Falstrom, John - EADG 4

groundzero · 06-01-2005, 06:14 PM

Falstrom, John - EADG 4

EADG 4 is sold as a "Theory Textbook for Bass Guitar."

Construction: 4 / 5

EADG 4 is not your average bass book (or any book). It definitely looks home made. It has a cookbook binding (very nice because it will lay flat on a table. The entire book is in Courier New font; this is good because it is a monospaced font and bad because Courier New gets hard to look at after a while. It also looks like it could have been created in notepad. This is only a bad thing because it doesn't allow for nice diagrams. I like looking at diagrams of the fingerboard showing me where the notes in a scale are, like this:

-7|--|-0|--|
-4|--|-5|-6|
-R|--|-2|-3|

Instead the book will describe the scale by which fingers to play by doing this: 134/134/13. I suppose some people might not mind, but I would have preferred diagrams along with the finger numbers.

I also got a free "EADG4" bumper sticker with my copy of the book; I'm not sure if that comes with every copy or jsut those from the site I got it from.

It seems pretty solid; I'm giving it a 4/5 because of the font and lack of diagrams.

Content: 4 / 5

The book was not what I expected. It is definitely more of a textbook than an instruction book like "Bass Guitar for Dummies" or another one. There are pages laying out each of the scales & modes, a chapter about chord construction, and not a great deal on technique. However what the book DOES cover is covered in great detail. For example, it lists 5 different finger patterns to play a 1 octave Mixolydian scale on 3 string, a way to play it on 1 string, and two ways to play a 2 octave Mixolydian scale on 4 strings. Every scale & mode has the same amount of detail.

There is also a section in the back called "The System" which I believe is meant for teachers to outline a practice schedule for their students.

Overall: 4 / 5

For what it is (a theory textbook) it is extremely good. Take this to your bass teacher and I'm sure they could find a way to incorporate it into your lesson plan. However if you're looking for how to hold the bass, how to slap, or if you like elaborate diagrams, this is not the book for you.

Available at http://www.bassbooks.com/

YO_bass · 09-26-2005, 12:22 AM

I dont know if i'm allowed to do this, but I'm adding this section to this review.

Online Companion: 5/5

I just wanted to add something that's really cool about this book as well that needs to be mentioned. The writer, John Falstrom, has a website, which is eadg4 dot com. You can buy the book from there, look up info from there, and the best thing is that there's a forum there so you can ask him questions about things relating to the book or about life in general. He's a really cool, easy-going guy and he really knows his stuff.

06-01-2005, 06:14 PM	#1
groundzero lindy hopper Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 828	Falstrom, John - EADG 4 Falstrom, John - EADG 4 EADG 4 is sold as a "Theory Textbook for Bass Guitar." Construction: 4 / 5 EADG 4 is not your average bass book (or any book). It definitely looks home made. It has a cookbook binding (very nice because it will lay flat on a table. The entire book is in Courier New font; this is good because it is a monospaced font and bad because Courier New gets hard to look at after a while. It also looks like it could have been created in notepad. This is only a bad thing because it doesn't allow for nice diagrams. I like looking at diagrams of the fingerboard showing me where the notes in a scale are, like this: -7\|--\|-0\|--\| -4\|--\|-5\|-6\| -R\|--\|-2\|-3\| Instead the book will describe the scale by which fingers to play by doing this: 134/134/13. I suppose some people might not mind, but I would have preferred diagrams along with the finger numbers. I also got a free "EADG4" bumper sticker with my copy of the book; I'm not sure if that comes with every copy or jsut those from the site I got it from. It seems pretty solid; I'm giving it a 4/5 because of the font and lack of diagrams. Content: 4 / 5 The book was not what I expected. It is definitely more of a textbook than an instruction book like "Bass Guitar for Dummies" or another one. There are pages laying out each of the scales & modes, a chapter about chord construction, and not a great deal on technique. However what the book DOES cover is covered in great detail. For example, it lists 5 different finger patterns to play a 1 octave Mixolydian scale on 3 string, a way to play it on 1 string, and two ways to play a 2 octave Mixolydian scale on 4 strings. Every scale & mode has the same amount of detail. There is also a section in the back called "The System" which I believe is meant for teachers to outline a practice schedule for their students. Overall: 4 / 5 For what it is (a theory textbook) it is extremely good. Take this to your bass teacher and I'm sure they could find a way to incorporate it into your lesson plan. However if you're looking for how to hold the bass, how to slap, or if you like elaborate diagrams, this is not the book for you. Available at http://www.bassbooks.com/ Last edited by groundzero; 06-01-2005 at 06:21 PM.

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09-26-2005, 12:22 AM	#2
YO_bass Wannabe bass nerd Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Evanston, IL Posts: 1,964	I dont know if i'm allowed to do this, but I'm adding this section to this review. Online Companion: 5/5 I just wanted to add something that's really cool about this book as well that needs to be mentioned. The writer, John Falstrom, has a website, which is eadg4 dot com. You can buy the book from there, look up info from there, and the best thing is that there's a forum there so you can ask him questions about things relating to the book or about life in general. He's a really cool, easy-going guy and he really knows his stuff.