Shire Posted June 24, 2011 Share Posted June 24, 2011 (edited) Afternoon all Got my first lesson tonight although I've been playing for about 3 years (Guitar 6 years before that and Piano 6 years before that!) but what should I expect? I can play quite competently, infact my band gig 3 or 4 times a month but my learning has plateaued and I can't seem to teach myself anything new. I get distracted easily from watching lessons online so I thought that 1 on 1 teaching was the way forward. What would you experienced players suggest I learn? Most of my playing involves dancing around pentatonic scales which works quite well in my band but I think I need to learn more theory and different styles of music but I'm open to suggestions. Am I on the right path? Cheers Edited June 24, 2011 by Shire Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted June 24, 2011 Share Posted June 24, 2011 ....to be stretched, challenged and end up a better player. I know it's only 1 lesson, but you can hope. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shire Posted June 24, 2011 Author Share Posted June 24, 2011 Yep, that'd be good Chris. Actually looking forward to it now whereas before I was expecting the worst, you know like being told your technique is rubbish etc! Now, which bass do I take? My HW1 Precision with flats or my Musicman Sterling... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted June 24, 2011 Share Posted June 24, 2011 [quote name='Shire' post='1281091' date='Jun 24 2011, 03:01 PM']....I was expecting the worst, you know like being told your technique is rubbish etc!....Now, which bass do I take? My HW1 Precision with flats or my Musicman Sterling...[/quote] You might still be told that! I don't think "which bass to take to a lesson" is relevant at this stage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Posted June 24, 2011 Share Posted June 24, 2011 Give yourself to the lesson with humility. Don't make the mistake of thinking you know everything and of wanting to prove yourself the fastest gun in town - its alarmingly common. It is perfectly possible for you to have a very productiuve lesson with NO bass, never mind which one you want to take although a teacher may wish to watch you play in order to get a sense of what you are doing right and wrong. But talking is good. Listening is better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shire Posted June 24, 2011 Author Share Posted June 24, 2011 Excellent advice Bilbo. That's definitely the way to approach it and besides, I'd only look worse if I tried to 'show off', and besides it's just not in my nature but I can imagine people doing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
51m0n Posted June 24, 2011 Share Posted June 24, 2011 Expect the truth Expect it to hurt in some places and heal in others Expect to feel very positive afterwards, and slightly daunted The bass you take is utterly irrelevant.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted June 24, 2011 Share Posted June 24, 2011 [quote name='Shire' post='1281036' date='Jun 24 2011, 02:30 PM']Afternoon all Got my first lesson tonight although I've been playing for about 3 years (Guitar 6 years before that and Piano 6 years before that!) but what should I expect? I can play quite competently, infact my band gig 3 or 4 times a month but my learning has plateaued and I can't seem to teach myself anything new. I get distracted easily from watching lessons online so I thought that 1 on 1 teaching was the way forward. What would you experienced players suggest I learn? Most of my playing involves dancing around pentatonic scales which works quite well in my band but I think I need to learn more theory and different styles of music but I'm open to suggestions. Am I on the right path? Cheers [/quote] Been doing the same here since Christmas, Playing for almost 25 years with 18 almost exclusively on bass but needed a little kick up the backside. I have been doing some scales/technique and learnt to read to a basic level. I'm not going to use sight reading anytime soon but it gets me in the zone for learning and its nice to sit and learn a piece from dots. Theory books are often in notation too. I will be having some more lessons when the funds/time allow. With any kind of learning the lessons are more about finding out what to practice at home rather than coming away a better player from the lesson so as the others say don't worry about your sound or which bass to take etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Starr Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 Now you have to tell us how you got on. I'm thinking of taking the plunge myself but the possibility of total humiliation is a bit daunting. The experience of someone in the same position would be great. (the lessons not the humiliation) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Rich Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 [quote name='Phil Starr' post='1285638' date='Jun 28 2011, 08:01 PM']Now you have to tell us how you got on. I'm thinking of taking the plunge myself but the possibility of total humiliation is a bit daunting. The experience of someone in the same position would be great. (the lessons not the humiliation)[/quote] Unless you go into the lesson with the wrong attitude you won't be humiliated (unless you choose a really bad teacher!) Go for it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doddy Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 [quote name='Fat Rich' post='1286163' date='Jun 29 2011, 10:27 AM']Unless you go into the lesson with the wrong attitude you won't be humiliated (unless you choose a really bad teacher!) Go for it![/quote] Exactly. You shouldn't be humiliated at all,but you should get your arse kicked (in a good way) and learn new stuff that you can't do or don't know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shire Posted June 30, 2011 Author Share Posted June 30, 2011 Well I had my lesson on Sunday instead of Friday. Wasn't really a lesson, more of a chat and talk about what I wanted to get out of the lessons. We spent 2.5 hours talking and playing over a beer. He showed me scales and some basic theory (which is what I want to learn) and we had a jam for a bit. My homework is to practice the major and minor pentatonic scales over two octaves and see how I get on. Might sound simple to some but I don't know any theory and I'm keen to get better starting from the bottom! The problem I have is that I find it relatively easy to follow lessons on YouTube etc but it's understanding the theory behind the songs/riffs so I can generate some better compositions of my own that I find more difficult. Overall, a good experience. I just need to find time to practice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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