Serious Electric Bass (Contemporary Bass Series) [Paperback]

Joel di Bartolo (Author), Aaron Stang (Author)

Book Description

Series: Contemporary Bass Series | Publication Date: March 3, 1997

Bass basics, major scales and modes, harmonic and melodic minor scales and modes, arpeggio patterns and symmetric scales (whole tone and diminished). Serious Electric Bass is a definitive, comprehensive, user-friendly guide for electric bassists of all levels. 279 pages.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Bass basics, major scales and modes, harmonic and melodic minor scales and modes, arpeggio patterns and symmetric scales (whole tone and diminished). ^Serious Electric Bass} is a definitive, comprehensive, user-friendly guide for electric bassists of all levels. 279 pages.

Product Details

• Paperback: 280 pages
• Publisher: Warner Bros Pubns (March 3, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1576238830
• ISBN-13: 978-1576238837
• Product Dimensions: 11.9 x 9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #184,697 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another powerful tool - truly for SERIOUS bass players., February 10, 2003

By 

"mlessey" (Maracas Valley, Trinidad and Tobago.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Serious Electric Bass (Contemporary Bass Series) (Paperback)

This book is packed with endless info on the subject - scales and chords. By practicing the excercises in it, one can begin developing a good ear and understand why basslines of some songs are played the way they are.

In fact, this book is teaching me that there are many contemporary songs that are done in modes of common scales. I didn't even know such a thing existed!

Another thing is that you get a great appreciation for the neck and the note values along it by using this book in practice.

You would have to be able to sight-read for this book though, since tab is not used.

The first few sections - particularly the part on setting up and adjusting your bass - are invaluable, as they offer clear instructions that demystify the fear of 'DIY' on your bass.

The only problem I had was that one of the pages (I think it was p.55) was double-printed, so the page before it was not there. Otherwise, this book is an important investment for players who want to understand the relationships between chords and to develop their ear.

ML

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The definitive book about scales and chords, September 5, 2000

By 

richard plat (Holland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Serious Electric Bass (Contemporary Bass Series) (Paperback)

I like this book very much. It filled all the gaps in my knowledge about scales and chords. Almost every existing scale in there. And not only the notes, also every chord you can play it with, several different fingerings, arpeggios, tetrachords, 2-oktave fingerings, and so on. It's a book you keep using for a long time.

5.0 out of 5 stars Seriously Great Book, May 31, 2011

By 

Robert S. Vollmer (Lake Forest, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Serious Electric Bass (Contemporary Bass Series) (Paperback)

This book is primarily intended for intermediate & advanced bassists. I love this book and will be a great reference for me for years to come. If you cannot read music, you will be frustrated, however, as this book is only for musically literate bassists. There are a lot of pages here that are great reference sheets for all of the different scales you should know and I just love the diagrams at the bottoms of the pages showing you where the fingerings are. This is an instructional book as well as a reference tool.