20 Best Bass Book Reviews 2022 (Best Books to Learn Bass)

1. Geddy Lee's Big Beautiful Book of Bass

The title tells the tale of this book and this is one of the best books on Bass that you can get out there. Following the perfect narrative of Geddy Lee, you will find a vintage collection of electric bass guitar, from the 1950s to the 1980s.

Geddy has spent his lifetime with the bass and this is a masterpiece of words that you can get your hands on. The information delivery, the depth of things that he has followed, and personal commentary on all those tunes would make it the perfect read for any day if you have a thing for bass guitar.

2. Hal Leonard Bass Method - Complete Edition

Hal Leonard is the legend that has revolutionized musical learning in so many ways and has tens of methods on all the different instruments out there. His learning methods are followed by tens of music teachers, critics, and students out there.

This book by Ed Friedland is the perfect demonstration on how efficient, the method is. This book has a complete account of the method and how you can learn to play bassoon a guitar. This book actually has all three versions on it so you get a complete package to learn about the famous Hal Leonard Bass Method.

3. Hal Leonard Corp.: Teach Yourself to Play Bass

This is another cool book by the famous Hal Leonard Corp. That allows you to learn how to play Bass yourself. If you are in for a self-learning experience, you definitely need this masterpiece to get the right edge of Bass.

This is easy to follow the guide and even if you are a beginner with no prior knowledge of playing bass, this would be the perfect thing for you to have. With the help of this book, you will be learning about tuning the guitar, managing it, how to hold it properly and a lot more to spice up your learning experience.

4. Ariane Cap: Music Theory for the Bass Player

The playing parts get easier if you know the theory behind it and that is what this whole book is about. With the help of this book, you get to understand the fundamentals of theory for the bass players and that will allow you to play with more confidence for any sort of audience you might intend to play.

Thanks to the narrative by Ariane cap that is easy to follow and understand, this book will be gaining you the right mental freedom that you seek to be playing bass guitar for a band or solo.

5. Patrick Pfeiffer: Bass Guitar For Dummies

All those who are into books know how efficient the Dummies series is for absolute beginners to learn anything. This is a cool book written by Patrick Pfeiffer that can help you learn anything that you might want to learn about the Bass guitar. With the help of this book, you can also have access to video & audio instructions online to aid your learning experience.

6. First 50 Songs You Should Play On Bass

Well, this is another book from Hal Leonard Corp. The organization is simply best for you if you are learning music at any stage or for any genre as they follow the undying ideology and learning method of legendary Hal Leonard that can help you learn the music right away.

With the help of this book, you are going to learn about the 50 songs that every bass player should learn. These songs will help you practice in the right manner and you would have learned all those cool tunes and nodes once you are done with these songs to move forward with your musical journey.

7. The Life and Music of Legendary Bassist James Jamerson

James Jamerson is the name that every bass guitarist knows. This book is just the perfect thing for you to have your hands on if you are attached to bass more than others and want to have a deeper insight on the subject.

This book by Dr. Licks, James Jamerson, and Berry Gordy with his brilliant foreword will help you get a better understanding on the things. The book essentially contains all the accounts of his life and music he has created over all those years.

8. The Real Book Sixth Edition (Bass)

The real book is one of the best-selling series. These books are being published since the 1970s and musicians have loved and endorsed these books greatly. Well, with the help of these books, you will be getting the right insight and knowledge that you want on the music. Bass Clef edition is just the perfect choice for you if you want to learn an authentic way to bass guitar and this highly popular genre of music.

9. Ed Friedland: Building Walking Bass Lines

This book right here by Ed Friedland is not an ordinary music guide that you can get off the shelf from any book store. This is a proper learning experience for you that will take you from walking the bass lines. It is the most common approach to jazz bass playing and musicians across the world are using this technique.

With the aids of this great book, you can easily learn all the ins and outs of walking bass lines and how you can build the right momentum, rhythm, and bass on a guitar with it.

10. Bass Guitar Primer Book for Beginners

Well, if you are just tired of words on the paper and want to have a better and more immersive learning experience for Bass, this would be the right choice for you. Written by Bert Caasey, the book carries beginner lessons with both right and left-handed techniques for you to learn playing the bass guitar.

All you need to have is an electric guitar and the will to learn and everything else is in the book. It also allows you access to online audio & video that will help you practice in an efficient manner and take your learning journey forward.

11. Oscar Stagnaro, Chuck Sher: The Latin Bass Book

Music has a long-standing history that goes well before all of us existed. With the help of this book by Oscar Stagnaro and Chuck Sher, you are going to learn a practical, comprehensive approach to the ancient Afro-Cuban, Brazilian, and South American styles of Bass playing.

This bass book is simply the perfect thing for you to have if you want the authentic playing style for bass. The book also has 3 CDs and the transcriptions for all those tunes being played on those CDs by Oscar himself for you. The book progresses in terms of complexity so you can start with simpler tunes and grow gradually.

12. Mr. Nick Clark: Walking Bass for Jazz and Blues

Walking Bass is a highly popular method all over the world and to learn it right, you are going to need a lot more than just practice. This book by Mr. Nick Clark is the right guide for you to learn how you can play Walking Bass for Jazz and Blues. It covers the complete walking bass method so you are not going to have any troubles there. The book essentially has Master Arpeggios and Concepts that can help you rise to the level of masters in no time at all.

13. Chad Johnson: Bassist's Guide to Scales Over Chords

To play Bass on the guitar, you must understand how you can move scales over chords and how you need to be efficient about it. This book by Chad Johnson will be the best thing for you to learn the very foundations of effective bass lines in the right manner. With the help of this book, you will be getting the key concepts on how you can create and improvise functional and memorable bass lines.

14. Complete Guide To Music Theory For Bass Guitar Players

This one is not about how you can play the Bass guitar but learn about how you can get on the right nodes. With the help of this book, you will be learning all the right things about the theory of bass guitar to take you forward on your learning journey.

Then, you will be able to use all that knowledge towards getting exceptional at playing bass guitar. This is the right book by James Eager that will help you learn beyond the ordinary and play like a pro, no matter what sort of audience you have.

15. Tony Bacon: The Bass Book

Written by Tony Bacon, this book is a complete guide for you to learn about the history of bass guitars. Bass Guitars have been out there since the early 50s. Since the Fender company introduced the first electric bass guitar, there have been un-ending additions to them and you need to understand them all if you want to have the right learning edge.

Furthermore, you can have cool illustrations so you can understand all the changes that have taken place over the course of history and learn how to play the bass guitar efficiently.

16. Josh Needleman: Getting Around The Bass

This might be a short book, but it gets the job done. Basically, this is a to-the-point approach towards learning how you can play Bass on the guitar. The best thing about this book is that it is written by Josh Needleman who has decades of experience in playing Bass and you are going to have a better learning experience with that.

The book also has some illustrations and photographs that can help you out with learning. This would be the best thing to have if you are not a person for theories and only want to learn what is going to help you play effectively.

17. Dan Hawkins, Joseph Alexander: Creative Bass Technique Exercises

This is a whole another level of playing practice for you by Dan Hawkins and Joseph Alexander and edited by Tim Pettingale. You get to have a deeper insight into 70 Melodic exercises that will help you improve your technique and develop the right confidence. Once you have developed the right proficiency over these tunes, you can move on to a higher-level easily and carve your niche there.

18. Rich Appleman, Whit Browne, Bruce Gertz: Berklee Jazz Bass

Bass is not only played on those electric guitars but you can also play it on acoustic ones. Needless to say, that you are going to need some real skills to do that. This is one of those highly advanced books that can help you learn all the right skills to play bass guitar perfectly. Written with the collaboration of Rich Appleman, Whit Browne, and Bruce Gertz this would be just the perfect thing for you to find your way around bass on a guitar.

19. Chad Johnson: Hal Leonard Bass for Kids

Kids love to learn music, and it is not only good for you to give them a healthy activity, learning music has also proven to be the right thing to enhance their IQ levels and have them to learn things efficiently. With the help of this book by Chad Johnson, you get the right narrative that is easy to understand for kids and they will love learning from this book.

20. Jason Randall: How to Play the Bass

Well, you cannot have enough insight into learning a musical instrument and you need to get every piece of guidance you can get. This book by Jason Randall is one of the best guides for beginners that you can get your hands on.

Moreover, this book contains everything that a beginner is going to need, including keeping the right posture to play bass guitar and have a practical guide on how you can start learning. Moving forward, you also get audio recordings that are going to help you on your learning journey.