Solar Walking Bass Line
Solar is a 12-bar tune in C minor that Miles Davis recorded in 1954 with Percy Heath on bass. It was copyrighted in Davis's name in 1963, but in 2012 the Library of Congress revealed a 1946 recording of guitarist Chuck Wayne playing it under the name Sonny, and Wayne is now regarded as its composer. In just 12 bars it moves through four key centers, which makes it a great workout for walking ii-Vs. 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 almost every bar. Learn Jazz Standards and Wikipedia write the first chord as Cm(maj7); Jazzadvice writes Cm6, which works the same way for the bass. Wikipedia notes that bar 3 is sometimes Cm7 instead of Gm7, and the last bar's G7 is written G7b9 on both the Learn Jazz Standards and Jazzadvice charts. Chuck Wayne's original, Sonny, opened on a major chord; Davis made it minor.
How this line works
- The root lands on beat 1 of 12 of the 14 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.
- 13 of the 13 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 8 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 Solar teaches you
- Four key centers in 12 bars: C minor, then a ii-V-I in F (Gm7 C7 to Fmaj7), then E-flat (Fm7 Bb7 to Ebmaj7), then D-flat (Ebm7 Ab7 to Dbmaj7), then a minor ii-V back to C minor. Each new major chord is a whole step below the last one.
- Major turns minor: Fmaj7 becomes Fm7 and Ebmaj7 becomes Ebm7, so the root stays put while the third drops a half step (A to A-flat, G to G-flat). Each minor chord is the ii of the next key.
- The Cm(maj7) sound: the first chord is C, E-flat, G and B natural. B is the leading tone of C minor, so it's a strong note to walk through on the way back to C.
- Two chords in one bar: Ebm7 Ab7 in bar 10 and Dm7b5 G7b9 in bar 12 get two beats each, so you've got to land on each chord in two beats.
- It turns around fast: bar 12's Dm7b5 G7b9 is a minor ii-V that pulls straight back to Cm(maj7), and with only 12 bars the top of the form comes around quickly.
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
- Miles Davis, Walkin' (1957), with Percy Heath on bass.
- Bill Evans Trio, Sunday at the Village Vanguard (1961), with Scott LaFaro on bass.
- Pat Metheny, Question and Answer (1990), with Dave Holland on bass.
Solar: questions
What key is Solar in?
C minor. That's the key of Miles Davis's 1954 recording and of the Learn Jazz Standards and Jazzadvice charts. Only the first two bars sit on C minor, though; the rest of the tune moves through F, E-flat and D-flat.
Is Solar a blues?
It's 12 bars long, and Wikipedia says most listeners hear it as a blues, but the changes aren't blues changes. It's a string of ii-V-Is, loosely based on How High the Moon, that drops a whole step each time before turning back to C minor.
Who wrote Solar?
Miles Davis recorded it in 1954, and it was copyrighted in his name in 1963. In 2012 the Library of Congress revealed a 1946 jam session recording of guitarist Chuck Wayne playing the same tune under the name Sonny, so Wayne is now regarded as the composer.
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.