My band has a mid-December gig and it's the first I've played with them in December. My walking bass skills aren't that good, and I ran into a gotcha that I'm still working on. You would think that most of the familiar Christmas tunes aren't tricky, but I found a surprise.
The old chestnut Rocking Around the Christmas Tree has a 16-measure "walking bass solo" and the key is G#, which is an unusual key for this band. That combination surprised me and has me on the defensive. It will probably end up as a mix of one and two measure walks up and down but I'm working to extend them to something that
isn't too repetitive.
I hadn't played that tune before and didn't expect to run into a long bass solo, so I'm a bit behind on this one. I have a practice with the band tomorrow and I'll need more work after that.
Here's one sample on YouTube: