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Patrick Pfeiffer
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Bass Guitar for Dummies Paperback – January 1, 2010

by Patrick B. Pfeiffer (Author), Will Lee (Foreword)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 231 ratings
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There is a newer edition of this item:

Bass Guitar For Dummies, 3rd Edition (For Dummies (Music))
Bass Guitar For Dummies, 3rd Edition (For Dummies (Music))
$18.69
(1,187)
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Updated with the latest bass guitar technology, accessories, and more

The bass is the heart of music. So leave center stage to the other musicians-you have more important work to do. You can find everything you need to dominate bass in Bass Guitar For Dummies, 2nd Edition.

You'll get expert advice on the basics, like deciding what kind of bass to pick up and which accessories are necessary and which are just nice to have. Plus, you'll get step-by-step instructions for getting started, from how to hold and position your bass to reading notation and understanding chords, scales, and octaves to playing solos and fills.

  • New coverage of slaps, double stops, de-tuning, and fretless techniques
  • New musical exercises as well as updates to charts, illustrations, photos, and resources
  • Includes bonus CD with audio clips of all the examples in the book

Whether you're a beginner picking up a bass for the first time or an experienced player looking to improve your skills, Bass Guitar For Dummies, 2nd Edition is an easy-to-follow reference that gives you just enough music theory to get you going on your way fast!

CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of the e-book file, but are available for download after purchase.

Read more Read less
Previous page
  1. Print length
    342 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    For Dummies
  4. Publication date
    January 1, 2010
  5. Dimensions
    7.25 x 1.25 x 9.25 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0470539615
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0470539613
  8. See all details
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From the Back Cover

The fast and easy way to learn bass guitar!

The bass is the heart of music. So leave center stage to the other musicians ? you have more important work to do. Whether you've never held a bass guitar or you're an experienced player looking to improve your skills, Bass Guitar For Dummies, 2nd Edition is an easy-to-follow reference that gets you playing quickly!

  • The world according to bass ? develop the skills you need to play bass in a band

    • The bass-ics of playing ? explore the techniques for turning scales and chords into great music

      • Making the moves, creating the grooves ? discover the joy of creating just the right groove for each musical genre and style

        • Rock on (and beyond) ? join the band on the CD for a journey through playing different musical styles and perfect accompani-ments to songs

          "Patrick's teaching method showed me how to connect the bits of technique I'd collected into a playing style."? Adam Clayton, bass player, U2

          Bonus CD Includes

          Bass tracks of examples in the book for you to reference and play along with

          Samples demonstrating groove styles, scales, chords, and techniques

          Open the book and find:

          • More than 150 grooves in many different styles

            • How to change strings and perform basic maintenance

              • Exercises to improve your technique

                • Tips on how to play with other musicians

                  • Warm-ups, same-string strokes, and string crossing

                    • Bass styles from around the world

                      • Instruction on how to compose your own grooves

                        • Advice on which bass guitar is best for you

About the Author

Patrick Pfeiffer is a professional bassist, composer, clinician, and bass instructor in New York City. He has recorded with George Clinton, Jimmy Norman, Phoebe Snow, and many others. His other published books include Improve Your Groove?The Ultimate Guide for Bass and Daily Grooves for Bass. Pfeiffer is co-founder of Bass Remedies, Inc. (BassRemedies.com).

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ For Dummies; 2nd edition (January 1, 2010)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 342 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0470539615
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0470539613
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.22 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.25 x 1.25 x 9.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 231 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Patrick Pfeiffer

Patrick Pfeiffer

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Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Patrick Pfeiffer is a professional bassist, composer, clinician, author and bass educator in New York City. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in music from Arizona State University, and his Master’s in jazz studies (with distinction) from the prestigious New England Conservatory of Music. Pfeiffer’s solo CD Fruits and Nuts earned stellar reviews and a recommendation from Bass Player Magazine as well as Jazz Improv Magazine. Besides performing and recording, Pfeiffer teaches bass guitar worldwide via Skype and Zoom and gives clinics on rhythm section playing for bassists and drummers throughout the US. He is co-founder of Bass Immersion Day and conducts clinics alongside such luminaries as Will Lee, John Patitucci, Gerald Veasley, Michael Manring, Victor Wooten, Bakithi Kumalo, Adam Nitti and many more. Pfeiffer also has a regular column in Bass Magazine.

His former students include Adam Clayton of U2, Jean-Louis Locas of Cirque du Soleil, Mark Wike of the Bogmen, Alec Such of Bon Jovi, Paul DeVincenzo of Elle King and Nick diPierro of Her & Kings County. Other former clients include Red Ant Records, PolyGram and Arista Records.

Pfeiffer has played and/or recorded with George Clinton, Jimmy Norman, Phoebe Snow, Slam Stewart, Paul Griffin, Bernard Purdie, Babatunde Olatunji, Al DiMeola, Sheila Jordan, George Russell, Margaret Whiting, Joe Lovano, Carlos Alomar, Hernan Romero, Katie Agresta, the Marvelettes, the KMA Allstars, the Gary Corwin Dream Band, and many others. Pfeiffer was featured artist and adjudicator in the Jazz on the Great Plains festival in South Dakota and repeatedly one of the featured performers and instructors at Gerald Veasley’s famous Bass Boot Camp in Philadelphia. His latest project, a concept CD named Soul of the City, is supported by the New York Foundation for the Arts.

Besides the best-selling Bass Guitar for Dummies editions, which have been translated into eight languages to date, Pfeiffer also authored Bass Guitar Exercises For Dummies (published by Wiley), Improve Your Groove: The Ultimate Guide For Bass (published by Hal Leonard), and Daily Grooves for Bass (published by Carl Fischer).

Pfeiffer is endorsed by TecAmp Amplification and by the elite bass companies MTD and Fodera. His latest basscapades can be found at www.PatrickPfeifferBass.com.

Testimonials for Patrick Pfeiffer:

"Pfeiffer brings finely articulated grooves, thoughtful ballad work, and head-turning solos to his debut solo release. Although his style and sound owe much to Jaco, Patrick puts his own worthy stamp on the legacy."

- Bass Player Magazine

"Pfeiffer can take pride in having created a superb recording, bolstered by excellent contributions by his supporting cast of players, original compositions, and a forum for him to demonstrate his commanding abilities on electric bass."

- Jazz Improv Magazine

"Patrick's teaching method showed me how to connect the bits of technique I'd collected into a playing style."

- Adam Clayton, Bass Player, U2

"Of the myriad tools available for bassists, Bass Guitar for Dummies is at the pinnacle of them all."

- Will Lee, Legendary session player and bassist for the Late Night with Dave Letterman Show

"Bass Guitar Exercises For Dummies is a masterwork...an invaluable resource for all bassists and should be in every bassist's library regardless of their level of ability. I wish I had this book 40 years ago!

- Mark Egan, Legendary Session bassist and solo artist

"The concepts behind constructing effective, ostinato-laden patterns have been dissected and clearly defined. Once in proper command of Pfeiffer's new terminology, Improve Your Groove serves as an excellent resource for explaining rhythmic integrity, practicing general timekeeping, and will have pupils playing in the pocket from the get-go."

- Jazz Improv Magazine

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
231 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Gflightone
5.0 out of 5 stars Great start to learning how to play the bass guitar.
Reviewed in the United States on January 31, 2014
Verified Purchase
I am still in the process of reading and learning about the basics of playing a bass guitar but I can already say that this book has been a wonderful experience so far.

After trying to learn via bass websites and watching numerous videos, I was left with more confusion and frustration. Before I would consider taking lessons from a teacher, I came across this e-book "Bass Guitar for Dummies".

The chapters are easy to read and not overly simple or complex. The corresponding pictures make it easier to illustrate what the author is teaching for that lesson and include numbered links to take you directly to the photo.

He also has well marked additional tips and guidelines which are good points to keep in mind without distracting from the overall lesson.

Finally, what's great so far is that I'm excited to continue to move through the chapters unlike my previous experience of trying to follow some website "courses" which had too many "bells and whistles" and ended up cluttering up my journey in learning how to play the bass guitar.
7 people found this helpful
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Sawgrass
5.0 out of 5 stars A Good Start!
Reviewed in the United States on November 1, 2013
Verified Purchase
As a new bass player, I visited the library to check out some instructional books to learn the "bass"-ics of playing my new Fender acquisition. I checked out several but found the "Dummy" series most helpful. I renewed the check-out date a couple of times as I progressed in this well-worn library book. I found the content to be organized and rather comprehensive for a beginners book. I especially like the way the chapters were organized to cover specific genres music. After turning the book back in to the library, I tried to check it out again but it was never available. (it was a popular book I was told). That endorsement just confirmed what I had already learned; this is a very good start for beginning bass players! It was a "no-brainer", I ordered it from Amazon so I don't have to give it back.
7 people found this helpful
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drtarr
4.0 out of 5 stars Reviewing the Kindle version of this product.
Reviewed in the United States on March 2, 2013
Verified Purchase
On the positive side this book explains musical theory in a plain, easy to understand way. With a dash of humor in the mix. Which is why most people buy the "for Dummies" books in the first place. The book also goes into great detail on how to build your own bass lines, using all the different modes of a scale. It even explains what a mode means. All the theory information is usefull no matter what instrument you play.

On the negative side, and this just purtains to the kindle version. It doesn't come with the CD or anyway to download the CD content that I have found. Now it's pretty obvious that an electronic version isn't going to come with a physical CD, but it would have been nice if the content would have been made available for download. Especially since there was no notice of the fact that content wasn't incluced. Plus the price of the kindle version is pretty close to the price of the physical copy of the book.

The only other negative thing is that the music notation and tab is fairly small and hard to see. Now it might just be me, but I haven't found a way to enlarge them on the kindle. I can enlarge the text of the book, but I haven't found a way to enlarge the notation as of yet.

In conclusion the book is very helpful for learning how to play the bass guitar, but I would suggest getting the physical version instead of the kindle version.
One person found this helpful
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Jeffrey D. Watson
5.0 out of 5 stars Author is no Dummy
Reviewed in the United States on May 10, 2013
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This book is my guidebook and companion on my journey into bass-dom. I bought the paperback, but refer to the book so frequently that I just had to have on Kindle too. The author is generous, talented and funny. In reading this book, it more like a strolling along with one's best friend and talking bass rather than a dry "How-to" manual. Patrick's wit is only matched by his mastery and teaching. For the best experience, read and listen to the tracks. Wiley has made the tracks available for free for those who bought the eBook versions. The companion book "Bass Guitar Exercises" dovetails perfectly with this book. Same humor, same expertise with exercises for just about anything you want to conqueror. I have several instruction book, this is the one that I always come back to.
5 people found this helpful
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Randall Allen
5.0 out of 5 stars Great, Especially for Musicians
Reviewed in the United States on November 17, 2011
Verified Purchase
If you really want to get up and running on bass in a hurry this book is for you. I'm a keyboard guy who reads music, so all of that timing and theory stuff came pretty quick. I just needed the grooves and the fingering to establish some muscle memory, and it's off to the races. Alot of the other lesson books start in kindergarten, and don't progress all that fast. But if that's where you are, then maybe that's OK. But for folks with a some music background, buy this, work at it every day, and it's lift off. In this case, the Dummies title is really misleading. It's OK for folks starting at ground zero, but fantastic for those who know a bit of music.
5 people found this helpful
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Joyce Capps
5.0 out of 5 stars Very complete
Reviewed in the United States on August 11, 2011
Verified Purchase
I just got started on this book, looks like it will keep me very busy for a long time. If I don't learn something from this it will be my fault for not reading and taking it in. I have to admit I haven't listed to the CD yet but am really looking forward to learning from it. I like the way it is set up that you don't have to start at the beginning and read it all the way through from there, rather the sections are labled so that you can jump around and geth the help you need in each area.
One person found this helpful
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rAC
4.0 out of 5 stars Preliminary Views - + 1 edit
Reviewed in the United States on April 16, 2013
Verified Purchase
For a rank beginner, like me, this seems to be largely great taking me through things in a sensible, logical way. Although I would have preferred some more figures/photos and explanation about how to use a pick, and slapping and popping.

Further use/reflection on it and would say that it wold be helpful if the examples (particularly those on the CD)had a tempo indication in the book - this would mean you could set a metronome for practising without 'playing along' (and also means that you could practise easily in slower tempo before you were capable of playing at the song tempo). By the last I mean that if you can only get close to playing the right notes at 60 bpm then trying to play along with a song thats at 120 bpm is ludicrous, but if you can play it at 110 bpm you can then realistically try to play along just that bit faster.
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Top reviews from other countries

Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Good value.
Reviewed in Canada on November 1, 2018
Verified Purchase
Thank you.
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Stefano Mannari
5.0 out of 5 stars Ok
Reviewed in Italy on December 6, 2019
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Ok
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Chris
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book and CD
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 11, 2012
Verified Purchase
This book actually requires you to do some work, but there are no shortcuts to learning an instrument. If you've never picked up a bass or guitar before then you'll need to take your time. Just as a house needs good foundations, so a musicican must build on the foundations of musical theory to give a strong structure around which they can improvise; this book will give just that.
One of the best features are the long or repeated exercises on the CD, allowing one to catch up, which is particualry important for a beginner for these are played at real speed.
The author does empahsise the need to learn the bass cleff but tab is given too and the empahsis on a 'box', around which grooves are built, simplifies moving between chord positions and keys. I recommend following the tab to get the groove in your head and then spending time learning the notes and scales.
A worthwhile purchase.
2 people found this helpful
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Victor Funk
5.0 out of 5 stars Great simple approach
Reviewed in Canada on October 23, 2013
Verified Purchase
Between this book and Youtube I have all I need. The info is concise and clear without going into too much depth.

Victor
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Aleajactaest
5.0 out of 5 stars Satisfied customer
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 28, 2012
Verified Purchase
I've just started playing bass. I have no teacher and no real previous musical instrument experience.

So far this book has covered everything I need to know, and is the only source I really need to refer to. It has simple, informative explanations but doesn't get bogged down. I constantly feel like I'm making progress, and looking ahead in the book it looks like it has a lot more to give.

Also it seems like it will be good to have around to refer back to eventually, it's not pages after pages of tabs like another book I bought.

So I'd definitely recommend it to a beginner like me. And I imagine it'd still be very useful for a more experienced one too.
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