The Untold Secretto Melodic Bass

Contents

I. Anchors, Pivots and Lead-Ins

Overview AnchorsPivotsLead-InsThe RulesInternal DynamicsRhythmic OverlaysHarmonic DynamicsAnchorsAnchor examplesOppostion and the beginnings of melodyPivotsWhere do we get our pivots?Roots and fifthsLead-InsLead-In ExamplesEmbellishment of Fixed Bass LinesAnchors, Pivots and Lead-Ins in Static Harmony

II. Internal Dynamics

The Substrate of SwingRhythmic OverlaysNursery RhymesShave and a HaircutHemiolasTriplet ArraysSecond Line (and Clave)Harmonic DynamicsIn ConclusionAcknowledgementsAbout the book and the author

I. Anchors, Pivots and Lead-Ins

The secret to confidence in playing the bassor in anything, for that matteris

knowing what youre doing. When youre playing the bass, having knowledge of theharmonythe chord changesis not only vital, its inescapable. You have to know thechord changes. This book assumes that you know the changes, or have developed theability to figure them out quickly. Learning chord changesand tunesis a greatsubject, worthy of a whole other book, but this book is about what to play on them; howto create bass lines, melodies, or patterns in any style. Well learn how to think like acomposer of bass lines; how to plan ahead, and make choices that are appropriate to thestyle of the song.

Most music well play has an underlying structurea formwhether its a 12-bar Blues, a 32-bar standard in AABA form (or 16&16), or whatever else it might be,depending on what the composer wrote. Within that form, the harmony progresses withits harmonic rhythm, meaning that the chords happen at certain times every time weplay through the form of the song. The underlying rhythm is very important to the choicesthat we make as well; the rhythmic environment determines the style, whether itsswing, 2-beat, cha-cha, bossa, samba, merengue, waltz, shuffle, or any of countlessvariants that fall under the heading of contemporary, whether its rock, funk, hip-hop,house, new age, alternative, or whatever else.

So, what notes do we play? How do we make interesting, melodic lines, enhance themusic, yet at the same time follow the ruleswhich basically means play for themusic, make what we play fit the music and serve the music and our fellow playersand still be able to make a statement, put our stamp on the music? How can we asserta musical identity, be creative, and yet take care of business at the same time?

By using the hidden power of the structure of harmony and rhythm!The root of the chord is the strongest sound we can make on the bass, and essential

to our role; the notes of the chords contain a property that we could describe asharmonic magnetism. We are going to explore these magnetic points with a primaryfocus on anchors and pivots. Once we cover these points of responsibility, we arefree to create and embellish, using lead-ins. As we develop these melodies, they canbe enhanced further by the incorporation of dynamics; volume rises and falls with therise and fall of tension and release.

Overview

Anchors

The bass is primarily responsible to provide anchor notes at certain points in themusic. Simply put: we are generally responsible to play a root in a low register when aharmony first occurs; doing so underscores to the band this is the chord! If we coverthe basic areas of our responsibility as bass playerswhich involve showing up atdefinable points in the music with the right informationthen we have considerablefreedom in how we get to the next signpost or anchor point.

Pivots

A pivot is similar to an anchor in that it communicates fundamental harmony at anexpected time; however, it is most often not the root of the chord, and not at thebeginning of the harmonic instance; the most common pivot is the fifth of the chordbutit can be any chord tone, depending on taste and circumstances; and its most commonlocation in the rhythm is on the 3rd beat, assuming 4/4or, rather, halfway through thebar. There are many popular songs built around a specific bass line; in these songs, thepivot contained in the fixed line is part of the bassists responsibility, but developmentcan still occur within these kinds of frameworks. We will explore this as the bookprogresses.

Lead-Ins

Lead-Ins are the connecting materialthese are the bassists creative opportunity.Once the bassist has delivered an anchor, he can employ lead-ins of a wide variety toapproach the next benchmarkthe pivotand then transition from the pivot to the nextanchor. Lead-ins come in all shapes and sizes, rhythmic and melodic configurations, andthey are the bassists playgound.

The Rules

As is the case in every set of rules, rules are made to be broken. It is not always thecase that the bass has to play an anchor on the first beat of every chord change. Asdevelopment progresses, anchors and pivots can be rhythmically displaced. Sometimes,in walking bass lines, the distances between anchors can increase; lead-ins can occur onstrong rhythmic beats, pivots can be used as anchors, and lead-ins can be extended. Wewill talk about all of these options as the book progresses.

Internal Dynamics

We are also going to cover the subject of internal rhythmic dynamics, which wewould define as dynamic variation within a particular musical phrase. Tension andrelease is as important in rhythm as it is in melody, and the foundation of rhythmic musicof all kinds is accents, where they fall, and how much emphasis they get. Bassists needto know something about the traditions that exist here, which seem to have been largelyoverlooked in written pedagogy, but have been transmitted orally since the first strike ofa drum.

Rhythmic Overlays

Rhythmic Overlays are defined patterns of accents superimposed on the rhythmicsubstrate, derived from numeric patterns or other material such as the rhythm of lyrics.In the section on overlays, below, we will discuss some ot the sources for theseoverlays.

Harmonic Dynamics

This is a term we havent seen before in our musical studies; it shows up inbiophysics and chemistry referring to something else entirely, but this term will be usedto describe relationships between musical harmonic events such as cadences (and theirresolution) and the volume level or intensity with which they are played. We can defineharmonic dynamics as changes of volume and intensity suggested by the progressionof the chords through tension and resolution.

Anchors

Anchor examples

As previously stated, an anchor is a root in a low register that either introduces orconfirms the current chord. Here is are some examples of anchors in action:

(For the purpose of this chapter, we will use only the first four bars of a C majorblues.)

Although these are all quite different, they all consist only of anchors. They areserviceable, and even appropriate under certain circumstances. Yet more variation canbe achieved by the use of internal dynamics:

Lets look at these same examples with different accent overlays. What does it do tothe feel?

Well discuss the stylistic implications of these different accent patterns later in the

book, and also go into the multiple layers of accenting. We have found that there areprimary, secondary, tertiary (and so on) accent layers, which we will also discusslater in the book; a look at the examples above will give a hint as to how these work.The use of accents is an essential parameter in establishing feel, or style. Accents aredynamics. For our purposes, we can define internal dynamics as changes of volumeand intensity within a phrase or bar through the use of accents. We might think ofdynamics in general as referring to all changes of volume and intensity inperformance, including accents, crescendos, diminuendos, sforzandos, et cetera.

We could say many things about these examples above, but one thing we could NOTcall them is melodic.

Striving for melody

Were going to be using the term melodic often throughout this book lets stop aminute and define it. For our purposes, melodic means: an attribute of a series ofnotes containing both harmonic and non-harmonic tones creating tension and releaseagainst the underlying harmony.

Websters says: 1: a sweet or agreeable succession or arrangement of sounds:tunefulness 2: a rhythmic succession of single tones organized as an aesthetic whole

I like our definition better.So, why would these examples above not be thought of as melodic?They contain no opposition to the fundamental harmony. They are all simply a

statement of the root of the chord, the most fundamental sound we can generate.

Oppostion and the beginnings of melody

One of the hallmarks of swing, or rhythmic music in general, is an attribute (toparaphrase Steven Colbert) that we can call back-and-forth-iness. This, then that,Yin, then yang, See, then saw you get the idea. Swing. Rocking back and forth.The sense of motion in music. This brings us to the idea of the pivot.

Pivots

Where do we get our pivots?

The overtone series is a good place to start our search.The structure of music roughly emulates the overtone series; big intervals on the

bottom, chords in the middle, scales on top. The overtone series is derived bysubdividing a string, or vibrating air column, by its series of rationic fractions. As itvibrates in whole, a string simultaneously vibrates also in half, thirds, fourths, fifths, etcetera, all the way up to infinity in theory, although in actuality the series is constrainedby the limitations of the materials. It is interesting to observe that these notes, whenplayed, are referred to as harmonics. Another interesting thing about this is structureof the resulting intervallic array, and the notes produced. The notes are: one octave up,an octave and a fifth, the root two octaves up, a third, the fifth again, then a notesomewhere between the sixth and seventh, then the root again, then on into the scale:

I have found that this series is an excellent guide for judging the appropriateness (orthe safety) of other note choices for a bass playerparticularly for the pivot, whichwe can define as the primary oppositional note to the root. The first stop out on theovertone series after the octave, which can also act as a pivotis the fifth.

Roots and fifths

Bass players have put their kids through college playing roots and fifths. The fifth isthe most common pivot (although there can be others). Its a harmonic tone, but in therealm of the bass, its less harmonic than the root, and can be used to oppose the rootin the creation of bass parts; to go back and forth to, creating a pivot.

What can we observe about this example? What is going on rhythmically? Werelooking at the most common, default bass part known to manthe basic two-beat bassline yet theres more to it than meets the eye. Where does the pivot fall? In thisexample, its on the third beat. This is the most common location for a pivot, whetherits the fifth of the chord or not, especially in the context of a two feel; its halfway tothe next anchor. We could describe the third beat as a rhythmic pivot.

In the following example, you can see a larger accent on the third beat of the fourthbar. This is an example of accent layering; there are accents in the previous three barson the third beat, but there is a larger accent in the fourth bar, indicating the end of aphrase. Not all accents are created equal we need to incorporate accents as a matterof course to add dynamic interest to a groove; its an integral part of the creation offeel. However, there are larger units of phrasing occurring as we go, and using a

greater degree of emphasis to indicate these larger units adds depth and dimension to thedevelopment, and brings a larger sense of form and shape to the performance.Awareness of the power of dynamic development using accent layers is a potent tool inthe bassists arsenal of ideas.

We will explore different accent schemes later in the book; there are no hard-and-fast rules as to the beats on which they should occur. The accent schemes as they aredepicted here are useful, and acceptable as a starting point; but, the message from thisshould be simply to use them, experiment with them, and become aware of theircommunicative power.

This is an example of a four-beat (walking) line consisting entirely of roots andfifths:

Heres another line with the pivot falling on different beats and registers, anotherway to create variety and interest while using only roots and fifths. Some great bassplayers use these kinds of lines as the primary elements of their style. Given the fact thatthese lines contain the anchors, and opposition to the anchors as represented by thepivots, they can be described as melodic, in a very basic sense.

What happens now if we drop the pivot down in register?

This is an interesting effect! I was instructed by the Brazilian percussionist andteacher Van der Lei Periera that playing the fifth below the root was essential to thestyle of the bossa nova; theres an underlying lope created by the recurrent accents onthe pivots. Before we go on, try that same exercise, but put the pivot up an octave. Is theeffect stronger or weaker?

A low note on a strong beat is an accent, by default; the lower the note, the strongerthe accent, within limits; notes below a certain point lose their punch. (The notesavailable on the bass are within the range that produces the effect.) A pivot in a lowregister has a stronger oppositional effect than the fifth above the root. Strength in

opposition is good, musically speaking, because it increases contrast, and that is usuallydesirable. Stressing opposition notes or harmonies is a standard interpretive technique,taught widely in classical pedagogy, and one of the primary building blocks of dynamicperformance.

Here are pivots that are not the fifth:

Lead-Ins

This next area is exciting; as we said earlier, its the bassists playground; a

creative opportunity, and also a hallmark of style. For our purposes, we can definelead-ins as melodic material used to approach, set up or embellish anchors and/orpivots. Lead-ins can consist of either harmonic (chord) or non-harmonic tones; they canbe derived from scalesdiatonic, pentatonic, chromaticor intervallic patterns. Theircontent is less important than their resolution. Between an anchor and a pivot, or ananchor and the next anchor, theres a whole lot of leeway as far as choice of notes isconcerned. Lead-ins can approach the target from above or below, or both. Once thebass has established the fundamental of the chord, the remainder of the chords durationis about style and direction. In walking jazz bass, lead-ins are generally used toestablish a sense of forward motion, to give the line some logic and enhance theunfolding of the harmony by setting up an expectation as to what the next chord might be.In other styles, lead-ins are used to ornament and embellish static harmony by providinga sense of motion within each particular pattern.

Given the unlimited possibilities opened up by this conceptual approach, we are notgoing to attempt to cover all the possibilities with the following examples, but onlyprovide examples sufficient to illustrate the general ideas put forth.

Lead-In Examples

This example consists of anchor, lead-in, pivot, lead-inNote: from this point, examples are annotated as follows:a = anchor

l-i= lead-inp = pivotct = chord tone

Notice the chromatic lead-ins in bars 3 and 4:

Here we return to the lead-in and then skip back to the anchor:

Here we are omitting the pivots and playing lead-ins for the rest of the bar:

Here were using chord tones for the lead-ins. Notice that weve annotated eachinverted arpeggio as a lead-in unit, even though each of these happens to contain thepivot on the third beat. Arpeggios are a musical idea with such familiarity and integrityto the ear that they tend to be perceived as integral units.

Heres a line using pentatonic lead-ins. These are also immediately recognizablemusical chunks and can be thought of as such. In our experience, weve found triadsand pentatonics to be extremely reliable resources for note choice; you might hear thefamiliarity of these lines as you play them. Theyve been used by thousands of playersfor a long time because they work!:

Here are some chromatic lead-ins to the pivots and anchors (here the pivot, ratherthan being on the third beat, is on one of the second bar:

Here is a line using various lead-ins and pivots. Notice that some anchors are

delayed; and there are examples of lead-ins that consist of neighbor tones on either sideof (above and below) the target note. There is also an instance where the anchor isdelayed until later in the bar:

Embellishment of Fixed Bass Lines

After I passed the audition for Horace Silvers band, others who had played on theband previously warned me that Horace wrote all these fixed bass lines, and you had toplay them without variation. This proved not to be entirely accurate; I can credit myexperience with Horace for some of my insight as to what makes a bass line work.Horace wrote bass lines with a particular structure, but if the anchors and pivots werecovered as predetermined by his fixed line, there was considerable room for variationsin the lead-ins. Horaces instinct, what he wanted and expected to hearhis tolerancefor variationwas very instructive to me.

Heres the fixed line for Song For My Father: (next page)

Here is a non-permissable variation can you tell why this would make Horace uncomfortable? Howmany things do you think might be wrong with these 4 bars?

Heres an exampleof a line he might tolerate:

What was present inEx. 30 that was also present in the original line?

There were some lines he wrote that were specific extended melodies, and it wassuggested to me by the drummer Harold White that it would help to make up a phrase torecite in my head (or sotto voce) that fit the melody, and make a chant out of it. Thisworked quite well, and it was really powerful to experience the performance of a pieceas a form of prayer or meditation.

Anchors, Pivots and Lead-Ins in Static Harmony

What if we have 8 bars or more of a particular chord? Or maybe even a wholesong? My weakness at this particular task was gently pointed out by Horace when heturned and threw me a solo on his tune Sister Sadie and said, Walk! I hadnt a clue,at the time (1978). I had to learn how to make melodiesand not just a few melodies,but really how to compose a melody on the fly, in order to be successful in this.

Here are some examples of ornamentation on a static chord:

What are some of the melodic devices we employed? How did we create a back-and-forth sense within the static harmony? Were all lead-ins stepwise? Were there otherchords suggested by the shape of the linediatonic neighbors, perhaps? Pentatonics?Sequences?

A very good exercise is to play as long as we can stand on just one chord, andcreate structures based on the underlying harmony, set up expectations, play sequences,create tension and resolutionin short, compose.

Here is a brief example of development of anchors and pivots using various melodiclead-ins in a sixteenth-note environment. Notice the placement of the main accentitson the one. James Brown stated in an interview on PBS some years ago, that withregard to his style of music, its all about the ONE! Here the line gets a real feel to itas the lead-ins are slightly underplayed and the anchors and pivots are accented. Tryexaggerating the amount of accent and see what happens to the feel:

Internal Dynamics

Internal Dynamics is an area that seems to be largely ignored in the teaching of Jazz,

while at the same time is one of the most essential components of swing. Accents andphrasing are essential; music that is played without this awareness is flat andmonotonous, and people who are playing without employing knowledge of these toolsare usually destructive to the music.

There is a pedagogy called Eurythmics pioneered by Emile Jaques-Dalcroze, whichwas taken up by the composer Carl Orff, and is now sporadically present in theAmerican music education system largely through the efforts of the American Orff-Schulwerk Association (AOSA). Their method offers positive, integrative musicalexperiences to children through the use of rhythm and song in ensembles. These methodsexpose the student to the fun of music-making, largely through the use of rhythm anddynamics, enabling students to get the feeling of music through the motion it takes tomake it; swing is about motion.

There is a lot of misinformation, confusion, and toxic pedagogy with regard toswing, accents, phrasing, and how they work together. Two of the most abused andmisunderstood concepts are laying back and back-phrasing, and we will touch onthese as we go along. Swing depends on a constant underlying pulse, and tension andrelease against the underlying pulse (pulling against the tempo) is a parameter availableto the performer; however, there is vast opportunity to create tension and release withinthe pulsewithout violating the tempo streamthat is much more powerful andeffective. The problem comes when performers do the former without an understandingof the latter. The underlying substrate of swing is triplets, and there are many things thatcan be done, many traditions of development with triplets; different groupings, accentpatterns, overlays, and offsets of the triplet stream.

The greatest horn players Ive heard can lock in a rhythm section with a fewnotes; Clark Terry and Houston Person come immediately to mind, although there aremany greatsMiles, Wayne, Trane, Freddie, Wynton, Frank Sinatra, etc. etc.; who putthe rhythm is where it is supposed to be; right with the rhythm section (or, sometimes,where they intend the rhythm section to be playing it!). Their playing sounds free andlaid back because of their ability to recompose the rhythm with the use of devicessuch as eighth note triplets offset by a triplet eighth note, or a series of quarter noteswith a similar offset, or many other possible rhythmic devices.:

Upon trying to write an example of what NOT to dodrag the tempo, or back-phrase so far that the relationship between melody and harmony is brokenI found thatas soon as it was written, it looks like actual music. Its difficult to make niceengraving look like something that sounds bad although, many nice engravings doindeed sound bad.

There are rich traditions in rhythm that have been passed down orally; musicianswith ears or talent seem to soak some of these principles up by osmosis. Playingrhythmically and using dynamic contrast can be great fun for the player, and rhythmicexpressiveness is a hallmark of dynamic performance that should be a point of strongfocus.

The Substrate of Swing

There is an underlying structure to swing:

There are traditional accent locations in the substrate, as you can see above.Whenever there is an accent, there is an increased investment of energy in the

playing of it. For natural contrast, accents are usually followed by un-accented material,requiring a different touch and investment of energy. There is some recovery timerequired; the player needs to restrain himself and let go following the creation of theaccent; this contrast between the investment of energy and the subsequent letting gocreates feel, and transmits very directly into the listener.

There can be different layers of accents occurring at the same time. As you can seein the example above, the last eighth note of each triplet gets an accent, whilesimultaneously there is a larger accent on 2 and slightly less on 4, with a big accent on 3of the fourth bar this is not a rigid prescription, but only a suggestion for aninterpretation of style, but when compared to a featureless un-accented recitation of thesame rhythms, it has a much greater sense of swing. It has feel, and character, and

sounds great! It breathes, and has life. It is a good idea to use various overlays to varythe accent scheme; the examples thus far have all incorporated the accent scheme justdescribed; at times, though, accenting all notes, or un-accenting all notes, for someperiod, produces an interesting effect. Also, reversing where the primary accents fallmaking 4 the bigger accent, for exampleis a good change of pace. The objective is tobecome aware of the power of accents, and to be able to use them intentionally to createa desired effect.

Every jazz drummer has a characteristic and individual ride beat (although thereare some who have the capacity to vary their beat according to the style). Thecharacteristic feel comes from:

1. Which notes are accented? Some accent all the downbeats; some accent two andfour; some accent the triplet upbeats; this parameter is also a factor in the style of aparticular period.

2. Whether the accent pattern is regular or varied; some play the exact same feel allthe time; some styles depend on a certain array of accents, but the better drummers knowhow to break it up and create phrasing with the construction of their ride beat, in anystyle.

3. How hard the accent is hit4. How quick is the recovery time? How close is the triplet upbeat to the following

downbeat?These are all factors that come together in an individual and create an individual

style. The greatest musicians are aware of all these parameters and are able to come upwith an appropriate feel for a particular band. Everybody in the band needs to havesome awareness of these parameters; when a band is not playing together, it is usuallyfrom inflexibility, lack of awareness, or disagreements on this issue. Some drummersbelieveor have been taughtthat they are the time-keeper, and will notaccommodate any other feel. Some people learn a particular style, and are not awarehow that style may be related to others, or what the elements of the style of those aroundthem might be. The ability to accommodate differences in style (and inflexible anddidactic drummers!) is vital indeed for a bass player.

There are also horn players and singers who have not learned the fundamentals ofrhythm, and are not aware of their responsibility to become one with the rhythm section.Although they might believe they are making a powerful statement, or getting a lot offeeling, if they are abusing the tempo stream, they are making the audienceand therhythm sections skin crawl. Back-phrasing must NOT be another word for draggingthe tempo! Back-phrasing should be: the active re-composition of the melody byaffirmatively performing alternative rhythms within the rhythmic stream.

The much-touted practice of laying back is another minefield of misunderstanding.Count Basies Band had a distinctive sound, a very powerful swing, and manydescribed their rhythmic style as laying back, and there have been millions of attempts

to emulate the feel. The common, toxic misconception is that the feel of the band iscreated by laying back on the offbeats; this interpretation of laying back ispervasive and leads many brass and sax sections to drag the tempo; if this is whatlaying back is taken to mean, it should stop immediately! Dragging the tempo doesNOT create swing!! Its only a sign of rhythmic ignorance; sometimes its mobignorance when a whole band is following an ignorant lead trumpet player.

In actuality, a close listen and careful analysis of the Basie style will show that theoffbeats are accented, and early creating a feel of settling on the downbeats. Thosewho would lay back should investigate this conceptthe offbeats are early to allowrecovery time from the energy invested in the accentand then the band sits on thedownbeats or, more accurately, the downbeats are where they occur in the streamon time.

There is one particular figure Ive heard Basies Band play many times; and theyhave a unique way of interpreting the figure. The figure is the last 3 eighth notes of thebar:

Ex. 36 above is how Ive heard them play it; its an evolved consensus, an oraltradition in the band that this is how the figure is played.

This is an example of back-phrasing by actively re-composing the rhythmandalso an example of the oral transmission of culture; never mind what the paper says; thisis how we play that figure. I havent heard the band lately; I dont know if this is still inpractice, but this is what they were doing in the early 80s when I had the chance to playwith the band while working with Tony Bennett.

There is another way to look at and define laying back, which would involveplacing the accented offbeats closer to the following downbeat, necessitating a fasterrecovery time. Yes, we can do anything we want, interpretively; but does it swing?There is a distinctive effect created by delaying the offbeats, but the resulting feel hasmore tension in it because of the sheer energy required for the fast recovery time to thenext downbeat. Too often, horn players or singers use this effect without regard for theburden it places upon those living on the downbeats, namely the rhythm section. Themasters of this effect will exemplify the feel of the groove (Groove: the ongoingfeel of the time as created by the use of internal dynamics, phrasing, timing, and therelationship between anchors and pivots in the bass) by incorporating downbeats intotheir phrasing as well, thereby illustrating the feel of the groove theyre trying to create.Too often, those laying back do so without an apparent regard for the groove as awhole and without providing references in their phrasing to the following downbeats.

Rhythmic Overlays

One way of developing rhythm is through the use of overlays on the substrate.Overlays can come from the rhythm of the songs lyric, or some other song or nurseryrhyme, or some grouping pattern such as hemiolas, triplet arrays of different sorts, orthrough traditional rhythms like the second line rhythm (hand jive), or the variousforms of Clave. For our purposes, were going to avoid enumerating all of therhythmic patterns and traditions that exist from around the world; we are going to focuson some devices used in Jazz.

Nursery Rhymes

One interesting source of phrasing input is the rhythmic schemes found in nurseryrhymes or childrens songs. An effective way to employ this technique is to sing thesong in our head as were playing, and use it as the source for our accents and phrasing.

Notice the different size accent marks in the following examples. This illustrates theconcept of accent layers that we mentioned earlier in the book; these different levels ofaccenting serve to highlight the phrasing implied by the song rhythm overlays.

Here are a few examples that were shared with me by Harold White, HoraceSilvers drummer when I was on the band back in 1978:

Shortnin Bread

And here, the accent scheme applied to other notes:

Notice how thephrase ties off on the 3rd beat of the 4th bar.

Using these kinds of schemes to provide an undercurrent of structure accomplishestwo objectives; the first is, it provides interest and variety in an accompaniment part;

and the other is it gives the player a plan, a sense of objective while playing,increasing confidence and the ability to bring additional energy and personality into theperformance, thereby inspiring those around him.

Shave and a Haircut

Harold suggested another little song as a template for accent overlays:

Try creating a bassline while superimposing its accent scheme:

Using the rhythm suggested by the lyric of the song is yet another way to addphrasing. Im going to take it easy on my publisher and not include examples, for whichthey would have to pay license fees; but, you can imagine for yourself how it wouldsound and feel to think of the lyrics of a song like Cole Porters I Love You whileplaying a bass line the lyric itself suggests an internal dynamic scheme for the bassist.

Hemiolas

Hemiolas are groupings of 3 overlaid on a duple substrate, creating a feel ofrhythmic suspension:

Triplet Arrays

Second Line (and Clave)

The Second Line rhythm got its name from its use in early Jazz processional bandsin New Orleans; it is the rhythm played by the second line of drummers in the drumcorps:

Here it is overlayed on the rhythmic substrate (the Elvin Jones groove): (next

page)Here is a possible way to incorporate it in a bass line:

Occasionally, the groove is structured entirely around this rhythm:

Second line is one form of Clave, similar to the Cuban Son claveits the same

rhythm, except for the placement of the accent. There are many variants of Clave in thevarious cultures of the Caribbean and South America, which comprise displacements orrestructuring of the rhythm. Here are a few different forms; all can be used as overlaysover jazz rhythm.

We should point out that the traditional bass lines in the Latin styles using Son Claveare not built on the clave rhythm; the clave rhythm is played on the claves, a pair ofwooden sticks; this sound and rhythm is the unifying anchor of these Latin styles. For ourpurposes here, we are including them only as resources for accent overlays in thecreation of jazz bass lines.

As we have pointed outearlier, the Clave (which is Spanish for key) is played by a percussion instrumentdedicated to it. The style depends on it, as do the musicians who use it as a point ofreference to keep the band together. For our purposes, we will use the various rhythmssporadically as overlays on the substrate, and intermittently at that, although thesestructures are also used in composition for thematic purposes.

Harmonic Dynamics

As chord changes progress in a song, there is tension and release suggested by theharmony. There is a simple key principle to dynamic performance that can be heard inthe work of the most accomplished musicians; this principle is that tension andopposition are usually emphasized, dynamically, and there is letup on the releases andresolutions.

In the bass, there are two ways to accomplish this dynamic enhancement; one isthrough the use of dynamics (volume and intensity), and the other is through the use ofregister. In the general case, lower notes are stronger and more impactful to the music;and when the two methods are employed together, the effect creates a much more livelyand interesting performance, adds a sense of larger shape and presence to the phrasing,

and offers inspiration to others in the band, creating a greater sense of flow and majestyto the music. In a word, the performance is more dynamic.

The example above shows a crescendo, which for the bass would occur after thenote is played, leading to the question how do I get louder on a note Ive alreadyplucked? The answer isvibrato. Application of vibrato to a sustained pizzicato notecan temporarily increase the volume, and definitely adds to the intensity of the note.

There are experienced musicians who do this automatically; others dont seem to beaware at all of this parameter of performance enhancement, and although their workmight be competent otherwise, it will always fall short of its potential. Dynamics are thecrowning touch of musical performance, and knowledge of their power and appropriateuse is the mark of the true artist.

The functional purpose of the anchor and pivot is to create a sense of motion, ofback-and-forth, as we stated earlier. The pivot is an oppositional tone to the anchor; andas such, its safe to emphasize it, even in a static harmonic environment. In the generalcase, the pivot, if played below the anchor in register, will have an emphasized effect.Heres a before and after example:

There is no hard-and-fast rule that the pivot should be under the anchor, but thosewho put it there out of habit are showing an awareness of its dynamic, oppositionalvalue. Sometimes its desirable to save this stronger oppositional effect, such as in astatic environment to demarcate the end of a phrase:

Weve had the occasion to notice that violin sections in the better orchestras tend toswell on the dominant preceding a resolution, and decrescendo on the resolution,despite a lack of dynamic marking in the music.

Weve also noticed a tendencya natural tendencyfor the tempo itself to expandand contract with rises and falls in dynamics. The late pianist Dorothy Donegan was avivid exemplar of this tendency; as she made her way through a bar, frequently theindividual beats would end up different lengths even as the underlying, larger pulseremained relatively steady. In her boogie woogie lines, her left hand line would getlouder and a little slower as it ascended, then get softer and faster as it descended,creating a very powerful propulsive effect. Some boogie-woogie pianists can tend tosound mechanical; not Dorothy; she would always rock the house with her approach,getting standing ovations after the third or fourth tune. Most musicians are taught thatrock-steady time is the most desirable, but the greatest artists allow the tempo to

breathe with the rise and fall of dynamics and harmonic flow. There is an importantdistinction that should be drawn between, dynamic performance in a a rhythm section,and un-informed back phrasing on the part of a lead voice, wherein the lead voicepulls on the tempo, as discussed earlier in the book There is quite a differencebetween these two effects.

In Conclusion

With the tools weve set forth here, its possible to approach the creation of basslines with a sense of plan. When we know that dynamic and harmonic contrast adds lifeto a line, we are better able to invest additional energy in the performance, and have areal sense of contributing to the flow and liveliness of a performance. Were not upthere to be safe and anonymous; were there to bring all of our energy to bear to createthe most exciting, passionate, beautiful performance we can muster. When people ask abass player to dig in, this is the effect theyre looking for. For years, I mistakenlythought it meant to play harder, wear myself out and get blisters. No we serve theother musicians best by learning about the intrinsic power lurking in musical structureand bringing that knowledge to bear in our performance with confidence, using thisknowledge to serve the music while bringing our own energy and flair to theperformance.

Acknowledgements:

This book would not have happened without the inspiration and input of my students;Henry DAllacca, Joe Triscari, Victor Niederhoffer and others, but particularly AaronNebbia, who got me really inspired and interested in teaching after a hiatus of someyears that were devoted primarily to touring and other activities. Special thanks are dueto Eric Nebbia, his dad, for bringing him to me.

Others who have been influential and helpful in the work represented here are BobMintzer, Harold White (whose admonitions and exhortations are part of the material),Horace Silver, Houston Person, and supportive friends and commentators in the personof Lynne Arriale, John Goldsby, Ted Rosenthal, John Loehrke, Morrie Louden, andJason Heath.

Please visit us on the web at http://jonburr.com; were also on Facebook andTwitter (jonburr).

Jon BurrJon has come up with a great book for bassists, and anyone else for that matter,

which delves into the construction of compelling bass lines. He is very thorough in hisapproach talking about what the bassist does and all the whys and hows. Jon is a greatmusician, and his take on this subject matter is a welcome addition to the topic.

- Bob Mintzer, Grammy-winning saxophonist/composer/educatorJon Burr shares valuable secrets of jazz bass playing, and he writes in a clear and

direct manner. This book will help students and pros alike in developing swinging,melodic and groove bass lines.

- Ted Rosenthal, pianist, composer and instructor at Juilliard School of MusicAfter decades as a first-call bassist on the New York jazz scene, Jon Burr reveals

his concepts and musical wisdom in this concise and easy to understand tutorial. Amust-have for the aspiring jazz bassist.

- John Goldsby, author: The Jazz Bass BookIf you want to be a creative BASS player, this is the book for you.

- Houston Person, saxophonist/producer/jazz masterI finally had the time to actually play thru the book thorougly... its fantastic. Its

great to see someone addressing in print the stuff that makes melody sound so great. Ilove that last paragraph...Its great to have stuff that veteran bassists learn to dointuitively explained in clear, logical language. Its a wonderful, and as far as I know,unique, book.

- John Loehrke, bassist and educatorJon has made a science of of building bass lines with his extensive professional

experience. With this Gem-of-a-book, he turns it into an understandable language, theninto a practical application. Its broken down to the responsibilities of the Bass Playerand, where he has freedom within the bass line. Its a must-have publication for any

bassist.- Morrie Louden, bassist, composer and recording artist

The Untold Secret to Melodic Bass is an outstanding rethinking of how expert jazzbassists actually conceptualize and navigate chord changes. Written from theperspective of a seasoned jazz veteran but set forth in a straightforward and engagingfashion, this book is an excellent addition to the library of any jazz bass student orteacher.

- Jason Heath, bassist, instructor, host/author of doublebassblog.orgBassist Jon Burr is a composer, author, bandleader and educator. His performance

career spans over thirty years, working with Tony Bennett, Stan Getz, Horace Silver,Buddy Rich, Chet Baker, Mark OConnors Hot Swing Trio, Stephane Grappelli, EarthaKitt, Rita Moreno, Barbara Cook, and many others.

Jon was an instructor at the University of Illinois and the Mark OConnor StringConference. In 2007 he produced a series of his own songs, forming the Jon Burr Bandin the process. His lifelong experience has given him a unique perspective on the role ofthe bass in an ensemble, with a deep understanding of musical structure and the role ofthe bass within it. His playing is melodic and unmistakable, yet propulsive and forceful;his playing radiates effortless joy and ease according to the N.Y. Times.

His goal is to support a band and inspire his fellow musicians, with a distinctlypersonal voice; this book gives valuable insights into how to go about doing that. He haswritten other books available on his website, including Rhythmic and MelodicDevelopment in the Construction of Bass Lines, Another Look at MelodicConstruction in Improvisation, and is currently working on his fourth book Physicaland Mental Programming for the Improvising Bassist. Find him on the web at http://jonburr.com.

Cover drawing by Jon Burrbased on a sketch by Bill BurrThe Untold Secret to Melodic Bassby Jon Burr 2009 jbQ MediaISBN 1-4392-4272-0http://jonburr.comhttp://jbq.net

I. Anchors, Pivots and Lead-InsOverviewAnchorsPivotsLead-InsThe RulesInternal DynamicsRhythmic OverlaysHarmonic DynamicsAnchorsAnchor examplesOppostion and the beginnings of melodyPivotsWhere do we get our pivots?Roots and fifthsLead-InsEmbellishment of Fixed Bass LinesAnchors, Pivots and Lead-Ins in Static HarmonyII. Internal DynamicsThe Substrate of SwingRhythmic OverlaysNursery RhymesShave and a HaircutHemiolasSecond Line )Harmonic DynamicsIn ConclusionAcknowledgements