The Pattern System for the Bass Player: Sharpen Your Musical Mind through Fretboard Proficiency, Improvisation and Mental Practice (The Bass Player’s Method: Fretboard Fluency & Musical Freedom)
Product ID: 329409672
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The Pattern System for the Bass Player is a comprehensive, structured bass method that teaches you to command the entire fretboard, improvise with confidence, and recognize the recurring shapes that underpin music. Trusted by bassists around the world, it helps you see, hear, and feel these patterns in every key and apply them across the neck through any chord progression at the speed of the groove. This 330-page workbook is densely packed with diagrams, drills, and learning by doing exercises. Your purchase includes 111 streaming videos, detailed practice guides, and ten short Unlock Your Book companion videos that highlight key steps and show you how to navigate and absorb the program effectively. You also get additional online resources to help you practice the material and turn it into real playing. Using efficient fingerings, you will systematically map the following across the entire fretboard: • Major scales and their modes • Triads and four-note chords • Pentatonic scales and their variations • Diatonic chord progressions The Pattern System goes beyond standard scale and chord study. You will also: • Use improvisation exercises to make shapes instinctive rather than theoretical • Train your musical mind through visualization and mental practice • Explore powerful shortcuts in concepts such as shapes within shapes • Build reliable, efficient fingerings that support tone, timing, and technique • Develop true fretboard fluency through structured, repeatable practice methods This is a rigorous, rewarding program suitable for dedicated self-learners, returning players, and experienced bassists seeking full neck proficiency. Students and educators alike use it to deepen musical understanding and unlock greater expressive freedom in any style. Recommended prerequisite: Music Theory for the Bass Player by Ariane Cap or equivalent theory knowledge and basic bass technique. If you are ready to turn fretboard confusion into clarity and build a creative vocabulary you can trust on stage, in practice, and in every musical situation, this method will guide you step by step. Review: Important bass training - systematic and truthful - This book is not promising a (impossible) shortcuts to free-flowing bass playing and improvisation - it promises a way, a path, which includes hard work and training, but in a systematic way which will help you get there. I have seen numerous promises for "play in 6 weeks", etc - this is not it! This book will lead you step by step into embedding the bass playing into your mind and consciousness, you muscles and inner strings. It progresses slowly and allows you to spend as much time as needed (and that you can afford training) in each step. It doesn't just tell you to "go practice" - it defines the pre-requisites you need to achieve before moving on, it gives you training recipes of exactly what to train on and until when, as well as extra tips to help you get around when you think you're stuck or to help you overcome issues that are common to many players. The book itself is very self-explanatory and can be used as a sole reference to go through the program (assuming you have the need knowledge to start this program). It has many attached videos but I have found that they are mostly unnecessary, except in cases I wasn't sure exactly on how fingers move (though this is mostly mentioned in the text itself). The online group lessons offered are very cool and helpful, but definitely not mandatory and can be fun and contributing to those who learn better when in a "class" and need to be forced into a schedule otherwise the don't train enough... I have still not completed the book, but I already feel the methodology sinking in, the familiarity with the fretboard increasing significantly and the way the pattern system starts to burn into the unconscious thinking. The book is very detailed and has a good balance between what is written down and what is left for the reader to write (yes - there are actually pages for the reader to write into during practice) and conceive (again, assuming he/she has the needed pre-requisites). The book spends a bit of time explaining rationales and not only saying "do that or that", which is also helpful for people who like to understand the "why". Overall, it's very apparent the book was very well thought through, very well structured and written without promises for "magic in 3 weeks" - it's very honest about what it would take to reach the water well but provides a detailed map of how to get there. I strongly recommend! Review: Worth It - The short version of this review is this: go buy it and work through it. It’s worth your time, but be aware, it will take time. The long version: you’ll find a lot of “learn bass guitar in some number of ridiculously easy lessons” books out there. This isn’t one of them. The lessons are easy to read and understand, but they’re systematic and you need to put in the work and not skip stuff. Not everything will look exciting. You will want to skip things, but everything in here is worth practicing and worth learning. More to the point, it’s all essential stuff to know. By the time you’re done (if you do the work), you’ll know where all the correct notes in whatever key you’re playing in are (whether it’s major or minor). You’ll have the ability to start shifting where you need to on the neck. You’ll also be familiar with pentatonic and blues scales and know them without thinking too much. In addition, you’ll know the relevant chord tones. This is exactly what you need to know to play bass. It’s not everything you need to know, but it’s a big first step that will lead you out of being a beginner bassist and put you into an intermediate level of skill. Speaking only for myself, it took me a year to get through (maybe a year and a half?), but I’m considerably better than when I started. I still revisit certain exercises and am building more on them.
| Best Sellers Rank | #164,814 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #21 in Bass Guitar Songbooks #58 in Music Appreciation (Books) |
| Customer Reviews | 4.7 out of 5 stars 295 Reviews |
O**N
Important bass training - systematic and truthful
This book is not promising a (impossible) shortcuts to free-flowing bass playing and improvisation - it promises a way, a path, which includes hard work and training, but in a systematic way which will help you get there. I have seen numerous promises for "play in 6 weeks", etc - this is not it! This book will lead you step by step into embedding the bass playing into your mind and consciousness, you muscles and inner strings. It progresses slowly and allows you to spend as much time as needed (and that you can afford training) in each step. It doesn't just tell you to "go practice" - it defines the pre-requisites you need to achieve before moving on, it gives you training recipes of exactly what to train on and until when, as well as extra tips to help you get around when you think you're stuck or to help you overcome issues that are common to many players. The book itself is very self-explanatory and can be used as a sole reference to go through the program (assuming you have the need knowledge to start this program). It has many attached videos but I have found that they are mostly unnecessary, except in cases I wasn't sure exactly on how fingers move (though this is mostly mentioned in the text itself). The online group lessons offered are very cool and helpful, but definitely not mandatory and can be fun and contributing to those who learn better when in a "class" and need to be forced into a schedule otherwise the don't train enough... I have still not completed the book, but I already feel the methodology sinking in, the familiarity with the fretboard increasing significantly and the way the pattern system starts to burn into the unconscious thinking. The book is very detailed and has a good balance between what is written down and what is left for the reader to write (yes - there are actually pages for the reader to write into during practice) and conceive (again, assuming he/she has the needed pre-requisites). The book spends a bit of time explaining rationales and not only saying "do that or that", which is also helpful for people who like to understand the "why". Overall, it's very apparent the book was very well thought through, very well structured and written without promises for "magic in 3 weeks" - it's very honest about what it would take to reach the water well but provides a detailed map of how to get there. I strongly recommend!
J**Y
Worth It
The short version of this review is this: go buy it and work through it. It’s worth your time, but be aware, it will take time. The long version: you’ll find a lot of “learn bass guitar in some number of ridiculously easy lessons” books out there. This isn’t one of them. The lessons are easy to read and understand, but they’re systematic and you need to put in the work and not skip stuff. Not everything will look exciting. You will want to skip things, but everything in here is worth practicing and worth learning. More to the point, it’s all essential stuff to know. By the time you’re done (if you do the work), you’ll know where all the correct notes in whatever key you’re playing in are (whether it’s major or minor). You’ll have the ability to start shifting where you need to on the neck. You’ll also be familiar with pentatonic and blues scales and know them without thinking too much. In addition, you’ll know the relevant chord tones. This is exactly what you need to know to play bass. It’s not everything you need to know, but it’s a big first step that will lead you out of being a beginner bassist and put you into an intermediate level of skill. Speaking only for myself, it took me a year to get through (maybe a year and a half?), but I’m considerably better than when I started. I still revisit certain exercises and am building more on them.
L**T
Worth the effort.
I'm about halfway through this book. Yes it takes some work but shortens the learning curve over the long run. Wish I had this kind of resource years ago. Highly recommend!
J**N
The Structure I needed
This book was exactly what I needed. With all of the resources online I found it difficult to focus on one thing at a time. Fretboard mastery has been my main priority so when I found this book I decided to give it a try. I was already familiar with Ari from some courses I did at SBL so I knew she was a great teacher. Just like her classes at SBL the book is well organized and presented in a logical sequence. It offers very specific practice routines for each chapter so you're not left to figure out how to practice on your own. Personally I learn best on my own. Hand me a textbook and that's all I need though there is online support and classes to go with the book but so far I haven't needed it because of how well the book is structured (the access to videos aslo helps). I'm very happy so far and have already seen big improvements in my playing. I highly recommend this book if you're like me and need something to focus on rather than jumping from lesson to lesson online.
S**S
A Labor of Love which requires work
I love these two books. This Pattern Book and her Theory book. I do not know how you could truly use one without the other. And that’s to my point. I feel the Theory book is a great place to start, but about triads, you should shift to the Pattern book. Both these books need to be compiled, reorganized and updated for them to go from great to the very best. This set is one of the best in tackling the subject, aside from the old Mel Bay Bass books you can get from the mid sixties at your favorite rusty bookstore. I would ABSOLUTELY recommend it to a friend or fellow student. Get the friction pens she recommends and either photocopy the area maps or create them yourselves in the computer. Then sit down, bass at your side, and put in that work. Scalar studies!!! I’m glad I found this book set. Buy both. Buy the spiral bounds. Lastly, I find the pattern wall chart available at cost a more useful tool than the music theory poster. Good luck!
J**L
For advanced JAZZ musicians
This is an advanced book for JAZZ bassists who are used to writing out and doing exercises "in every key" and using extremely complicated chords that are hard to read, let alone to play, because this book asks you to do both from beginning to end. Clearly, if I could get through such a book, I would benefit and advance enormously, but it would take me forever and probably cause orthopedic problems with my writing hand. No wonder medical/therapist types (including a hand surgeon) are among the book endorsers and resources. She is right to recommend the study of her theory book before this one. I give the book 5 stars because it appears excellent for its only realistic audience, i.e. advanced JAZZ musicians who wouldn't blink at being asked to do exercises and practice them "in every key" and repeatedly write out, by hand, page after page after page after page of fretboard diagrams in every key. It's not the book's fault that that is totally unrealistic for ME. If it's possible to go through the book on a lower track for mere mortals and still get something out of it, I have no idea how to do so and the book does not present that as an option. In short, great book for advanced JAZZ musicians who know and do things in "every key," who can interpret and play very complicated chords, and who are not concerned about developing tendinitis and carpal tunnel syndrome from all the handwritten fretboard diagrams to be filled out, but that's not and never will be me.
C**.
An Excellent, Guided Resource for Achieving Technical Skills on the Bass Guitar
Arian is an excellent teacher, and her teaching skills, together with this book and the way it is organized and paced is an ideal and enjoyable way to hone your facility on the bass. Although I am a schooled pianist,. I started playing the bass when I was in high school but never really studied it seriously. Now that I am retired, I am revisiting the instrument in order to develop more dependable playing skills and am finding that I am making steady and noticeable progress.
M**D
BEST MUSIC COURSE I HAVE EVER TAKEN!!
Purchased Arian Caps Pattern System for the Bass Player book/course on Amazon Prime Day. EACH portion of the book is well-designed, readable, and has links to helpful online VIDEOs tied to the text. Arian presents FIVE BASIC Patterns for SCALES which you memorize. Then she demonstrates how the FIVE BASIC Patterns can be applied to SIX Areas of the Fretboard. Then she ties it ALL together with connection exercises! Within a few weeks my Bass Guitar Playing has improved beyond all expectations! This is a FANTASTIC book and online course. I recommend it to anyone who wants to learn to play Bass Guitar.
H**N
One book to work through..
This one book covers as much ground as the proven 4-5 books for bass players on the market. Now. Back to the woodshed! This is for advance beginner and above players. Say if you are Trinity Grade02 and above, OR went through Ed Friedland's Hal Leonard Bass Method Book 01 and 02 + Dummies book by Pat Pfeiffer. Or if you know your intervals, arpeggios, scales , shapes around the fretboard. Good book if you are an Autodidact. Good if you are learning alongside an exclusive, competent Bass - teacher, & not a Guitar teacher who insists you "learn basics first on Acoustic Guitar"
A**R
Opens up the fretboard
I knew my scales and modes already, but Ariane's framing in areas has made it much easier to find fills and runs across the fretboard.
A**R
Kindle-Version ist Raubkopie
Hier ein Update zu meiner vorherigen 1 Sterne-Rezension: Ich hatte die Autorin Ariance Cap angeschrieben und ihr gesagt, dass die Qualität des eBooks unterirdisch sei. Es stellte sich heraus, dass es keine eBooks von Ariane's Büchern gibt und dass es sich um eine Raubkopie handelte. Für dieses Buch ist die Raubkopie entfernt worden, für ihr Theorie-Buch ist jedoch aktuell wieder eine Raubkopie als eBook verfügbar. Ariane ist super nett, ich halte das Buch hoffentlich bald in Händen und werde dann diese Rezqnsion nochmal aktualisieren. Originale Rezension (nicht mehr relevant): Das gedruckte Buch ist ohne Spiralbindung und daher dachte ich, dass ich mit dem iPad auf dem Notenpult beim Üben das Buch "offen" vor mir haben könnte. Leider wurde die Kindle-Version in einem falschen Format erstellt, so dass die Seiten im Querformat auf der Seite liegen - zusätzlich ist der Text auf den Seiten extrem unscharf und kaum zu lesen. Selbst auf einem iPad nicht, auf kleineren Bildschirmen bestimmt gar nicht mehr. Man achte bitte darauf, dass bei den Bildern der Buchtitel am oberen Rand sehr scharf ist, der Text vom Buch aber vermatscht und weichgezeichnet aussieht. Sehr schade, da Ariane eine der besten Bass-Lehrer(innen) ist. So eine schlechte Qualität hätte ich nie erwartet - inhaltlich kann ich nichts zum Buch sagen, da es wie gesagt nicht lesbar und nutzbar ist.
G**Z
Not recommended book
Waste of time and money too much information and videos with límited information
M**O
Boa
Devia me informar que todos os áudios seriam comprados separadamente
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