Learn to play Chapman Stick, Warr Guitar, and Mobius Megatar

Easy Touch-Style Rhythm is the second book in our revolutionary learning method, the Easy Touch-Style Method.

TWO-HANDED TOUCHSTYLE IS A NEW WAY TO PLAY!
By touching or tapping upon guitar strings with the fingers of both hands, you can play music with a piano-like technique — playing basslines, left-hand chords, right hand melodies, and much much more.

The focus of this second book in the Easy Touch-Style series is to enable you to easily create great basslines for any song.

BOOK TWO — RHYTHM BASS
In Book One (Easy Touch-Style Bassics) we presented a new method of play, both simpler and more powerful than other methods from the past. We learned the easy way to train both hands — at the same time — to play chords, and we introduced “Rhythm Bass,” which means playing basslines and simultaneous rhythmic chords.

The first key to rapid progress in this new method book was shown to be that each hand can operate in exactly the same manner to produce exactly the same notes.

The breakthrough given in this new method book is that, with the simple approach spelled out in that book, you can use each hand in exactly the same manner to produce exactly the same notes. Once you’ve learned to play a scale (or a chord) with each hand, you can then practice with both hands simultaneously. And this “doubling up” during your learning time almost halves the time required to learn to actually play some music. Or, put another way, you learn twice as fast. Half as much time to learn to play twice as fast? That’s a good thing.

MAKING YOUR BASS-PLAYING MORE POWERFUL
Since you learned to play simple Rhythm Bass in Book One, now we’ll make your playing more powerful and fluid.

First, you’ll learn more chord forms, in the simple format you already know, and you’ll discover a surprisingly simple way to analyze common harmony progressions by means of a pattern we call floating – tension – settled.

You will see how this pattern occurs over and over and over again, and how to play this pattern in the chords you already know.

RHYTHM IS KING!
Next, we’ll show you how easy it is to read rhythm in “Standard Notation,” the common form of reading and writing music. Many musicians might have found Standard Notation to be less than clear when first encountered, but by analysing only the method for writing down rhythm, you’ll discover that it’s easy to read (and write) rhythms in Standard Notation.

Next we’ll provide you with our Seven Bassic Rhythms. This is a small set of simple rhythms which you can use as a bass player on a wide variety of songs. You could probably make an entire career playing nothing but these seven rhythms. We’ll show you how to play Root-Fifth patterns and how to play Triads on the Seven Bassic Rhythms, and how to play one rhythm in your bassline and a different rhythm in your right-hand chords. And, like everything in the Easy Touch-Style Method, you will discover that it’s actually easy!

AND NOW, WALKING BASS
As you know, in jazz, the practice of playing “Walking Bass” provides much of the distinctive sound that gives the jazzy flavor. But did you know that Walking Bass can be created using four simple rules?

And did you know that learning to build Walking Bass lines teaches you how to provide free-form basslines under almost any type of music? And did you know that you can play Walking Basslines beneath your rhythmic chords, to be a bass player and rhythm guitarist at the same time?

In Book Two, Easy Touch-Style Rhythm, you will learn all these techniques to become a full-fledged bassplayer, and more besides.

EASY, STEP-BY-STEP GRADIENT
The second key to fast learning is to find the most useful building blocks, and to have each step build upon the last step in a clear step-by-step manner. This bass-building method is presented in 112 pages, and includes another 50 pages of bonus material. the material is presented in easy steps, including 372 illustrations.

Book Two should be studied AFTER Book One, where the basics are presented. You’ll find that the basic method is surprisingly easy, and then here in Book Two, you’ll find that adding powerful Bass Rhythms, reading rhythm in standard notation, and playing Walking Bass “by the numbers” will be pleasantly easy, powerful, and musical.

HEAR EXAMPLE SONGS — To hear songs played with the “touch-style” technique given in the Easy Touch-Style Rhythm method book, click on the recordings listed below. In differing styles, these songs were played on the Mobius Megatar instruments which we manufacture, using the two-handed touch-style method. When you hear a “bass” and “guitar”, or a “guitar duet” it’s just one musician playing both parts simultaneously! And the surprising thing is … it’s actually easier to learn than piano or guitar! Der StadtSoldat (Urban Soldier), by FATHER (rock) Sailing Away, by Traktor Topaz (lullaby) Summertime, by Wolfgang Daiss (jazz traditional) Circumnavigation, by Traktor Topaz (new age) State Trooper, by FATHER (rock) Mobius Megatar Photo (MaxTapper model)

PRESENTED IN EASY-TO-LEARN “BASS-BOTTOM” TUNING
This method assumes that you are using a specialty tapping instrument. (The technique can be adapted to other kinds of bass or guitar, but it’s easiest and fastest-learning on specialty instruments.)

As we will show, of all the tunings favored by touch-style musicians around the world, the tuning known as the BassBottom tuning is the simplest and most powerful. In the bass region, strings are tuned the same as a normal 6-string bass, from Low-B up in fourths. In the melody region, strings are tuned in straight fourths, and slightly lower than normal 6-string guitar (for best tone). The dual straight-fourths tuning means simplified scale and chord-form layout, providing faster learning through simplicity.

This simple method permits you to place your left hand on bass strings, and your right hand on melody strings (much like a piano player does), and you can train your hands simultaneously on scales or chord forms, to make your learning very fast.

However, if you are using some other tuning, for example, the “Inverted Fifths” bass strings favored by Chapman Stick players, or if you’re playing on an 8-string bass, a set of fretboard maps is provided in the appendix to make translation simple. With this unusual method, which works across several popular tunings, we operate initially within a framework of only nine notes (which are identical beneath each hand), and translating from one tuning to another requires only relocating that pattern of nine notes to a different place on the fretboard!

AVAILABLE IN THREE FORMATS

• Immediate Download — $11 — Get your Easy Touch-Style Rhythm method book immediately with digital download. Download package includes Easy Touch-Style Rhythm method book, a copy of the Mobius Megatar Owner’s Guide (with setup and tunings reference material), a History of Touch-Style, and $20 Discount Certificate good toward purchase of any Mobius Megatar instrument. Book and documents are in Adobe Acrobat format.
• Book-on-CD — $12.95 plus shipping — We will ship compact disk to your address within 1-3 business days. Compact disk includes Easy Touch-Style Rhythm method book, a copy of the Mobius Megatar Owner’s Guide (with setup and tunings reference material), a History of Touch-Style, and $20 Discount Certificate good toward purchase of any Mobius Megatar instrument … PLUS Instrument Photographs, MP3 recordings, sample Performance Video and tutorial Video about the Touch-Style method, plus more!
• Printed Book — $35 plus shipping — Easy Touch-Style Rhythm is professionally printed on white paper, with protective covers front and back, using ‘comb binding’ so that the book will lie flat on your study desk or music stand. With the printed book we will include Book-on-CD with all the bonus material. Ships within 3 business days.

With any of the formats you will have a digital file copy available. Carry it on your laptop when travelling. Use it to print out selected exercises or songs. The digital file copies use the Adobe “Acrobat” format. (Free Acrobat reader is available from Adobe.)

GUARANTEE OF SATISFACTION
As with musical instruments and other items sold by Mobius Megatar, this method book, in any format, is sold under the Mobius Megatar GUARANTEE OF SATISFACTION: “If less than completely delighted with the Easy Touch-Style Rhythm method book, simply return method book (in same condition) within seven days for immediate refund of your purchase price, exclusive of shipping costs.”

INCLUDED WITH EASY TOUCH-STYLE RHYTHM METHOD BOOK
Your Easy Touch-Style Rhythm method book includes several bonuses …

• (1) the method book includes a concise songbook which includes six songs built on the same chord sequence as well-known standards, for additional study
• (2) several of the sample songs are recorded as MP3 files (links provided)
• (3) a History of Touch-Style is included, with pictures of specialty instruments and notable players
• (4) a complete Mobius Megatar Owner’s Guide, with additional information about the Buzz Feiten Intonation System (or how to set standard intonation yourself) is included on CD
• (5) One-year discount coupon good for a $20 discount on any new Mobius Megatar specialty touch-style instrument
• (6) Seven-day Universal Guarantee of Satisfaction

SHIPPING
Digital Download purchases are available for immediate download to your computer. Purchase of printed book or book-on-a-CD will be shipped within 3 business days in CD-mailer, via the US Postal Service.

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