written assuming the bass is anchoring the chord’s root underneath it. “Fly Me to the Moon,” for instance, often has its main melody starting on the 3rd of the chord. If the bass also starts every line on the 3rd while that’s happening, the two can clash. So save non-root opening notes mainly for when you’re improvising, not for when you’re backing the melody.

Be Careful Around Section Changes

A tune typically has an A section, B section, C section, and so on — and those section boundaries are important moments of change. If you use a non-root note right where a new section begins, that shift can be harder for the listener (and the rest of the band) to feel clearly. So it’s best to stick with the root specifically at section boundaries.

Hopefully this gives you a useful next step beyond always opening a bar with the root.

Added later: I also covered this non-root-opening approach in a video, using a Paul Chambers performance as a reference point — well worth checking out if you want to hear how a legend approached the same idea.

Knowing when it’s the right moment to break from the root is a judgment call that’s hard to make reliably on your own — a teacher can tell you in real time whether a given choice actually landed well.

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.

Check Out the Lesson Service →

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 4 points worth checking when an improvised walking bass line just doesn’t feel right.

This one’s for anyone who’s thought, “I built a bass line, but something about it feels off.” Sometimes a walking bass line you’ve improvised on the spot just doesn’t sit right, and it’s not always obvious why. Here are some specific points worth checking when that happens.

4 Points Worth Reviewing

The examples below use the first 4 bars of the chord progression also found in “Autumn Leaves.”

When a walking bass line you’ve built feels off, it’s usually because the sound coming out doesn’t match the sound you were actually picturing in your head. Here are a few common culprits worth checking.

1. Is the Root Landing on Beat 1 of the Bar?

When building a walking bass line, it’s important for the root note to land right on the first beat of the bar.

Notice how the first version feels a little hard to follow? The second version, with the root anchored on beat 1, feels much more settled and clear.

There are advanced techniques for deliberately not landing the root on beat 1, but that’s a more advanced approach — until you’re comfortable with the basics, make a habit of anchoring the root on beat 1 of the bar.

2. Is the Last Note of a Bar Accidentally the Root of the Next Chord?

This is a little tricky to describe in words, but here’s the idea in practice:

If a note that strongly implies the next bar’s chord shows up before the bar actually changes, both the band and the listener can lose track of exactly where they are in the progression.

3. Are You Mixing Up the Major 3rd and the Minor 3rd?

The example above shows a major 3rd played over a minor chord (or a minor 3rd played over a major chord). It’s just a one-fret difference, but getting it wrong has a surprisingly big effect on how the line lands for everyone listening.

4. Too Much Chromatic Motion

Even if you’re playing the root, leaning too heavily on chromatic (half-step) motion like this can make the underlying harmony hard to feel, and the line can end up not sitting right:

Early on, focus on building your lines primarily around the root, 3rd, and 5th. If you do want to use chromatic motion, a good rule of thumb is: make the 4th note of the bar a half step above or below the root of the next chord — that’s a move that reliably gives a line a genuinely jazz-like feel.

If a bass line you’ve built isn’t sitting right, there’s usually a specific, identifiable reason. The above certainly isn’t a complete list, but hopefully it’s a useful starting point for troubleshooting your own lines.

Spotting exactly which of these four issues is throwing off your own bass line in real time is hard to do by ear alone — a teacher can usually pinpoint it in seconds.

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.

Check Out the Lesson Service →

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 breaks down, note by note, a full chorus of a 4-beat walking bass line over “Autumn Leaves.”

This article walks through every single note of a written-out bass line, so it runs long — you may want to bookmark it and come back when you have time to go through it carefully.

A 4-Beat Bass Line for “Autumn Leaves”

Here’s a performance video of the line covered in this article:

What This Bass Line Is Going For

This line is built with a simple concept in mind: straightforward quarter notes with no ghost notes or high-fret jumps, and everything built within the first 3 frets plus open strings — in other words, something simple enough for a beginner to actually play. We’ll go through the A section first, one note at a time.

Note: the chord progression mostly follows a standard, widely used version of “Autumn Leaves,” with a few small personal tweaks along the way.

The Overall Structure

The form goes: A section (8 bars) played twice → B section → C section.

The full bass line covered in this breakdown, bar by bar.

A Section (Bars 1–8)

Bar 1 — Cm7

1st note: C (root)
2nd note: D (2nd)
3rd note: E♭ (m3rd)
4th note: E (a chromatic passing tone leading into the next bar’s F)

That 4th note, E, isn’t actually a chord tone of Cm7 — since the chord is minor, using the major 3rd (E) would normally clash with a minor sound. But here it’s working purely as a chromatic passing tone, bridging smoothly into the F that opens the next bar. Chromatic passing tones like this are something you’ll use constantly in walking bass — it’s well worth getting comfortable using them deliberately.

Bar 2 — F7

1st note: F (root)
2nd note: E♭ (♭7th)
3rd note: D (6th)
4th note: C (5th)

Root → ♭7th → 6th → 5th — a line that descends step by step. It’s comfortable under the fingers and gives the listener a smooth, connected feel.

Bar 3 — B♭△7

1st note: B♭ (root)
2nd note: D (3rd)
3rd note: F (5th)
4th note: E (a chromatic passing tone leading into the next bar’s E♭)

Another chromatic passing tone on the 4th beat, working the same way as in bar 1.

Bar 4 — E♭△7

1st note: E♭ (root)
2nd note: D (7th)
3rd note: C (6th)
4th note: B♭ (5th)

Again, root → 7th → 6th → 5th, descending in order — comfortable to play and smooth to the ear.

Bar 5 — Am7♭5

1st note: A (root)
2nd note: B♭ (♭2nd)
3rd note: C (m3rd)
4th note: E♭ (♭5th)

Am7♭5 is read “A minor seven flat five.” The symbol means “flatten the 5th,” so instead of the regular 5th of A minor (E), it uses E♭.

Bar 6 — D7

1st note: D (root)
2nd note: C (♭7th)
3rd note: B♭ (6th)
4th note: F♯ (3rd)

Bar 7 — Gm6

1st note: G (root)
2nd note: B♭ (m3rd)
3rd note: D (5th)
4th note: F (♭7th)

Bar 8 — Gm

1st note: G (root)
2nd note: F (♭7th)
3rd note: D (5th)
4th note: B♭ (m3rd)

Built Entirely Within 3 Frets

Every position used up through this point was built using only the open string through the 3rd fret.

A 4-beat walking bass line usually changes notes on every single quarter note, so I try to keep position shifts to a minimum wherever I can. On top of that, this line uses a consistent fingering — index finger on the 1st fret, middle finger on the 2nd fret, pinky on the 3rd fret of every string — so no position shifting is needed at all. Keeping movement this minimal makes for a smoother, easier bass line to actually play, so hopefully this is a useful reference for your own fingering choices.

A Section, Second Time (Bars 9–16)

These 8 bars use exactly the same notes as the first time through the A section (bars 1–8), so I’ll skip the detailed breakdown here.

A question I get a lot is whether it’s okay to repeat the same pattern this many times in a row — and especially when you’re starting out, that’s completely fine. In fact, if you force yourself to play something different every single time too early on, your thinking and your hands can’t keep up, and you end up rushing or dragging the time instead.

The goal of this particular bass line is for players who find it hard to build a line on the spot just from chord symbols — to first get comfortable just playing something that’s already written out, and get a feel for “oh, this is what a walking bass line is like.” So whether it’s repetitive or one-pattern, what matters most is keeping a steady, reliable time that the rest of the band can play comfortably against.

B Section (Bars 17–24)

Bars 1–2

Am7♭5: A (root), B♭ (2nd), C (m3rd), E♭ (♭5th)
D7: D (root), C (♭7th), B♭ (♭6th), F♯ (3rd)

These opening two bars of the B section reuse the exact same line as bars 5–6 of the A section. As mentioned above, when the same kind of chord progression repeats, it’s perfectly fine to reuse a pattern you’ve already used elsewhere rather than forcing something new every time — especially while you’re still getting comfortable with swing feel and playing in an ensemble.

Bars 3–4 (Gm Held for Two Bars)

A common question: what do you do when the same chord (here, Gm) holds for two full bars? Treat the two bars as one connected unit rather than two separate ones.

1st note: G (root)
2nd note: G (root)
3rd note: A (2nd)
4th note: A (2nd)
5th note: B♭ (m3rd)
6th note: B♭ (m3rd)
7th note: B (chromatic passing tone into the next bar’s C)
8th note: B (chromatic passing tone into the next bar’s C)

That gives two chromatic passing tones in a row, but since the line is climbing steadily by half steps from the root, it stays comfortable to play and doesn’t sound out of place.

Note that the root isn’t played on the first beat of bar 8 of the B section here — instead, the line is built with bar 3’s Gm root (G) connecting smoothly up toward bar 5’s Cm7 root (C).

Bars 5–8

These 4 bars use exactly the same notes as bars 1–4 of the A section.

Bar 5 — Cm7: C (root), D (2nd), E♭ (m3rd), E (chromatic passing tone into F)
Bar 6 — F7: F (root), E♭ (♭7th), D (6th), C (5th)
Bar 7 — B♭△7: B♭ (root), D (3rd), F (5th), E (chromatic passing tone into E♭)
B♭△7 → E♭△7: E♭ (root), D (7th), C (6th), B♭ (5th)

C Section (Bars 25–32)

Bars 1–2

Am7♭5: A (root), B♭ (2nd), C (m3rd), E♭ (♭5th)
D7: D (root), C (♭7th), B♭ (6th), F♯ (3rd)

Same line used in bars 5–6 of the A section, reused here once again.

Bars 3–4 (Two Chords Per Bar)

Progression: Gm7 → G♭7 → Fm7 → E7.

A common question: when a single bar has two different chords in it, how do you approach that? Here, I deliberately kept things simple and just played the root of every chord, without much movement.

You absolutely could move around more here if you wanted to — but this tune cycles through a lot of similar-sounding chord movement throughout, which makes it easy to get “lost” (lose track of exactly where you are in the progression). In a spot like this, deliberately staying still on the roots and leaning into that half-step motion actually helps everyone in the band hear, “ah, we’re in the C section now.” Walking bass doesn’t always have to be in constant motion — sticking to the roots isn’t a weakness, it’s just one more legitimate approach in your toolkit.

Bar 5

E♭7: A (♯4th), B♭ (5th), C (6th), E♭ (technically the root, but functioning here as a chromatic passing tone leading into the next chord’s root, D)

The first note here starts on A, the ♯4th of E♭7, rather than the root. The reason: this E♭7 is functioning as a tritone substitution for Am7♭5 — without getting into the full theory behind tritone substitutions here, the point is that this bar reuses the same note choices as the Am7♭5 → D7 movement found in bars 5–6 of the A section and bars 1–2 of the B section.

Bar 29 of “Autumn Leaves” sometimes moves as Am7♭5 → D7, and other times as E♭7 → D7, depending on the chart. This version follows a widely used jazz fake book’s version of the progression.

Bars 6–8

D7: D (root), C (♭7th), B♭ (6th), F♯ (3rd)
Gm: G (root), G (root, octave up), F (♭7th), E♭ (♭6th)
Gm: D (5th), C (4th), B♭ (m3rd), B (chromatic passing tone leading back to the top of the form’s Cm7 root, C)

Take your time working through the notation alongside this breakdown to really absorb how the line is constructed.

That covers the full, note-by-note breakdown of this bass line.

Working through a fully notated line like this is a great way to build a feel for what walking bass actually sounds like — and once you’re comfortable with it, getting feedback on building your own original lines from scratch is the natural next step.

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.

Check Out the Lesson Service →

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 40 jazz standards that have personally come up again and again at sessions over the years — useful both as a practice checklist and as a listening list.

Here are 40 tunes that, in my own experience playing sessions over the past several years, have come up especially often. Even if you’re not a player and just want to get into the music, listening through this list is a great way to deepen your appreciation for jazz.

40 Jazz Standards (Tunes I’ve Personally Played a Lot at Sessions)

This list draws from a well-known jazz fake book widely used at sessions, covering a set of enduring standards.

Note: this is purely a personal list, based on my own experience.

Tips for Practicing to Get Session-Ready

Get the Melody to Where You Can Hum It

The “melody” here means the tune’s main theme — for “Autumn Leaves,” that’s the opening “G, A, B♭, E♭…” line.

Being able to actually play the melody is ideal, but being able to hum it means you actually have the tune memorized. Knowing a tune well reduces your odds of getting lost while improvising.

Get to Where You Can Build a Walking Bass Line Just by Looking at the Chords

Being able to build a walking bass line just from reading the chord symbols is genuinely important. That said, it’s tough when you’re starting out — that’s exactly the kind of thing this site covers in depth, so feel free to dig into other articles here on how to construct walking bass lines and improvise on bass.

Get Comfortable Playing Along With a Real Recording

Once you can build a walking bass line just by reading the chords, try playing along with an actual recording. A practice app like iReal Pro is a great tool for this.

How Many Tunes Do You Need to Know Before Going to a Jam Session?

I get asked this a lot — “how many tunes do I need to know before I can go to a jam session?” Honestly, there’s no clean cutoff here. There’s no rule like “5 tunes and you’re good to go, but 4 and you’re not ready.”

When I was starting out, I couldn’t quickly build a bass line just by looking at chords either. But my mindset was basically “just go for it” — I crammed one full chorus of a walking bass line for “Autumn Leaves” and one for an F blues into my head, and went to a session with just that.

Honestly, it was pretty terrifying. I used to think “I’ll go once I know 10 tunes,” but if you keep chasing that bar, there’s no end to it — and even if you can barely play anything, you get more out of actually showing up and feeling the room’s energy and flow firsthand than you’d ever get from more solo practice.

So even with a small repertoire, I think the moment you think “maybe I’ll just go for it now” is exactly the right moment to go. Hopefully this is useful if you’re thinking about checking out a session soon.

Knowing the chords is one thing — actually hearing whether your walking bass line holds up against a real rhythm section is exactly where a teacher’s ear catches what you can’t hear on your own.

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.

Check Out the Lesson Service →

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 explains why “note duration” matters so much, and how just evening it out can change the quality of your playing.

In lessons, I often tell students to “hold that note out fully” — and that comment is really about note duration: how long each note actually lasts, not just which note you’re playing or when you start it.

What Is “Note Duration”?

Put simply, note duration is just how long a note actually lasts.

Written out, it looks roughly like:

An eighth note: “ta”
A quarter note: “taa”
A half note: “taaaa”
A whole note: “taaaaaaa”

What I Often Point Out in Lessons

Most of my students are working on walking bass, so this is a comment I make constantly:

“Pay attention to keeping your note durations even in your walking bass line.”

A walking bass line is typically four quarter notes per bar — “taa, taa, taa, taa.” But once a position shift or a leap enters the picture:

You’ll sometimes hear:

“taa, ‘ta‘, taa, taa”

The note circled in red gets cut short during the position shift.

or:

“taa, taa, ‘ta‘, taa”

Again, the circled note ends up clipped short — this time on a different beat.

where one single note in the middle of an otherwise even quarter-note flow gets cut noticeably short.

When that happens, the evenness of the note durations breaks down, and that can directly hurt your sense of groove.

So paying attention to whether your note durations stay even is genuinely important.

How Do You Fix It?

Fixing uneven note durations really does require dedicated practice, but more than anything else, I think awareness is what matters most.

Just holding a strong mental intention of “I’m going to play this evenly” while you practice will change your results.

Hearing whether your own note durations are actually even is surprisingly hard to judge by ear alone — it’s exactly the kind of thing a teacher catches instantly from the outside.

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.

Check Out the Lesson Service →

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 clears up three commonly confused points about the 3rd, 5th, and 7th in walking bass.

The 3rd, 5th, and 7th are critical degrees for walking bass, but a lot of players end up holding onto a slightly mistaken understanding of them. This article cleans up three points where I see confusion come up often. Use it as a refresher on the underlying theory.

Here’s what we’ll cover:

1. The 3rd is the key note separating major chords from minor chords
2. Some chords have a flatted 5th
3. Watch the difference between “△7” and “7”

1. The 3rd Is the Key Note Separating Major and Minor Chords

Let’s start with the basics of the 3rd. Chords broadly fall into two camps: “minor-type” chords and “major-type” chords.

Minor-type chords are the ones with a lowercase “m” next to the letter — “Cm,” “Cm7,” “Cm7(♭5),” and so on.

Major-type chords are the ones without that “m” — “C,” “C△7,” “C7,” and so on.

What actually creates that “m”-or-not difference is the 3rd.

Comparing C and Cm: C is built from C, E, G, while Cm is built from C, E♭, G — the 3rd is the note that’s different.

Top: the chord tones of C major. Bottom: the chord tones of C minor — note the E vs. E♭.

Play C and Cm as a chord on a piano, and they sound completely different in character. So when you’re building a bass line around a chord, choosing the right note while staying clear on major versus minor really matters.

2. Some Chords Have a Flatted 5th

One thing that comes up often in jazz: chords with a flatted 5th.

The 5th is easy to visualize and use even if you don’t fully understand the theory behind it — for C, the 5th is G; for D, it’s A.

It’s the note two strings over (toward the thinner strings) and two frets up, or the same fret on the neighboring thicker string.

The 5th (G) of a C chord on the fretboard.

But every once in a while, you’ll run into a chord where the 5th is flatted. This is called a “minor seventh flat five” chord, written as “m7(♭5).”

For Cm7(♭5), the 5th becomes G♭ — a half step down from the usual 5th.

The flatted 5th (G♭) in a Cm7(♭5) chord.

It’s easy to assume the 5th always lives in the same spot, but jazz tunes are full of (♭5) chords like this, so it’s something to watch closely when building a walking bass line.

3. Watch the Difference Between “△7” and “7”

Last up: the difference between “△7” and plain “7.” This is a point I correct often in lessons, and a lot of players mix the two up.

What separates a triangle-7 from a plain 7 is the 7th.

C△7 is built from C, E, G, B. C7 is built from C, E, G, B♭. The 7th is the note that’s different.

Top: C△7, with B as the 7th. Bottom: C7, with B♭ as the 7th.

It’s just the difference between B and B♭, but a small difference like that has a major effect on the sound — so understanding the △7-versus-7 distinction matters.

That wraps up “the 3rd, 5th, and 7th” — three things well worth knowing if you’re working on walking bass. If you’re just getting into theory, keep this in the back of your mind; it’ll come in handy.

Hopefully this is useful for your daily practice.

These degree-by-degree distinctions are exactly the kind of thing that’s easy to get backwards in your own playing without realizing it — having a teacher check your bass lines catches it fast.

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.

Check Out the Lesson Service →

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 explains why “just default to the 3rd, then the 5th” isn’t quite the right way to think about building a bass line.

Here’s an exchange I had with a student recently. While working on building a bass line, I asked, “what were you thinking about there?” and got this answer:

“I played the root, and then just kind of used the 3rd, then the 5th…”

Using chord tones like the 3rd and 5th is genuinely important when building a bass line, so the instinct isn’t wrong. But reaching for them just “kind of” — without a reason — doesn’t feel very musical.

Ideally, you’d be thinking more like:

• “The 3rd has this kind of color…”
• “The 5th has this kind of color…”
• “Which one actually fits this song?”

and choosing deliberately from there.

The Basics of the 3rd and 5th

Here’s the general rule of thumb:

• The 5th: adds harmonic thickness to the chord. It’s the same whether the chord is major or minor (the 5th of both C major and C minor is G).
• The 3rd: changes depending on major or minor (the 3rd of C major is E; the 3rd of C minor is E♭). Because of that, it carries much more of the chord’s emotional color — bright versus dark, and so on.

This might be hard to picture in words alone, but here’s a concrete example: when I’m playing a bossa nova bass line, I lean toward the 5th much more than the 3rd.

That’s because I found that leaning on the 3rd too much makes the note’s character too assertive — it ends up clashing with the relaxed, understated vibe that bossa nova calls for.

On the flip side, when I’m playing a jazz phrase, working the 3rd into the first beat of a bar more often gives the harmony a stronger, more assertive, cooler quality.

Being conscious of these different roles, and choosing accordingly, makes it much easier to bring real expression to both your bass lines and your solos.

Knowing the theory behind the 3rd and 5th is one thing — actually hearing which one fits a given song is exactly the kind of judgment a teacher can sharpen fast.

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.

Check Out the Lesson Service →

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 answers a common question about bass lines: should the 3rd or 5th go above or below the root?

Here’s a question that comes up constantly: “When I use the 3rd or 5th, should I play it above or below the root?”

Take a C chord, for example. The 3rd — E — is available as the 2nd string, 2nd fret, or as the open 4th string. The 5th — G — is available as the 2nd string, 5th fret, or the 4th string, 3rd fret.

Theoretically, either choice is “correct.” But when you’re actually building a line, the deciding factor is playability.

Take this example: both versions pass through E on their way to landing on F, but when you actually play them, Example 1 feels noticeably more natural and easier to play.

Similarly, when moving from G to F, going from the open 4th string to the 4th string’s 3rd fret is the smoother fingering choice.

In other words, whether you go above or below with the 3rd or 5th really is case-by-case. Don’t just decide based on harmony or theory alone — factor in how easy it is to actually finger.

Working out the most playable fingering for your own lines on your own takes a lot of trial and error — a teacher can often spot the smoother option immediately.

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.

Check Out the Lesson Service →

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 breaks down a walking bass line he recorded on upright bass for the jazz standard “Someday My Prince Will Come.”

A Walking Bass Line Over “Someday My Prince Will Come”

What I Was Thinking About While Building This Line

1. Root-Centered Motion

I anchored beat 1 of each bar with the root for stability, while keeping beats 2 onward from feeling overstuffed — letting the line breathe rather than cramming in too much motion. Instead of moving busily through every beat, I focused on letting the chord’s foundational tones ring out longer, which gives the phrase more room to relax.

I also used rests deliberately to create some space, which keeps the line feeling like it swings even though it’s quite simple.

2. Half Notes and Dotted Half Notes

By building the line mostly around half notes and dotted half notes, I kept it flowing without feeling choppy. With the root solidly on beat 1, I prioritized “letting the note ring” over constant movement, which gives the whole phrase a relaxed, unhurried quality.

3. Where to Add Fills

With the root and half notes forming the foundation, I added “fills” only where they were needed. For example, using quarter-note chord tones to keep the motion going, eighth notes to add a bit of movement, or dotted quarters to add some rhythmic punch. The root and chord tones stay at the center of the phrase throughout, with short fills slipped in between — adding variation to the line without losing its simplicity.

A Reference Recording

The reference recording for this one is Miles Davis’s “Someday My Prince Will Come.” On this track, the bassist holds the root down firmly while weaving in just the right amount of understated fills, supporting the whole tune’s swing feel.

Listen for how the bass line places the root firmly on beat 1 for stability, then adds small quarter-note chord tones and eighth-note motion from beat 2 onward to avoid sounding monotonous, while still flowing naturally. Notice too how the occasional dotted rhythm gives the phrase its own subtle lilt.

It’s simple, but the way rests and held notes are used to create space is what makes the fills land so effectively. When you practice this, rather than just copying the notes, it helps to really listen for that balance — building a solid foundation on the root, and adding variation only where it’s needed.

Hopefully this gives you something useful for your own playing.

Hearing exactly where to add a fill — and where to leave space instead — is something a teacher can point out immediately in your own playing.

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.

Check Out the Lesson Service →

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 trick for reaching high-position notes smoothly in a bass line.

A Request I Hear a Lot

“I want to work high-position notes into my bass lines” is something I hear constantly. Using the higher register really does open up your lines and add to the cool factor.

At the same time, I also hear just as often: “I don’t know how to fit it in” or “I can’t transition there smoothly.”

Use an Open String to Move Smoothly

What I usually suggest in this situation is a simple method: work in an open string. Using an open string frees up your left hand for a moment, giving you the breathing room to shift into a high position.

A Concrete Example

Say you’re playing “C–E–G.”

• C (3rd string, 3rd fret)
• E (2nd string, 2nd fret)
• G (2nd string, 5th fret)

That’s the usual way to play it. But what if, instead of playing G on the 2nd string’s 5th fret, you played it as the open 1st string instead?

Playing that note as an open string frees up your left hand for that entire beat. You can use that moment to jump straight into a high position and land cleanly on your next note. I use this method constantly myself.

Smoothly working high-position notes into a real bass line takes more than just understanding the concept — having someone check your actual execution is where a teacher really earns their keep.

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.

Check Out the Lesson Service →