Review: Hal Leonard Bass Method Complete Edition

[CamMcIntyre]

Wow, in all my years on this board-i had no idea Ed Friedland was a registered member. This feels about the same way as when i first read a post by Roger Sadowsky, Bill Conklin, etc.

I've got the building walking bass lines, and i think a few others-i'd have to check my listing [i made a spread sheet with my books-turns out i own 35 differnt bass/music books].

That's all

[kjones]

The oddest thing about this Hal Leonard/Ed Friedland book is that the songs are cool. They really keep students' interest up because they feel their learning is actually being applied to the kind of stuff people play in real life. The songs are so catchy that I find myself humming them hours after a lesson.

Oh yeah, and the method is good as well. : )

[Super_Red]

I just ordered this and Building Walking Basslines for the store I teach out of. Thanks Ed for the great material!

[edfriedland]

Thanks again everyone for all the great comments about the method. I guess I can mention that there is also a DVD that parallels Book 1. It's a great self teaching tool for a brand new player.

Also, I'm very excited about this, it's a supplement to the method, the Hal leonard Blues Bass Method. It has info on forms, lines, feels, intros, endings, hit & stops, and full length arrangements of classics like Born Under A Bad Sign, Pride and Joy, Sweet Home Chicago and more. Please check it out.

Thanks again!

[teachbass]

Ed,

Thanks for writing a bass book that starts people off in the 1-2-4 method. This series makes it so much easier to introduce my students to the Double bass. They get a firm understanding of both fingering concepts and when the are applicable. The way each track ends also makes good discussion of keys and roots because the students "want" to know the missing note at the end of each track. Probably just a editing/space issue but brilliant none the less! Hee hee.


This book works well with my upright students too!

Thanks,

Glen

[edfriedland]

teachbass,
Thanks. I never considered the possibility that the method would work for upright students too, but I guess with the 1-2-4 fingering it would!

As far as the way the tunes end, that was a call the editor made. I typically have ended all the tunes in my other books by resolving the line back to the root, usually the first note in the example. But he wanted it to be very literal. Instead of having to describe that the tunes go back to the top, or writing a specific ending, he told me to just cut the track at the last note. It sounds funny, but it does cut out the guess work, and keeps it all very literal and direct.

It was a very different type of project for me, one that kicked my ass while I was writing it, but now that it's been out for awhile and I've been using it myself, I think it came out great. I was very lucky to be chosen to do this series, it was a real vote of confidence from "Uncle Hal".

[d8g3jdh]

i also am using this book, and i think its great, but did you have to use tab in books 2 and 3? When its there i just cant help but rely on it (which is why ive done book one about 4 times) and dont want to mark up the book blocking them out

still, great book/series

[sync00]

Originally Posted by edfriedland

there is also a DVD that parallels Book 1. It's a great self teaching tool for a brand new player.

Does the DVD go into muting unwanted sounds any more fully than the book?

[edfriedland]

Well, in the book I describe the right hand technique and emphasize the need to mute the open strings as you move to the higher pitched strings. It's pretty clear, though I don't reiterate it throughout the book, but I do mention the need to mute with the left hand while using the "rake" technique. The method was conceived with the thought that a teacher would be guiding a student through the book, and this type of technical detail is in the teacher's domain. It was decided to leave some room for individual teachers to have input.

On the DVD, it's handled much the same, but of course, being able to watch the technique in action makes it more clear.