Helloo, does anyone have Ariane Cap’s book about patterns and would like to write a short review?
Since it’s quite expensive as a book, I’d like to hear some opinions before buying it.
My initial idea was to buy her theory book but after researching on internet, I found out that it’s not that extraordinary and revolutionary book that she was talking about, but an ordinary book about more or less basic theory that all the bassists should know after a while playing. So I’m afraid that it could be the same with her pattern book and that’s only a very good marketing strategy.
I’d be happy if someone could write about the content of the book, his/her background knowledge before reading and about he/she has learned!
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I don’t own that book, but I do own other books (on music and technique), and while this sounds like a bad joke, I hope the following is helpful: I find books on these matters hard - it’s a grind! Many books look good on the surface, and when looking at the table of contents, but… digesting the matter, doing the exercises and keeping at it is very hard. And so, more often than not, you get into the first few pages of a book and then tend to lose interest or drive or motivation.
I think it is much better nowadays to find online courses that cover the topic you are interested in. There are several options in terms of instructors to choose from and most of the online instructors have freebies such that you can get a feel of how they teach and whether you like their style or not. Ariane herself could be an option, but there are several others (and they often get discussed here in the forum).
Online courses tend to keep you much more motivated and have many other means to teach (audio, video, visual aids, …) than a book can provide.
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Fully agree.
Music theory for me was something I needed to hear from 3 different teachers before it clicked.
And the teachers were crucial.
I also, however, love owning books. So I will still buy books that I cannot penetrate just to have them and look at them.
So, one vote on either side here? But I definitely agree with the sentiments of @joergkutter - this stuff can be brutal if there isn’t a human explaining it and showing the applications and such.
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Unfortunately there’s not much about this latest book, but more about the theory one and her courses. Thank you anyway 
Thank you for your opinion. I also have been learning so far with private teachers, music workshops in my city and online courses (Talkingbass after Bassbuzz) and I’ve found them extremely helpful and so far I haven’t had any big difficulties in understanding theory in this way. This approach definitely works with me and maybe you’re right and I should rather continue learning following this path.
I was just curious about Ariane Cap’s book due to all the positive feedbacks about her books and her approach. Also, I thought it could have been helpful to have a physical book to check in case of doubts instead of rewatching the whole videos.
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Glad you asked because I have my eye on that book too. Hope someone on the forum can give us an idea about it.
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I bought both books. I read through them everyday. However, they are mostly way beyond where I am in bass playing right now. There are a lot of video’s attached to the lessons accessed at her blog but honestly, there isn’t much in there that I hadn’t already found somewhere else. They are, sad to say, my toilet seat books…
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Hi all. Mark here from Talkingbass. Just stumbled upon this thread and I’m a little late with the answer but I thought I’d give a little bit of advice for any of you wanting to delve into theory.
First things first, it shouldn’t be seen as ‘hard’ at any point. You just have to work through info in the correct order. If you build up progressively from a good foundation then everything will seem much easier. Holes in your knowledge can make for a hard time learning later stuff and when say “later stuff” I’m talking about theory that many people start out with without realising.
What most people want to learn is not “theory”. It’s actually “harmony”. That’s the stuff you can use in application as a bass player.
Here’s a quick little breakdown of the order I would recommend:
1 - Intervals. These are the building blocks of music and will be referenced in everything going forward. I don’t just mean numbering a major scale 1,2,3,4,5,6,7. I mean learning about all intervals: Major, Minor, Perfect, Augmented, Diminished. Learn about inversions of intervals. Learn them by pattern. Learn them by note. Learn them inside out. Use them in bass lines. Look for them in bass lines. Absolutely nail intervals and you’ll have a HUGE advantage going forward.
2 - Chord Construction Principles. Learn about chords and chord tones before scales. Don’t bother with modes yet. Don’t build chords from scales yet. Don’t learn chords yet. Learn chord tones as arpeggios. Learn EVERY chord. Learn them in the following order:
Triads
Seventh Chords
Extended Chords
Altered Extensions
Added Note Chords
Suspended Chords
That will sort out the basics of harmony.
3 - Functional Harmony. Learn how chords can be built from a major and minor key. Learn how the chords interact in progressions. Learn about tension and release. Learn chords by number. Analyse chord progressions.
This is basically the foundation to build . It’s not rocket science. It’s all information readily available in books and online. You just need a progressive step-by-step method for learning.
Whether it’s Ariane’s book, my lessons, classical theory books, jazz theory books. This is the info you need to learn and I would work on it in that order.
And by the way, learning to read music will help with a LOT of this stuff. As well as providing a more diverse range of books for perusal, you’ll also naturally learn about keys and key signatures. Relative minor keys. Rhythms. Notes including enharmonic equivalence etc.
Hope that helps and I’m around if you need any help in tracking down info on this stuff.
Mark
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Thanks, @markjsmith - that’s a great roadmap for bass players (and other instruments as well). Wish I had been shown something like this four years ago (or, really, 30 years ago 
).
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Awesome info @markjsmith , thank you.
Has a number of playlists that covers many of these points pretty well, geared towards guitar, but useful information regarding intervals, chord construction, harmony, scales and so forth. Also some useful videos on production and song construction.
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