Memorial Hall Library

Bass guitar for dummies, by Patrick Pfeiffer ; foreword by Will Lee

eng

illustrations

index present

non fiction

Bass guitar for dummies

868378707

by Patrick Pfeiffer ; foreword by Will Lee

For dummies

Whether you've never held a bass before or you're looking to improve your skills, this resource is a complete guide to playing bass guitar. Pfeiffer provides fresh, updated practice lessons, teaching techniques, and access to online sample tracks to hone your skills

pt. I, Getting started with the bass guitar. 1. The very basics of bass. Discovering the differences between the bass and its high-strung cousins ; Understanding the bass player's function in a band ; Dissecting the anatomy of a bass guitar ; On a need-to-know "basses" : gearing up to play bass ; Playing grooves, solos, and fills ; Experimenting with different musical genres ; Stocking up on some bass gear ; Giving your bass some good old TLC -- 2. Gaining the tools and skills to play. Getting a handle on your bass ; Holding your bass ; Placing your hands in the proper position ; Reading a fingerboard diagram ; Tuning your bass guitar ; Playing a song on your bass guitar -- 3. Warming up : getting your hands in shape to play. Understanding the sound your bass makes ; Performing right-hand warm-ups ; Coordinating your left hand with your right hand --pt. II, The bass-ics of playing. 4. Reading, 'riting, and rhythm. Reading notation : no pain, much gain ; Finding any note in any octave ; Using the metronome : you know, that tick-tock thing ; Dividing music into phrases, measures, and beats ; Discovering how to read music ; Playing your first song while reading music -- 5. Understanding major and minor structures. Building major and minor scales ; Building chords : one note at a time, please ; Inversions : down is up, and up is down ; Spicing up your sound : the seven main modes (scales) ; Using chromatic tones : all the other notes ; Bringing a groove to life with dead notes (weird but true) ; Sampling accompaniments --pt. III, Making the moves, creating the grooves. 6. Creating the groove. Anatomy of a groove : putting together the necessary elements ; Creating your own groove ; Grooving with a drummer ; Jammin' with other musicians ; Getting creative with existing grooves -- 7. Going solo : playing solos and fills. Soloing : your moment to shine ; Creating fills without any help from your dentist --pt. IV, Using the correct accompaniment for each genre. 8. Rock on! Getting down with the rock styles. Rock 'n' roll : it's the attitude! ; Hard rock : going at it fast and furious ; Pop rock : supporting the vocals ; Blues rock : doin' what "Duck" does and playing a countermelody ; Country rock : where vocals are king, and you take a back seat ; One rock fits all : applying a standard rock groove to any rock song -- 9. Swing it! Playing styles that rely on the triplet feel. Swing : grooving up-tempo with attitude ; Jazz : going for a walk ; Blues shuffle : walking like Donald Duck (Dunn, that is) ; Funk shuffle : combining funk, blues, and jazz -- 10. Making it funky : playing hardcore bass grooves. R & B : movin' to rhythm and blues ; The Motown sound : grooving with the music of the Funk Brothers ; Fusion : blending two styles into one ; Funk : light fingers, heavy attitude ; Hip-hop : featuring heavy funk with heavy attitude ; Knowing what to do when you just want to funkifize a tune -- 11. Sampling international flavors : bass styles from around the world. Bossa nova : baskin' in a Brazilian beat ; Samba ; speeding up with bossa's fast cousin ; Afro-Cuban : ordering up some salsa (hold the chips, please) ; Reggae : relaxing with offbeat "riddims" ; Calypso party sounds : dancing through the groove ; Combining reggae and rock : the distinct sound of ska ; African grooves : experimenting with exotic downbeat grooves ; Music without borders : grooving to the world beat -- 12. Playing in odd meters : not strange, just not the norm. An odd-meter oldie but goodie : the waltz ; Beyond the waltz : navigating beats in odd meter -- 13. Groovin' in a genre : it's all about style! Playing grooves in each genre : one simple song many genres strong ; To blend or not to blend : knowing how to fit in ; 14. Eight degrees of separation : the Beatles' solution. Playing your rhythm straight or syncopated ; Making harmonic choices --pt. V, Buying and caring for your bass. 15. Love of a lifetime or one-night stand? Buying the right bass. Assessing your needs before you buy ; Needs are one thing... budget is quite another ; A trip to the bass-mint : where to shop for your bass guitar ; When money is no object : getting a custom-made bass -- 16. Getting the right gear for your bass guitar. Making yourself heard : a primer on amplifiers and speakers ; Needs, wants, and nonessentials : rounding out your equipment -- 17. Changing the strings on your bass guitar. Knowing when it's time to say goodbye ; Off with the old : removing bass strings ; On with the new : restringing your bass ; Ensuring a long life for your strings -- 18. Keeping your bass in shape : maintenance and light repair. Cleaning your bass, part by part ; Making minor repairs to your bass ; Adjusting the bass guitar ; Assembling a cleaning and repair tool bag ; Storing your bass --pt. VI, The part of tens. 19. Ten innovative bassists you should know. Stanley Clarke ; John Entwistle ; James Jamerson ; Carol Kaye ; Will Lee ; Paul McCartney ; Marcus Miller ; Jaco Pastorius ; Victor Wooten ; X (fill in your own) -- 20. Ten great rhythm sections (bassists and drummers). Bootsy Collins and Jab'o Starks ; Donald "Duck" Dunn and Al Jackson, Jr. ; James Jamerson and Benny Benjamin ; John Paul Jones and John Bonham ; Joe Osborn and Hal Blaine ; Jaco Pastorius and Peter Erskine ; George Porter, Jr. and Zig Modeliste ; Francis Rocco Prestia and David Garibaldi ; Chuck Rainey and Bernard Purdie ; Robbie Shakespeare and Sly Dunbar -- Appendix. Audio tracks and video clips