Bass Guitar

This book by Bass Player contributing editor and columnist Ed Friedland teaches electric or acoustic bassists of any style the musical skills essential in the working world, survival tips for tackling any gig, and techniques for achieving a competitive edge. It helps new working bassists hit the ground running, and pro players grow stronger. Topics include time and groove, chord charts, ear training, doubling, thumb technique, keeping time, faking tunes and many more, plus ways to assess a gig and deliver the goods. Includes lots of musical examples and exercises, both in the book and on the play-along CD.

Learn the art of creating a solid fingerstyle funk bass groove. Whether you are an aspiring or seasoned bass player, this workshop will help you learn many of the bass lines and styles found in your favorite funk tunes, and inspire you to experiment with your own creations. Learn to: use fingerstyle funk technique, including hand position, tips for muting, and getting a good fingerstyle funk sound; play 69 solid funk riffs, set in both traditional notation and tablature; develop your own funk lines; identify the notes, scales, and chords used in funk bass lines; listen and jam along with funk grooves by playing along with the included CD; and much more. Each lesson contains several practice exercises, a funk song using the lines, and play-along tracks on the accompanying CD. Also included in each lesson is a section for you to write out your own bass grooves. Groove with attitude and confidence. Take your bass playing to the next level with Fingerstyle Funk Bass Lines!

Afro-Cuban rhythms are hot, and the bass is the beating heart of the groove! Now you can learn to play slap bass in seven popular Afro-Cuban styles: cha cha, son montuno, songo, timba, Afro-Cuban 6/8, Latin jazz, and Latin jazz in 7. Whether you read tab or standard notation, you will quickly learn all these styles and develop your slap bass techniques to create style-appropriate articulations. The included CD has percussion tracks, play-along tracks and complete songs to help you improve your groove to an Afro-Cuban rhythm. Grammy-winning bassist Oscar Stagnaro is one of today's top players and a pioneer in bass education. He is an associate professor at Berklee College of Music, where he helped found the Latin bass studies department. He is co-author of The Latin Bass Book.

It's your bass - take care of it! The Bass Player's Handbook provides bassists with a complete guide to understanding the origin and workings of their instrument. Greg Mooter outlines fundamental concepts of proper fingering, tone production and good practice habits. You will also learn how to care for your bass properly and keep it in top form with essential information on repairs, seasonal adjustments, and customizing for your own body, style and sound. Includes warm-up and full body stretching exercises and strategies to give you a lifetime of healthy bass playing. This timely and precious 'bible' has important information you won't find anywhere else. - Carole Kaye

Create more expressive solos with this book/CD pack, which presents a unique improvisation strategy based on ear training and a linear interpretation of note relationships. Comprehensive, step-by-step instruction will guide you as you: develop an expectation of sound; master the movement of notes over modes and harmonies; become comfortable improvising over jazz standards; create your own chord pads to use as you practice recognizing the tendencies of pitches within chord progressions.

Make your band better, or prepare yourself to join one! This sensational series lets you improve your intuitive sense of timing and improvisation, develop your technique and reading ability, and master your role in the groove. Play along with a Berklee faculty band on the accompanying CD, then play with your own band!

Learn the art of creating a solid slap bass groove. Whether you're an aspiring or seasoned bassist, this workshop will teach you many of the slap bass lines and styles found in your favorite rock, funk and jazz tunes, and inspire you to experiment with your own creations. Includes helpful exercises, strategies for locking in with the drummer, tips for reading chord symbols, standard notation & tab, a list of suggested recordings to check out, and an accompanying CD with play-along tracks.

84 of the most popular chords for bass guitar, including: finger placement, note construction, chromatic charts and most commonly used bass scales. Also has helpful explanation of common 2-5-1 progression, and the chords in all keys.