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basssbooks

bigboy_78

bigboy_78

Jun 1, 2011
1,362
2,089
Coraki, Australia
#1
I’ve scored a $25 Gift Certificate for bassbooks.com for Christmas.

Any recommendations on what I should spend it on?

Books already in my collection:

Building Walking Basslines
Hal Leonard Bass Method, Book 3
The Latin Bass Book –Chuck Sher
Standing in the Shadows of Motown
Bass Tab White Pages
Slap It

I only have The Latin Bass Book as a PDF copy I [DEL]found[/DEL] stole off the internet, I’m thinking maybe I should be honest and pay for a true copy.

Do you have any other suggestions for material that has improved your playing. I’m looking to become a well rounded player, but my main focus is Funk, Jazz & Blues. Does anyone know of a good Disco or (finger)Funk book?
 
#2
I came to bass from 6 string acoustic rhythm guitar. A lot of the things I learned playing rhythm guitar folded right into my bass playing. With that in mind I am going to recommend the following:

Pentatonic KHANcepts by Steve Khan. Chuck full of information like this; Cm7 chord - what can you play over that chord? Answer -
  • C Dorian / F Mixolydian
  • G minor pentatonic
  • C minor pentatonic
  • D minor pentatonic
  • F dominant 7th pentatonic
You decide which you like best, they all will work.

Then over the G7 chord
  • G altered dominant / Ab melodic minor / C harmonic minor
  • Bb minor pentatonic
  • Db dominant 7th pentatonic
  • Eb dominant 7th pentatonic
And here again you decide, they all will work.

Interesting read why they all work.

Give Carol Kaye's stuff a look see. Old school, but, sometime that is where we need to start.

Have fun.
 
#6
funkybass said:
+1 to a legal copy of the Latin bass books.
Click to expand...

Yep, I think I knew all along that was the right thing to do.

Bass Aerobics looks like a great book and its in the right price range, but the Latin book is a substantial publication and I have enjoyed it so far, so an actual bound copy to sit on my music stand would be great.

Why don’t publishers offer 30 day PDF trial versions of their books? I’ve “found” a few publications online that I am glad I didn’t pay for, because they weren’t worth a second look. If the content is any good I am happy to hand over my hard earned for a true copy, but I am wary of having bookshelves full of useless learning materials.
 
#8
I just got Bass Aerobics for Christmas and am liking it. A similar book is Bass Fitness: An Exercising Handbook, which helped me a lot with speed and accuracy. For learning how to write bass lines, I recommend Joe Santerre's books, Rock Bass Lines and Slap Bass Lines. For theory, I like David Otherow's books Beginning Electric Bass and Intermediate Electric Bass as well as The Total Rock Bassist by Dan Bennett.
 
#10
TomCHunley said:
I just got Bass Aerobics for Christmas and am liking it. A similar book is Bass Fitness: An Exercising Handbook, which helped me a lot with speed and accuracy.
Click to expand...

Bass Fitness is great for speed and stamina, but Bass Aerobics is more like a bunch of etudes that put you through fitness exercises. Much more musically driven in different styles and different keys.
 
#11
a lot would depend on what you've done with the books you have
if you've 'conquered' the Motown book or are working through walking basslines with some effort would make a difference
what do you feel you need to work on or where do you want to go?

either way
buying a legit copy of what you have would be a good start
 
#12
bigboy_78 said:
Yep, I think I knew all along that was the right thing to do.

Bass Aerobics looks like a great book and its in the right price range, but the Latin book is a substantial publication and I have enjoyed it so far, so an actual bound copy to sit on my music stand would be great.

Why don’t publishers offer 30 day PDF trial versions of their books? I’ve “found” a few publications online that I am glad I didn’t pay for, because they weren’t worth a second look. If the content is any good I am happy to hand over my hard earned for a true copy, but I am wary of having bookshelves full of useless learning materials.
Click to expand...

If publishers offered a 30 day PDF trial a lot of people would just print it out and never buy it.
 
#15
In addition to Bass Aerobics I also just ordered the following:
They are all from MI Press(musicians institute)

Art of Walking Bass

Arpeggios for Bass

Chords for Bass

Bass Playing Techniques: The Complete Guide

Bass Fretboard Basics Essential Scales Theory, Bass Lines and Fingerings

My son's teacher uses the MI Press Rhythm Guitar book and it is great. You probably need a teacher toward the end but it is full of info.
 
#17
This thread inspired me to browse through some books after my first lesson today. I've been playing nine months, but lost a lot of my earlier discipline over the holidays. I ended up buying Building Walking Basslines and Bass Aerobics and took them to my second lesson.

Great stuff -- that teacher's usually a clock watcher but we were having such a good time he went ten minutes over. Guess I've got my New Year's resolution :bassist:
 
#18
There are many great books for specific skills but If your goal is to become a consummate player then I can think of no better books then "Improvisers Bass Method" and "The Evolving Bassist" both older books but filled with core building essentials for the complete bassist.
 

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