The Complete Idiot''s Guide to Music Theory

Part 4:
Accompanying
174
Moving Bass
Once you get good at these simple types of accompaniment, you can spice
things up by playing a more complex bass part.
So far, all you have to do is play the root of the chord—in time!—with your left
hand. However, if you listen to just about any song from the pop era, starting
with the Beatles, you’ll hear a lot more in the bass than just the root. That’s
because bass guitarists in the ’60s upped the ante and started playing some
really interesting bass parts.
If you want to add more bass to your piano accompaniments, start by adding
passing tones between the root notes of consecutive chords, like this:
Paul McCartney was one
of the pioneers of this new
style of bass playing, as
was James Jamerson at
Motown. One of the most
influential bass parts ever
recorded was on the Four
Tops’ hit “Bernadette”—
which is James Jamerson
at the top of his form.
Note
Passing notes in the bass.
You’re not limited to the root in the bass, either. Many bass parts provide inter-
est by stopping on the third or the fifth of the chord, instead of on the root. If
you expand on this concept you end up with a 
walking bass line,
such as that
found in a lot of jazz music. A walking bass line goes beyond simple passing
tones by “walking” up and down the scale, like this:
A walking bass line.
As you develop your accompanying skills, you can elaborate on the bass or the
chords in lots of different ways. Just remember to listen to the song and play a
part that’s appropriate.
One Good Strum Deserves Another
Pianos aren’t the only accompanying instruments, of course. If you play guitar,
you have to face many of the same challenges a piano player does when asked
to provide accompaniment to others.
Chief of these challenges, of course, is figuring out what chords to play—
which, you now know, is within your grasp. All you have to do is use the skills
you learned previously in this book.

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Chapter 13:
Accompanying Melodies
Once you’ve figured out the chords, you have to play them. In most instances,
you can get by with simple strumming. You can strum on the first beat of every
measure, you can strum on every beat, you can strum a backbeat on two and
four, or you can strum in a more complex rhythm. Depending on the song, you
can even break up the chords by playing one string at a time in an arpeggiated
pattern. The important thing is to use your ears and play what fits the music.
And make sure you keep up with the chord changes!
The Least You Need to Know
◆
If you’re given a lead sheet with chord notation, play the chords as written.
◆
If you’re given a melody sheet with no chords noted—or no music at all—
you have to figure out the chords before you play.
◆
When accompanying other musicians, play the chord with your right hand
and the root of the chord with your left.
◆
You can play many different types of accompaniment—block chords, sim-
ple rhythms, broken chords, and so on—depending on the mood and
tempo of the song itself.
◆
Before you play a new song, make sure you sketch out the form of the
song (verse, chorus, and so forth) so that you don’t get lost in the middle
of things.
Exercises
Exercise 13-1
Play a block chord accompaniment based on the following lead sheet.
175

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