leftybassman392

[quote name='Chris2112' post='530200' date='Jul 2 2009, 08:05 AM']I have always wondered though, what do these qualifications unlock for you? Aside from degrees in music? (which seem a bit of a dead end if I'm honest). It seems the world of music has jobs for businessmen and people in bands (usually flavour of the month). So what does a grading of skill do for you? Because I have friends with degrees in music who are struggling to get jobs (even on graduate schemes) whereas law/psychology/business degree holders seem to be doing alright for jobs. So whats the score?[/quote] Are you actually saying that it's pointless to even bother with qualifications? That can't be right: To see qualifications simply as a route to work seems a bit shortsighted if you don't mind me saying so. Isn't it more to do with developing yourself as a player and as a musician? Although nothing's certain in the music business right now, when work does start to pick up again your chances of getting hired are surely gonna be better if you've made the effort to make yourself better at what you do. It's not about having bits of paper to wave at people, it's about making yourself useful to someone who might want to hire you - the way you do that is by making sure you can play what the hirer wants you to play - whatever that might be.

[quote name='RhysP' post='528250' date='Jun 29 2009, 11:23 PM']When you are shunned by polite society & have to seek refuge on the internet with others of your kind...... [/quote] Got another one: when you have to pay more for a single string than the guitarist pays for a whole bloody set.

Have to agree with the consensus

When you can look around the stage and feel good in the knowledge that you probably have more musical know-how than anyone else there..

In an ideal world we'd all no doubt like students to be taught by 'first instrument' specialists. However there are some simple home truths that some of the contributors to this discussion seem to be missing. I say this with all due respect to the opinions expressed, and I'm not trying to play down the importance of what people have said. I've run my own successful teaching practice for nearly 15 years, and have been a member of the RGT since 1996. In addition to this I'm a qualified schoolteacher. In my time I've seen plenty of the sort of second rate school tuition that many people here rightly complain about, and more often than not it's the local music service that is the most to blame for the situation - senior managers tend to be in the business of crisis management rather than providing effective tuition. I take my job very seriously, and work on the basis that I'm laying the foundations for a lifetime of playing pleasure for every student I see. I'd like to make a couple of observations if I may:- 1. Bass guitar is a very difficult instrument to teach - it's not the same as teaching guitar and it's not the same as teaching double bass (although it has elements of both). Specialist bass tutors are in very short supply. It's true that my background is as a guitarist, but I've taken the time and trouble to learn how to play bass properly (which I see as a necessary prerequisite to being able to teach it properly). Not every guitar tutor takes as much trouble as I do, mainly because not many of them really enjoy playing it themselves (another prerequisite IMHO). Sad fact is, if all bass students were only ever taught by specialist, 'first instrument' bass tutors there'd be a f***ing sight less of them than there are. Most of my professional colleagues are exactly that - working professionals - and make the effort to do it properly because they take what they do seriously. No, they're not bass specialists, but they're mostly good enough at what they do to provide the right start to their students, both technically and musically. At the end of the day better that than nothing at all, never mind some of the numpties and wannabes I've seen passing themselves off as teachers over the years. 2. Lots of people have had plenty to say about tutors, but I haven't seen much discussion of the students themselves - which is a bit odd considering the title of this thread. Students want to learn to play instruments for many different reasons. Most don't want a big technique, many don't want to play in a band (strange but true) and have no lifelong professional playing ambitions (one 17-year old I work with - a keys player as it happens - one of the most naturally gifted musicians I've ever met.....wants to be an army officer!). Statistically, most experienced tutors of my acquaintance reckon they're doing well if they get one student in 10 that has a realistic prospect of a professional career on ANY instrument. I would urge everyone here (especially if you teach or plan to) to be very wary of confusing what you want for students with what they want for themselves. Without wishing to sound patronising, sometimes it can be very hard to stand back a little and think through what's actually best for the kid sitting in front of you. Hope I haven't put too many people to sleep.

What about 'Bring me to Life' by Evanescence. There's that big low D in the chorus that you just can't do with a 4 string without detuning the E (which then screws up your fretting hand position for the rest of the song). Actually there's probably quite a lot of their stuff that would suit.

[quote name='Eight' post='520023' date='Jun 21 2009, 04:15 PM']I'm just not sure how useful those statistics are in examining this issue. Taking up an instrument in school is rarely a free choice from what I've seen or heard about. E.g. I remember once asking about playing the oboe (no idea why, I was young) and was told they didn't have any more oboes but could play violin if I wanted. So if this study was done back then, I would have been in the wrong stat for a reason completely irrelevant to my gender.[/quote] It can depend quite a lot on where you live - I teach guitar and bass in schools in the Northants area, and I have loads of female students (at one point recently I had more girls doing bass than boys!) The county music service has quite a relaxed attitude to kids doing pretty much what they like with very few limitations that I've noticed. (Don't think they can do double bass in primary schools though )

For the attention of the Doctor (and anybody else looking for a good time). Sorry about the iffy picture quality Doc. Hope they're good enough to give you some idea what it looks like. Slight crazing of the lacquer here & there and a few marks on the rear coverplate, but apart from that I'd say it looks rather good for a 22-year-old. [attachment=27355:DSCF0037.JPG] [attachment=27356:DSCF0038.JPG] [attachment=27357:DSCF0039.JPG] [attachment=27358:DSCF0040.JPG] [attachment=27359:DSCF0041.JPG] [attachment=27361:DSCF0042.JPG] [attachment=27362:DSCF0043.JPG]