Bass Fitness - An Exercising Handbook: Updated Edition!: Now Including Bonus 5-String Section! (Guitar School)

Ordered. Came. Just what he wanted.

Alright, so anyone who really sits down and says "What sort of exercises can I do to strengthen my hands?" will probably come up with something similar to the content of this book. Line after line, page after page of simple phrases, forcing you to use each finger in a variety of patterns designed to work your hands, and engaging every finger on your fretting hand. That said, it's an amazingly comprehensive collection of variations on that theme, and for the fairly low cost of the book, it's definitely worth picking up.The content itself is pretty boring. Go to a section, repeat that short phrase over and over, rinse and repeat. It's not meant to be exciting, it's meant to give you the ability to play the exciting stuff more easily. I've only been working with the book a short while, and it's surprisingly difficult. The lines themselves are simple enough to play, but I don't recall ever actually "feeling the burn" in my hands like that, before. It will stretch and strengthen your hands, no doubt.The exercises are presented in standard notation and tablature. While I'm often critical of tabs (though, I do use them on occasion), this book is a perfect use case for them. It is not about making music, indeed, the content is pretty much un-musical to all but the most "academic" of musicians, it is about making you more able to make music. The tablature included seems to help reinforce that idea.This is a must buy for anyone beginning on bass, or probably many more advanced players. The exercises really can apply to any stringed instrument, as well - so if you play guitar, banjo, mandolin, sitar, whatever - this book is for you.

To get the most out of this you really need to play along with a metronome (emphasized on page 5, but possibly ignored by some), this way you can gauge your progress. If you don't I can assure you it will be used for about a month and then find its way to the next yard sale. Reason for four stars: The only thing I found missing was a set of thumb shift exercises, say one in which you would fourth fret the fourth string (with your pinky) to the first fret of the third string followed by a thumb shift so that the first finger now slides to the fourth fret third finger and then follow the progression of 567, and repeating for the next two strings. I realize that it does not reverse as do most of the other exercises, but I think it instills yet another important aspect in bass fingering coordination. I went ahead and wrote in some myself in the blank spaces in back. What would even be better is if he had a website rather than a book (subscription based) where other bassists could share their fingering exercises with a larger community.

Bass Fitness has already proved to me to be the best approach for honing my bass playing abilities and I have only had the book for a month.This book is the MISSING LINK for Mastering the bass guitar.In my 30 + years of bass playing I have never before found such a comprehensive compilation of exercises specifically crafted to build the dexterity, strength and accuracy needed to fully master the potential of the modern bass guitar.This is no song book or collection of riffs, this book is exactly what it says in the title; an exercising handbook. Providing 'star-jumps' and 'push-ups' for your fingers, only a whole lot more fun to do.Follow the introductory instructions and begin working your way through the exercises. As your fingers get stronger you will more easily be able to advance to the more complicated exercises, all the while increasing your accuracy and dexterity. Practising for 15 - 30 minutes every day is much more beneficial than trying to cram in a couple of hours once a week. I am sure you will be impressed with your progress in no time and equally as impressed as I am in the benefits of these exercises.The book also has some blank 'Notation with TAB' music sheets at the back which are very handy for transposing or writing out your own bass lines.Well done Josquin, very well done indeed.

Excelente revista muy buen tamaño, buena impresión. Los ejercicios parecen sencillos pero se incrementa la dificulta en cada hoja y el tempo. Después de una semana se siente la agilidad que se gana al practicar

I picked this book up about a year ago, and I'm still not done with it. There's very little here except exercises...lots of exercises. If you can commit to practicing them consistently, both your left and right hand work will get better, especially if you are a relative beginner like me. The book is organized by difficulty and the exercises build on each other. Some exercises help you move accurately between strings, others across strings, then both, then both in more complex sequences and so forth. It is very challenging to complete the exercises at increasingly fast tempos, stay accurate in your fingering, stay in time, and stay disciplined enough to keep at it when it gets frustrating (and it will). It's the kind of practice work that pays off big in better dexterity. When you're learning a new song, you can focus on the groove because you have the chops to play as fast and accurately as you need to.More experienced players with strong basic skills probably won't get much out of it, but I work out of this book for 10 to 15 minutes of every practice session (with a metronome). If you're a new bassist, you would be doing yourself a big favor to be working out of this book, too.

I've recently returned to the bass after an 8 year gap. It was quickly apparent that I no longer had the strength and dexterity in my hands that I'd built up previously.This book provides simple to follow (so far) exercises both in notation and tab, which is also helping re-familiarise with the fretboard. It requires a metronome for best results which will instil some discipline for a learner.

I really enjoy doing this exercises, plain and simple way to improve speed and dexterity

Exactly what I needed, vast array of exercises for dexterity

A must buy

Didn't receive the AUDIO CD that should have been included