Building Walking Bass Lines – Jazz and Blues Bass Instruction Book | Online Audio Included | Hal Leonard Bass Builders Series

I purchased this book based on the strength of the reviews. I was looking for a book to help learn how to play the bass, and to strengthen my understanding of what notes are where on the neck of the bass.The book stands as an excellent resource for learning how to construct bass lines over chord changes found in Jazz and similar styles. It begins simple, teaching you about finding and playing the root of the chord, and the fifth and octave. As you advance through the book, you begin to learn variations on these - different methods of approaching the root and fifth, as well as scales and arpeggios. Some sections explicitly lay out the notes to play, and more advanced sections simply give you the chord changes so that you can apply what you've learned in the prior lesson.Friedland also uses the book as a sort of crash course in music theory. In this, I believe the book suffers some. There is a lone page dedication to chord building, showing most of the variations of a C chord (major, minor, diminished, augmented, and the 7th variations of those). This is the only place where the chords are explicitly spelled out, if you aren't familiar enough with the notes in a given key to build a chord on your own, you might have a rough time of it. If you have a list of the key signatures in front of you, this weakness can be nullified or worked around. Obviously, if you have enough musical background to build the chords on your own, this isn't an issue at all. One of the negative reviewers comments that all of the examples are in C - if he only meant the "Basics of Chord Construction" section, then it's true, otherwise Friedland meanders across a wide variety of chords and keys.If you are looking for a book with tablature, don't look here. Some might find this a weakness, but I believe it to be a strength. In order to really understand how to construct your own bass lines, and to give yourself the freedom to move around the neck, being able to read music and understand the chords beyond simple numbers on a line is essential. I don't mind tabs, but I prefer to read the more descriptive standard notation as much as possible.All in all, a strong book, especially if you can construct chord spellings (or are capable of finding how yourself).

I have only been playing bass for about 6 months, and I wanted to expand my playing ability. I searched inside this book on Amazon, and was primarily convinced to buy it for the CD.I play by ear so I got anxious when I opened the book...I can't read music and don't really care to. I know what notes the open strings are, as well as a few other scattered notes, but that's about it.That said, I played the CD and went through a few of the exercises. I found it helpful to look at the book while the CD is playing...just to get a better handle on each progression. The book is really straightforward and isn't diluted by lengthy descriptions/instructions for each segment.The progressions are taught in jazz (and are slow enough to be accommodating but not so slow that they're insulting). If you're looking to get better at jazz bass, this is a great book. It still can be helpful in other genres, since the basic premise is identifying logical note patterns--it's just handed to you on a jazz plate.Even without the book, the CD alone is worth it. The piano and drums are on the right channel and the bass is on the left, so you can totally cut out the bass if you want to play undistracted. There are 55 tracks to learn from and build upon.I'd say this is a must for anyone who is new to the bass, and I would think that even seasoned bass players could come away with a few new ideas from this book and CD.

When I first purchased Building Walking Bass Lines, I knew how to read notes in the lower five frets of the bass, and played bass at a high beginner's level. I'm also a full-time college teacher (business), so I know solid teaching of any kind when I see it.Unlike other books on walking bass lines I'd tried to learn from, this book got me walking over chord changes quickly and fluidly, and with a minimum amount of pain.Friedland gives a brief overview of how to read notes on the electric bass, briefly discusses how to construct chords, and then launches into the clearest and most gradual explanation of how to walk over chord changes I've ever seen. He has a lot of "hands-on", play-along exercises at the end of each concept, and they're stripped of unecessary complexity so you can see the concepts clearly.A major strength of this book is how you see results in your playing immediately, which encourages you to keep practicing. It's important for anyone learning something for the first time to see immediate progress in their ability, and Friedland has written this book to achieve just that.The exercises get more and more difficult as you go along, but were never out of reach for me. The end of the book gives the chord changes to 10 jazz standards.After working through this book, I knew enough to hold my own in a gigging fusion band with some ex-music teachers and university graduates in music.Also, I found the concepts I learned in the this book made me a better rock and folk player, because I understood how to construct interesting bass lines under chords in any style -- all this was an outgrowth of my jazz knowledge gained from the book.Anyone who writes that this book is "too easy" or "too basic" is actually complementing Friedland, because it takes a master to dissect a complex topic into something everyone can understand.

...that I didn't already study and I am not a advanced bassist by any means.

As someone very new to walking basslines with somewhat limited music theory this book has helped tremendously. It provides clear explanations and great oppurtunities to practise what the book is teaching. I recommend taking your time with this - go through it thoroughly and do not rush! No one learned to walk in a day.

I probably bought the wrong product.. this is for music readers.. I was hoping for guitar tabs

Good book and very helpful in giving explanations about construction and some music theory . I also like how Ed gives you the lesson linked to online audio - and then tells you to make up your own lines.

East to follow, indispensable resources for bass players wanting to progressing walking lines

Great book if in the higher grades.