Theory
At last, the final day of week 8 — graduation! Today you record all the vocabulary you've built over two months into one graduation piece. Think back two months — back then, even when the chord changed, you could barely press a single root. But now you walk smoothly over Gm7-C7-Fmaj7 + turnaround, drawing on chord tones, approach notes, enclosures, and ornaments all at once. This track has been your bass jazz / harmony capstone.
Today's graduation piece goes like this. Bars 1–3 are the ii-V-I (Gm7→C7→Fmaj7) walk, and bar 4 is the turnaround C7. The F# at the end of bar 4 approaches the root G of bar-1 Gm7 by a half step, so the end of bar 4 loops naturally into the start of bar 1. All of two months' vocabulary — chord-tone landings, approach-note bridges, enclosures, ghosts — is in these four bars. At BPM 90, record two or three loops without stopping and pick the best take.
It doesn't have to be perfect — the take that flowed to the end is the best graduation piece. This recording is a gift, playing today's sound to the you who pressed only roots two months ago. Keep it on 4-string, then on 5-string too, and you've graduated the walking bass track. And this isn't the end — you're now a bassist who can walk over any progression you meet. First, press where the graduation piece travels, one last time, on the fretboard.
▶ 4-string. The three roots of the graduation piece. Passing through Gm7(G)·C7(C)·Fmaj7(F), the bar-4 C7 turns back to bar one.
▶ 5-string. Same spots as the 4-string. You can keep a heavier graduation piece with the low B string.
See it
At last, the graduation recording! The ii-V-I + turnaround walk with all two months' vocabulary, a four-bar loop. Land on the chord on every downbeat, and the end of bar 4 turns back to bar 1 and loops. Each example comes in both 4- and 5-string versions.
▶ BPM 90, 4-string, swing quarters. Gm7-C7-Fmaj7 (bars 1–3) + bar-4 turnaround (C7 → approaches the Gm7 root G with F#). The end of bar 4 loops naturally into the start of bar 1.
▶ 5-string. Same notes and spots as the 4-string. Back the graduation piece's low end more with the low B string.
Today's practice
0–10 min · Warm-up Turn yesterday's full run-through lightly at BPM 60 to wake up your hands. Today you'll keep this walk as your graduation recording.
10–20 min · Brain training Turn the graduation piece very slowly one more time, as below, and carve the four bars' spots into your hands one final time.
▶ BPM 60, 4-string. Very slowly. Check the chord-tone landing on every downbeat and the bar-4 F# loop one last time.
▶ BPM 60, 5-string. Same notes and spots as the 4-string.
20–40 min · Real play Repeat the graduation piece as a loop at BPM 90. If the end of bar 4 wobbles, drop the tempo and bring the loop back to smooth. Learn it on 4-string, then check on 5-string too.
40–50 min · Record / graduation At last, the graduation recording. At BPM 90, record two or three loops without stopping and keep the best take. Keep both 4- and 5-string and you've graduated the walking bass track.
Done when: you can record the ii-V-I + turnaround walk (four-bar loop) at BPM 90 on both 4- and 5-string without stopping. — Graduation deliverable: your first walking bass graduation recording. (Walking bass graduation!)
All of two months' vocabulary is in these four bars. One last time, carve the roots and chord tones that the graduation piece travels into your eye as a single map.
▶ 4-string. The two-month vocabulary map. The roots G·C·F and chord tones b3·3·7 are spread evenly across the four bars.
▶ 5-string. Same spots as the 4-string. Back the low end more with the low B string.
- You stop while chasing perfection. A graduation recording is about finishing more than perfection. Even if you slip, don't stop; flow one take to the end and keep the loop.
- You rush the bar-4 F#. The final approach note F# must be stepped firmly on its beat to loop naturally back to the G of bar 1. Don't pull it early in your excitement; close the seam of the loop calmly.
- You get careless with the low B (5-string). Absorbed in recording, the B tends to ring. Keep it lightly covered with the side of your left hand at all times.
Two months ago you barely held on with a single root when the chord changed; now you're a bassist who walks the changes. You walked smoothly over Gm7-C7-Fmaj7 + turnaround with chord tones and approach notes, and completed two months' vocabulary as one piece. Congratulations on graduating the walking bass track. Now, whatever progression you meet, your step will walk over it, singing.