Teach Yourself VISUALLY Bass Guitar

Ryan C. Williams · Richard Hammond

Jan 2007 · John Wiley & Sons

About this ebook

Do you learn faster by seeing and doing than by wading through tedious instructions? Then pick up a bass guitar and start plucking! With Teach Yourself VISUALLY Bass Guitar, you'll quickly progress from playing notes to experimenting with plucking and slap-and-pop techniques. You'll learn about tuning, fretboard fingerings, alternate fingerings, down picking, palm muting, and more. The bass usually sets the tempo, so you'll learn basic note values plus common popular rhythms from straight rock to syncopated reggae. Downloadable MP3 files on wiley.com complement the book and let you hear exactly how things are supposed to sound as you play.

Concise two-page lessons show you all the steps to a skill and are ideal for quick review

• Each skill or technique is defined and described
• Step-by-step instructions accompany each photo
• Detailed color photos demonstrate each step
• Helpful tips provide additional guidance

Ratings and reviews

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About the author

Ryan Williams is a bassist based in Indianapolis, Indiana. He’s shared the stage and studio with everybody and everything from Grammy-award-winning hip-hop artists to a full band of bagpipes and drums. He received his master’s degree in music technology from the Indiana University School of Music in 2003. He’s the author of Windows XP Digital Music For Dummies, and has written several articles and tutorials on music and music technology for several publications and websites. He’s a frequent panelist on digital music and home studios at music conferences around the nation.

Technical editor Richard Hammond, originally from New Zealand, is now based in New York City. He started playing electric bass at age 13, and by age 20 he was one of the most in-demand acoustic and electric bassists in Auckland, playing numerous studio, touring, and television dates. He moved to Boston’s Berklee College of Music in 1991, earning a bachelor’s degree in performance, after which followed a master’s degree in jazz from the Manhattan School of Music in 1996. Richard quickly established himself as a musician able to move freely between a vast array of styles with equal depth, fluidity, and sense of groove. As a professional bassist, he has recorded and toured with a diverse array of bands and solo artists, including Jonatha Brooke, Chiara Civello, the East Village Opera Company, Erasure, House of Red, Anjelique Kidjo, and Dar Williams.