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Teacher issues...


EOS650
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Ok, I've taken lessons from my new teacher twice now. I have some issues with my teacher. I'm rather new at bass, but when I told him I do all of my scales etc.. at 40bpm he was suprised because I am able to play at 75 bpm. The lessons are 30min each at $25 a lesson (not sure how much that is in UK money), but still expensive. I did explain that starting out slow is important to get good soild (string buzz free) notes, but he wants to rush along. I can handle the work load, but I choose to do it at a slower pace because I know that being a good player is not being sloppy no matter how fast I'm able to go. I'm hitting about 75% of the time on the dot at 40 and plan on bumping up to 45 in the next 2 weeks.. Am I doing the right thing by going slow and moving up even though I am able to play at a faster speed? I want everything to sound as clear as possible. I know how important a good bass player is to a band....

Oh....does anyone know of any free online metronomes that use real drum sounds over the click?

Thanks!

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When I had a few lessons a few years ago my bass teacher got me to play things at 60bpm, then work up 20bpm at a time to 180bpm. If I'd balls something up repeatedly at 60bpm, he'd take the metronome right back down to 40bpm.

It's good to make sure you get it right at a slower speed and then gradually raise the tempo. Always start with 40bpm if that's where you're comfortable. But don't be afraid to turn up the metronome when you've nailed that scale/song/lick/melody at 40bpm. See if you can get that scale/song/lick/melody 100% right at 40, then up to 60, then up to 80, then up to 100, then up to 120. Try it.

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Well, you say you're hitting around 75% at 40bpm. So I'd say once you're getting as close to 100% as is reasonable.

One thing to remember is that the two tempos (tempi?) people tend to struggle with is very fast and very slow. 40bpm is at the slow end of things. You might find your accuracy improving if you up the tempo to 60bpm straight away.

EDIT: My old teacher used to make me play whatever it was correctly 5 times in a row. If I made a fluff 3/4 of the way through #5, I'd have to go back to the start at #1.

Edited by The Funk
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[quote name='EOS650' post='45441' date='Aug 14 2007, 08:58 PM']Oh....does anyone know of any free online metronomes that use real drum sounds over the click?[/quote]

Try Sequbeat, free downloadable drum machine

[url="http://www.neztech.com/download.htm"]http://www.neztech.com/download.htm[/url]

Andy

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[quote name='The Funk' post='45507' date='Aug 14 2007, 06:17 PM']Well, you say you're hitting around 75% at 40bpm. So I'd say once you're getting as close to 100% as is reasonable.

One thing to remember is that the two tempos (tempi?) people tend to struggle with is very fast and very slow. 40bpm is at the slow end of things. You might find your accuracy improving if you up the tempo to 60bpm straight away.

EDIT: My old teacher used to make me play whatever it was correctly 5 times in a row. If I made a fluff 3/4 of the way through #5, I'd have to go back to the start at #1.[/quote]


So, "reasonable" wouldn't be hitting it "dead in the center" 100% of the time? Like, sometimes I catch it on the tail end of the click or the a little bit before the click, but nothing too glaring too often.

Thanks Andy! I'm working my way around it now!

Edited by EOS650
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One of a teacher's jobs is to stretch you a bit and get you out of your comfort zone. If a player is fast and sloppy they will most likely slow them down at least during the lesson. If a player is slow and careful then they will most likely try to gee things up a bit in the lesson.

However if you feel that the connection with the teacher isn't really there then maybe you should look for another teacher. It doesn't mean that this teacher is "wrong" or isn't a good one but there are plenty of teachers out there and whilst you won't benefit from continual changes there's nothing wrong with checking out a few different teachers when you start out.

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I agree totally; 40 is tough. 60 should be the starting point with incremental increases once you can play the piece/exercise consistently - not just once! Lower speeds are good for fine tuning and analysing technique. I also had a teacher who would either make me work at 40bpm or make me play a classical piece - sight read. This wasn't pushing me out of my comfort zone, it was ignorant as I asked him about jazz soloing techniques!
But yeah - the comfort boundaries should be pushed, but not if the student feels negative and loses interest. It is a fine line, and when you're learning u need to enjoy the experience.

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[quote name='The Funk' date='Aug 15 2007, 01:42 PM' post='45796']
Yeah, you're right. It is a tough one. Having good feel and phrasing will probably get you more gigs than anything else.

There's nothing wrong with joining a band when you're just starting out too. Practice all those things out in the real world.

Absolutely agree - I couldnt afford music lessons till I was in my early 20s so I learnt from records and going and gigging with as many people who'll have me. I still do, I still learn and I love every minute of it!

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Thanks guys! Actually, this was the first time I was able to afford music lessons in a few years, but I should try to move it up to 60bpm and go from there. I can play at 75bpm. One thing this teacher offers is gigs for his students. Like a few get to play together & him on drums. Other than that, I've got no one to play with.. But thanks for the advice! I'll try 60 today.

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