Bass Guitar For Dummies

Updated with the latest bass guitar technology, accessories, and more
The bass is the heart of music. So leave center stage to the other musicians-you have more important work to do. You can find everything you need to dominate bass in Bass Guitar For Dummies, 2nd Edition.

You'll get expert advice on the basics, like deciding what kind of bass to pick up and which accessories are necessary and which are just nice to have. Plus, you'll get step-by-step instructions for getting started, from how to hold and position your bass to reading notation and understanding chords, scales, and octaves to playing solos and fills.

• New coverage of slaps, double stops, de-tuning, and fretless techniques
• New musical exercises as well as updates to charts, illustrations, photos, and resources
• Includes bonus CD with audio clips of all the examples in the book

Whether you're a beginner picking up a bass for the first time or an experienced player looking to improve your skills, Bass Guitar For Dummies, 2nd Edition is an easy-to-follow reference that gives you just enough music theory to get you going on your way fast!

 

From the Back Cover

The fast and easy way to learn bass guitar!
The bass is the heart of music. So leave center stage to the other musicians — you have more important work to do. Whether you've never held a bass guitar or you're an experienced player looking to improve your skills, Bass Guitar For Dummies, 2nd Edition is an easy-to-follow reference that gets you playing quickly!

• The world according to bass — develop the skills you need to play bass in a band
• The bass-ics of playing — explore the techniques for turning scales and chords into great music
• Making the moves, creating the grooves — discover the joy of creating just the right groove for each musical genre and style
• Rock on (and beyond) — join the band on the CD for a journey through playing different musical styles and perfect accompani-ments to songs

"Patrick's teaching method showed me how to connect the bits of technique I'd collected into a playing style."— Adam Clayton, bass player, U2
Bonus CD Includes
Bass tracks of examples in the book for you to reference and play along with
Samples demonstrating groove styles, scales, chords, and techniques
Open the book and find:

• More than 150 grooves in many different styles
• How to change strings and perform basic maintenance
• Exercises to improve your technique
• Tips on how to play with other musicians
• Warm-ups, same-string strokes, and string crossing
• Bass styles from around the world
• Instruction on how to compose your own grooves
• Advice on which bass guitar is best for you

 

About the Author

Patrick Pfeiffer is a professional bassist, composer, clinician, and bass instructor in New York City. He has recorded with George Clinton, Jimmy Norman, Phoebe Snow, and many others. His other published books include Improve Your Groove—The Ultimate Guide for Bass and Daily Grooves for Bass. Pfeiffer is co-founder of Bass Remedies, Inc. (BassRemedies.com).

Bass Guitar Exercises For Dummies

 

Learn to play bass guitar quickly and easily with this guide and bonus interactive CD! The bass guitar is utilized in almost every single genre of music-rock, classical, jazz, metal, funk, and country just to name a few. Bass Guitar Exercises For Dummies provides bassists an opportunity to dabble with all these styles and more. Regardless of your intended musical style, this hands-on guide provides the tips and drills designed to help perfect your playing ability.

• Features a wide variety of over 300 exercises and technique-building practice opportunities tailored to bass guitar
• From classic blues bass rhythms to funk, rock, and reggae bass patterns, players of all styles benefit from the exercises and chords presented
• Shows you proper hand and body posture and fingering and hand positions
• Each lesson concludes with a music piece for you to try
• The audio CD includes practice pieces that accompany the exercises and drills presented in each section
• Helps you build your strength, endurance, and dexterity when playing bass

Whether you're a beginner bass player or you're looking to stretch your playing skills, Bass Guitar Exercises For Dummies is the book for you!

 

From the Back Cover

The fun and easy way to tune up your technique and improve your playing The bass guitar is used in almost every single genre of music — from rock to classical, jazz to funk. Regardless of your intended musical style, this hands-on guide provides the tips and drills designed to help perfect your playing ability. Whether you're a beginner player or looking to stretch your playing skills, this is the book for you!

• Know your scales — play scales straight up and down and combine them with chord arpeggios and even with grooves
• The right rhythm for the right style — accumulate a good basic repertoire of genre-specific grooves so that you sound like an expert
• Hear how it's done — listen to tracks of the author playing many of the exercises
• Develop muscle memory — play arpeggios, rhythms, grooves, and melodies, and establish the wherewithal to apply them to different styles
• Real-life applications — see how the exercises are applied in real and famous songs

Open the book and find:

• Tips for correct hand and body posture
• Instruction on fingering options and hand positions
• Exercises for tempo, time signature, phrasing, and dynamics
• Hints for developing a complete practice session
• Ways the exercises can be applied to great music
• Methods for getting comfortable with scales
• Workouts for stronger playing

Learn to:

• Master scales, chords, and arpeggios through 300 bass guitar exercises
• Grasp finger and hand position
• Refine tempo, time signature, phrasing, and dynamics

Play along with the accompanying CD
Audio CD Includes
Over 90 musical tracks of many of the book's exercises for you to listen and play along

 

About the Author

Patrick Pfeiffer has recorded with George Clinton, Phoebe Snow, Jimmy Norman (Coasters), Paul Griffin (Steely Dan), Bernard Purdie (Steely Dan), Carlos Alomar (David Bowie), and Mike Kissel's KMA All-Stars, to name a few.