Groove 101 (book & dvd)...any reviews?

[wintremute]

Does anyone else have experience with this book? Any reviews? At $45 (U.S.), and I'm assuming shipping will be added to that, it is (for me) on the expensive side. I'd like to hear some more opinions about it before I purchase it.

I saw this older thread, but it seems to only have 1 person's review: Groove 101

Then there's this older thread that is rather confusing, because the person who claims to be the author is banned: New book on groove : Groove 101

 

[bigboy_78]

I have it. Never got past the first exercise. Exposed a weakness and was put away for another day. Forgot I even had until I was cleaning up some documents on my PC.

Not the greatest review, but that is my actual experience with it.

 

[Spin Doctor]

I've owned this book for awhile but only started using it effectively in the last couple of weeks. That was prompted by the thread I started about working on good internal timing.

How to work on better internal timing

The author chimed in and talked about timing issues at length. So once I got the book out and really focused on the problem, I noticed improvements in less than a week. The links you posted are a good breakdown of what the product is.

The authors concept of having a drum track that removes more and more of the drums as the measures progress is critical to building good time feel. It's also the method Victor Wooten recommends to work on timing.

So Groove 101 basically provides you the loops and some basslines that you work on at various tempos and then has drum loops with sections where the drums drop out completely for 1, 2 and as many as 6 measures, and you have to maintain the timing yourself until the loop comes around again.

Again, this is a critical skill for a bass player to have.

It's worth the money, if you actually use it. The concepts are nothing you can't structure for yourself, but having all those loops premade with easy access saves time and gets you going much quicker. I've made it part of my daily warm-up routine.

 

[ErikP.Bass]

@wintremute Did you wind up purchasing the book? I came here to write a review as I’ve been spending some quality time with it lately. I find it to be an INCREDIBLY helpful book that is really like no other I’ve found.

The exercises are generally fairly short in length and are often times deceptively simple. The great thing about this book is the method and how it gets you exploring the not only the nuances of rhythm, but also space, note length and technique. Each exercise has a demo track at tempo and about 3-4 other tempi tracks with rhythmic reduction to work with. They seem to have been designed to make you play both slower and faster than what you might be inclined to. Applying myself in this manner has allowed me to pay close attention to my own physiology and technique in an entirely new way.

I picked this up based on @Spin Doctor ‘s recommendation and I would wholeheartedly recommend it to others. There is great depth in the pages and recordings that will serve your playing well if you tune into and attend to these nuances/subtleties.

 

[bass12]

I’ve played through this entire book and have recommended it to several people. I found it great for developing awareness of what my tendencies are time-wise and for concentrating my focus on timing details. I also liked the fact that texture and dynamics factor into the exercises (some exercises will have you slapping or using a muted thumb, incorporating hammer-ons, slides, etc.). It’s a very well thought out method that is presented in easily digestible bits. And for those who don’t know, Sylvain is a fantastic bass player with solid credentials.

 

[wintremute]

@wintremute Did you wind up purchasing the book? I came here to write a review as I’ve been spending some quality time with it lately. I find it to be an INCREDIBLY helpful book that is really like no other I’ve found.

The exercises are generally fairly short in length and are often times deceptively simple. The great thing about this book is the method and how it gets you exploring the not only the nuances of rhythm, but also space, note length and technique. Each exercise has a demo track at tempo and about 3-4 other tempi tracks with rhythmic reduction to work with. They seem to have been designed to make you play both slower and faster than what you might be inclined to. Applying myself in this manner has allowed me to pay close attention to my own physiology and technique in an entirely new way.

I picked this up based on @Spin Doctor ‘s recommendation and I would wholeheartedly recommend it to others. There is great depth in the pages and recordings that will serve your playing well if you tune into and attend to these nuances/subtleties.

I did not. In fact, I forgot all about it. This is definitely something I could have been using during the Pandemic Lockdown. I guess I'm back to being on the fence about it. I will again look into buying it. Thank you for the reminder.

 

[Groove Master]

Does anyone else have experience with this book? Any reviews? At $45 (U.S.), and I'm assuming shipping will be added to that, it is (for me) on the expensive side. I'd like to hear some more opinions about it before I purchase it.

I saw this older thread, but it seems to only have 1 person's review: Groove 101

Then there's this older thread that is rather confusing, because the person who claims to be the author is banned: New book on groove : Groove 101

Hi there,

I'm the author of Groove 101. I did change my username after releasing my book but a mod here thought that I was using 2 accounts which I didn't but it was too late and they banned my other account without notice.

 

[wintremute]

Hi there,

I'm the author of Groove 101. I did change my username after releasing my book but a mod here thought that I was using 2 accounts which I didn't but it was too late and they banned my other account without notice.

Thank you for clearing that up. I no longer feel like I will be purchasing from an irremediable felon.

 

[bass12]

I did not. In fact, I forgot all about it. This is definitely something I could have been using during the Pandemic Lockdown. I guess I'm back to being on the fence about it. I will again look into buying it. Thank you for the reminder.

If you are comfortable reading exercises from a computer I would highly recommend the digital version of the book. With the digital version you can sit at your computer and have everything in the same place and at your fingertips. In the past I have preferred actual books but with Groove 101’s approach the digital version is super convenient.

 

[ErikP.Bass]

If you are comfortable reading exercises from a computer I would highly recommend the digital version of the book. With the digital version you can sit at your computer and have everything in the same place and at your fingertips. In the past I have preferred actual books but with Groove 101’s approach the digital version is super convenient.

I’d like to add to this and note that if you decide to purchase the hard copy you’ll find that it is.....wait for it......SPIRAL BOUND!!! This underscores the aforementioned that @Groove Master is a consummate professional and leaves no detail unturned in his playing or otherwise.

 

[bass12]

I’d like to add to this and note that if you decide to purchase the hard copy you’ll find that it is.....wait for it......SPIRAL BOUND!!! This underscores the aforementioned that @Groove Master is a consummate professional and leaves no detail unturned in his playing or otherwise.

That’s good; non-spiral bound music books are the worst. Honestly, it’s enough to make me not buy a given book. I don’t understand how anyone can think that glue or staple binding is acceptable for a music book.

 

[Groove Master]

I’d like to add to this and note that if you decide to purchase the hard copy you’ll find that it is.....wait for it......SPIRAL BOUND!!! This underscores the aforementioned that @Groove Master is a consummate professional and leaves no detail unturned in his playing or otherwise.

Thanks and that is a good point that the editor and I made sure we would produce a high quality product because the consumers do deserve it

 

[BrotherMister]

That’s good; non-spiral bound music books are the worst. Honestly, it’s enough to make me not buy a given book. I don’t understand how anyone can think that glue or staple binding is acceptable for a music book.

I've been researching the cost of taking my music books to a bookbinder to get them spiral bound.

 

[Malcolm35]

I have taken several paper back books to our local print/copy shop and had them spiral bound.

Been several years back but I think the cost was less than $10.

They were paper back books to start with so they cut off the glued section then installed the spiral binding. Normally did it while I waited.