[.ca] The Complete Electric Bass Player: Book 1-The Method (ISBN 0825624258)

Why punish yourself?:
I began studying this book after several years of gigging and going through other method and instruction books--I'm always interested in the personal philosophies of industry professionals. Now perhaps the other books in this series are good, but I found this book to be tedious and uninspiring. Chuck Rainey uses a very strange right hand attack, incorporating the fingernail like a classical guitarist, and his left hand fingerings look awkward and not well-placed for maximum quality of tone (too far off the fret). The section on tone-matching with a piano goes on forever, then it's on to scale studies and exercises that will make your eyes glaze over. I'm sorry to sound cruel, but once you've read quality instruction books (Keith Rosier's, for instance) you will find a book like this simply unacceptable. Carol Kaye uses a singular fingering style herself, but her attitude and emphasis on what is hip and interesting over monotonous scale studies is invaluable if you're serious about really sounding good.

This is a great method book for a serious student:
This book is a serious, step-by-step approach to electric bass. It has detailed descriptions of the important music-theory concepts and pictures and explanations of proper right and left hand-positions for a beginner. Someone else here said this book was not good for a beginner. I disagree. It is not a good book for a person who wants to play bass lines tomorrow without learning to read music or putting in any serious practice time - that's true - but for a beginner who wants to play the bass as a serious instrument, it's great. If you put in an hour a day and a few hours a day on the weekends on your bass, you can progress quickly with this book. Not only that, but you will understand the theory behind what you are playing, and you will be better at reading music. I have not played an instrument or read music in 18 years (and I've never read music in the bass clef before), but this book has me progressing with both my playing and my theory after only 3 weeks with the instrument. You have to practice to successfully use this book, but you will get everything out of it that you put in!

Stop Right Here:
Rainey has written a superbly balanced compilation of great importance for every bassist, no matter what their skill level. This world class player will keep you interested, as a beginner in the fundimentals, or, serious as a professional. Chuck Rainey's magic is no longer a secret. It will stay with you throughout your journey and show you what bass is all about.

Great Book for Learning Bass Guitar:
I've been playing piano for a number of years and recently decided to take up the Bass Guitar. I don't currently have the time or money to work with an instructor for learning the bass. I picked up Rainey's book and found it to be very good. I'm about half way through the book and am now looking to buy the next book in his series. I don't know if this book is good for someone who is 'brand-new' to music, in general. It could be. But, having already had a background in music but NO practical experience with the Bass, this book has proven to be very valuable. I personally recommend this book. The author has a good, straight forward way of teaching that I really enjoy. Todd

From the Classical Musician's Perspective...:
I found this book to be very well done and a good resouce for the higher level beginner/intermediate player. Many people have written to note Rainey's odd playing style, and I would agree with them - it is probably actually best for the student to skip this section. It is important to understand that Rainey wrote this method book much like the Arban's book for trumpet players - more exercises than you can fathom and very few bells and whisltes. If you can take the dry, repetetive (and sometimes downright boring) studies, then there is no question you will be a better bassist.