Best beginners book.

[dirtylittleherbert]

Can anyone recommend a good book for a beginner to teach themselves?

[deaver]

[quote name='dirtylittleherbert' post='608013' date='Sep 24 2009, 06:55 PM']Can anyone recommend a good book for a beginner to teach themselves?[/quote]

It was a copy of 'The Bass Player Book' (Karl Coryat) that got me playing again after 20 years or so out of the game. Good mix of stuff, worth getting hold of second-hand copy.

[XB26354]

As (I assume you are) a beginner I highly recommend getting at least a few lessons with a good local teacher. In that first stage it is oh so easy to pick up bad habits that can become very hard to undo. A good teacher will have you playing efficiently and comfortably fairly quickly. If a lesson with a good teacher is £20 it is imho £20 better spent than on a book. Books generally help you to branch out into other areas or test your ability with more difficult exercises or ideas. Of course we have Basschat but you can't ask a book questions

*** and before anyone comes out with it, no, your ability to be individual, rock out and express yourself will [i]not[/i] be harmed by having a good teacher and learning some theory (and dare I say it, even learning to read a bit!). Just keep an open mind. Tablature is all well and good but either ignore the whole theory/reading thing or learn all of it. In 20 years doing sessions and gigs not one bandleader or arranger ever put a sheet of tab in front of me! I learned by ear, or read a (chord or written) chart ***

Notwithstanding the above, some books to get you going might include:

Beginning Bass Guitar by Peter Pickow - a small, thin book that is surprisingly good as an introduction to playing bass. It was one of the first books I used after playing for a little while and I dipped into again after a looooong time. I was quite impressed

Building Walking Bass Lines by Ed Friedland - as it mentions, it basically teaches walking bass used in jazz, but has some good basic tips on playing bass and an introduction to theory, plus all the examples are pretty easy even for a beginner until you get near the end of the book.

Standing in the Shadows of Motown - an all-star presentation of the life and music of James Jamerson. The examples are notation only but CD's are included plus a biography and some nice spots by a wide range of the best people ever to pick up a bass.

Also the Bass Player book as mentioned by deaver is great for all-round knowledge and making you want to play more.

Cheers
Mat

[dirtylittleherbert]

Cheers guys keep em comin I love hearin stuff like this.

[tony_m]

Don't know whether it could be described as the "Best [b]Beginners[/b] Book", but I've just acquired a copy of "The Bass Handbook" by Adrian Ashton, in an attempt to kick my butt into getting a bit more serious.

[i][b]Product Description[/b]
This indispensable handbook helps players of all levels produce better, more creative, and more varied bass lines. Divided into two sections - Playing Your Bass and Knowing Your Bass - it covers everything from tuning, reading music, scales and chords, and advanced techniques to tips on buying and upgrading a budget bass and troubleshooting. Along with a list of suggested listening and reference guide, this book provides an unrivaled digest of bass information that might otherwise take an entire career to amass. It begins with a 'Basics' section that assumes nothing about your ability. 'Scales and Chords' shows you how to add other notes to your bass lines and includes exercises to extend musical knowledge and train your ear. It develops your understanding of the links between chords and scales, helping you to play from a chord chart or to improvise when required. Most of the ideas and techniques can be achieved without reading music at all, although the information is there for those who can. The 'Reading music' section develops an intuitive approach using pattern recognition rather than the usual mechanical (counting) method, and introduces a skill that may eventually become important to your professional career. Advanced techniques includes harmonics and fretless bass. [/i]

It includes a CD of exercises and examples, and, most usefully of all, it's a spiral-bound hardback, so it actually stays open at the right page without the use of pegs, bulldog clips, half-bricks etc.

Link to Amazon [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bass-Handbook-Complete-Mastering-Guitar/dp/0879308729/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1253824098&sr=1-1"]The Bass Handbook[/url]

[leschirons]

[quote name='dirtylittleherbert' post='608013' date='Sep 24 2009, 05:55 PM']Can anyone recommend a good book for a beginner to teach themselves?[/quote]

"The novice guide to caravanning" That'll get you started or were you talking about playing bass?

[BottomEndian]

Ed Friedland's [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hal-Leonard-Bass-Method-Complete/dp/0793563836/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1253859560&sr=8-2"]Hal Leonard Bass Method: Complete Edition[/url]. He takes it nice and slow from absolute basics (like how to pluck a string) through to slap.

[stevie]

Don't be tempted to buy Bass Guitar for Dummies. It's utter tripe.

[leftybassman392]

+1 to the tutor. (But then again I suppose I would say that, because I are one... )

Horses for courses as always, and different people respond to different methods. Any half decent tutor should be able to give you good guidance to get you started (even if you then decide to carry on with books). Generally speaking books are good at providing information, but not much cop at providing motivation or answering questions (which is something tutors aim provide as part of the service). Look around - there'll be plenty in your area.

Good tip when calling around - when you talk to a tutor, make a mental note of how much time they spend talking about you, and how much about themselves (remember that you're the paying customer... ).

[TheBlueFalcon]

I'm in the same boat as the OP. Have been looking around and I like the sound of this one....

[url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bass-Handbook-Complete-Mastering-Guitar/dp/0879308729/ref=pd_cp_b_1"]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bass-Handbook-Comp...9/ref=pd_cp_b_1[/url]

and maybe this to go with it....

[url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/0793565189/ref=dp_olp_new?ie=UTF8&condition=new"]http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/0...p;condition=new[/url]

[xilddx]

[quote name='stevie' post='608359' date='Sep 25 2009, 09:19 AM']Don't be tempted to buy Bass Guitar for Dummies. It's utter tripe.[/quote]
I have a copy of that, It's not utter tripe. It's arse water.

[Marvin]

[quote name='stevie' post='608359' date='Sep 25 2009, 09:19 AM']Don't be tempted to buy Bass Guitar for Dummies. It's utter tripe.[/quote]


[quote name='silddx' post='609303' date='Sep 26 2009, 03:31 PM']I have a copy of that, It's not utter tripe. It's arse water.[/quote]

That's 3 of us so far then.

I agree that a tutor is probably the best way to go. However, if the OP is like myself then finding time to devote to actual lessons can be quite a task given everything else in life that demands your attention. Hence that's why I have plumped for a couple of books. With a book I can sit down at the end of a day for 10mins or 2hours whatever I want. Or if I am satisfied I have interacted enough with the kids for the morning I can send them off to watch TV and I get my book out.

I've got Adrian Ashton's book, which is alright. As some have pointed out, when you don't understand something, i.e it makes a jump you don't quite get, you can't ask questions. It does spend a large proportion teaching you how to read sheet music. For me I don't know when I would be in a situation when I would need to read sheet music, especially as sheet music for bass is not exactly in the top 10 sellers list. That aside I do feel I know more than I did before.

You could always dip into the Lessons on here.
As for my copy of Bass Guitar for Dummies, might be time to recycle that one.