About the Author

Patrick Pfeiffer is a professional bassist, composer, clinician, author, and bass educator in New York City. He earned his bachelor's degree in music from Arizona State University and his master's in jazz studies (with distinction) from the prestigious New England Conservatory of Music. Pfeiffer's solo CD Fruits and Nuts earned stellar reviews and a recommendation from Bass Player Magazine as well as from Jazz Improv Magazine. Besides performing and recording, Pfeiffer teaches bass guitar in New York City and often conducts clinics alongside such bass luminaries as Will Lee, John Patitucci, Gerald Veasley, Michael Manring, Bakithi Kumalo, Adam Nitti, and many more.

His former students include Adam Clayton of U2, Jean-Louis Locas of Cirque du Soleil, Mark Wike of The Bogmen, Alec Such of Bon Jovi, and Nick diPierro of Her & Kings County. Other former clients include Red Ant Records, PolyGram, and Arista Records.

Pfeiffer has played and/or recorded with George Clinton, Jimmy Norman, Phoebe Snow, Slam Stewart, Paul Griffin, Bernard Purdie, Babatunde Olatunji, Sheila Jordan, George Russell, Margaret Whiting, Joe Lovano, Carlos Alomar, Hernan Romero, Katie Agresta, the Marvelettes, the KMA Allstars, the Gary Corwin Dream Band, and many others. Pfeiffer was featured artist and adjudicator in the Jazz on the Great Plains festival in South Dakota and repeatedly one of the featured performers and instructors at Gerald Veasley's famous Bass Boot Camp in Reading, Pennsylvania.

Besides the bestselling Bass Guitar For Dummies editions, which have been translated into seven languages to date, Pfeiffer also authored Bass Guitar Exercises For Dummies (published by Wiley), Improve Your Groove: The Ultimate Guide for Bass (published by Hal Leonard), and Daily Grooves for Bass (published by Carl Fischer).

Pfeiffer is endorsed by Aguilar Amplification and by the elite bass companies MTD and Fodera. In 2011, Fodera Guitars honored him with a “Pfeiffer Signature” 6-string fretless electric bass. His latest basscapades can be found at www.PatrickPfeifferBass.com.

Dedication

This book is dedicated to the love of my life, my beautiful wife, Lisa Ann Herth Pfeiffer.

I am buoyed by your love, balanced by your Reiki, and awed by your spirit.

Author’s Acknowledgments

My love and heartfelt gratitude to Lisa Pfeiffer for her love, wisdom, honesty, and support whenever I find myself immersed in yet another bass project. A huge thank you to my wonderful friends: To my tireless pre-editor Crissy Walford; to Nicolas diPierro for the nightly bombing runs of art; to Lawrence Green for the beautiful Finale files and tutorials; and to Steven Schlesinger for the great photos. It's my privilege to have an amazing group of musicians on the recording of this book's tracks: David B. Meade and Michael D'Agostino on drums, Sean Harkness on guitar, and Lou DiNatale on keyboards. A big thank you to the amazing Taylor Ryan of AM Studios in New York City for expertly recording, mixing, and mastering the tracks. Special thanks to Shawn Setaro for proof-playing my musical examples. I am very grateful for the love and support I've always gotten from my parents, Ursula and Wilhelm Pfeiffer. Parents everywhere should help their kids follow their dream. Mine did, even though they often worried about my single-mindedness toward becoming a musician.

My utmost respect and thanks to the For Dummies crew, Tracy Boggier, David Lutton, Tim Gallan, Jennette ElNaggar, Rebekah Brownson, the amazing video crew of Paul Chen, Shelley Lea, Kathleen Jeffers, Eric Hurst, and all the people behind the scenes I never got to meet. You all are an incredible team, and I am grateful for the long hours you've put into making sure this book is the best it can possibly be. Thank you! It was a great privilege and a real pleasure to work with you. A special thanks to Marla Marquit Steuer for pointing the right folks into the right (my) direction, and a big thank you to my agent Bill Gladstone and all the folks at Waterside. I'd also like to thank the great Will Lee for the beautiful foreword and the continuing support and inspiration you give me, and also special thanks to Gerald Veasley for including me as part of your incredible commitment to the bass community. A big nod of respect and thanks goes to Chris Scialfa for keeping my repertoire fresh and to bassist extraordinaire Danny Morris for using my books at Berklee. To my students: I'm grateful for every lesson you teach me and every lesson you take with you. A special thanks goes to my brothers Andreas and Mark for your encouragement and support. I can always count on you (I just wish sometimes you'd remember I'm your older brother).

I'm very grateful to my teachers, Hilmar Stanger, Bruce Amman, Robert Miller, Dennis Sexton, Frank Smith, Chuck Marohnic, Jeff Andrews, and Miroslav Vitous. I carry your lessons with me. Also kudos and a big thanks to Ed Friedland for his excellent book Reggae Bass (Hal Leonard) and Aladji Touré for his equally excellent book Les Secrets de la Basse Africaine (Lemoine). Both books were a great help for the world beat section of my book and I'd recommend them to any bassist who would like to delve deeper into these two styles. A special thank you goes to Michael Tobias for building my precious MTD basses, and to Jason DeSalvo, Joey Lauricella, and Vinny Fodera of Fodera for the amazing “Pfeiffer Signature” bass. Also special thanks to Dave Boonshoft and Justin Huth of Aguilar amplification for the excellent amplifier. I'm extremely grateful to Michael Carolan for giving my music a chance to be heard and to Katie Agresta for so many things and, not the least, for giving me the opportunity to be in this great country. You are incredible friends. Thank you, Adam Clayton — you never cease to amaze me. Thanks to Julie Hanlon, Dee Behrman (my coach), Loys Green, and Mike Visceglia.

With every new book, this is the section I dread most . . . I am grateful to the beautiful people who are no longer with me, but whose love and support continue to see me through: Marjorie Herth, Sandy Green, Mike Kissel, Paul Griffin, Gary Corwin, Lance Berry, Bill Evans (the bass player), Robert Mast, and Reiner Hoffmann, without whom I may never have become a bass player in the first place.

And a very special thanks to LuLu for being a source of unconditional love and to Juba Muktananda (who thinks I am the world's greatest hunter every time I come back from the grocery store).

A special thanks to Gurumayi Chidvilasananda of the Sidha Yoga Foundation and to Daisaku Ikeda and the SGI family.

Publisher’s Acknowledgments

Acquisitions Editor: Tracy Boggier

Associate Editor: David Lutton

Senior Project Editor: Tim Gallan

Copy Editor: Jennette ElNaggar

Technical Editor: David Murray

Project Coordinator: Rebekah Brownson