Bass Fitness - An Exercising Handbook (Guitar School) [Paperback]

Josquin des Pres (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1991

The purpose of this book is to provide the aspiring bass player with a wide variety of finger exercises for developing the techniques necessary to succeed in today's music scene. It can also play an important role in a bass player's daily practicing program. The 200 exercises are designed to help increase your speed, improve your dexterity, develop accuracy and promote finger independence. Recommended by world-acclaimed bass players, music schools and music magazines, this is the ultimate bass handbook. The added use of photos makes the lessons complete!

Product Details

• Paperback: 72 pages
• Publisher: Hal Leonard Corporation; 1 edition (May 1, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0793502489
• ISBN-13: 978-0793502486
• Product Dimensions: 11.7 x 8.9 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #60,409 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #12 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Entertainment > Music > Instruments & Performers > Guitar
  • #14 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Entertainment > Music > Theory, Composition & Performance > Techniques
  • #20 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Entertainment > Music > Instruments & Performers > Strings

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

65 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dexterity and finger independance for the masses!!!, March 24, 2005

By 

Joshua Paredez (Cody, Wyo) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bass Fitness - An Exercising Handbook (Guitar School) (Paperback)

Aight, here's the thing. This book is boring. yup. boring. And you're thinking, "Well, if it's boring, then why'd you give it 5 stars?". Because as a musician you have some choices to make. Playing exciting material poorely, or... play boring material well so that you can play exciting material well.
When I purchased this book I had recently made the decision to switch to a fluid 4 finger right hand method. And this book, although written for left hand method, has the potential to help you mentally seperate all 8 of your primary usable digits. I wrote out opposable right hand patterns to play the written left hand exercises, and I must tell you it has been a journey. But then again I think I've probly doubled in ability in the last year and I attribute much of that to this text. If you purchase this book and practice one of these a day, starting at 60bpm and working to 180, while using at least 12 positions for 20 or so minutes... I guarentee you, you will be a stronger bassists. But then again thats a lot of commitment. If your looking for simple chop builders this might not be for you. Although these exersices are relativly simple, they still require a strength of will.

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The only book I've ever used cover to cover, March 14, 2006

By 

M. Rogers (Central Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bass Fitness - An Exercising Handbook (Guitar School) (Paperback)

I can't guarantee you'll improve your dexterity, accuracy, and speed, but daily practice with this book easily doubled my dexterity and accuracy. If you buy it, you have to use it as part of your ongoing practice routine. When I stopped using it, my technique started to fall off again. It was hard for me at first, especially the exercises later in the book, so I used a pick. I was amazed how fast I improved and was soon doing the exercises fingerstyle. I was trying to see how fast I could go initially, but then realized that much of the benefit from doing the exercises came from doing them accurately, with each note sounding clear and strong. The exercises aren't melodic sounding at all; that can affect your ability to do them if you let it. Josquin des Pres doesn't have a lot of verbal instruction in the book (nor does he in his Slap bass book) which is a shame, because he seems very bright and could offer a lot in the way of hints etc. A must have book for bassists of all styles, especially for those that have hit a plateau and can't seem to move forward.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars You will be able to finger anything after going through this book, July 8, 2008

By 

Doron Avizov (New York) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bass Fitness - An Exercising Handbook (Guitar School) (Paperback)

This is a 4 string bass book but I don't see why you couldn't use it for 6 string guitar - or any other fretted instrument. This book does not contain any songs, scales or music theory. It's just pages of left hand finger exercises. Of course doing them will also exercise your right hand as you pick. This isn't a book that you master from cover to cover before moving onto your next book. Rather it's a book that you can use 15-20 minutes a day every day as a warm up before moving onto the book you use to learn songs or theory from. Unlike song and theory/technique books which don't serve much purpose once you know the material, this book is something you can use every day for years to come.

After just 15 minutes of doing the exercises on the first page I was able to play a middle eastern pattern that I had been struggling with for weeks. If you play with a metronome as the author suggests, much sooner than later you will be physically able to play any song you want. How to read that song, however, is not what this book is about. This book will also help you develop a fluid wrist. The more fluid my left wrist the more solid my tone and the less buzz I get no matter how many frets my fingers are spread across. Between this and the book "Fretboard Roadmaps Bass Guitar" you'll develop great bass skills.

Skills aside, I'm looking forward to trying a book that will help develop the feel of a bass player and get how a bass player fits in and interacts with a band. That's where Ed Friedland's "Bass Grooves: Develop Your Groove and Play Like the Pros in Any Style," comes in. Friedland writes out the drum machine parts for you to program into your drum machine to accompany the bass. Personally I'll just play and record them myself on my kit and then try the bass lesson with the track I will have just recorded. As another reviewer stated, if you have no intention of getting a drum machine (or you don't record your own drum tracks) skip this book. The person the bass player has to interact with the most and the tightest is the drummer. A bass player that can work with any drummer will always be in demand so get these three books and have fun.