Tag Archives: bass guitar note-reading

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July/August 2026 Lesson Materials

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Over the last two months I made many updates to my lesson materials. I updated my BASS GUITAR page with a free PDF of my Bass Guitar Chords Method part 1, a free PDF of my Strumming Rhythms Index part 1, as well as a link to purchase Book 1, a free PDF of my Bass Guitar Note-Reading Method part 1, a free PDF of my Bass Guitar Recital Songs 1 to 6,  and recordings of Recital Songs 1 to 5. I updated my Guitar and Ukulele Karate Belt Requirements by re-distributing the Strumming Rhythms Index (only starting it in Orange Belt so they can get through all of Level 1 first). I also updated my Snare Drum Method Book, Level 1 (Lessons 1 to 4), which now includes 2/4, 4/4, and 3/4 time, and I also added Snare Drum Recital Song 1.

Most of my time was spent adding to my SONGS page, including All Mixed Up by 311 (lyrics and chords), Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2) by Pink Floyd (lyrics and chords), Bad Blood by Bastille (lyrics and chords), Clint Eastwood by Gorillaz (lyrics and chords), Come Sail Away by Styx (piano and riffs), Eye of the Tiger by Survivor (riffs and lyrics and chords, with and without capo), Heathens by Twenty One Pilots (lyrics and chords), House of Gold (with and without a capo) by Twenty One Pilots (lyrics and chords), How Soon is Now? by The Smiths (lyrics and chords), Louie Louie by The Kingsmen (lyrics and chords), Lovesong by The Cure (lyrics and chords), Nutshell by Alice In Chains (riffs) and (lyrics and chords), Radioactive by Imagine Dragons (lyrics and chords), Rainbow Connection by Kermit the Frog (lyrics and chords), Ring of Fire by Johnny Cash (riffs and lyrics and chords, one with the meter simplified), Take On Me (with and without capo and acoustic version) by A-Ha (lyrics and chords), Three Little Birds by Bob Marley (lyrics and chords), and Wild Thing by The Troggs (lyrics and chords). After the addition of these songs, I also updated my Guitar, Ukulele, and Piano Setlist Curriculums.

All of these materials can be found under the FOR MY STUDENTS tab, on the BASS GUITAR, GUITAR, PIANO, SNARE DRUM, SONGS, and UKULELE pages. As always, please let me know if you use any of these teaching materials with your students, and if you find them helpful, or if you have any questions or comments.

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June Lesson Materials

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Lately I have been working on extensive additions and edits to my Ukulele, Guitar, and Bass Guitar Method Books. I wanted to add more familiar songs to my Note-Reading Method Books for Ukulele, Guitar, and Bass Guitar, so I added Hot Cross Buns, Mary Had a Little Lamb/Merrily We Roll Along (both without  and with the high note), Ode to Joy, London Bridge, Ring Around the Rosie, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Row Row Row Your Boat, French Song, Old MacDonald, Yankee Doodle, and Happy Birthday. I added these songs at appropriate points throughout the lessons, all in various keys (mostly in C Major, F Major, and G Major, but a few of them are also in D Major and Bb Major). I also changed the name of my original Ukulele and Guitar Method Books to “Chord-Strumming Method”, in order to better differentiate it from the “Note-Reading Method”. I added and updated PDFs of all of these lessons on the “Ukulele”, “Guitar” and “Bass Guitar” pages.

In my Mallets Method Book, I added the same songs to Unit 1 (The Key of C Major), Unit 2 (The Key of G Major), and Unit 3 (The Key of F Major) and also updated the PDFs on the “Mallets” page.

For Bass Guitar, I also started a method book, which I am calling “Bass Guitar Chords Method Book” (for lack of a better name). This book parallels my Guitar Chord-Strumming Method Book, and is meant to teach a bass player what to play in order to follow the guitar player. It teaches the bass player what the root, 3rd, 5th, and octave is for each chord, so that they will know what their options are. My Guitar and Bass Guitar Method Books could be used together as a sort of “Rock Band Method Book” if a teacher needed material for guitar and bass students to play together. PDFs of the “Practice Instructions and Fretboard”, “Unit 1: Major and minor Chords”, and “Unit 2: Common Chords Progressions” of the Bass Guitar Chords Method Book can be found on my “Bass Guitar” page.

Please let me know if you use any of these teaching materials with your students, and if you find them helpful, or if you have any questions or comments.