I have been playing bass for three years. Have had some lessons on and off but don't always have time. I have used several books very effectively and would like to share some of my favorites.
I consider myself to be a solid intermediate player now but still refer back to these books often as they offer a lot of good basics and it never hurts to review and reinforce. Aside from that, there is a lot of material here and I will never get through it all. I use the books selectively for specific topics.
Obviously the list is heavily weighted towards the styles that I prefer, blues and jazz, but of course a lot of modern music is based on this anyway....
Here is my list:
- Bass for Beginners, Glenn Letsch / Hal Leonard publishing: my early bible, lots of good info on technique, scales, etc.
- Blues Bass, Ed Friedland/Hal Leonard; outstanding book, has been a very fundamental guideline for me, great combination of theory and practice, with CD
- Fretboard Roadmaps, Fred Sokolow/Hal Leonard; several good exercises for understanding the fretboard, scales & chord structures better
- Blues Bass, Complete Method by Jon Liebman, Hal Leonard publishing: very nice introductory section on the history of the blues
- Building Walking Bass Lines, Ed Friedland / Hal Leonard; Ed gets a lot of respect from me, very well laid out, very helpful
- Jazz Bass, Ed Friedland / Hal Leonard; excellent book with very clear explanations, also with CD
- Hal Leonard Bass Method (combines books 1,2,3); again lots of good basics with CD, the Hal Leonard books always seem to be very well laid out to me
- The Jazz Bass Book, John Goldsby, Bass Player Musicians Library: a very comprehensive authority on jazz bass, lots of exercises, examples of all the great players; you could spend years on this book alone
- Mel Bay's Complete Jazz Bass Book, Earl Gately/Mel Bay publications; lots of fingerboard exercises, very structured; again you could spend a long time on this book only
By the way, bassbooks.com always seems to have a very good selection, dependable delivery and helpful people.
I consider myself to be a solid intermediate player now but still refer back to these books often as they offer a lot of good basics and it never hurts to review and reinforce. Aside from that, there is a lot of material here and I will never get through it all. I use the books selectively for specific topics.
Obviously the list is heavily weighted towards the styles that I prefer, blues and jazz, but of course a lot of modern music is based on this anyway....
Here is my list:
- Bass for Beginners, Glenn Letsch / Hal Leonard publishing: my early bible, lots of good info on technique, scales, etc.
- Blues Bass, Ed Friedland/Hal Leonard; outstanding book, has been a very fundamental guideline for me, great combination of theory and practice, with CD
- Fretboard Roadmaps, Fred Sokolow/Hal Leonard; several good exercises for understanding the fretboard, scales & chord structures better
- Blues Bass, Complete Method by Jon Liebman, Hal Leonard publishing: very nice introductory section on the history of the blues
- Building Walking Bass Lines, Ed Friedland / Hal Leonard; Ed gets a lot of respect from me, very well laid out, very helpful
- Jazz Bass, Ed Friedland / Hal Leonard; excellent book with very clear explanations, also with CD
- Hal Leonard Bass Method (combines books 1,2,3); again lots of good basics with CD, the Hal Leonard books always seem to be very well laid out to me
- The Jazz Bass Book, John Goldsby, Bass Player Musicians Library: a very comprehensive authority on jazz bass, lots of exercises, examples of all the great players; you could spend years on this book alone
- Mel Bay's Complete Jazz Bass Book, Earl Gately/Mel Bay publications; lots of fingerboard exercises, very structured; again you could spend a long time on this book only
By the way, bassbooks.com always seems to have a very good selection, dependable delivery and helpful people.
