This is an instructional book for beginning players. My original bass teacher used selected exercises to teach 5th's and dominants. I have since taken it upon myself to go through the book in its entirety. It has made me a better player in that it has taught me various chord progressions and forced me to read chord charts and notation. The book includes a CD which is very well done. Each lesson is a seperate track, unlike other books that lump 3 or 4 lessons into one track and force you to scan to the correct spot to start a lesson. This makes it very easy to practice one lesson over and over. Also, the bass and drums are recorded in the left channel while the piano and drums are recorded in the right. This allows you to isolate one or the other for transcribing or playing along. The book is good, but not perfect. I personally learn better with text explaining why I am playing what I am playing, and some more in depth articles on why certain lessons are played the way they are would be nice. Despite that, I have learned a lot from this book and would suggest it to anyone. BTW, if you want more text pick up Ed's "The Working Bassist's Toolkit". I did and I couldn't be happier. It filled in a lot of the holes that I felt were missing in Walking Bass Lines. It pretty much compiles all of his Bass Player Magazine articles plus some extras. Also includes a CD.

Ed Friedland continues to help us Bass Players out by producing Great Instuctional Books. And this one is no exception! He takes you along the Right Path in the use of the Walking Bass Line. He uses an organized and chronological approach, that easy and Fun to follow. There is some good advise in this Book as well: Double Chromatic Approach, Rhythm Approach, Arpeggiation, and Lines with Scalewise Motion. The Appendix is an added Bonus!! It has some Standard Jazz/Blues/Short II-V Progressions and Rhythm changes, that you can use to test your skills that you have just developed. Wonderful testing ground. Having the CD is another added plus and is very helpful. It is always Great to play-a-long!! Be informed....This Book has No Tab! All Musical Notation, as it should be!

This instructional book provides all the proper steps to build walking basslines. The CD is very helpful, and includes sections for play-along with the changes type sections. A follow up book is also available for those who would like to fuether their knowledge. Simple and easy to follow make this a great purchase for the beginning jazzer.