Question: How many bluegrass bass players does it take to screw in a light bulb? Answer: I...V...I...V...This timeless book presents suggested bass lines for dozens of bluegrass favorites, offering the root and the fifth for each chord in the progression in guitar-friendly keys. No music, tab, or lyrics are included in this book, just the song titles and the author's suggestion of a fundamental bass line in his own brand of shorthand. Perfect for the doghouse bassist wannabe!

At last, here is a method book for the upright string bass or "dog house bass" as it is affectionately known in bluegrass circles. Although bluegrass bass has a style of its own, the knowledge gained through this method is applicable to virtually any musical genre. This book addresses the elements of tuning, hand positions, essential chord theory, slap bass technique, and playing in positions 1-10. A handy chart is provided for transposing chord progressions from one key to another. Written in standard notation only.

Bluegrass Fakebook by Bert Casey - This handy songbook contains bluegrass lyrics, bluegrass gospel lyrics, chord progressions, and melody lines to 150 of the all-time favorite Bluegrass songs, including 50 gospel tunes, as well as many new bluegrass songs. Printed in large, easy-to-read type with one song per page, this book is excellent for use on stage or in jam sessions, because everyone can read along. Also includes chord charts for the guitar, banjo, and mandolin to help you learn your favorite bluegrass chords and a listing of currently available recordings of each song. Now all those obscure verses you can never remember are right at your fingertips.

Bluegrass Fakebook by Bert Casey - This handy songbook contains bluegrass lyrics, bluegrass gospel lyrics, chord progressions, and melody lines to 150 of the all-time favorite Bluegrass songs, including 50 gospel tunes, as well as many new bluegrass songs. Printed in large, easy-to-read type with one song per page, this book is excellent for use on stage or in jam sessions, because everyone can read along. Also includes chord charts for the guitar, banjo, and mandolin to help you learn your favorite bluegrass chords and a listing of currently available recordings of each song. Now all those obscure verses you can never remember are right at your fingertips.

This book presents everything a beginning or intermediate bass player needs to know to participate in a jam session. There are sections that describe the anatomy of a jam session, jam session etiquette and chords and keys for jamming. A play-along CD is included with 9 typical bluegrass jam tunes. the tunes are played twice: once with the tune played on the left channel and a verbal description on the right channel and once in stereo. Joining a jam session can be intimidating. This book presents everything a beginning or intermediate upright or electric bass player needs to know to participate in a jam session. There are sections that describe how jam sessions work, and jam session etiquette. the book also describes the typical chords and keys for jamming and describes typical bluegrass rhythm. A section is included on the role each instrument plays in bluegrass rhythm. A play-along CD is included with 9 typical bluegrass jam tunes. the tunes are played twice: once with the tune played on the left channel and a verbal description on the right channel and once in stereo.

Although designed for newcomers to the upright bass and bluegrass music in general, this unique approach to creating basslines has something for everyone! The first half focuses on bass-playing essentials, giving the reader a solid technical footing with the instrument. Then, using his own baritone voice and the classic bluegrass song, “Going Down the Road Feeling Bad,” author Nate Sabat reveals his creative process in crafting effective basslines from the song’s melody and chord progression. The second half focuses on bass playing within the specific context of complementing bluegrass vocals. Well beyond what you might expect from an introductory method, Nate tastefully guides the reader by presenting multiple composed bassline options for each of five well-known bluegrass songs: Rabbit in the Log, Don’t this Road Look Rough and Rocky?, Long Journey Home, I Am a Pilgrim, and Angel Band. Nate’s warm, pitch-perfect vocals can be heard on virtually every track, giving this method an undeniable musicality. A lightly accompanied vocal track with no bass is also provided, so you can be the sole upright or electric bassist in the band. You’ll not only want to back Nate up—but sing harmony with him too! The impulse to sing can’t help but influence your bass playing in a natural and positive way. Nate provides notated versions of the eight major scales most commonly used in bluegrass. Once you get them under your fingers, you’ll soon be able to play along with the book’s 50 companion online recordings. With its simple harmonic palette and repetitive nature, bluegrass music offers bassists the perfect opportunity to become musically literate. If you’ve hesitated to learn to read music, this is the time and place to eliminate that drawback. Working through these 46 pages will provide the tools and confidence needed to create your own engaging and musical basslines and hopefully, you’ll be inspired to continue your bluegrass bass journey for years to come. Includes access to online audio.

This collection of fiddle tunes originally appeared in Kaufman's Collection of American Fiddle Tunes for Flatpicking Guitar (MB 95748) but the book was so large and heavy that they couldn't put all the songs on CDs to include with the package so it was divided into four great, melody packed volumes. Each book now includes a CD that holds all the songs in the volume.Steve Kaufman says he can't emphasize enough the importance of developing a large repertoire of tunes. Fiddle tunes give us melodies that eventually allow us to begin to improvise. Sometimes without even knowing it. the more tunes you know, the more melodies and intersecting melody lines you know. This allows you to eventually cut and paste portions of the melody line into another song. In the beginning you will probably unknowingly replace and ending run. These are the last two measures of the section of a tune. Many of them in the same key are interchangeable, unless they are specific to the melody of the song. After a while you will cut out measures in the middle of the song and then you will be able to take the snips of melodies and play them in another song in a different key thus beginning to improvise. All of this is possible because you built up your repertoire of tunes.