“Once in a while, a book comes along that stands head and shoulders above the endless rows of ‘method books’ that fill the racks in music stores. This is one of those exceptional books. If you’re a beginner, study of Murray’s method could save you from countless hours of frustration (and possibly injury) by showing you the correct way to use your hands right from the start. If you’re a more advanced player, it should help you to refine your ability and overcome the technical barriers that can block further development. Bravo! A+”
AUTHOR
Peter started teaching bass guitar in the late 80s, and would always start off by teaching fundamental technique: what players should do with their hands. After several years, as he refined his teaching approach, more and more he heard students ask, “is there a book I can get that shows this stuff?” He checked it out, and found out that the answer was… no. So he decided to write a book himself. It was originally intended to be a simple, photocopied handout, but as it progressed, he started to think about the possibilities of printing it professionally and finding distribution for it. At a local Michael Hedges concert, he gave a photocopy of the book to Michael Manring, who at the time (1994) was considered by Bass Player magazine readers to be the world's best bassist. A couple of weeks later, he got an unsolicited endorsement from Manring in the mail. It was then that he realized he should actually look for a publisher! He sought out more endorsements and before long got an offer from Mel Bay Publications. The first edition came out in 1995, to rave reviews including an A+ rating from Bass Player. In 2000, the second edition was published by Hal Leonard. The book is still available worldwide and is still considered by many to be the “definitive technique manual for bass guitar.”
BRAVO! A+
Jim Roberts
Editor-in-Chief
Bass Player Magazine
MADE AN IMPRESSION
“I've never seen anyone go so deeply into the subject of technique. Some of Peter's insights really made an impression on me and I've already started to experiment with them in the studio.”
Tom Hamilton
Bassist
Aerosmith
INDISPENSABLE
“Information about the fundamental mechanics of bass playing has been in short supply in the bass world and I think Essential Bass Technique will be an indispensable addition to any bassist's learning tools.”
Michael Manring
Bassist
A GREAT BOOK
“Essential attention to the basics makes this a great book for all levels of bassist.”
Billy Sheehan
Bassist
Mr. Big, David Lee Roth
A GREAT CONCEPTUAL GUIDE
“Essential Bass Technique is a great conceptual guide on how to play what you play! Lots of accurate concepts!!”
Steve Bailey
Chair, Bass Department
Berklee College of Music
THOROUGH AND CONCISE
“This is an in-depth study of the principles of bass technique. It is refreshing to have such a book available that presents a thorough and concise analysis of bass guitar technical concepts. A great reference book for bassists at all levels.”
Mark Egan
Bassist
Pat Metheny, Sting
PETER MURRAY GETS IT
“I've been looking for a book on technique to use with my students, and now I think I've found it. Essential Bass Technique is a realistic, common-sense guide to bass technique for players of all skill levels. Peter Murray gets it.”
Bryan Beller
Bassist
Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Mike Keneally
MUCH FOOD FOR THOUGHT
“There is much food for thought in this book. Like a great chef, you must have the correct technique to prepare the food before you can begin to create a feast. The information for you to create a musical feast is available here, but you will have to read and digest it to make it your own. The material in this book also relates to the athlete preparing for the game or match, and the artist contemplating the right brush stroke or color combination. The only difference is that we must consider things such as tone, muting, chops, raking, string skipping and finger distance from the string—all of which are discussed here. Play a great game, paint a beautiful picture, and enjoy a sumptuous meal with Peter Murray's Essential Bass Technique.”
Rich Appleman
ex-Chair, Bass Department
Berklee College of Music
BEST BUY OF THE YEAR
“Through a concise, analytical approach and dozens of photos and illustrations, Murray suggests not only what to do, but more importantly, why you should do it and why it will benefit you. With the use of outside resources, Murray presents a thoroughly researched and to-the-point manual. Bottom Line: Essential Bass Technique is the most comprehensive manual addressing the fundamental technical concepts behind playing the electric bass. Since the electric bass is, relatively speaking, such a young instrument, there has never been a single methodology written which has been tested, proven, and accepted to be the definitive, standardized manual by which bassists shape their technique. This book has the potential to become that single source. If this book would have been available when I started playing bass, I could have saved myself years of retraining my hands how to work efficiently. Now, with the help of Peter Murray’s Essential Bass Technique, you can learn how to play bass accurately and proficiently the first time. “Best Buy of the Year!”
Cliff Engel
Editor
BASSically.net
JOURNALIST
Peter's journalism career began during high school, when he somehow landed the opportunity to interview the iconic Canadian author Margaret Atwood for a student newspaper called Youth Ink. Around the same time he co-founded his high school's newspaper, Jarvis Jargon, and served as its submissions editor for three years, also contributing much of the paper's content.
For a few years in the early 90s, Peter was the regular bass columnist for Canadian Musician magazine, drawing on his teaching experience for discussions of technique, composition, and more. He also wrote numerous product reviews, as well as features on producer Daniel Lanois, Canadian band Big Sugar, guitar amp legend Jim Marshall, and others. He conducted in-depth interviews with many of the world's great bass players, including Victor Wooten, Michael Manring, John Patitucci, Les Claypool, Jeff Berlin, Gary Willis, Doug Pinnick (King's X), Bryan Beller, Mark Egan and Steve Bailey.
In 1999 Bass Player magazine flew Peter to England to interview two of his bass idols, Colin Moulding of XTC and Mark King of Level 42. In preparation for his meeting with Moulding, Peter learned every single XTC bass line. BP also featured Peter's interviews with three of Canada's bass icons: fusion legend Alain Caron, jazz heavyweight Don Thompson, and classical virtuoso Joel Quarrington.
