I am just starting to play the bass, and am an absolute beginner. I am wondering if anyone has any recommendations of a good instructional book or dvd that might help me learn the basics. I am looking online at amazon, and there are a LOT of choices! Hard to know what to pick. I live in a small town in Hawaii and we don't have the best music or book stores here.
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Good book for beginners at Bass
- Thread starter greengirl777
- Start date
http://www.amazon.com/Bass-Method-B...ef=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1255922915&sr=8-1
Ed Friedland's book is good.
Ed Friedland's book is good.
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ed freidland gets a lot of positive reviews around here.....most entry level books will get you going tho' and the local used book stores may have some.....once you get into it a little more you can get books that suit your progress
I've got the Friedland book too, books 1,2, and 3 bound together. It's worked well for me so far. Gets you reading standard notation right away, which if you start off doing it, I think is easier than tab, although I did take band in school, but it was trumpet, and I didn't put in nearly as much work back then as I wish I had. (I remember even asking the teacher if I could try playing bass, and him saying sure, but I would have to teach myself, and i just never got around to it, man if I could go back and kick my younger self, I would)
The other book I have that has really done me a lot of good is "What Duck Done' which is a bunch of Duck Dunn's basslines, most of them are perfect for a beginner, simple enough that you can make some progress fast, but challenging enough that when you learn them you feel like you accomplished something.
The other book I have that has really done me a lot of good is "What Duck Done' which is a bunch of Duck Dunn's basslines, most of them are perfect for a beginner, simple enough that you can make some progress fast, but challenging enough that when you learn them you feel like you accomplished something.
Greengirl777, "The Bass Handbook" by Adrian Ashton is a great help. Good info and hardback with large binder spine so it stays open easily. Comes with a CD.
Just curious - IME the pure 'beginner' stuff in books are no more informative than info on the web. Have you investigated some of the excellent trainer dot com websites around (thelibster, studybass, adamnitti, cliffengel, cyberfretbass, play-bass, bass101, youtube and many others). There's a whole mighty kingdom of info available on starting with bass. From there on you can rather move straight onto a more advanced guide with accompanying CD/DVD (grooves etc. etc.).
Just wondering...
It will get you off to a good start. Comes with a cd too.
Any of those books will be great. Books are great for visual learners, I have to see it and hear it before it sinks in. What helped me the most was to listen to the CD's or DVD's that come with the books and narrow the 50 or 60 riffs that are on the CD to just 5 or 6 and let those be my arsenal. You really do not need more 5 or 6 riffs to get started. IMHO.
Decide on a riff that will work with this specific song -(decide on the baseline to use for this song) let's assume a Root - 5 will work. Root is the name of the chord used in the song so.... when the song is using the C chord you play a C-5. When the song moves to an F chord you play an F-5. Etc. I'll get into what 5 is below.
What you now need is to know your fretboard. The bass fretboard is a snap to learn. For example the chord in the song is a C. You are going to be playing roots or root somethings right at first so... where can you find a C note?
Yep learn where the notes are on the 3rd and 4th string. There is a C on the 3rd string 3rd fret. There is also one on the 4th string 8th fret. Which to use? Up to you.
Say your riff will be a Root - 5. C is the root but where is the 5? Well the 5 is the fifth note in the C scale which just happens to be a G. Where is there a G note close by?
Up a string and over two frets. Up a string and over two frets will get you the 5th of any note on your fretboard.
Say the next chord you have in the song is an F. Where is an F note. How about the one right over the C. Next chord used in the song is the G - where is a close by G. Right below the C. Yep if you started with the C on the 4th string you do not have an F under it as there is not a string there, however you started on the C that is on the 3rd string 8th fret you have the C F and G right there waiting for you. How simple is that!
Where is the R-5 for the F chord? You know where F is where is it's 5th? Up a string and over two.
Where is the 2nd? Same string and up two frets.
Where is the 3rd? Up a string and back one fret.
Where is the 4th? Up a string, i.e. right above where you were.
Where is the 5th? Yep, up a string and over two.
Where is the 6th? Up two strings and back one or right over the 3rd.
Where is the 7th? Up two strings and over one.
Where is the 8th, or octave? Up two and over two.
Put that to memory and try these riffs.
R
R-5
R-3-5-3
R-3-5-7
R-R-3-3-5-5-6-5
Those 5 riffs will let you play a bunch of bass.
Some stuff that will come in handy:
Link Removed
Find the C F & G notes.
How about G C & D notes.
How about D G & A notes.
http://www.studybass.com/
Use four root notes per measure, when that is easy add the 5th. When that gets easy try a R-3-5-3 or a R-R-5-5. Notice all the jam tracks listed on the right side of the screen.
Your biggest hurdle will be hearing the chord changes which you have to hear to move your riff through the song. To help with hearing the chord changes listen to a bunch of blues - because the blues chord progression is predictable and will help you hear the change.
Have fun.
Decide on a riff that will work with this specific song -(decide on the baseline to use for this song) let's assume a Root - 5 will work. Root is the name of the chord used in the song so.... when the song is using the C chord you play a C-5. When the song moves to an F chord you play an F-5. Etc. I'll get into what 5 is below.
What you now need is to know your fretboard. The bass fretboard is a snap to learn. For example the chord in the song is a C. You are going to be playing roots or root somethings right at first so... where can you find a C note?
Yep learn where the notes are on the 3rd and 4th string. There is a C on the 3rd string 3rd fret. There is also one on the 4th string 8th fret. Which to use? Up to you.
Say your riff will be a Root - 5. C is the root but where is the 5? Well the 5 is the fifth note in the C scale which just happens to be a G. Where is there a G note close by?
Up a string and over two frets. Up a string and over two frets will get you the 5th of any note on your fretboard.
Say the next chord you have in the song is an F. Where is an F note. How about the one right over the C. Next chord used in the song is the G - where is a close by G. Right below the C. Yep if you started with the C on the 4th string you do not have an F under it as there is not a string there, however you started on the C that is on the 3rd string 8th fret you have the C F and G right there waiting for you. How simple is that!
Where is the R-5 for the F chord? You know where F is where is it's 5th? Up a string and over two.
Where is the 2nd? Same string and up two frets.
Where is the 3rd? Up a string and back one fret.
Where is the 4th? Up a string, i.e. right above where you were.
Where is the 5th? Yep, up a string and over two.
Where is the 6th? Up two strings and back one or right over the 3rd.
Where is the 7th? Up two strings and over one.
Where is the 8th, or octave? Up two and over two.
Put that to memory and try these riffs.
R
R-5
R-3-5-3
R-3-5-7
R-R-3-3-5-5-6-5
Those 5 riffs will let you play a bunch of bass.
Some stuff that will come in handy:
Link Removed
Find the C F & G notes.
How about G C & D notes.
How about D G & A notes.
http://www.studybass.com/
Use four root notes per measure, when that is easy add the 5th. When that gets easy try a R-3-5-3 or a R-R-5-5. Notice all the jam tracks listed on the right side of the screen.
Your biggest hurdle will be hearing the chord changes which you have to hear to move your riff through the song. To help with hearing the chord changes listen to a bunch of blues - because the blues chord progression is predictable and will help you hear the change.
Have fun.
I wouldn't get a book at all. Get a video. They are cheap and you can find them anywhere. I think even WalMart has them these days. They start at about $10.00 (which isn't but a couple of bucks more than a book). My point is, you need a VISUAL guide to get started correctly in my opinion. And I taught up to 32 students at a time for years.
Hi,
I've a few books on the bass including, 'Bass Guitar for Dummies' and 'The Complete Idiot's Guide to Playing Bass Guitar. These are both good but in my opinion mainly reference material.
Ed Friedland's 'Hal Leonard Bass Method: Complete Edition', by contrast is an actual course of study. It takes you from beginner to intermediate standard and is based on learning to read music right from the start. It's demanding but very good.
However, no book can teach you technique. There are good examples on YouTube that can help but you should, if at all possible, get some lessons from a good bass teacher.
Paul.
I've a few books on the bass including, 'Bass Guitar for Dummies' and 'The Complete Idiot's Guide to Playing Bass Guitar. These are both good but in my opinion mainly reference material.
Ed Friedland's 'Hal Leonard Bass Method: Complete Edition', by contrast is an actual course of study. It takes you from beginner to intermediate standard and is based on learning to read music right from the start. It's demanding but very good.
However, no book can teach you technique. There are good examples on YouTube that can help but you should, if at all possible, get some lessons from a good bass teacher.
Paul.
