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Simplified Sight-Reading for Bass by author Josquin Des Pres is a structured bass guitar instruction book created to build and strengthen sight-reading skills. Designed for bass players from beginner through advanced levels, it develops confident note reading within practical, groove-based musical contexts rather than abstract drills. This instructional book combines progressive exercises with 97 online demonstration tracks so players can hear each example performed clearly and stylistically. Core topics include rhythm studies, note recognition, intervals, accidentals, key signatures, and essential bass patterns drawn from blues, R&B, funk, rock, and related styles. The integration of written notation and recorded demonstrations supports independent practice as well as guided lesson work. Rather than isolating technique from musical application, the exercises connect reading directly to real-world bass playing. As students move through the material, they develop timing, fretboard awareness, stylistic vocabulary, and reading fluency simultaneously. The pacing allows beginners to establish strong fundamentals while giving advancing players material to refine precision and consistency. Teachers will value the logical progression and stylistic relevance, while self-directed musicians benefit from the clarity of explanation and audio reinforcement. The focus remains on practical musicianship, ensuring that improved reading translates naturally into better ensemble performance and rehearsal confidence. Song list Simplified Sight-Reading for Bass Whether used for private lessons, classroom instruction, or personal practice routines, this book offers a dependable path toward stronger sight-reading and more expressive bass performance. It also makes a thoughtful gift for bassists looking to expand their musical foundation and versatility. Review: music, rhythm, who could ask for anything more? - What I love about this book is it starts off with learning to sight read rhythm. Sight reading is actually a two handed process, with rhythm controlled by the plucking hand, and pitch controlled by the fretting hand. It is always difficult trying to learn two things at the same time, so kudos for teaching rhythm and pitch separately. The CD is useful, but mostly I play along to a metronome. My only criticism is the book has almost no instruction on how to practice. Review: gave me a great deal of enlightenment about bass music in particular - As an old bass player from the mid 70s, I am just getting back into playing again. Virtually none of the books such as this one actually existed or were very difficult to find anywhere. (I was from a small town and not near a major city.) I would have given my all for a few of the books now available. This one in particular, at least for me, gave me a great deal of enlightenment about bass music in particular. I recommend this one to anyone who wants to do serious music.





| Best Sellers Rank | #418,605 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #57 in Bass Guitar Songbooks #2,109 in Music Instruction & Study (Books) |
| Customer Reviews | 4.4 out of 5 stars 139 Reviews |
D**G
music, rhythm, who could ask for anything more?
What I love about this book is it starts off with learning to sight read rhythm. Sight reading is actually a two handed process, with rhythm controlled by the plucking hand, and pitch controlled by the fretting hand. It is always difficult trying to learn two things at the same time, so kudos for teaching rhythm and pitch separately. The CD is useful, but mostly I play along to a metronome. My only criticism is the book has almost no instruction on how to practice.
M**Y
gave me a great deal of enlightenment about bass music in particular
As an old bass player from the mid 70s, I am just getting back into playing again. Virtually none of the books such as this one actually existed or were very difficult to find anywhere. (I was from a small town and not near a major city.) I would have given my all for a few of the books now available. This one in particular, at least for me, gave me a great deal of enlightenment about bass music in particular. I recommend this one to anyone who wants to do serious music.
L**R
Great for developing bass clef sight-reading skills but has an annoying metronome on the CD tracks
5 stars for the book, minus 1 star for the annoying metronome. Great exercises and the CD which has many of the tracks in the book in it is very helpful. The only problem I have with the CD is the metronome clicks that accompany the tracks are louder than the bass part itself. It would be fine to have a lead in metronome just to get the tempo and then have the metronome drop out once the bass starts. Or have a full metronome on a quarter of the tracks and leave it off of the rest of the tracks. Or turn the metronome volume down so it's not louder than the bass itself. The annoying metronome aside this is a great book if you're interesting in developing your sight reading for bass. There is no tablature anywhere in this book which forces you to read the music. If you can't sight-read very well now and you work through all of this book your sight-reading will improve by leaps and bounds. It's hard to go wrong with a Josquin des Pres book. Also try his book Bass Fitness - An Exercising Handbook (Guitar School) .
R**H
Rhythm Is King!!
This will really help me get used to playing rhythms without really thinking - more reactive. The notes can be worked on later - when playing bass, it is much more important to be accurate rhythmically. With all the notes that are technically available, you can fake the sonic relationships, but if the beat is in the wrong place or is wrong rhythmically, you will really hurt the music. I highly recommend trying to learn the notated rhythmic score for whatever piece you are working on, or develop a proper rhythmic sense for a piece if you just have a chord chart. A book like this is one great way to expose yourself to reading the rhythmic score and being able to quickly familiarize yourself with the intended rhythm written by the composer. I have personally noticed when the bass and drums are locked in an pumping out the correct rhythm for a piece, the rest of the band usually follows along and some great magic happens, but if the bass is off - there is little hope for the magic to be there!
T**M
Great Book!
Love how this book progressively moves through it's goal towards sight reading. Especially love how it focuses on rhythm first, to Rhythms and pitches, to intervals, ect. up to typical patterns and styles. Benefits my reading for my other instruments I play as well. The bass is just a tool for working through the exercises .
K**N
Ok, but get boring quick
ok, but it gets boring using the same D note for everything. I prefer a book with different note that progressively gets harder.
P**S
... bass players/musicians Josquin des Pres is one of my favorite Bass Players
This book is a must have for serious bass players/musicians Josquin des Pres is one of my favorite Bass Players, it's full of great information and will definitely help you grow more musically. A lot of great exercises that will help you get better for sure!
N**S
Excellent. Very useful
This is a super and valuable book to develop rhythmic skill. It is difficult, challenging, but not impossible. I practice some of it nearly every day and feel the benefits every rehearsal session. Excellent!
P**S
Ein Volltreffer!
Meiner Meinung nach ziemlich das beste Buch auf dem Gebiet Sight-Reading für Bass, nicht nur für Anfänger.
M**T
Sight readingfor Bassists.
Yes solid practice course,takes you back to watch your timing ,the audio is firstclass and a great part of the course,well done,Josquin!.
O**R
Claro y didactico
Es un buen libro para profundizar un poco más tanto en ritmo como lectura, hablando de un nivel algo más de lo básico. Ejmplos claros y concisos. Una pega es que no todos los ejercicios tienen audio.
A**I
Consigliatissimo!
Una garanzia ..ben fatto
F**.
De los mejores libros para practicar lectura
Me encantó encontrarlo aquí y recibirlo así de fácil. Sin tener que buscarlo en tiendas. Solo dí click, espere dos dias y listo recibí esta gran herramienta. Lo compre un sábado y llegó el lunes siguiente
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