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Ariane Cap 20 unit online course: £190, thoughts?


highwayman
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Ariane Cap, author of the well-regarded Music Theory for the Bass Player, has introduced a 20 unit online course that runs in conjunction with (and beyond) her book.

https://arisbassblog.com/coaching-course/

It's $249, which currently works out at around £190: unfortunately the worst exchange rate in ages...

I have the book and am intrigued by her idea that "reading music is of course a vital skill, yet it should not be tackled at the same time as the study of music theory", as doing both (at the same time) does seem daunting, but I'm struggling to really get going with the book and am seriously considering signing up. Apparently the material can be re-accessed indefinitely.

I'm naturally a creative person, and in the few months that I've been playing I've learnt some cool bass melodies, but the second I'm faced with any dry, theoretical study my brain switches off - almost like I'm 'left-side' brain dead!
I've tried a couple of bass tutors but haven't progressed on theory.

Is anyone else enrolled? Thoughts please?

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I have the book too, and had intended signing up. However, I changed my mind because I found that he book does not "get the message across" to me the way I had hoped it would. Plus, there are numerious errors in it which are corrected at the back. How is a novice supposed to know what is an error and what is not ?

IMO, two better choices ( and which I am considering) are :

[url="https://www.talkingbass.net"]https://www.talkingbass.net[/url]
[url="http://www.scottsbasslessons.com/welcome"]http://www.scottsbas...ons.com/welcome[/url]


Obviously, this is just my 2c worth, and others may have the opposite opinion.

Edited by Coilte
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I have both Ariane Cap's Music Theory for the Bass Player,and am taking the course and both are extremely helpful to me. Ariane's ability to communicate the concepts is exceptional.
I like the way the course is structured in different topics, and provides exercises that really drive home the lesson in technique and theory theory.
Also there is an errata page on the Ariane Cap website, very easy to correct.
I find that as a beginner/novice bass player her course and book have been the best investment in my Bass study.


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[quote name='Coilte' timestamp='1469113238' post='3095872']
I have the book too, and had intended signing up. However, I changed my mind because I found that he book does not "get the message across" to me the way I had hoped it would. Plus, there are numerious errors in it which are corrected at the back. How is a novice supposed to know what is an error and what is not ?

IMO, two better choices ( and which I am considering) are :

[url="https://www.talkingbass.net"]https://www.talkingbass.net[/url]
[url="http://www.scottsbasslessons.com/welcome"]http://www.scottsbas...ons.com/welcome[/url]


Obviously, this is just my 2c worth, and others may have the opposite opinion.
[/quote]

Don't think anyone could go wrong with either option here - Mark and Scott are doing a great job with both their ventures. Ironically, Ariane is one of the contributing faculty on Scott's Bass Lessons....

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I have Ariane's book and am currently enrolled in the course. I have been playing the bass for a few months and have started to play some intermediate level bass lines. I see great value in learning bass theory and learning about how the bass fretboard is structured. This will give me much more freedom in my playing, particularly when I am improvising or composing my own bass lines. However, like you, grasping this information moves a bit slower for me and can make my eyes go cross. 😆 The book is very thorough and well organised on the subject ( by the way, the info in the back of the book are the answers to the exercise questions throughout the book; typos, discovered since the publishing of the book, can be found on her website) but my application and absorption of the material is progressing more steadily since I began the course. She demonstrates each one of the exercises and covers all the material in the book in a a separate short video for each. She then caps off that segment with a "play along with me" video and MP3.........has backing tracks to play along with and a metronome to keep time as you are doing the exercises. My retention of the music theory info has greatly improved since taking the course. After each intro segment for each unit, there are further lessons that will reinforce the material, as well as, instruction in technique, proper body mechanics, interesting info on the learning process......and more. I am currently finishing the 3rd unit out of the 20, and from the first lesson, feel like I am playing the bass with more confidence and freedom and that continues to build with each unit. My knowledge of music theory, my technique, improv skills, and overall bassplaying are improving and that is very encouraging and exciting for me. 😊 I am loving the course and highly recommend it. Ariane is an excellent teacher and the course is very well designed and executed. It is valuable for all levels, beginner to advance players. You can work at your own pace and Ariane will guide you on how to make the adjustments, to your practice, to suit your level of playing. Chock full of value!!!!

Edited by debsmusic
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Greetings to you all on the forum. I'll try to be brief regarding the book and the course. I got this book last year and found out that it is absolutely superbly written, truly well structured and very easy to follow. I consider myself being intermediate player who never actually took any music theory and this has been a big eye opener for me. Ariane Cap is a brilliant teacher and a brilliant bass player, in fact on of the best I came across throughout the years. I am also taking the 20 week course and it is extremely helpful to what I already knew, learning new skills and techniques, already playing much better than before, my theory understanding comes easily after following Ariane's book and lessons. The price for this course is truly a bargain considering what one is getting in return, think for a moment what would you really spend taking lessons one on one ...... The typos in the book - you can find corrections at Ariane's website, it is NOTHING MAJOR and the information at the back of the book is the answers to the excersise questions ..... I strongly recommend this course to beginners and the players of all levels. Get into it!!!!! You'll be surprised how quickly you'll progress.

Edited by Vlad Josephson
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Hmmm, three endorsing posts, all from first time posters...

I've decided [i]not [/i]to pursue this online course or any others (for now anyway) as:

- I've since invested in Hal Leonard's 'Bass For Kids' - yes, at forty-two, seriously! It's a great book/CD that gets you learning notation immediately & really is excellent for adults wanting to start the right way from the very beginning. I aim to progress to HL's Bass Method book one next.

- On an amazon.co.uk review for Music Theory for the Bass Player: "The author even emailed me a practice schedule to work through the book"
I though, great, I'll do the same as I wasn't progressing past the initial opening pages. The author replied super-quick and mentioned the course to me, adding that she'd send me the practice schedule if I still wanted it. I replied that I'd like to have the practice schedule first please, and when I started to see some progress then I'd most likely enroll on the paid course. That was last week and I've had no reply... (none to my spam-box either).

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[quote name='highwayman' timestamp='1469467437' post='3098566']
Hmmm, three endorsing posts, all from first time posters...

I've decided [i]not [/i]to pursue this online course or any others (for now anyway) as:

- I've since invested in Hal Leonard's 'Bass For Kids' - yes, at forty-two, seriously! It's a great book/CD that gets you learning notation immediately & really is excellent for adults wanting to start the right way from the very beginning. I aim to progress to HL's Bass Method book one next.

- On an amazon.co.uk review for Music Theory for the Bass Player: "The author even emailed me a practice schedule to work through the book"
I though, great, I'll do the same as I wasn't progressing past the initial opening pages. The author replied super-quick and mentioned the course to me, adding that she'd send me the practice schedule if I still wanted it. I replied that I'd like to have the practice schedule first please, and when I started to see some progress then I'd most likely enroll on the paid course. That was last week and I've had no reply... (none to my spam-box either).
[/quote]

I noticed that about the replies too, they all seem to be written in a similar way too 😊, just an observation.

Harmony and theory is something that's fascinated me for years, and was one of my best modules at uni. It's something I teach privately too. Feel free to send me a PM if there's anything you're stuck on.

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Hi all, this is Ariane. I can positively confirm that the three posters endorsing my course above are signed up for it and actively attending.

And Highwayman, I am very happy to send you the free syllabi. Just email me again about them and you got it. I get so many requests I sometimes miss something, though not at all intentional. I do try to answer every post, question and request. Use the contact form on the blog that is most reliable.

Best wishes on your bass journey, everyone!
Ariane

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[quote name='Vlad Josephson' timestamp='1469324002' post='3097443']
The typos in the book - you can find corrections at Ariane's website, it is NOTHING MAJOR
[/quote]

Perhaps not, but the point I was making earlier, is how does a person starting out know when to check the back of the book for errors ? I have lots of bass books which I paid the same price for, and none contain error corrections.

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[quote name='Coilte' timestamp='1470408854' post='3105836']
Perhaps not, but the point I was making earlier, is how does a person starting out know when to check the back of the book for errors ? I have lots of bass books which I paid the same price for, and none contain error corrections.
[/quote]

Hi Coilte,
Author here. You are probably referring to the "Test your Understanding Questions", sections in the book. What is in the back are answers to the quizzes, not errors. You try to solve the quizzes after working through the material, then check your answers in the back of the book to see if you got it right.

A few typos (entirely different issue, unintentional, just a few gremlins that survived my three editors) are listed on the errata page. These typos have been fixed by now, btw. The book currently being sold on Amazon.uk is clear of them.

Make sense? I'd love to know where you got the idea that you are supposed to check in the back for errors. That is most certainly not the case. Rather, you check your answers. Some of the questions are puzzlers, designed to make you think. Try it on your own first, then check if you got it right.

Happy to answer any other questions you may have, best place to be in touch is the contact form on my blog arisbassblog.com.
If you subscribe to my newsletter you get chapter 2 for free. It has one of those "Test your Understanding" Questions in it, so you can give it a whirl. If you need the answers, lemme know and I send them to you, too.

Hope this is helpful.
Best,
Ariane

Edited by ArianeCap
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