Mr. P.C. Walking Bass Line
Mr. P.C. is John Coltrane's minor blues in C minor, named for bassist Paul Chambers, who plays on the first recording. Coltrane recorded it on May 5, 1959, for his album Giant Steps. The changes are simple, Cm7 and Fm7, then Ab7 to G7 at the end, but the top of the form is four straight bars of Cm7, and the original runs at about 260 bpm. Below you'll find the changes bar by bar and a walking line in C minor.
Turn the bass off and it's your gig: the piano and drums keep going and you walk the line. The band counts you in with one bar of hi-hat.
Recorded upright bass, grand piano and a jazz drum kit play the line. Tab is for 4-string bass in standard tuning.
The changes
Charts agree on the roots. Jazzadvice writes bar 10 as G7b13 and Wikipedia's chart writes G9; we write G7 and keep the line on G, B, D and F. Wikipedia's chart also adds a Bb/C voicing on the second half of bars 3, 7 and 11 and a C7 option in bar 4, all over a C in the bass, so they don't change the walking line's targets.
How this line works
- The root lands on beat 1 of 7 of the 12 chord changes, so the harmony is clear. The rest start on the 3rd or 5th, which keeps the line from sounding like a list of roots.
- 11 of the 11 chord changes are approached by a half step or a whole step, so every new chord arrives smoothly instead of by a jump.
- Non-chord tones sit on the weak beats: 9 on beat 2 and 7 on beat 4. That's where passing and chromatic notes sound intentional instead of wrong.
- No note repeats back to back. A repeated note is the quickest way to make a walking line sound stiff.
What Mr. P.C. teaches you
- The minor blues: the same 12-bar shape as a regular blues, but the I chord is Cm7 and the IV is Fm7, both minor.
- Four bars of one chord: bars 1 to 4 are all Cm7, so there's no new root to aim at. Move through the range and mix scale steps with chord tones so the line doesn't circle C.
- A half step down to the V: bars 9 and 10 go Ab7 to G7, roots a half step apart, instead of the ii-V a major blues uses. G7's third, B, is the leading tone of C minor, and it pulls up a half step to C in bar 11.
- Named for a bassist: Coltrane named it for Paul Chambers, who'd played with him for years and plays on Giant Steps.
- A fast tempo: on Giant Steps the band plays it at about 260 bpm, so a line that's easy to finger matters as much as the note choice.
How to practice it
- Hear the form first. Turn the bass off and play just the root of each chord along with the band until you never lose your place.
- Read the line slowly. Set the tempo around 80 and play the written line with the drums. Slow is the fast way here.
- Loop the hard spots. Turn on Loop, find the four bars that trip you up, and play them until they feel like the easy ones.
- Make it yours. Keep beat 1 of every bar, but change the approach note on beat 4. A half step above, a half step below, a whole step: each one changes the color of the arrival.
- Play it with the record. Put on one of the versions below and play along. That's where the time feel gets into your hands.
Want to build your own lines on these changes? Try the free Walking Line Builder and practice with the click on 2 and 4.
Recordings to hear
- John Coltrane, Giant Steps (1959), with Paul Chambers on bass.
- Tommy Flanagan, Giant Steps (In Memory of John Coltrane) (1982), with George Mraz on bass.
Mr. P.C.: questions
What key is Mr. P.C. in?
C minor. That's the key of Coltrane's Giant Steps recording, and it's the key on the Jazzadvice and Wikipedia charts.
Who is Mr. P.C.?
Paul Chambers, the bassist on Giant Steps. Coltrane named the tune after Chambers's initials; Chambers had played with him for years.
How fast is Mr. P.C. played?
Coltrane's original is an up-tempo swing, about 259 bpm during his solo. Most players learn it much slower, and OpenRealB's backing tracks for it run from 145 to 260 bpm.
Your next step
This page gives you one line to study. These courses teach you to build your own, on the bass you play.
The 7-Day Walking Bass Breakthrough
Cole DavisWalk through any jazz tune with lines that move, swing, and never repeat themselves.
- Walk through any ii-V-I, major or minor.
- Solve the two-bar problem on static modal tunes.
- Never repeat yourself two bars in a row.
Walking Basslines on Upright Bass from the Beginning
Cole DavisFive lessons from “my walking lines don't sound like the records” to professional-grade walking.
- The chord first: the 1-3-5-7, where every great bass line starts.
- The master move: changing the order of the notes, bar by bar, on an F blues.
- The three questions every bass line has to pass, then the whole method on Autumn Leaves.
Not sure which course fits? Answer a few questions and we'll point you to one.