Introductory Pages (Start here)
Chapters, or Days: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
Appendix ~ Fingering Techniques ~ Addendum ~ Afterthoughts
A Simple Way To Learn How To Write And Read Music For The Bass
Direct connect to Lead
Sheets page
~~ ~
FORMS:~~Bass Form~~Guitar Form
~~~~~~Tab Forms~~Tab Forms II~~Bass Staves~
~~~~~~ Bass and Treble Staves
~~~~~~ Bass Staves and Tab for Four Strings
~~~~~~ Bass Staves and Tab for Five Strings
~~~~~~ Blank Staves~~Position Descriptions
LINKS (If any of these are inoperative please let me know and I'll look into it. Thanks.)
POSTERS
~ music, art, people, anything you can imagine. Framed, matted,
mounted.
If you would like to enter into a reciprocal link relationship please e-mail me.
Please read below (and especially the Review at the end of this page) at least
once before moving on to the Introductory Pages, above.
Why don't you start reading
the manual. See how you like it.
The first three or four 'Days' or lessons are basically introductory.
You might already know most of the information. But read it
anyway to see how you fit with the style of presentation of the
information. If you feel comfortable and think you can benefit,
when you get around 'Day 5' contact me again and tell me what
you want to do.
A common thing that happens
is that a person will have a question to
ask me (and I answer that question) and then they read a few more
pages and see that the question they had is answered in the manual
itself. That this happens shouldn't stand in the way at all of
asking
questions. I'm just mentioning it by way of explaining that the
manual
is quite thorough and explanatory about the musical ideas it presents.
NEW PAYMENT POLICY!!! ~ if you read beyond 'Day 5' (lesson 5) you owe
me $40.00. No ifs, ands or buts. No putting off your decision as to whether or
not you think this manual has been of benefit to you. You must make the
decision by the end of 'Day 5' whether you want to continue and send me
$40.00 or stop using this manual completely. If you continue using it without
sending me payment, you are stealing. I regret having to state this policy
but it's either this or take this web site down. ~~Thank you.~~
Below are descriptions of the Rock Bass instruction manual for beginners who
want to learn how to play the bass guitar. The manual has a lot of important
material for experienced players, too. You can print the entire manual or any
chapters/days at your leisure. I HIGHLY recommend staying in sequence
because every chapter/day depends to some degree on the information in the
chapter/day before it.
Experienced players: if you learn some important facts or ideas which have
enhanced your abilities or knowledge then you, too, ought to pay my fee.
Look at it as money well spent in lieu of paying for some lesson(s).
Note: this manual or instruction book is organized by 'Days', with each of the
lessons or chapters being one day's learning in the four weeks. If a lesson a day
is too much of a blistering pace try one or two a week.
A manual -
learn to play
Please make check or money order out to
the author, Russell Kolish, NOT to Rock Bass.
Content Description ~
"Rock Bass, Beginner to Pro in Four Weeks, No Reading Music" is at least a
one hundred and twenty five page booklet (maybe 140 pages depending on how it
prints out with your browser and printer) that is EXTREMELY user-friendly. It
will take a person who knows nothing about the bass, nothing about music and
nothing about any musical instrument and in four weeks teach him or her how
to play the Bass with the level of skill necessary to play in a Rock band or along
with recorded music. It will also fill out the knowledge base of intermediate
players.
. . . friendly . . . extensive . . . quantitative knowledge equivalent of a ten to twelve
booklet series of instruction manuals each priced at twelve to twenty dollars . . .
thus making the cost of the "Rock Bass" manual $$$ less than one fifth $$$
of the price you would pay for a series which gave you the same amount of instruction.
What you need to know is delivered in a well sequenced, extremely user friendly
presentation.
Keywords ~
structured yet loose and engaging, fundamentals, techniques, acoustic-physical
phenomena, friendly, communicates sincerity and human connection, don't have
to actually memorize anything, tips, many definitions, highlights the importance
of creativity and self-expression, unassuming, unpretentious,user-friendly.
Table of Contents ~
Instead of a short sample which would tell you little, I'll tell you what the book
covers: equipment, specific advice for learning the material, the fret board,
intervals or half-steps and whole-steps and 'numbers' or 'Positions', pentatonic
scales, chord basics and connecting notes, chromatic scales, syncopation,
inversions, positional fingering, more on chords, chord groups, fingering
techniques, modes, auditioning, Mental Positioning Exercise, Re-labeling Chords
Exercise, chord substitutions, advanced striking techniques, chords and
arpeggiation, patterned string striking, assignments for plucking fingers, double
stops, a note about phrasing and soloing and finally, a simple way to learn how
to write and read bass music.
As a beginner, you won't understand most of the above terms, but within four
weeks (or your own chosen time frame) not only will you completely understand
them and be able to play well,
The style is informal and explanatory, making it easy to understand and progress
through. Instruction is communicated in a structured yet loose and engaging style.
Lots of tips. Memorization not required. Neither is reading music. The importance
of creativity and self expression is emphasized. Unassuming. Unpretentious.
Review ~
~ By Josh Garrin ~
Excellent and Outrageous East Coast Guitar Player, Bass Player and Teacher
Needless to say, seventeen years of instructing guitar and bass to beginner,
intermediate and advanced levels of playing ability has exposed me to a wide
variety of instructional media. This experience has also provided me with a
considerable amount of frustration in my attempt to convey the meaning of
the material in these books and manuals to the novice. I had yet to discover
instructional media of any kind that welcomed you - the layman, the novice,
the uninitiated - to the sometimes convoluted and enigmatic world of one's
own theoretical approach to and creation of music.
Much to my satisfaction, this sense of frustration dissipated rather quickly in
my review of "Rock Bass ~ Beginner to Pro in Four Weeks" by Russell Kolish.
The author takes both the instructor and the student on a structured and
strategized, yet loose and engaging lesson plan spanning approximately one
intense month of musical self-discovery. From technical fundamentals
(equipment, amplifiers, speakers) to physical technique (striking the strings,
positional fingering) to the acoustic-physical phenomena (harmonics, frequency,
overtones), the quality and method of communication exhibited in this manual
can best be described in one word - friendly. The author communicates to the
audience in such a way that one immediately senses an element of sincerity
and human connection that the majority of manuals so greatly lack. There is
a "next-door-neighbor" aura and language being spoken that always enhances
the experience of the body of knowledge being presented. There is an emphasis
on the importance of creativity and interpretation and, most importantly, the
material is presented in such a way that the student will never feel rushed
(note the several occasions in which the author says "spend a lot of time in
this section"). Where many manuals strictly enforce the idea of memorization,
the author is never reluctant to state, "You don't have to actually memorize
any of this. With time, it'll all become second nature." This showcases a very
important and underestimated facet of the learning curve - the concept of
learning simply through the repetition of doing (immersion).
From chordal/harmonic theory to diatonic/pentatonic/modal scale forms to an
addendum ripe with advanced technique and tips on phrasing (as well as a
glossary complete with descriptions of fingering techniques), the author makes
a good case that although a beginner will not understand concepts and
techniques such as these to start with, in four weeks not only will he/she be able
to understand them, he or she will also be able to play well. After examining
the well structured and engaging presentation, I concur.
Keywords such as "LISTEN" and "FEELING" and "OPTION" and "THINK"
are implemented and displayed in boldface type to highlight the importance of
creativity and self-expression throughout the playing experience. There is a
"freethinking" element present here that is virtually non-existent in most other
educational media; information is presented via a person-centered approach
that requires the student to make decisions - choices based upon a personal
interpretation of the information presented. The author is very quick to identify
that once absorbed, these theoretical "rules" are made to be broken by the
creative mind and spirit of the individual. Indeed, this is the essence of the art.
"Rock Bass ~ Beginner to Pro in Four Weeks" is the layman's guide to fulfilling
one's desire to learn music in an unassuming, unpretentious and user-friendly
manner. In a virtual ocean of dry, unpalatable instructional media, there is much
to be said for the author's humane approach to delivering the musical message
and helping the novice musician to establish the launching pad for their art.
Short Biography ~
The author played Bass in New York Rock bands and worked pickup gigs when
the opportunity presented itself. He became tired of the music scene and left,
with the exception of occasional song writing utilizing the classical guitar. But I
digress. So, the author knows a girl who had been given a bass guitar for her
birthday and had no idea what to do with it. He took this as an opportunity to
help out and wrote up some basic instructions for her. When the short booklet
became longer and longer, he realized that it could be useful to many other
people, too, because it addresses the UNIQUE PROBLEM
In addition to his music interests the author earned Bachelor's degrees in Engineering
Science and Computer Science but working in these fields was boring, boring.
Now he's becoming more involved in music again. And, of course, as you've probably
suspected, he's the inventor of the "Cheque Please" electronic signaling device
used to get the attention of your Waiter or Waitress in restaurants.
Contact: RK@rockbass-beginnertoproinfourweeks.com
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