As seen in
Guitar Girl Magazine Issue 8 – It’s All About the Bass
Spring 2019
How to Play the Electric Bass
Author: Carol Kaye
Price: $21.50
Originally written in 1969 and then rewritten in 2004, bassist Carol Kaye shares with the reader her knowledge and expertise on how to play the electric bass. If you’re looking for basic scales and diagrams, this is not the book for you. Kaye gets you right into playing more exciting and interesting bass lines.
How to Play Electric Bass is a simple 28-page book broken down into five sections where she discusses different styles of music, how to choose and use a pick, tips on tuning, action, pick-ups, strings, and amps, the importance of learning current bass lines and playing along with music, and then includes the bass lines she played in several songs.
Included with the book is Carol Kaye’s list of music hits along with television and movie bass hits, books, and students she’s taught over the years, as well as a copy of a pay stub from 1996 from the American Foundation of Musicians showing a payment of $70.03 for their use of the Phonograph track in the movie “Mission Impossible.”
Also, play along with the included CD to the bass lines in the book to ensure you’re playing correctly. Kaye’s advice: “Surround yourself with real music and music-learning, you’ll be a real musician.”
~ Updated February 27, 2024
