Starting strong...part 2

Continuing the topic of recommended avenues of study for beginning players. For the free resources check the previous post.

PAID RESOURCES

Books have been the main avenue of instrumental instruction methods for more than a century, and with the support of sound files on either CD or online, they still have some advantages over more modern technologies. Namely, I am not alone in liking the ability to have a non-electronic resource at hand, especially for highlighting the text, writing in my comments or notes, reading on the commute without worrying about batteries etc. Here are my top two picks:

Hal Leonard Bass Method is by now pretty much recognized as THE study resource for the modern electric bass beginners. Its author Ed Friedland is a renowned educator and overall bass authority. Just search the ‘Net for “bass whisperer” to see what I mean. It is available either as three separate volumes or a complete edition book (recommended), and covers all the bases needed to become a competent player. The feature that stands out is that the command of the instrument and learning the theory are integrated with reading standard notation in a flawless manner. That way you get to be able to handle yourself in music situation both with and without printed music before you. This book is so outstanding that it has its own long thread on the TalkBass forums, which is the biggest bass community in the virtual world.

Bass Guitar for Dummies is a later date publication, compared to the previous one, but it has garnered excellent reputation. If I may add, rather deservedly so. Namely, the book has already gone through several editions (hence different covers you may find) with appropriate upgrades along the way. The author, Patrick Pfeiffer, does an excellent job of getting beginner player up to speed as quick and efficiently as possible. For that reason, he relies on tablature in his examples, which may not prepare you to dive into the sea of written music out there, but it will get you ready to join a band quicker than many others. Besides the music competencies, he discusses numerous important issues that relate to such goal – choosing and maintaining the instrument, amp, accessories, bass players and rhythm section to know and study etc. What we have here is a great book and the only contender for the position held by the previous one.

Video lesson were the craze of later 1980’s and through 1990’s. The thing is, they don’t require as much time to put together as the books do, so it enabled busy professionals, i.e. name players, to give their contribution to bass education. Another thing is, many of those failed at making any worthwhile impact. The limited duration of such projects certainly played a role, but so did the fact that many of great players are not so great instructors and lack any clear idea of what to teach or how to coherently present their thoughts on the topic they took. On top of that, they were pretty pricey, $30 to $60 for a VHS or DVD that was 30-80 minutes in duration.

Fortunately, the beginner programs are somewhat more specific in terms of what needs to be shown, so there were several good ones. Many of those are still available today, still on DVD or as a streaming/download video.

Teach Me Bass Guitar stands out among other products in this category, thus the decision to review it first. Its author Roy Vogt is both a seasoned professional player and an experienced educator, who decided to make an actual step-by-step video course. Since it couldn’t have been done within the frame of a single DVD, his program stretches of 10 (yes, ten!) discs that methodically cover approximately the first two years of instruction for a beginner player. The learning experience is really pleasant, with animated fretboard used in place of tablature in the video, written instruction on the screen accompanying oral instruction etc. Also included is the PDF book to help with the referencing and overview, but it doesn’t stop there. Vogt really goes the extra step – instead of offering customary practicing sound files as mp3 backing tracks, he assembled an actual band and recorded them on video, playing live in a club, so when you practice with them it is as close as it gets to being on a bandstand in your own room! Naturally, such a product comes at a price that is higher than most other beginner programs, but you can now download it or stream individual levels or even lessons on his website. All in all, this program set the bar so high that it is unlikely to be surpassed any time soon.

If you’d still prefer a more concise introduction to the instrument, here is a selection of really good ones that you can pick from. Each one lays a good foundation, so go for the title that is most readily available for you, without the need to seek the others.

Beaver Felton – Bass Bassics, a two volume video produced in the ‘90s, so the visual appearance is reflective of the fact, but this is probably may favorite among these;

Billy Sheehan – Basic Bass, the newest of the lot, showing a star player do an excellent job of teaching what matters from experience.

Dale Titus – Ultimate Beginner Series Bass Basics, another two volume set produced 25+ years ago, but done so well that it is as good today as it was back then, possibly in the friendliest atmosphere here.

Online courses/portals mentioned here are chosen for their very affordable membership fee AND the quality of material. Both will serve you well beyond the beginning phase, too.

Norm Stockton’s Art of Groove lives up to its name. You will find courses neatly laid out as orderly lessons and focusing on deeply understanding the main role that bass players perform in their bands. The material is presented either in text/diagram/notation/tabs format or in video, and besides the specific courses written for the site (20-week beginner course, basic rock course, 60-week flagship course etc.) the members also have access to the set of instructional Grooving for Heaven videos that Norm did back in the day, along with a lot of bonus material. At under $10 per month, joining it is a no-brainer.

Damian Erskine’s website Bass Education is a very recent offering, and jumped quickly to the top of my favorite resource. First of all, Damian is a monster player with excellent professional record (google him if you haven’t heard), but a brilliant instructor, too. The material on the site is presented in video format, supported by PDF documents and playalong tracks where necessary. The lessons are organized either by topics (technique, bass lines, theory…) or as courses, which themselves are offered either as modules (fundamentals, walking bass, rhythm, chords, slap) or as learning paths (pocket player, jazz bassist, jam confidently, soloing proficiency, freelance pro, sight reading). On top of that, Erskine conducts a monthly live Q&A session and runs a forum for the members to interact even more…whew! What more can you ask for? The price? Incredibly enough, he offers all that for a symbolic membership fee of $7 per month or $75 annually! Yes, you read that correctly. I sincerely believe that for a serious player, regardless of their level, it should be a criminal offense to skip on this opportunity.

NOTE: The aforementioned resources are not mutually exclusive, but in order to get the most benefit from the approaches presented in this post and previous one, pick one of them that sounds like your cup of tea and focus on following the path of instruction offered there; then use BassBuzz or TalkingBass as an additional source of possibly more entertaining and diverse information. 

Have a good time practicing!