Bass Guitar for Dummies vs Hal Leonard Bass Method (Complete Ed.)

[dlloyd]

I'm a bit concerned about the amount of content covered in the Hal Leonard book. It only has 144 pages of material vs 360 pages covered by the "For Dummies". In addition, I've seen sample pages of the book through Amazon Online Reader and it seemed very brief in it's wording. Yet, many are still recommending it over "Bass Guitar for Dummies".

Is there content the "Dummies" book is covering that the Hal Leonard has nothing of? Am I missing something?

Yes, you're missing the fact that two books have different purposes. The Hal Leonard book is intended solely as a tutor book, and it is certainly one of the best out there, whereas the Dummies book tries to cover more ground in terms of reference material.

 

[Fretful]

Yes, you're missing the fact that two books have different purposes. The Hal Leonard book is intended solely as a tutor book, and it is certainly one of the best out there, whereas the Dummies book tries to cover more ground in terms of reference material.

Isn't the Dummies book intended to tutor as well? I've seen more than 1 member categorizing the two books as:

Hal Leonard Bass Method - Tutoring
Bass Guitar for Dummies - Reference Material

I'm looking for - Tutoring & Reference Material in a single Book.

 

[dlloyd]

That's certainly part of it, but in my opinion, the material in the Hal Leonard book is more user-friendly and it is arranged specifically to give lessons at a realistic rate.

Given that you're asking in other threads whether you'll need to tune your bass after you buy it, why are you avoiding getting a teacher in the first place?

 

[Fretful]

Thanks for clarifying that, dlloyd.

I've made my decision on which book is more ideal. I was looking for material that was comprehensive and provided tutoring as well as reference to an absolute beginner. One of these two books does that much better than the other, mostly I think, because it's more recent. In fact, to someone who knows absolutely nothing about bass guitars, the choice is obvious.

It should be noted that either book is best supplemented with a teacher (this was apparent to me since the start of the thread).

Thanks for all the helpful replies.

 

[JordanDelap]

I bought bass guitar for dummies and it has caused my bass playing to improve massively and also inspired me massively.

 

[squidmaster]

Thanks for clarifying that, dlloyd.

I was looking for material that was comprehensive and provided tuition aes.

If you find a book that gives tuition let me know! college loans got me down

 

[lexxmexx]

I own both the Dummies and Idiots books too but I feel that they cannot be used individually, the excercises (are there?) are merely excerpts and too short for any practical use. Each of them serves as companion reference guide to help the learner understand theory better. For actual playing, it is still better to get the practical method books...my $0.02


I had read in another bass related forum where many people there had recommended the following book.

"First Bass: The Ultimate Guide to Bass Fundamentals" by Josquin des Pres

Does anyone have any experience with this book?
What are your views on it?

 

[Alan Vorse]

Get a teacher.

 

[Macho McHorse]

Complete learn to play bass by Stephen richter is a great book

• ISBN-10: 1864692634
• ISBN-13: 978-1864692631

 

[PRANG]

I just bought the Hal Leonard book to hopefully brute force my reading and learn the fretboard & notes. Gives me a migrane just to look at it but hopefully it's more understandable in practice

 

[fearceol]

I basically know nothing about playing bass

Then the "Dummies" book would be my suggestion.

 

[Gopherbassist]

Then the "Dummies" book would be my suggestion.

I wonder if 16 years later they're still playing bass?