Absolute Beginners Bass Guitar (Book & CD) Paperback – 31 Dec. 1999

I cannot speak highly enough about this book! I am an ABSOLUTE beginner. Never held a bass guitar before and wondered which end I had to blow in! No seriously...in little over a week I am amazed at my rapid development from non musician to being able to do scales in time with the accompanying CD, wondering how my fret hand subconciously knows where to go next and how my other hand moves between 3 strings without even looking at it! Whatever I was struggling with the day before is almost second nature the next day. If you are committed - like the book says - to as little as 20 mins practice a day, I hope you will be as gob-smacked as I am with the progress.And an absolute bargain to boot. Only problem now is what's the next best book to get?

Easy to follow and recommended by my bass guitar teacher

It's all in the title! This really is a book for the absolute beginner. If you have any previous experience playing either a bass or a regular guitar, then this is not the book for you. You will easily complete the book and be very disappointed with the contents.However, if you really are an absolute beginner, then I do recommend this book to you. I think it is a good starting point, and although it will not take you very far into playing the bass, it will give you a good basis.The instruction is fairly clear and concise, and you should have no trouble getting to grips with the material. Once you complete the lessons, you won't be a pro by any means, but you should be able to move on to more comprehensive material.On the whole, a good book for the first few weeks/months of playing a bass (from scratch). But, as I say, if you have played a guitar before, then this book will only have limited value to you and you would be better off looking to other resources.4 out of 5.

Ok

Book seams to be quite good, explaining how to read the music ect, one big problem though...... No CD came with the book!! So I can't even listen and play along!!

Easy to use.

I got it for my daughter and it has helped her.

At this point I've had my bass, (and this book) for three days now.I suppose this might work alright if you have a teacher, and this would act as a "homework" exercise book, but even then you'll probably outgrow it in a week.I'm not using a teacher, I found the explanations brief and simple, with detail in odd parts. An entire page is taken to illustrate the difference between an upstoke and a downstroke using a pick. While actual information regarding scales was too thin for my liking.I stopped referring to this at all within one day and switched to a different book, luckily I bought two different ones.You can get a book for twice the price, that covers everything this book does in FAR more detail, and continues well beyond it.