Writing books was never really part of “the great plan” I just kind of fell into it. At the time I was teaching private bass lessons at Woodside Music in Park Ridge, NJ a few days a week.  Rather than having all of the kids buy a bunch of outdated instructional books that taught them how to play “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” which is completely useless as a bass player, I wrote all of my own exercises and would print them out for each student based on their level and interests.  One day I was sick and wasn’t able to come in and the guitar teacher there subbed for me and say all of the stuff that I had given my students and the next day encouraged me to put together a book.

A few weeks later I had about 2 chapters of what would later be known as “Slappin’: A Complete Study of Slap Technique for Bass” done and I sent it out to Mel Bay, Hal Leonard and Warner Brothers.  About two weeks later I had a contract in the mail from Mel Bay along with an offer and had a deadline of a few weeks to finish the book and get it in the mail to them.  I worked day and night and got them the book on time and then waited…and waited…and waited.

The first time I saw the book in print was at the NAMM show that year at the Mel Bay booth.  It was a pretty incredible feeling I must say!  Since then I have run across the book in stores all over the country (yes, I always look for it if I am in a music store somewhere…you would do the same thing so stop judging!).  I have gotten e-mails from people all over the country and many even out of the country telling me how much they have liked the book.  I have sent it out as my demo to everyone from potential teaching jobs to musicians like Marcus Miller and Will Lee  to various gigs that I wanted.  In the end this book has been responsible for a great deal of the success I have had in my career as a musician.  Pretty freakin’ cool.

Slappin’: A Complete Study of Slap Technique for Bass Book/CD/DVD Set
Product Number: 96534SET
Format: Book+CD+DVD
Publisher: Mel Bay Publications, Inc.

Gleaned from years of teaching, performance, and listening experience -bass players at all levels will benefit from studying the numerous exercises, grooves, and musical examples offered in this book. Whether you are into funk, R&B, fusion, jazz, rock, punk, reggae, alternative music, or any other style; the slap technique will find a niche in your bass playing vocabulary. Chapter headings include: Technique, Hammer-Ons and Pull-Offs, Ghost Notes, Left Hand Slap, Open Strings, Double Slap, Double Stops, Double Pops, Other Licks and Tricks, and Advanced Grooves & Solos Using All Techniques. The author strongly advises the student to play each lesson slowly until the exercise or principle being illustrated is thoroughly mastered. Written in notation and tablature. Now includes DVD!

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Groove Book: A Study in Musical Styles for Bass

A good bass player should be able to comfortably play in almost any style of music in almost any given situation. The goal of this book is to reveal the vast world of different musical styles that may be encountered during the lifetime of a bass player. Each chapter begins with a small history of the musical style. Knowing how each of these styles is related can improve playing by was of borrowing grooves and ideas from one to the other. The groove book is designed not only to teach you how to play these different styles, but also how to enjoy playing them. Written in standard notation only.

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Format: Book + DVD
Author: William Bay
DVD Performace: Marc D. Ensign
Publisher: Mel Bay Publications, Inc.

A user-friendly photo chord guide showing basic chord tones for major, minor, dominant 7th, sus 7, minor 7, major 7, diminished, augmented, sixth, minor 6th, 7#5 and 7b5 chords. The arpeggios for each of the above chord forms are pictured on the fretboard and given in notation and diagram form in all twelve keys!

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