Bass walks: from G to C and back on guitar
A boom-chick on G and C that walks from one chord to the other along the bass, G, A, B to C, and C, B, A back to G. Bass walks are how country and folk guitarists join their chords, leading the ear from one to the next. They make a simple progression sound finished, and teach the fretting hand to take fingers off a chord and put them back without losing time.
Opens in the player looped and counted in, with drums playing along, and speeds up 5 % every 2 loops to 90 bpm. No account or microphone needed.
- Goal tempo
- 90 bpm
- Starts at
- 54 bpm
- Length
- 4 bars, looped
- Tuning
- E standard
- Time
- 4/4
- Level
- Intermediate
- Plays with
- Drums
How to play it
The walking notes are single notes in time: play them with the same downstroke as the bass of the boom-chick.
The first bar is a boom-chick on G. In the second, after the bass note and a strum, the walk starts: the open A string, then its 2nd fret, B, landing on C at the A string's 3rd fret for bar 3. Bar 4 walks back down, C, then B and A on beats 3 and 4, landing on the G that starts the loop.
The walking notes are part of the bass line, so pick them like the bass notes: one string, a downstroke, in time. Keep the rest of the chord held where you can and lift only the finger the next note needs.
Walks like these join any two chords whose roots are close. Once you can hear how G to C works, try D to G and C to G yourself.
Mistakes to watch for
- Rushing the walk, especially the last note before the new chord.
- Letting go of the whole chord for the walk, so it has to be found again from scratch.
- Playing the walk louder than the rest. It should sound like the bass line carrying on, not a solo.
A speed plan
The player starts at 60 % of the goal and plays each tempo twice before stepping up:
- 54
- 59
- 63
- 68
- 72
- 77
- 81
- 86
- 90
That's 16 loops and about 4 minutes before you're playing at 90 bpm. If it stops being clean on the way, stop the ramp there and loop that tempo until it is. With a microphone or an audio interface you can record while you play instead: Demiurg checks every loop and steps up only after two clean ones in a row, and back down after a poor one. Strums are checked for when they land, not for which strings rang.
Questions
How fast should I play Bass walks: G to C and back?
The goal is 90 bpm in quarter notes, which is 1.5 notes a second. Start wherever every note is clean: the player begins at 54 bpm. Signed in, you can set a goal of your own, slower or faster, on the Exercises page.
What is a bass walk on guitar?
A short run of single bass notes leading from one chord's root to the next, usually by step. Country, folk and bluegrass players use them to join chords smoothly and make a strummed part sound arranged.
Do bass walks always use the same notes?
No. A walk follows the scale between the two roots, so it depends on the chords and the key. G to C in G major goes G, A, B, C; walking back down from C to G it's C, B, A, G.
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