Music Theory for the Bass Player: A Comprehensive and Hands-on Guide to Playing with More Confidence and Freedom (The Bass Player’s Method: Fretboard Fluency & Musical Freedom)

I’ve played bass since high school, and have purchased many books to help me play better. THIS book is the ONE, along with the video course lessons, that have tied all that information together in a comprehensive way. Ariane Cap pulls together music theory, technique, different music genres, and even learning approaches/consistent habits in one easy to use format. I highly recommend using this book in conjunction with the video course. Even better, and most effective- use this book and the video course with other students in one of the learning cohorts that form once or twice a year. The feedback and encouragement from the coaches, other students, and Ariane herself are very effective ways to learn and enjoy the experience! You can find info on the video courses and cohort groups on the website: arisbassblog.com (Or scan the QR code on the front of the book for a direct link.) This approach has helped me and my playing so much! I’m very excited to get started on Ariane Cap’s next book: The Pattern System for the Bass Player!

My brother James "Jae-E" Earley is a 50 million plus selling platinum music producer, songwriter/composer, lyricist, arranger, music engineer and touring MD. He is also a multi-instrumentalist and bass player. Having been in bands with Slash and Tom Morello, James knows great musicians when he meets them. By coincidence, he taught Flea how to bass slap. In his teens, and throughout his 20s...he was mentored by music legends such as Mary Wells...the First Lady of Motown, Cecil Womack, Billy Preston, Foster & McElroy, Clydie King, Bob Dylan and Jimmy Iovine--the latter of which, being the most successful music executive in history. As a music producer/songwriter...James has worked with industry luminaries of all genres including En Vogue, David Bowie, Marlon Jackson, Pete Escovedo, Juan Escovedo, Leslie Ann Jones, E-40, MC Hammer, Robin Zander of Cheap Trick, Marky Mark (Mark Wahlberg), Donnie Wahlberg, Sylvester Stallone ("Rocky V" Soundtrack) and many more. Wishing to refresh his bass skills, James sought out classically trained bassist and pianist Ariane Cap. After one lesson, he was completely blown away by her techniques and musicianship. James was especially impressed by her bass drill exercises...whereby a bassist is tasked with identifying each note on the fretboard...so he/she will know where the notes are in advance. This technique, makes your bass playing flow. By lesson 4, my brother advised me that he was being schooled by a genius instructor--and why not, Cap was trained by iconic bassist Victor Wooten...among others? In fact, James was so impressed...he personally recommended Ariane Cap for membership in NARAS--the Grammy organization. At NARAS/the Grammys...Cap is lauded by her peers...and numerous top music magazines have heralded her similarly. Cap's reputation is beyond reproach among professional/elite musicians. With her musical instruction book series...now a reality, she has the opportunity to reach the masses. There are 2 kinds of students, those who do...and those who do not. As Yoda said, "There is no try!" An impatient and novice musician may evade proper instruction--due to his/her unwillingness to put in the necessary work...whilst blaming an instructor or required study materials--but as it has been said, the teacher will arrive...when the student is ready. The question is, are you ready to experience professional excellence in your bass playing? Are you ready to go to the next level of bass mastery? If the answer is yes, then buy this book...and put in the work--"It's brilliant!"

So far I'm pretty much just reading this like a text book. I'm looking forward to going back through it with both hands on my guitar and a metronome on the table. It's technical information about art, and the only thing more mind boggling to me than trying to learn this stuff is the thought of trying to explain it to someone like me who is pretty fresh to the theories behind the notes and timings, so I doff my cap to the author thrice - she does a great job of doing just that. Do I find myself re-reading some sections with a WTF look on my face? Sure! But like I said it's really technical stuff from a whole other world. Fortunately, the author seems to know that novices like me are in the audience and she is patient. Being the novice that I am, I couldn't imagine what this book is like for a pro, could be boring as heck, but I don't think so, and I'm a smart guy. It is chock full of juicy nuggets, many of which I probably won't even see the first time through. I look forward to going through it several more times in the coming decades to mine more nuggets. The best part is that she gives practical tips and exercises from the get-go that really do teach music theory. The price was worth what I paid for it just for the first couple of chapters and my new knowledge of the importance of learning and understanding the scales on the fret board. She literally made me a better player in the first three chapters. Two thumbs way up!

Full disclosure: I'm a beginning level bass player. This book is dense. It's full of in-depth theory about playing music on the bass. It's not something that can be digested quickly. It's thorough, well written and well organized. The sections on intervals and the circle of 5ths is excellent. I found it helpful to get it spiral bound (Staples charged me about $5.00 to do this) so I can lay it out flat on my music stand.

I have spent the past few weeks going through the book and doing all of the written exercises. I went through a teaching credential program about 15 years ago and I have to say that the methodology and materials for this book are top notch. The author “scaffolds” by building up the material in a logical manner so that the later material sits on a solid foundation. I also love that the written exercises are VERY challenging. I really had to think hard to come up with the answers which I then compared to the answer key which, in turn, was great at explaining the answers. Since I have recently signed up for the 2021 cohort online course, I am so happy I spent the time to understand the concepts as most of this is totally new to me. Now that I have an overview of what we are going to be up to in the online course, I can focus on applying what I learned via actually playing through the physical exercises which will reinforce and deepen my understanding. I have to say that the immense amount of work put into developing this course was well worth it. I have already gotten a huge amount out of the cohort course and haven’t even yet been to the kickoff! This book/course is very highly recommended if you want to understand music theory in relation to the bass. I couldn’t praise it more.

I've been playing bass for over 20 years. I've always considered myself mediocre and I wanted to start taking it seriously after all this time. I'm also teaching my teenage niece to play. I got this book for both of us to A) strengthen my musical foundation and be a better player and B) start her off learning the right way. It is working wonders for both of us. It's showing me where my weaknesses are, helping me to better understand and apply the theory that I already knew, and it's giving her a great start to learning theory in a useful way that she can actually apply to the bass. The author explains things in ways that are easy to understand, and while I know that my previous musical knowledge helps, it is not necessary, making this book a great learning tool for the absolute beginner, while also having some very useful information for a seasoned player who wants to reach the next level. Buy with confidence!

"Later in life" I bought a bass to finally learn how to play the low end that I love. Then I had to find how to learn. Here a book, there a teacher, here an online class there another online attempt -fade - fade - fade. Just wasn't a good fit for me. I did not give up but the bass spent a lot of time not getting played. I just kept trying to find a way. Then I tried a class of Ari's which was incredible. So, I signed up for the "Cohort" (which is an online course based on this book). I am stunned by how much I've learned, how far I've come and how much fun I've had. The book builds on each lesson, the class gives a lot of fun music carpets to perform exercises with, and by the end, I was actually creating some pretty good grooves and music. Ari is not only an amazing player with an incredible theory foundation but she is a stunning and devoted teacher. She understands what the player needs to build upon and keeps it all doable and fun! I only have one complaint - I should have dove into Ari's teaching and book a long time ago. I highly recommend that if you want to be a bass player, do yourself a favor and commit to this.

After a long hiatus, without playing bass, I came back to the instrument. I wanted to move beyond just playing the roots and fills that sounded well. I wanted to understand what I was playing as well as expand my possibilities. I wanted to start writing bass lines or having a more Upfront role within my band. This book did it for me!! Ari is methodical and structured in her approach to teaching bass. She is also very logical and shows you several ways to understand what you are playing, learning the fingerboard and practicing what she is teaching you. She explains the concept, shows you in her videos and then gives you ways for applying it. I also bought the poster and enrolled in the course. I go back to the book again and again and find nuances and insights that help me be a better player. My progress is significant since I started this journey thanks to Ari and her structured approach to teaching bass. I highly recommend this book.

Los grooves y fills son extremadamente básicos, aunque sirven para darte una idea de como funciona la armonía, creo que podrían haberlos hecho un poco más estructurados. En general buen libro

I have dabbled with my bass guitar for over forty years. I have jammed with friends, played along with my CD's and just noodled around, I like the sound of the bass. I have watched many YouTube videos on how to play different songs. My playing is mechanical - at best. I am three lessons in and just learned the difference between a major and minor chord. I have watched various YouTube videos on this subject and just couldn't make the connection. There are videos online that compliment the written lessons. This book/course is structured and easy to understand. In just three lessons, I have had a number of "A-HA" moments. I don't know if this old dog is learning new tricks, however I am definitely more understanding of what I have previously accomplished without understanding the why. This book is challenging. In each chapter there are questions that test your comprehension, Answers can be found in the appendix. I wish I had access to this approach years ago.

Bem didático, com diagramas, tabelas, escalas, modos. Bem completo e específico. Recomendo.

This book will equip you with all the basic theory a bass player needs in order to take control of the instrument. Rather than blindly following notation or tab, this book will enable the player to improvise and create cool bass lines that are based on an understanding of music theory. The book comes complete with dozens of videos which clearly articulate the concepts covered in the book. There are quizzes which help to reinforce the theory and sense check that it is sinking in. There is a great Facebook group you can join where you will also find a lot of additional support from the kind and friendly community there - here you can ask questions if there are concepts that are not quite gelling. Finally, there are 40 week courses that you can join where participants go through this book, step by step - lots of feedback and exercises to ensure the theory begins to become second nature, all with the support of more experienced bass players. This is what I did and it is well worth the money and time investment 100%. I'm so impressed with Ari and Wolf's teaching methods that I have just purchased their second book and will continue to learn from them via their online courses.

I've been playing bass since I was 19 (I'm nearly 50 now!) and always avoided learning much music theory in case the technicalities of it detracted from the 'feel' of the sort of music I like to play. That approach works to a point, but I'm now in a band with some musicians who have a background in jazz and thought it was about time to learn some theory, partly because it's fun to learn new things, and partly so I can speak the same musical language as my bandmates! I've found this a really good book; instead of rote learning scales and dry lumps of technical information, it teaches in a way that feels very logical and progressive. I feel like I'm understanding the science, rather than just playing the notes, if you see what I mean. It includes links to really good videos too, and the combination of a well structured book and the videos make it feel like you are on a course with an expert teacher on hand, rather than working through a book on your own. I'm really enjoying going through this book and would highly recommend it to any bass player looking to gain an understanding of how music theory works and more importantly, how you can actually use it as a tool to enhance your playing.