bass guitarsecrets.com

[Billnc]

There are some secrets... like the CAGED system for guitar (and bass too). That was a pretty good secret for many years. And when learning guitar chords, nothing beats Johnny Rector's method. James Jamerson and Ray Brown took some "secrets" with them 'cuz no one has done it since. My "secrets" for bass are all borrowed from others. Not getting complicated with scales is a big one. Just maj7, min7, dom7, dim7 - the vocalist or soloist only need these notes. They're already singing the 11ths and lowered ninths. The chord progression dictates all one needs to play. In fact, the bassist guides the entire ensemble along the progression (the drummer is the true bandleader, then the bassist - the rest can make any noises they want and it will sound good). The most important "secret" of bass is physical skill - getting your tone in the fingers, because a hundred notes will never beat good tone for audience appreciation. Learning to weave arpeggios and inversions into a musical line and exhausting the notes from one position before shifting into the adjacent position. And the best secret is the magic of open strings - as Tommy Tedesco said, the open strings and first four frets are the "money notes" - perhaps all you really need...the rest of the neck says "Look at me! I'm a star!"

+1

 

[Art Araya]

+ 1000.............. and PRACTICE the ONLY "secret".

Not quite true.

Knowing WHAT to practice is very important. I know lots of people that "practice" but they're not going anywhere. Or worse off, they're ingraining bad habits.

I actually spent years practicing the wrong things and it took me many years to unlearn them.

Yes, practice is part of the "secret". Knowing what to practice is an even bigger part of the secret.

It's here that a good teacher or a good book that can guide your practice or inspire you to practice has tremendous value.

 

[helterschecter]

I actually bought this a while back...I guess it would depend on your musical understanding. But for me it sits under my computer desk collecting dust. For this to work it seems to me like you need to have a good understanding of music theory or you won't understand it. Or atleast I didn't. I haven't completely givin up on it tho. I just ordered teach me bass guitar program and hopefully it will help me to later on understand what alex is talking about.

 

[BigMacDaddy]

I bought this when I first started. I feel that it is actually worth the money. There are no secrets, true, but he has a lot of good stuff in there. It starts off small and builds up. Some of the writing is odd, but I didn't buy it for that.

He gives a good amount of theory without being heavy handed and gives practice area for you to write things in. This is great for actually coming to grips with things. (I am a teachern and this works for many subjects). He works on rhythm, intervals and explains how to play with the drummer in a way that other books don't. Will it work for you, I can't say. There are two books I have that didn't help me, and many people here love them

The best part is the software. I love the jambox. I was playing with it in my classroom and peple were stopping by to listen in. It is the next best thing to real jamming as there are no proscribed lines to follow. Just the feeling I give to it

Should you buy it? I think it is worth it. A lot of the software makes it worth the price IMHO. The sequence of learning is logical. I was a noob when I bought it and a lifelong musician commented on my improvement recently. Made me happy at least. YMMV.

Note: I bought the download version for $50.