How To Play Bass Guitar (Acorn Basic Lessons) (Paperback)

by Arnie Berle (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
A method of tuition that develops logically from the basics to technical and musical standards that open the doors to jazz, fusion, and rock.

Product Details

• Paperback: 48 pages
• Publisher: Hal Leonard Corporation (December 31, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0825623979
• ISBN-13: 978-0825623974
• Product Dimensions: 11.9 x 9 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,576,126 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars skip it, May 1, 2000

By A Customer

My opinion on this book- skip it. You would probably have an easier time learning to play on your own. Amazon has a couple of books that are way better than this one. The pictures aren't that descriptive or helpful. The overall explanation of how to play is not specific or descript. I looked at this book in order to learn to play for the first time, and I was just about as well off as I was before I got the book. In fact, I got frustrated and threw the book away. Maybe the title of the book was a mistake. The content seemed too have been written for a moderate or expert bass player.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Don't know what that other guy was talking about..., January 25, 2001

By	Mark Wardell "mwardell" (Tulalip, Washington USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

...but this book is a good introduction to the bass. No, there's not a lot of pictures other than the most basic fingering techniques, and it doesn't have a bunch of "hot licks". However, it contains all the fundamentals you need to start playing bass. It goes through all the major/minor scales, chords, the circle of fifths, blues progressions; in other words, it teaches you "how to play bass guitar". I played trombone for 8-9 years so I knew the scales & how to read bass clef, but I still needed to know how to translate that to the bass. This book works just fine for that.

5.0 out of 5 stars this is a good method book for teachers to use, January 20, 2009

By	David Turner "Music Educator, double bass & b... (Longview, WA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I use this book to teach my bass guitar students, mostly because it is very sequential and it does not use tab. It teaches notes in half/first position, one string at a time, using enharmonic spelling and only using standard notation. Eventually students can play a chromatic scale in first position and then are ready to play simple duets or songs.

I don't think I'd recommend this book for "do-it-yourselfers," but then again I don't recommend trying to teach yourself an instrument anyway.

If you want to stand out as a musician, let alone a bass guitarist, learn to read music in standard notation and chord symbols, and learn a variety of styles and genres of music. This book can help you do that, if used in conjuction with private instruction and a good teacher.

If you have a teaching studio and teach bass guitar, this book provides a solid method that actually teaches fluency on the instrument and standard notation - highly recommended.