Alfred's Teach Yourself to Play Bass: Bass Guitar Book & Online Video/Audio/Software

This method moves at a genuinely learner-friendly pace, building from absolute fundamentals (how to hold the bass, understanding TAB) straight into recognizable material across multiple genres. The integration of video instruction from an experienced educator means students see proper hand position modeled in real time, closing the gap between what the page shows and what their hands should actually do. By the book's end, students transition from guided exercises to real-world repertoire, making the leap from method book to actual playing in a band feel achievable rather than impossible.

The journey feels practical and grounded in real music from the start. You're not playing random note sequences for weeks; instead, you're building bass lines in rock, blues, country, and jazz styles that actual musicians use. The progression respects your intelligence while honestly acknowledging that coordination takes time, creating a balance between encouragement and reality.

This book serves complete beginners of any age stepping onto a bass for the first time, as well as guitarists or other musicians ready to switch to bass without starting from scratch. Whether you're teaching a young student, coaching an adult learner, or learning independently, the combination of clear written instruction, video modeling, and interactive practice software removes common friction points that derail new players.

• Watch the video lessons before working through each written exercise. Jared Meeker's demonstration of hand position and fingering patterns prevents you from building bad habits that are hard to break later.
• Use the TNT 2 software to slow down the accompaniment tracks while you're learning new bass lines. Isolating individual parts lets you hear exactly what you're supposed to play against the rest of the band.
• Spend time with the fingerboard chart and chord chart as reference tools during practice, not just at the book's end. Glancing at these while you work builds muscle memory faster than trying to memorize everything upfront.
• Loop the backing tracks on passages you find tricky. Repeating a 4-bar section 20 times at a comfortable tempo builds confidence before you bump the speed back to full tempo.

Use this as the foundation for any student bass program, whether in a school ensemble setting or private studio. The genre diversity means you can tie lessons to the repertoire your ensemble is rehearsing, so a student learning rock bass lines in Chapter 3 might immediately apply that feel to a band arrangement. Once a student completes the book, they'll be ready to read from standard bass TAB folios and contribute meaningfully to ensemble settings.

• Reading bass TAB and standard musical notation simultaneously
• Proper bass guitar setup, tuning, and hand positioning
• Playing bass lines across multiple genres (rock, blues, country, jazz, heavy metal)
• Understanding chord charts and improvising bass lines from chord progressions
• Fingering and picking technique specific to bass guitar
• Building rhythmic foundation and lock with drums and other rhythm instruments