The Bassist's Bible

Overview

An encyclopedia of riffs, styles, and techniques

The incredible diversity of the bass guitar is revealed in this newly revised, all-inclusive style guide. Each chapter covers particular styles or families of styles, gradually introducing players to techniques that will allow them to get the most out of their instrument and easily increase their bass repertoire. More than 400 bass grooves are presented, spanning an excess of 100 styles that musicians can follow along with on each of the two accompanying CDs. In addition to techniques for mastering the various styles, historical information about how they developed is included, giving players a one-of-a-kind opportunity to be true masters of the bass guitar. All musical samples in this updated edition are in both standard notation and tablature and the style histories, bibliography, and discography are up-to-date. Also included are 50 new grooves and a DVD with videos of the proper way to play more than 100 examples.

Reviews

"This cool new book seeks to describe all that the average player will need to know to have a workable familiarity with nearly every common musical style. Each style is listed alphabetically, and each entry includes a historical background, hallmarks of the groove, gear, chord progressions, and tempos typical of the style, and a variety of musical examples reinforced by the included play-along CDs. Naturally, mainstream styles like rock, blues, and R&B [are included], but so are Klezmer, ethnic wedding dances, and Afro-Cuban. The Bassist's Bible will prove useful on many a working pro's reference shelf."  —Jonathan Herrera, senior editor, Bass Player

Author Biography

Tim Boomer teaches bass and has performed with numerous musical acts in the San Francisco Bay Area. His band, Offbeats, has performed on stage together for more than 20 years and has released two albums. He lives in Berkeley, California. Mick Berry is the coauthor of The Drummer's Bible and has been a performing musician for more than 35 years. He lives in San Francisco. Chaz Bufe is the author or coauthor of multiple books including Alcoholics Anonymous: Cult or Cure?, The Heretic’s Handbook of Quotations, and An Understandable Guide to Music Theory. He lives in Tucson, Arizona.