20 Best Book For Learning Bass Guitar (2023 Updated)

This is a well thought out instruction book. This book actually teaches you individual notes first. It starts from the first string and goes across to the sixth. After having the book for about a month I am on the fourth string and can play “Amazing Grace” and all the songs for strings one through three.

28th this book you get the sense that there is a method to the guitar. It has been a great help. Before buying this book I tried to learn by watching YouTube videos but didn’t get too far because of the disorganization of that way of practicing.

This book has a system laid out for you. It works.

This is basically the book I stared out with, more decades ago than I care to say. I will say CDs were not around. My daughter wanted this as it was her first guitar book also and she has decided to restart.

So I bought it for her. I am sure there have been changes (?) but it appears to be the same book that most/all guitar teachers start with. It does the trick. If your starting out, or want to learn to play by reading music, this is a great beginners book.

Dare I say, The Book for learning guitar. Also the price was the best available.

It is a good product. I was dis appointed that it had so much writing in it. It had the CD’s that are out of print. They were in good shape.

I only gave this book 4 stars because it isnt in the best condition. However, it is in better condition than I thought it would be, being labeled good. This book has, so far, been a great help. It introduces the basics of reading music for guitar, which is a very needful fundamental.

I have been more of a player by-ear and sorta missed the basics of reading. I purchased this book for a college guitar tutoring lesson and it has been very helpful so far. I recommend it to anyone beginning to play or learning to read music for guitar!.

I already have three other guitar tutorial books from the best teacher there is, Hal Leonard who is also a publisher for other tutorial books on how to learn to play the guitar. This one,. Guitar Method, has all three of his tutorials from the Guitar Method series, Guitar Method I, II, and III.

Hal Leonard is also the Chief Editor of Guitar Magazine, so if anyone needs a great tutorial to learn to play the guitar, I highly recommend this one as it has all three Guitar Method books or the whole series.

Hal Leonard is known to best the very best at teaching anyone how to learn to play the guitar! I was able to purchase a very good condition of this tutorial for a low price as I saved over five dollars compared to buying it new.

My 9 year old has recently started to learn to play the guitar. The music teacher asked us to buy this book before lessons started. When I made enquiries about availability and price of this book, all the music shops knew about it.

It seems to sell for around 10, but we were able to puchase it brand new, on-line, from a local independent music shop for 5 inc p&p. It is a slim book, so not daunting for a learner. It is also lightweight so easy to carry in the pocket on the guitar case.

My daughter has found the book easy to understand, easy to follow and fun to learn from. Recommended for beginners.

I have been playng classical guitar for 45 years and i like to go back and browse basics once in awhile to solidify my foundation. Wellahh. the section on length of nails and how to file was a big +.

This most overlooked part of classical playing is a prerequisite for getting quality sound.

The Christopher Parkening Guitar Method, Volume 1 provides the aspiring classical guitarist with the tools necessary to excel at playing the classical guitar. Starting with the proper posture, seating, and arm and finger position Parkening lays the foundation for future technique by giving the essential building blocks necessary for success in mastering the more complicated techniques which follow.

Nothing is left to chance: clear and vivid illustrations show the proper form and technique. His illustrations give the beginner a good foundation on which to build. By following the given examples the student will avoid the most common mistakes of poor chording or fingering technique.

And the lessons are certainly enjoyable: starting off with carefully picked classical songs with beautiful melodies he gives the beginner a taste of what can be accomplished. The lessons start with easy to master songs and progress finally to songs of easy to moderate difficulty.

When finished with the lessons–which could probably be mastered within a couple of months–the student will be left with a desire to advance and proceed with more advanced songs. The book is designed to be an introduction that whets the appetite.

Not an advanced or an intermediate methodology that could discourage the new beginner. It’s perfect for that student who is just beginning and desires to start out right. A student that masters this book will not have to unlearn bad habits and patterns, but having mastered this material will have the foundation set for future learning success on the classical guitar.

I’ve been using this book for more than a decade to introduce adult or young adult students to reading music for the guitar. The fact that it uses the classical method is an added bonus. I’ve never had a student complain when they found themself site reading Spanish guitar songs.

It moves quickly and remains enough of a challenge to prevent boredom.

Well written book. Using Jazz chords to incorporate riffs, breaks and fill ins. Progressive chord and melody styles are featured. There is a second book once you have mastered the 1st one

This item was purchased based on the recommendation of, Randy Bachman of the, Guess Who. Stated that, this book was the source of Jazz chords used in the song, UNDONE. Their is no conversion chart, for easy to use Jazz chords actually played by Bachman.

Who Is Great!. This book is only relative to the well versed musically inclined. Norva Frank.

I love this book! I grew up with the Beatles, and on a lark recently started learning Beatle songs. I’m a moderately decent guitar player and had spent the last thirteen years playing Bluegrass which I also love.

I wanted to play something refreshing and more complex and this was just the ticket. I’ve had to work a little to learn new chords and rhythms but worth every minute of effort. Its a joy to be able to play these wonderful chords and sounds I’ve heard all my life and sing the great lyrics.

Man they were great songwriters. Sometimes I just go back and forth between two chords and go “wow. ” The chords are complex enough to get the right sounds, yet easy enough that with some effort you can learn them.

I actually bought my first copy at a garage sale for two dollars, but liked it so much I ordered one on ebay for my sister. If you want a reason to smile, buy and work with this book, it was worth every penny.

Okay, you have to think “simple and easy. ” The chord progressions really help to define the song itself, and even tho’ I found an Fm# chord a little tricky in the beginning, you will soon master it.

It’s funny though — some of the way early Beatles songs are not in there — Love Me Do, etc. , but. for the most part, it’s pretty complete. I recommend it for anyone who is eager to learn those Beatles gems on their guitar.

Lay out is normal for any guitar based chord book. Well done and clean.

Yes, I can make playing the guitar easy. Just follow our simple instructions and you will be playing a guitar in no time. Our easy to follow instructions provide you with all the necessary tools necessary for you to be playing cords and songs in record time.

It is a great value and we guarantee you will be satisfied or we will double your money back. It is a great program so get yours today while supplies last at this price.

I bought my first guitar around a month ago, and I started learning with this book about 2 or 3 weeks ago. The information in the book gives straight to the point how to instructions.

Hal Leonard is a world wide leader in Guitar tutorial books. Easy to understand and a wonderful way to get started onto this Guitar adventure.

The kind of book that I have been looking to find for years. After reading many instructional guitar books and often finding the material not practical and draining, this book finally provided the tools necessary to improve my abilities through practical exercises and intuitive design.

A very good book for sight-reading (starting from the bare basics) which is detrimental for any serious musician.

I bought volume 2 first – only because that was the only volume the music store had in stock. I used it for a couple of years, then I got Vol. 1. Used that for a couple of years, along with Vol. 1 simultaneously.

I’m actually STILL using both volumes (haven’t bought Vol. 3 yet, am buying it now) — and I have to say that these books alone showed me that playing guitar was to be my life’s passion, my “Magnificent Obsession.

” Without these — with a Mel Bay book, let’s say — I don’t believe I would have realized just how far a determined player can go with a couple of good guide books. Of course, these books suggested, indirectly, many other books and these have been invaluable, too.

I agree that they aren’t for everybody; but if you yearn inside to know what the great guitarists know, if you want a shot at going all the way, GET THESE BOOKS. Position playing, scale patterns, movable chords, reading, techniques of the greats – it’s all here.

Those reviewers who knock these books obviously didn’t give them much effort. You reap what you sew. So, sew! Work. Buy volumes separately – yes! All-in-one is too bulky. Use other books in conjunction with these! Songbooks, fake-books, blues licks, jazz licks, all that.

Kiss the sky.

My teacher started me on #1. I had 4 years of piano so I knew how to navigate notes. There is a fundamental disconnect between the book and how most guitarists view the instrument. The guitar is not a piano.

The guitar is an instrument where patterns are more important. Patterns define how a musician moves their hands and how chords are connected. 1-4-5 blues has simple patterns. Holdsworth Jazz has complicated multi-key multi-time signature patterns.

This book is not a good way to learn either. If you are buying this for your child, make sure it fits their learning objectives. If playing Rock is what they are passionate about, DO NOT start with this book.

It will very likely KILL their passion by turning something fun an inspirational to something dull and perspirational. There needs to be balance in any learning program. The objectives of these books are not for most students.

I am a drummer of 45 years, but a beginning bass player. For me bass tabs are the best way to start playing songs for a beginner. It also shows the notes so you can figure how the rhythm goes. It also has the words to the songs.

Worth the money.

Using tabs from this book with my bass instructor. Needed a copy for home. This is probably better suited for an experienced player but it serves the purpose for me.

you can only get better with this book it goes from very easy to very difficult bass lines and reading

Bought this product to build some speed. I do spare some of my playing time for practice everyday and this has helped me a lot. It is a very well structured guide. It is only about speed, this is what it claims too; you will not find any information about other subjects such as theory, rhythm, etc.

This is not a general guitar method. It does great what is was intended for and is well worth every penny I paid for it. Recommended to anyone who wants to build speed and does not avoid practice.

Good book, good exercises, but the CD just kills it. Rather than put each exercise on its own track on the CD, the exercises are bunched up with multiple exercises in a track. So, for example, let’s say you want to work on exercise 4, and you need to listen to that one over and over.

Well, before you can listen to exercise 4 on the CD, you have to listen to exercises 1, and 2, and 3, before you get to 4 because they’re all bunched into one track. Then, when you hit the Back button on your cd player to go back and start exercise 4 over, it’s right back to Exercise 1, then 2, then 3 again before you can listen to 4.

Who’s unimaginably stupid idea was that?.

likes: w/ a little practice you can get Results in your guitar playing. i like how each sample is taken at different tempos. The book is also well structured and focuses on key areas that a guitarist might encounter (i.

e. bends, sweeps, ear training, etc). dislikes: the examples aren’t separated by cd tracks like in other instructional books, instead each track has several examples in them which is kind of a pain if youre trying out an example (in the middle of a track) and then you want to rewind but you end up in the beginning of the track.

Final note: aside from the cd track problem, this book good to have as an instructional tool and puts a great great deal of emphasis on the key areas of guitar playing, err. i mean, guitar shredding!!! I, myself have 2 copies of this book (why? i dont know) and have recommended it every guitarist i know that aim to better their guitar skills.

After doing a web search and reading recommendations, this was THE BOOK by Ed Friedland, (rather BOOKS, as books 1, 2, and 3 are bound together with each accompanying cd for each book) to help one learn bass guitar.

Walmart had the best online price that I could find as my BAM club membership had expired. I reasoned why pay more (with the membership fee) when Walmart was cheaper? Having received the product- (UPS-MI by the way sent my package on a LOOOO-OOONG crooked route to get to me, no thanks to THEM.

) and looking through it, this will help me learn to play my bass better, and help me to understand music instead of only TAB. Bass tablature, or bass tab, is a pretty simple system of music notation for bass.

I have been playing some songs using tabs. If you are looking for a bass guitar instruction book this may be the best one for you to get as well as it was for I.

This is an excellent way to teach beginning bassists how to play the instrument and read music at the same time. I was trained early in my life with the Hal Leonard method and feel comfortable using the technique contained in this book to train others.

It is a strong contender for the #1 choice in string instrument instruction. What the heck is “awesome sauce”?.

An excellent instructional book which unlike most concentrates on teaching through musical notation rather than tablature (Tab is used sparingly where positional information is needed). It is easy to use via the spiral binding and well supported by the enclosed musical example discs.

I would recommend this as an essential book for the beginning bassist (in addition to any tab based books) as I believe being able to read traditional music notation is an essential skill.

Matthew is so great! He always helps me find exactly what I need. He is also extremely knowledgeable and can answer any of my questions. He deserves a big raise!

More and better formatted content than the “other” Real Book. I bought Vol2 also, in the mini format for comparison. Mini is readable from music stand distance. Both sizes have their place I’d say.

I had the 5th edition for Eb and there were a lot more jazz standards in it. I had hoped to have more or less the same tunes so I didn’t have to transpose everything but I’m not recognizing a lot of the tunes in this edition.

That said, there’s plenty of music in this book, it’s just that I’ll have to go back to transposing.

I bought this for my 9 yr old granddaughter. She has enjoyed using it.

Aligns well with the lesson book

Good method.

Ive gone through many many books on theory, soloing, improv etc. and this book is probably my favorite so far. Its clear, concise, challenging and fun! The exercises at the end of each chapter are great and really help to absorb the wealth of knowledge in this book.

Im very happy with it :).

One of the best guitar books on the fretboard I’ve read. It covers all the important points in understand why and to learn the fretboard

This is too simple at the beginning, with page after page wasted with exercises rather than information, and then goes off into scattered topics, some well-explained, some not, and often does not make the critical connections between the topics.

For example: it discusses 7th chords but never shows you where the different 7th chords (Maj7, min7, dom7) fall in the major scale — in fact, it makes very little connections between scales and chords at all; 2) it discusses Pentatonic scales after having had discussed the Major and relative minor scales, yet never mentions that you can play the major pentatonic of the root, 4th, and 5th notes in a major scale and the minor pentatonic of the 2nd, 3rd, and 6th notes in a major scale.

Without the connections between the concepts, the information is just sitting there useless.

I did a lot of research into introductory books for the bass guitar. I purchased this book based on reviews and was not disappointed. The book covers many aspects of the bass, and is easy to read. If you are new to the bass guitar, this book will be a great help in getting started.

Even though this book is geared towards new players, there’s plenty of content that is valuable… even for experienced professionals.

unfamiliar music teachings small print to small to read on the tabs teachings porting of the book have never heard of some of the vernacular the book uses.

Book comes with app where you can listen and watch helpful videos. It’s great for beginners, walking them through step by step. I’ve seen my daughter excel tremendously is in this book.

Great way to save some money by purchasing pre-owned. Item as described.