The Latin Bass Book for a complete beginner?

[BassChuck]

I don't see a problem with a beginner using The Latin Book. Standard notation, good. Latin rhythms are a foundation part of a lot of jazz and pop music. Good reading. Lots of repetition.
The only hassle is trying to play at the tempos presented on the CD... so.... don't do that. Take the tempos that work and keep building.
That said, there are many books that provide information a beginner on bass is going to need. The Latin Book doesn't have all that. But as a musical supplement to bass centered technique, it's as good as many other music books.

 

[CharlieDN]

Hello!

I bought a bass a few weeks ago and have pretty minimal musical experience. Ultimately, I'm interested mainly in Latin jazz and salsa. I've been mostly practicing reggae songs because they tend to be a little slower, fewer notes, and I can figure them out by ear. I think I'm improving pretty quickly! But my question is this: The Latin Bass Book by Oscar Stagnaro gets a lot of love but it is suitable for someone like me who has very little knowledge? Would it be a good resource for learning about music from the ground up? I currently have no physical learning material, so if the answer is no, what's a good place for me to start? I bounce around random YouTube videos, but would prefer a single source to start learning.

Thanks for helping!

When I tried to start studying I studied the material from this book. The book itself is not recommended for beginners. But perhaps everything is individual. Before I started playing bass, I played guitar for a couple of years. And I had enough skills I think. If you're starting out with no musical experience, then you may need to find books that are geared toward beginners.

 

[GastonD]

BTW, maybe this could be helpful in making first steps in Latin stuff...
Based in Bass: South style

 

[CheavyF]

I don't see a problem with a beginner using The Latin Book. Standard notation, good. Latin rhythms are a foundation part of a lot of jazz and pop music. Good reading. Lots of repetition.
The only hassle is trying to play at the tempos presented on the CD... so.... don't do that. Take the tempos that work and keep building.
That said, there are many books that provide information a beginner on bass is going to need. The Latin Book doesn't have all that. But as a musical supplement to bass centered technique, it's as good as many other music books. Earlier in college, I had an experienced teacher who trained many good jazz musicians. He has always given complex training programs, so I think that it is possible for a beginner to start learning from this book. But this requires good motivation. For example, a literature teacher allowed to use different educational sites and it was easier to study his subject. For example, when I had to write a review of Just Mercy, I used various essay examples https://samplius.com/free-essay-examples/just-mercy/ and I got an excellent paperwork and the teacher was pleased. My point is that sometimes you need to start with easier learning materials. If of course you are sure that you have enough motivation and time, then you can start with this book.

 

[freshbass]

Good musicians can do that but even great readers will stumble over some of this music because it's rhythmically complex and beat 1 is dropped. Its not like a drummer is holding down a solid groove and you are playing some complex rhythms with that safety net. This music has a lot of complex rhythms interlocking so as soon as you lose it, then it can feel like falling down an elevator shaft if you don't understand how the music works enough to pull it back.

To be honest with you the average bassist probably can't even read simple notation let alone sight reading stuff at higher tempos.

54 yrs pro and in my 1st latin ensemble and struggling w/ that drop 1 feel

 

[mambo4]

54 yrs pro and in my 1st latin ensemble and struggling w/ that drop 1 feel

It's all about feeling the ponche and bombo beats
aka "and of 2" & "4"
aka the last 2 beats of the 3 side of the clave (tresillo)

I recommend learning to paly the conga part (and any percussion part)
both the bass and conga part are called the tumbao, after all.
also when away from your bass you can practice by vocalizing the the ponche and bombo while clapping clave (& the reverse)

 

[BrotherMister]

54 yrs pro and in my 1st latin ensemble and struggling w/ that drop 1 feel

Jealous! As @mambo4 said you benefit a lot from learning what the percussion team are doing and how the bass locks in with but it's a tough gig. A real development of feeling the pulse in this style comes from learning to do the clave with my left foot while I clapped the tumbao.

I don't know if I said in the thread already but The True Cuban Bass by Carlos Del Puerto is a really good resource for seeing the history and it does a pretty deep dive into how the bass tumbao relates to clave. I'm sure Oscar even recommends in it The Latin Bass Book as well.

You got this!

 

[Rhythmman535]

Afro-Cuban Bass Grooves by Manny Patino and Jorge Moreno is a very good beginner resource and includes a practice CD. It's published by Warner Brothers so it should be easy to find on Fleabay or Amazon