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Hal Leonard Bass Method Book 1 - Electric Bass Instruction for Beginners | 2nd Edition | Songs, Riffs and Techniques | Sheet Music and Practice Guide
(Bass Method). The Hal Leonard Bass Method is designed for anyone just learning to play electric bass. It is based on years of teaching bass students of all ages, and it also reflects some of the best bass teaching ideas from around the world! The second edition has been totally revised and features all new engravings and photos. The books have been updated to meet the needs of today's bass students by renowned bassist and author Ed Friedland. Book 1 teaches: tuning, playing position; musical symbols; notes within the first five frets; common bass lines, patterns and rhythms; rhythms through eighth notes; playing tips and techniques; more than 100 great songs, riffs and examples; and more!
- GenresMusic
48 pages, Paperback
First published April 28, 1996
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Hal Leonard Corporation
9,326 books133 followersHal Leonard is an American music print publisher. Musical scores published by Hal Leonard are frequently not credited to an individual author or editor.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
September 1, 2023
I wanted to write about my experience with this book, but I wasn’t sure where to write it so I figured I’d write about it here. (And to snag that extra book to my goal. I’m down bad 😭).
This book was excellent for learning the bass. For someone who was trying to learn the bass by myself without a teacher, it is incredibly detailed and assumes the reader knows pretty much nothing which I found helpful because the book ended up answering most of my questions without having to go anywhere else. One thing I enjoyed is that every song (for all three volumes) are available to play along to on YouTube. I think that playing along with other instruments is so much better than just playing on your own because the exercises feel more natural and musical.
I will say the scaling of the exercises wasn’t the best for me. At first every exercise was super difficult because I wasn’t mechanically sound and I had never played an instrument where I had to synchronize both of my hands. At times I questioned if I’d ever figure out how to get my mechanics smooth. One day after about two months of practicing most days in the book, everything fell together for me, and I had the opposite problem where I was breezing through every exercise to the point where it wasn’t satisfying to complete. I wish I had moved on to the second book after the exercise “Octave Blues” and it probably would have saved me a tone of time.
This being said, I can’t wait to get into the second volume, as it teaches a ton about geometric shapes common for bass players, as well finally delving into more musical exercises 👀👀. It’s been so much fun and rewarding at the same time learning something like this. it’s been challenging and you need to practice discipline to see progress, which can bleed over into other aspects of life.
This book was excellent for learning the bass. For someone who was trying to learn the bass by myself without a teacher, it is incredibly detailed and assumes the reader knows pretty much nothing which I found helpful because the book ended up answering most of my questions without having to go anywhere else. One thing I enjoyed is that every song (for all three volumes) are available to play along to on YouTube. I think that playing along with other instruments is so much better than just playing on your own because the exercises feel more natural and musical.
I will say the scaling of the exercises wasn’t the best for me. At first every exercise was super difficult because I wasn’t mechanically sound and I had never played an instrument where I had to synchronize both of my hands. At times I questioned if I’d ever figure out how to get my mechanics smooth. One day after about two months of practicing most days in the book, everything fell together for me, and I had the opposite problem where I was breezing through every exercise to the point where it wasn’t satisfying to complete. I wish I had moved on to the second book after the exercise “Octave Blues” and it probably would have saved me a tone of time.
This being said, I can’t wait to get into the second volume, as it teaches a ton about geometric shapes common for bass players, as well finally delving into more musical exercises 👀👀. It’s been so much fun and rewarding at the same time learning something like this. it’s been challenging and you need to practice discipline to see progress, which can bleed over into other aspects of life.
Displaying 1 of 1 review