One fingering may have you shifting constantly, while another requires no shifts. When you play highly chromatic bass parts, you'll find you need to experiment with the fingering a lot. Here is the fingering for the Chromatic Scale again: Since it spans across five frets on the bass fretboard, it requires shifting. Now would be a good time to review playing the chromatic scale. Doesn't that sound disgusting?] Fingering and Chromatic Lines [If you're wondering, bassists often misplay it with a whole-step below:Ī BB E F#F#. It's no wonder Jemmott was one of Jaco's big influences Jemmott knows how music and the bass work. Jemmott uses chromatic tones to approach each root and fifth from a half-step below:Ī# BB F F#F#. The core of the line is just a root and lower fifth on the strong beats 1 and 3. I hear bassists play this bassline incorrectly almost every time. Listen to the bassline by Jerry Jemmott on The Thrill Is Gone by B.B King: When someone's ear hears this mysterious, not-in-the-scale note, it just knows something else is coming.Ĭhromaticism is like the Alfred Hitchcock of harmony. This propels you into the strong sound and creates a lot of forward motion. Chromatic Tones don't have to connect two notes they can just precede a strong note. Chromatic Approach NotesĪs a tension producing sound, Chromatic Tones are great for setting up and leading into another strong note. One of the most common is connecting the third and fifth of a major chord as in: Root-3-4- #4-5.Īnother is between the second and third: 2- b3-3.Īnd, of course, the minor blues scale already connects the fourth and fifth: 4- b5-5.ĭo you see a pattern here? The final note of the phrase is always a really strong chord tone (R, 3, or 5). There are many common places to fill between strong notes. You can really feel the constant forward momentum created by that chromatic note in the bassline. It starts off with 5-b7- 7-8 and uses the same idea throughout this Eb blues. Listen to Sam Thomas' bassline on Out of Sight by James Brown: It's very common to fill in the chromatic tone between the flat 7th and the root (or its octave) as in b7- 7-8. The most common way to use Chromatic Tones is to fill in gaps between stronger notes.įor example, many basslines use the Root-5-b7-8 pattern. Connecting Two Strong Notes Chromatically Occasionally one might fall in a strong place (beat 1 or 3) when it is surrounded by many other strong Chord Tones, but this is rare. Since Chromatic Tones are so weak and dissonant (have a harsh sound), they need to land in weak rhythmic places like in-between the beat, or on beats 2 and 4. How Bass Players Use Chromatic TonesĬhromatic Tones are connecting notes. Since there are a total of twelve notes, and most scales contain seven notes, there are usually five Chromatic Tones floating about just waiting to be used for good or bad. Chromatic Tones are all of the remaining notes outside of the scale. So far, we've discussed Chord Tones (notes in the chord) and Scale Tones (notes of the associated scale not in the chord). You'll see all of the great bass players have mastered the balance of Chord, Scale, and Chromatic Tones in their basslines. ![]() Understanding and balancing tension and resolution in music is essential to being a good, creative musician. Because of their weak sound, Chromatic Tones create tension in music. Reaching the top of the Note Choice Pyramid, we arrive at Chromatic Tones.
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