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Play Along Tracks: Lesson 1 – ii/V : Jazz Studies With Bill Harrison
Meet Bill Harrison –
As promised last issue, let’s start using backing tracks to work with the most common chord progression in jazz, the ii/V. Please download the pdf and mp3 files at the end of this page to get the most benefit out of this lesson.
If you are not familiar with thinking about harmony using roman numerals, here’s a quick and dirty explanation:
The play along track we’ll be using is in the key of C, and the chord progression is D-7 / G7, where D-7 is built on the 2nd degree of the C major scale and G7 is constructed on the 5th degree of the scale. (Ex. 1) When we’re talking about notes we use regular Arabic numbers, but for chords we use Roman numerals. Lowercase means a minor type chord and uppercase indicates a major quality chord. (Ex. 2)
Let’s listen to the track from three points of view: rhythm, harmony and melody.
First, put your attention on the drums, or, more accurately, the cymbals. The drummer on this track is playing beats two and four with his left foot on the hi-hat and mostly quarter notes with his right hand on the ride cymbal, which is exactly what we do when walking a bass line. (Ex. 3) As you work on the content of your lines, be sure to stay hooked up with the ride cymbal – think of it as the “ting” for your “thump”.
Harmonically this progression is simple. The root note moves from D to G, and inside the chord only one other note changes. The D-7 chord consists of D F A C. The G7 is G B D F. If we eliminate the roots (already accounted for) and fifths (an interval that is present for both chord types), we are left with the two notes that define the quality of the chord (i.e., whether it is major, minor or dominant). The defining notes for D-7 are the third (F) and the seventh (C). On the G7, the third is B and the seventh is F. So, the important tones inside the chord move from F and C to F and B. The only note that changes (besides the roots) is the C moving down by half step to the B. (Ex. 4) Listen to the pianist’s voicings with this in mind. You can experiment with this by playing the C on the D-7 chord and the B on the G7. This will be easier to hear in the medium or high range of your bass.
Finally, we’ll work on our bass “melody” – a walking line that clearly indicates the root and chord type and that (hopefully) adds some secondary melodic interest. To make things easier for now, always play the root of the chord change on beat 1. Until you can really hear your way through this progression, I suggest that you only use chord tones on the other three beats of the measure. (Ex. 5) The most important decision your ear has to make is how you are going to go from beat 4 of one chord to beat 1 (the root) of the next chord. We’ll tackle this technique more in depth next time, but for now see what you can come up with using just the four chord tones in whatever orders you hear. Happy walking!
Play_Along_Tracks_Lesson_1_-_ii-V-Aug09
Download iiVPnoDr01C-aug09_.mp3
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Photo: Self-portrait by Melissa Auf Der Maur
Melissa Auf Der Maur is a Canadian bassist who played with Tinker, Hole, and The Smashing Pumpkins. She released her own work and is a photographer with photos published in Nylon, Bust, and National Geographic. She released her ‘90s Rock Memoir “Even The Good Girls Will Cry” on 17 March 2026.
KB: Did you always want to be a singer-musician growing up?
I’ve played music my whole life. In school, I played trumpet and sang in a children’s choir, so music was always within me. My mother was the first female disc jockey on the Montreal airwaves; her record collection played a huge role in my inspiration and love of music.
KB: When did you start playing bass, and why this instrument?
When I was 19, the early 90s music explosion began to percolate in tiny clubs around the world. I was lucky to be a ticket girl at Montreal’s underground music club. In one year, I saw Hole, Sonic Youth, Smashing Pumpkins, White Zombie, and The Breeders – all had female bass players. That’s when the seed was planted. By the age of 22, I was the bass player of Hole.
KB: Which brands of basses have you used in your career, and which one are you using now?
The first bass that I learned on was a vintage Squier Precision. Hole was sponsored by Fender guitars, so I upgraded to Fender Custom Shop Precisions. That is all I play, but I have a cool vintage 8-string Greco that I use on recordings to thicken up guitar parts.
KB: What equipment do you use or have you used with your basses?
Ampeg SVT amps and cabinets, a couple of Sans-Amp pedals, and that is it.
KB: How did you become a member of Hole, and what is your fondest memory of that time?
Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins was helping scout a replacement for (RIP) Kristen Pfaff, Hole’s bass player. My band, Tinker, opened for them on the Siamese Dream tour, so Billy had seen me play and could vouch for me. Courtney trusted her talented friend, and that was it. I initially said “no thank you” due to my commitment to my photographic studies and the drama and chaos surrounding the band during the “Live Through This” album release. Courtney took it as a good sign that I said no, so convinced me to reconsider, and soon after, I accepted their invitation, in the name of helping put females in the male-dominated landscape of rock music. My fondest memory is every show we played as a mostly female band, symbolizing what a woman could do in a rock band. Every show had a purpose: get more women to play music.
KB: You are a photographer as well. What makes a great picture? Do you shoot in color or b/w?
I started shooting photographs at age 15. Initially only shot black & white and worked in the art school darkroom. In university, I took a color photography course, and shifted mostly and forever to that, because it was easier to process film on the road when I joined a rock band. I experimented with many cameras, point and shoots, manual, polaroids, medium format, and vintage finds. The trick to a good photograph is to shoot many and all the time – the magic is in the edit and selection process.
KB: Are there artists you would love to collaborate with or wish you had?
??I’ve been lucky to collaborate with some of my favorite musicians in my career. I would still love to collaborate with a new generation heavy electronic artist on an analog bass, heavy electronic drums, and synths collaboration project. Take me out of my usual zone, merging the past and future: my love of 80s dark new wave and new artists exploring that genre. It was very futuristic back then, and we are now, after all, living in the future. I am in the mood to play bass to heavy beats I want to dance to.
KB: What are your 7 favorite bass lines in music across all genres? And why these 7?
“Mountain Song” – Jane’s Addiction (love a rambling, rolling bass line – feels like the ocean waves)
“Black Top – Helmet” (was the first bass line I taught myself)
“Gold Dust Woman” – Hole from “The Crow 2” Soundtrack (it was my first bass line contribution to the band)
“Get Ready” – The Temptations (Motown just feels so good, because of the bass)
“Lucretia My Reflection” – Sisters of Mercy (makes me want to hit the dance floor and play bass simultaneously)
“Be My Druidess” – Type O Negative (full chord bass playing at its best by iconic, demonic, Peter Steele, RIP)
“Romantic Rights” – Death from Above (1979 – unique distorted overdriven tone, combined dance rhythm and melodic intelligence, all in one shot – also! Shout out to a bass & drum only band, which is awesome, and we should have more of, but the bass player needs to be a killer to fill that role.
KB: What are you currently up to?
Releasing my ‘90s Rock Memoir “EVEN THE GOOD GIRLS WILL CRY”. Visceral healing process, it was to get it out of me and write it, but I suspect the real magic will begin by putting it into the world and reflecting with others on what the magic of the ‘90s was all about. Powerful music decade that carried us into what is now a brave new world of digital corporate weirdness – may the past shed a light on our future. That’s my hope for this book release and tour.
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