The Complete Electric Bass Method: Beginning Electric Bass: Bass Guitar DVD

Overthrow structures this method to mirror how professional bassists actually think. Rather than treating scales and modes as abstract theory, he connects them directly to line building and improvisation, so students see the why behind every concept. The progression from fundamentals through rhythm changes and tritone substitutions respects the learner's pace while refusing to oversimplify.

Practical and grounded. Overthrow doesn't philosophize about music; he shows you how to build something functional at every stage. The work feels immediate, you're playing real progressions and learning real techniques from day one.

Beginning electric bass students who want more than finger position drills. If you're ready to understand why certain notes work over chord changes and how to construct your own bass lines, this method gives you the framework and the tools.

• Build your lines around chord tones first. Once you hear the changes clearly in your playing, layer in passing tones and approach notes.
• Record yourself playing chord progressions, then improvise over your own loops. This teaches you to listen ahead rather than react to what you just played.
• Study the modes by playing them over the same chord that generates them. A Dorian line sounds different when the band locks onto E minor than when it hears C major.
• Reference the DVD demonstrations frequently as you work through rhythm changes. Hearing the concept executed is worth pages of notation.

Assign this as the primary method for students entering jazz studies or electric bass ensembles. The early chapters work well for students transitioning from acoustic to electric; later sections support your jazz curriculum by teaching substitution and improvisation in a logical sequence.

• Reading tablature and standard notation together
• Constructing bass lines from scales and modes
• Analyzing and playing chord progressions
• Recognizing and executing rhythm changes
• Understanding tritone substitutions and voice leading
• Improvising over changes using scales and approach notes
• Building groove and time feel on electric bass