How To Make Your Own Walk-ups and Walk-downs on guitar
This “Magic” Walking Bassline Formula Works With Any Chords
Crafting Your Own Walk-ups & Walk-downs on Guitar
In this walkups and walkdowns guitar tutorial, I’ll show you how to create walking basslines that bridge any two chords, and will sound “right.” After years of exploration and teaching, I’ve distilled the process into a simple 5-step formula. We’ll learn the simple patters that will allow you to infuse your strumming songs with an extra layer of sophistication and make your own walk-ups and walkdowns.
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To start with, pick two chords and find the root notes. Decide if you’re going up or down the fretboard to connect them. For example, if you’re going from C to G, you’d go down. Then use one of the shapes we discuss in the tutorial and finally adjust and find the easiest place to play the notes. Write it down and practice it.
You can repeat the process to go back, using the first chord as the landing chord to create a loop. Keep in mind, this is just a starting point. Once you understand scales and the CAGED system, you can take what we learned today and magnify it a hundred times over to craft some really cool, unique stuff.
