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24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
First rate!, May 11, 2003
This review is from: Mel Bay Walking Jazz Lines for Bass (Spiral-bound)
There are a number of good method books for the jazz bassist these days- I must own at least a dozen! But Hungerford's book is one of the best. Unlike some authors, Hungerford doesn't start you off playing root-root-root or root-fifth-root-fifth. He assumes you want to learn to play real bass lines, and that's exactly what he gives you. From the beginning he has the reader building lines with roots, 3rds, 5th, 6ths and 7ths; from there, he moves quickly into I-IVs, rhythm changes and II-V-Is in various keys. There's also an accompanying CD to provide rhythmic and harmonic accomaniment to the excercises. The second half of the book takes the reader through a number of standard tunes, some with bass lines written out and some provided for the reader to write their own lines using the guidelines given. There's a lot of information packed into less than 100 pages here, and a diligent player will find all they need for a solid progam of jazz education.
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A great way to start walking, May 6, 2004
This review is from: Mel Bay Walking Jazz Lines for Bass (Spiral-bound)
I'm learning bass, focusing on walking jazz lines and I'm finding this book very helpful. The book assumes some basic skills and a little basic theory. Hungerford's approach is mechanical (in a good sense) rather than theoretical. It illustrates how walking lines are built. The principles are easy to grasp. There are lots of examples and room to experiment.
Best of all, the book includes the cord changes as well as a transcribed bass line for 20 recognized jazz standards (good ones too). On the CD, the bass is in one channel the other instruments in the other, so you can follow the examples or tune out the bass and play along. Hungerford indulges in some pretty nice fretwork that shows how much fun good walking lines can be. He also shows you how he does it.
After some months of practice with this book I've edited my comments. I've used and/or seen many other books on this subject and the approach used Walking Jazz Lines for Bass is sound. The author is clear enough that this book should not be your only source of learing and playing this music. Using this book alone would be far too narrow. There are other good books and practice CDs. Get some of them. But this one is simple, clear and easy. it will get you off to a very good start. (and the transcriptions fo those standards are great).
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
First rate -- all the way!, January 29, 2007
This review is from: Mel Bay Walking Jazz Lines for Bass (Spiral-bound)
I've bought more than my share of bass books, and most of them don't even
begin to give you the kind of "knowledge" that comes with this volume.
Hungerford sets up his book in amanner that takes you thru "patterns" of
major and minor scales, progressing from simple 1-3-5-3 chords to chords +
scales + accidental notes.
But it gets even better, as he "gives" you the standard walking patterns
that cover the usual ii-V-I progression. And he does this with notes (sorry
kids, TAB is worthless if you want to be a serious player) and
notated finger positions below the staff. Thus, instead of being simply
give a note progression, you can "get it" with the most useful fingering
and shifts as well.
It would be beneficial if you had a teacher when working thru this book,
but you could so it on your own if you understand minimal music theory.
This is really a first rate book if you want to learn to play jazz bass!
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