Theory
Week 3 begins. For the past two weeks we learned to walk with chord tones — that feel of landing on the chord on every beat 1. This week you learn one real secret of walking. It's the approach note you place on the last beat (beat 4). An approach note is a single note you set down like a stepping stone, right before you cross to the next chord.
Today's topic is the strongest approach note, the chromatic approach. The method is very simple. You place a note a half step above or below the next chord's root on beat 4. For example, if the next chord is Bb, put B (3rd string, 2nd fret) a half step above, or A (3rd string, open) a half step below, on beat 4. Then that note gets pulled in as if sliding into the next measure's beat 1, Bb.
Why does this work? A half step is the closest distance to our ears. When a note a half step away sounds, the ear starts to expect the target note that comes next. So the approach note acts like an arrow aimed ahead at the next chord. It doesn't have to be a chord tone — the beat 4 approach is a passing note, so as long as you land properly on the next beat 1, it actually makes the line smoother.
Remember just one thing. Approach on beat 4, land on the next beat 1. The relationship of these two beats is the core that carries through this whole week. Today, get both directions — a half step above and a half step below — into your hands.
Look first at the fretboard for the three notes aimed at the next chord, Bb — the root and the half steps on either side.
▶ 4-string. The next root Bb (3rd string, 1st fret), plus B a half step above (2nd fret) and A a half step below (open).
▶ 5-string. The positions are the same as on a 4-string. Rest your hand over the low B.
See it
Now put the approach note into an actual line. The first example enters the next root Bb from a half step above, the second from a half step below. Both put the approach on beat 4 and land on the next beat 1. Every example comes in both a 4-string and a 5-string version.
▶ BPM 76, 4-string. Beats 1–3 are F7 chord tones; beat 4 B (3rd string, 2nd fret) aims at Bb from a half step above. Land on Bb on the next beat 1.
▶ BPM 76, 5-string. Same notes and positions as the 4-string. Rest your hand over the low B.
This time, in reverse, come up from a half step below, A, into Bb.
▶ BPM 76, 4-string. Beat 4 A (3rd string, open) aims at Bb from a half step below. Push up a half step from below and land.
▶ BPM 76, 5-string. Same notes and positions as the 4-string.
Today's practice
0–10 min · Warm-up Walk Week 2's F7→Bb7 arpeggio walk once at BPM 72. Bring the walking feel back to your fingertips.
10–20 min · Brain training With the prep example below, isolate just the approach note. Feel how you slide slowly and land from measure 1's beat 4 B to measure 2's whole-note Bb.
▶ BPM 66, 4-string. Beat 4 B gets pulled into the next measure's whole-note Bb. Feel that pull very slowly.
▶ BPM 66, 5-string. Same notes and positions as the 4-string.
20–40 min · Real play Alternate the two examples above (half step above, half step below) at BPM 76. Check by ear whether the beat 4 approach slides into the next beat 1. Learn it on a 4-string, then confirm on a 5-string.
40–50 min · Record/feedback Record 30 seconds and listen for whether the approach note naturally calls the next chord. Note which you prefer, a half step above or below.
Done when: you can place the chromatic approach note a half step above or below the next chord's root on beat 4, land exactly on the next measure's beat 1, and walk it on both a 4-string and a 5-string.
- The approach note is as loud as a chord tone. Keep the beat 4 approach short and light, and ring the next beat 1 landing more clearly. The approach must not become the star.
- You place the approach too early. The approach note is always on beat 4. On beat 2 or 3 it blurs the chord tones and weakens the landing.
Look ahead at the approach note for returning to F, too. Below, aimed at F, are E a half step below and F# a half step above.
▶ 4-string. F (4th string, 1st fret), plus F# a half step above (2nd fret) and E a half step below (2nd string, 2nd fret).
▶ 5-string. The positions are the same as on a 4-string. Rest your hand over the low B.
- Aim at the next chord ahead of time. The approach note's destination is always the next chord's root. When the walk cycles back, use the same principle in the measure returning to F. Getting just the two directions — above and below — into your hands today is a big step.