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This Month's Lesson

Playing in 3/4
Improvising bass lines in 3/4 time can feel awkward first. Things that have become familiar to you
in 4/4 time don't fit anymore! This chapter offers some ideas to practice so that you can feel
comfortable playing in 3/4
Playing in "1":
This means playing one note per bar and is much like playing in "2" in 4/4.

Two notes per bar:

Busier than one note per bar, these rhythms give the bass line forward motion without being
locked into walking.
Example 1:
Notice how well this flows, because beat one is stressed, preceded by a pickup on beat
three.

Example 2:
This is the reverse rhythm of example 1. It sounds "backwards", because beat two is
stressed, with beat one sounding like a pickup.

Example 3:
This is another effective rhythm, for the same reasons as in example 1.

Example 4:
this rhythm can work great in a bass line, but if it is played too much, it sounds like a
rhythmic modulation. It can destroy the feeling of three, because of its symmetrical "two"
feeling. (You may want to do that intentionally).

Example 5:
This is similar to example 2, with the stress coming on the "and" of one.

Three notes per bar:

This is "walking" in 3/4. It presents an entirely new challenge from 4/4. Beats one and /or two
need to define the chord, with beat three connecting smoothly to the next chord. Walking can be
chordal or scalar. The next few examples illustrate different ways of walking in three.
Chordal lines:
This bass line uses triads to define the harmony:

The bass line uses 7ths as well as triads.

Scalar lines:
This line uses passing tones on beat two of bars 1,3 and 4. Notice that the first bar is the
only one with a root on beat one.

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Copyright 2002 Mike Downes.