Bass Guitar for Dummies [Paperback]

Patrick Pfeiffer (Author), Will Lee (Foreword)

Book Description

Series: For Dummies (Lifestyles Paperback) | Publication Date: June 1, 2003

Shake the earth with deep, sonorous vibrations. Be the force that relentlessly drives the music. Rumble like the ominous thunder of an approaching storm. For you, it's not enough just to be heard; you need to be felt, too. You need to play bass guitar.

Imagine your favorite music without bass. It doesn't work, does it? The bass is the heartbeat of the music, the foundation of the groove, and the glue that holds together all the different instruments. You can feel the vibrations of the low notes – sometimes subtle and caressing, sometimes literally earthshaking – as they propel the song. The bass is the heart. So leave center stage to the other musicians – you have more important work to do. The limelight may be cool, but bassists rule!

You can find everything you need to dominate the bass in Bass Guitar For Dummies – whether you're a beginner picking up a bass for the first time or an experienced player looking for way to improve. And you won't drown in complicated music theory, either; this easy-to-understand reference gives you just enough music theory to get you on your way.

Bass Guitar For Dummies includes the following topics and more:

• Exploring the anatomy of a bass guitar
• Getting started: Holding your bass, positioning your hands, and striking notes
• Reading bass notation and understanding chords, scales, and octaves
• Creating a groove and playing solos and fills
• Examining different bass-playing styles, from rock and funk to blues and reggae
• Caring for your bass: Cleaning, changing strings, and so on
• Buying your own bass and accessories
• Top Ten lists on bassists you should know about

Bass Guitar For Dummies also comes with a CD that includes audio clips of all the examples in the book.

So put away the air bass guitar and get yourself the real thing. With the help of Bass Guitar For Dummies, you'll be groovin' in your own band in no time!

Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file.

Editorial Reviews

Review

..".if you are more talented then me visit www.wileyeurope.com..." ("Ipswich Evening Star, 20 August 2003)

From the Back Cover

"Patrick’s teaching method showed me how to connect the bits of technique I’d collected into a playing style."
—Adam Clayton, Bass Player, U2

Play rock, blues, jazz, country, new wave, and Latin

Get ready to rock and roll on the bass — even if you can’t read music!

Want to play bass? This instrumental guide shows you how, with expert advice in everything from choosing your bass to playing basic scales to improvising lead solos. You’ll discover how to tune your bass and keep it in great shape, as well as left- and right-hand techniques, timing tips, and in-depth examples in various musical styles.

All this on the audio CD

• Author demonstrates the rhythms so you can hear how it’s done
• Exercises help you master grooves and reproduce the sound
• Hear sample rhythms played with a real drummer
• Put your fretting skills to the test

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 360 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies (June 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764524879
• ISBN-13: 978-0764524875
• Product Dimensions: 1 x 7.5 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (84 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #391,583 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Patrick Pfeiffer is a professional bassist, composer, clinician, author and bass teacher in New York City. He earned his Bachelor's Degree in music from Arizona State University, and his Master's in jazz studies from the New England Conservatory of Music. Pfeiffer's solo CD Fruits and Nuts (recorded with his group PHX) earned stellar reviews and a recommendation from Bass Player Magazine. Besides performing and recording, Pfeiffer teaches bass guitar in New York City and gives clinics on rhythm section playing for bassists and drummers throughout the US.

His former students include Adam Clayton of U2, Jean-Louis Locas of Cirque du Soleil, Mark Wike of the Bogmen, Alec Such of Bon Jovi and Nick diPierro of Her & Kings County. Other former clients include Red Ant Records, Polygram and Arista Records.

Pfeiffer has played and/or recorded with George Clinton, Jimmy Norman, Phoebe Snow, Slam Stewart, Paul Griffin, Bernard Purdie, Babatunde Olatunji, Sheila Jordan, George Russell, Margaret Whiting, Joe Lovano, Carlos Alomar, Hernan Romero, the Marvelettes, the KMA Allstars and the Gary Corwin Dream Band, to name a few.

Pfeiffer authored several classic bass books: the international best-selling Bass Guitar for Dummies and Bass Guitar Exercises For Dummies (both published by Wiley's), Improve Your Groove: The Ultimate Guide For Bass (published by Hal Leonard), as well as Daily Grooves for Bass (published by Carl Fischer).

Pfeiffer is co-founder of Bass Remedies, Inc. (www.BassRemedies.com), a company offering live bass seminars with today's bass stars.


Testimonials for Patrick Pfeiffer:

"Pfeiffer brings finely articulated grooves, thoughtful ballad work, and head-turning solos to his debut solo release. Although his style and sound owe much to Jaco, Patrick puts his own worthy stamp on the legacy."
- Bass Player Magazine

"Pfeiffer can take pride in having created a superb recording, bolstered by excellent contributions by his supporting cast of players, original compositions, and a forum for him to demonstrate his commanding abilities on electric bass."
- Jazz Improv Magazine

"Patrick's teaching method showed me how to connect the bits of technique I'd collected into a playing style."
- Adam Clayton, Bass Player, U2

"Of the myriad tools available for bassists, Bass Guitar for Dummies is at the pinnacle of them all."
- Will Lee, Legendary session player and bassist for the Late Night with Dave Letterman Show

"Bass Guitar Exercises For Dummies is a masterwork...an invaluable resource for all bassists and should be in every bassist's library regardless of their level of ability. I wish I had this book 40 years ago!
- Mark Egan, Legendary Session bassist and solo artist

"The concepts behind constructing effective, ostinato-laden patterns have been dissected and clearly defined. Once in proper command of Pfeiffer's new terminology, Improve Your Groove serves as an excellent resource for explaining rhythmic integrity, practicing general timekeeping, and will have pupils playing in the pocket from the get-go."
- Jazz Improv Magazine

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

77 of 78 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great resource, February 27, 2005

By 

Stewart Teaze (San Diego, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bass Guitar for Dummies (Paperback)

Great resource for learning the bass guitar.

I learned how to read music and learn notes, scales, technique, etc. very rapidly.

The CD is very helpful - but don't expect to use it to listen to the low-pitched bass guitar notes on the tiny little speakers on a laptop computer! I ended up having to hook up big speakers to my laptop to get decent enough sound.

I researched bass guitar instruction books at several large book stores, and this was by far the best book available. The only complaints I have are: 1) the "Dummies" title... I ended up making a book cover that included the fretboard/music notation pages from inside the book (a cheat sheet, if you will). 2) The introduction to music notation didn't include explanations of some obvious things, like what the bass clef symbol notation means(turns out to indicate which line corresponds to the note F), or what the time symbol "c" means (turns out to be common or 4/4 time, which is the time base used for most rock tunes)... I ended up going to Wikipedia to figure out the full details of music notation.

Don't expect to read this book straight thru to learn the instrument... you have to take little samples from the different chapters, and put things together yourself sometimes... but, to be honest with you, I'm not really sure the approach used in this book can be improved on that much... it really is a pretty good book if you are willing to do some of your own research when you get curious about something that isn't fully covered in the book.

59 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Holy Bass Bible, August 10, 2003

By 

Jeff Velez (Brooklyn, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bass Guitar for Dummies (Paperback)

If any of you Bass Players are like me, You have been purchasing book after book just to end up in the same (or worse) situation. Stumped, trying to connect point A to Point B. Some books don't make points clear enough for you to understand things like, Proper warm up techniques, building major, minor scales, modes, chords, playing solos, playing in odd meter, understanding sight reading, the importance of timing and how to achieve it etc etc. If you tried to tackle any one of these subjects chances are you have a book collection large enough to rival the NY Public Library...(I know I do) Bass Guitar For Dummies is like the book all books were derived from. All of the topics I mentioned (and some I didn't) are discussed in a clear orderly fashion. The book goes from the basics to the more advanced, A definate reference guide even for the Professional. Just Starting on Bass? Well, this book is the book for you as well.....(I wish this book was out when I started!!) "Bass Guitar For Dummies" will lead you to the proper road to success. I suggest every one who is serious (or just curious) about bass playing, pick up this most incredible offering by Performer, Teacher, Composer "Patrick Pfeiffer" Hey, what do you have to lose? If you want to play with the big boys, you need to arm yourself with the proper tools........I recommend this book to all.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best bass book I have found for beginners and more, January 19, 2005

By 

Charlie San Miguel (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bass Guitar for Dummies (Paperback)

When I decided to pick up bass, I did some research and bought 10-15 different books, including books on scales, books on grooves, getting-to-know-your-bass type books, etc. Without a doubt, this has been the best book I have found. It's the most comprehensive, yet easy to understand, book I have come across. The book is written by an expert and the advice and exercises in the book are excellent and well explained. Highly recommended.