Cover Design: Marketing Resource Group, mresourcegroup.com, 208.736.

1833, 317 6th

Ave. North, P.O. Box 2672, Twin Falls, ID 83303

All Compositions: Peter Bierma

ISBN: 978-0-9852311-0-1

Anchor Weight Publishing

P.O. Box 828
Twin Falls, ID 83303
anchorweightpublishing@gmail.com

Copyright © 2012 by Peter Bierma

No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the
prior written consent of the Publisher.
 Introduction
The story… Although I’d been playing bass for over 10 years, my sight reading chops were limited. Specifically, I
needed to improve for an audition. The gig required reading a wide variety of styles, from Broadway to funk to sam-
ba. While I knew the basic principles of reading, I needed lots of reading material to put these principles to use. I
also needed to learn how to shift stylistic gears quickly. I couldn’t find a book that accomplished this, so I decided to
write one myself.

Specifically, this book has two objectives:

1) Help readers become ready to read anything. Given this goal, the exercises are written in various keys, times,
and styles. For reference, the book is broken up into four chapters: quarters, eighths, sixteenths, and triplets.
2) Provide tons of reading material. When I wanted to improve reading, I quickly ran into a problem: I’d buy a
reading book with great explanations, but only one or two examples to work on the concept! I felt if I spent
twenty dollars, there ought to be much more actual reading material. In this book, there are 50 full pages of
practice exercises. I felt that explanations and guidance are readily available via the Internet, books, etc. What’s
needed is plentiful, helpful, affordable content.

This book will help you most if you:

1) Know basic reading rudiments (note names, repeats, key signatures, etc.). If additional guidance is needed, see
my website at thebasscase.com.
2) Play with a metronome or drum machine.
3) Start slow. If necessary, start really slow. One of my teachers in college used to make me practice as slow as it
took to play a piece perfectly the first time. It felt achingly slow at first. However, I found that he was absolutely
right. Practicing at 40 bpm, with each click representing a 16th note, can be a great way to get better at reading
because we’re training our brains to prioritize accuracy over speed. This allows us to make accuracy a habit.
4) Do a mental checklist before each exercise. Quick-scan every exercise for three things: key & time signatures,
lowest & highest notes, and signage. By signage I mean repeat signs, codas, or other musical “instructions”. The-
se mental notes help us avoid getting caught off guard.
5) Get into the habit of looking ahead as much as possible. This is a tricky but super-useful skill because it requires
us to play the current material while figuring out what's coming next. It enables us to interpret the notation be-
fore it happens, thus minimizing mistakes. In Studio Bass Masters, famous bassist Nathan East notes his keen
support of this skill.
6) Remember that variety is the name of the game here. This book was intentionally written with varying levels of
melodic content. Some exercises are more of a bass line, others are melodies, while others are more like an
etude. The reason is to reduce the amount of music we’re able to predict. If we can successfully read unpredict-
able exercises, we’ll easily be able to play predictable ones.

*A quick note on the writing style: when two notes occur an octave apart within the same measure, accidentals (if
any) will always be written for both notes. For example, a low F# to high F# will be written as:
 Table of Contents
Quarters ………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 4

Eighths ………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 16

Sixteenths ………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 28

Triplets ………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 41

About the Author ………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 54

 Section I: Quarters
Quarters Exercise 1

Quarters Exercise 2

4
Quarters Exercise 3

Quarters Exercise 4

5
 Quarters Exercise 5

Quarters Exercise 6
The B’s in measures 9 & 12 may be played an octave higher if a low B string is unavailable.

Quarters Exercise 7

6
 Quarters Exercise 8

Quarters Exercise 9

7
Quarters Exercise 10

Quarters Exercise 11

Quarters Exercise 12

8
Quarters Exercise 13

Quarters Exercise 14

9
Quarters Exercise 15

10
11
Quarters Exercise 16 *Tip: Count aloud as you play through the notes!

12
Quarters Exercise 17

13
Quarters Etude

14
15
 Section II: Eighths
Eighths Exercise 1

Eighths Exercise 2

16
Eighths Exercise 3

Eighths Exercise 4

Eighths Exercise 5

Eighths Exercise 6 - Swing 8ths

17
Eighths Exercise 7

Eighths Exercise 8

18
Eighths Exercise 9

Eighths Exercise 10

19
Eighths Exercise 11

Eighths Exercise 12

20
 Eighths Exercise 13

Eighths Exercise 14

Eighths Exercise 15

21
Eighths Exercise 16

Eighths Exercise 17

Eighths Exercise 18

22
 Eighths Exercise 19

Eighths Exercise 20

23
Eighths Exercise 21

24
 *Tip: Try playing this one with a friend! Alternatively, record one line, then play the
Eighths Exercise 22 other one with your own recording! For variation, try playing one line an octave higher.

25
Eighths Etude

26
27
 Section III: Sixteenths
Sixteenths Exercise 1

Sixteenths Exercise 2-Swing 16ths

Sixteenths Exercise 3

28
 Sixteenths Exercise 4 - Swing 16ths

Sixteenths Exercise 5

29
Sixteenths Exercise 6

30
Sixteenths Exercise 7

Sixteenths Exercise 8

31
32
Sixteenths Exercise 9 - Swing 16ths. Play low D’s an octave higher if notes are unavailable.

Sixteenths Exercise 10

Sixteenths Exercise 11

33
Sixteenths Exercise 12 - Swing 16ths

34
Sixteenths Exercise 13

35
Sixteenths Exercise 14

Sixteenths Exercise 15

Sixteenths Exercise 16

36
 Sixteenths Exercise 17

Sixteenths Exercise 18

37
 Sixteenths Exercise 19

Sixteenths Exercise 20

38
39
40
 Section IV: Triplets
Triplets Exercise 1

Triplets Exercise 2

41
 Triplets Exercise 3

Triplets Exercise 4

Triplets Exercise 5

42
 Triplets Exercise 6

Triplets Exercise 7

43
Triplets Exercise 8

44
4-Bar Exercises

45
Triplets Exercise 9

Bridge

46
Triplets Exercise 10

Triplets Exercise 11

47
Triplets Exercise 12

Triplets Exercise 13

48
 Triplets Exercise 14

Triplets Exercise 15

49
Triplets Exercise 16

Triplets Exercise 17

50
 Triplets Exercise 18

Triplets Exercise 19

51
Triplets Etude

52
53
 I’m so glad you’ve gotten this book! I hope it
adds tremendous value to your bass playing.
I’ve been playing and teaching bass for over 15
years, and graduated from Berklee College of
Music in 2007. I currently reside in Idaho and
play shows in a variety of styles in the north-
west. I love the humility and focus required to play live and while
recording. Come join the ongoing conversation on my website:

thebasscase.com
Leave a comment, and I hope to hear from you soon!
Peter Bierma

54