Who uses YouTube lessons?

[OliverBlackman]

I've been trawling through YouTube videos on subjects for beginners such as; technique, basic scales and stuff, and there are videos posted from some real world class players but I find myself thinking, this would be a lot more informative for beginners if they did this, or didn't do that.

For example I've just watched one where the player talks through basic ways to practice a major scale, real beginners stuff, and then demonstrates it in the form of a fast solo passage. I would think this would confuse beginners? Am i right? Also demonstrating on 5 string basses without dots, does that hinder any of you?

Would love to know your thoughts on how you've found trying to learn off YouTube videos.

Cheers, Ollie

[rogerstodge]

Confuses me and ive been playing 30 years

[OliverBlackman]

What bits confuse you specially Rodger? I might try and make some videos just to see if I can do it easier for beginners.

[Judo Chop]

I used to watch Paul Wolfe's lessons, they were a massive help in my first year of playing.

[steve-bbb]

yes occasionally - last one i looked at was hooberts 'human nature' - better than that whitesnake geezer version imho

[url="http://youtu.be/kyMjUg1VybE"]http://youtu.be/kyMjUg1VybE[/url]

Edited July 18, 2012 by steve-bbb

[Steve G]

When I very first bought my bass I had no clue, found what seemed like a good online lesson, number 1 was what are the parts of your bass, number 2, hammer-ons at the dusty end wasn't till someone who knew said wtf that I changed to C scales etc

[LiamPodmore]

I started using (and have turned a few friends on to) Dmanlamius' lessons, he gives pretty thorough explanations of everything he's doing, and his site learnbass.net is really useful as well. This is one of the first lessons he ever did, and is the start of his long, long string of lessons.

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxgYi9_sek8&list=PL1881336B3EE60802&index=1&feature=plpp_video"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxgYi9_sek8&list=PL1881336B3EE60802&index=1&feature=plpp_video[/url]

Liam

[Fat Rich]

[url="http://scottsbasslessons.com/"]http://scottsbasslessons.com/[/url]

is very good.

[OliverBlackman]

[quote name='steve-bbb' timestamp='1342596651' post='1737430']
yes occasionally - last one i looked at was hooberts 'human nature' - better than that whitesnake geezer version imho

[media]http://youtu.be/kyMjUg1VybE[/media]

[/quote]

That is nice but I'm looking at lessons rather than arrangements

[quote name='Fat Rich' timestamp='1342599294' post='1737471']
[url="http://scottsbasslessons.com/"]http://scottsbasslessons.com/[/url]

is very good.
[/quote]

Scott's one of the people that I think would be difficult for beginners. I was watching his "how to practice scales" series. In the 1st one he was soloing as examples on how to use them and on the second he was talking through standards. Hardly something a 13 yr old kid is going to care about.

Edited July 18, 2012 by OliverBlackman

[OliverBlackman]

[quote name='LiamPodmore' timestamp='1342597502' post='1737443']
I started using (and have turned a few friends on to) Dmanlamius' lessons, he gives pretty thorough explanations of everything he's doing, and his site learnbass.net is really useful as well. This is one of the first lessons he ever did, and is the start of his long, long string of lessons.

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxgYi9_sek8&list=PL1881336B3EE60802&index=1&feature=plpp_video[/media]

Liam
[/quote]

I'm going to watch a few of his others, but this is an awful video. The qualities crap, he rambles on for ever about nothing, he doesn't even know the controls on a musicman (one of the simplest EQ's out there), the sounds distorted, his rooms a mess.

Again will watch his others though, and hopefully they improve

[Conan]

They vary a LOT! Some are very good though and they are a useful resource. Some are clearly put up by bedroom players who want to show the world how talented they are. These are usually the ones to avoid!

However, the point about a total beginner (13 years old or otherwise) is a good one. How would a total beginner know which was a good lesson series and which wasn't? It is difficult to pitch at beginners without seeming totally patronising...

[BottomE]

The net is a great resource but there is an equal amount of bollox as there is good stuff.

Players with basses that have no fret markers may as well Foxtrot Oscar as its obvious that they are not really thinking about providing a service for a student. At the same time the student has to appreciate where they are in terms of ability and not try and run before they can walk.

[OliverBlackman]

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1342606338' post='1737629']
They vary a LOT! Some are very good though and they are a useful resource. Some are clearly put up by bedroom players who want to show the world how talented they are. These are usually the ones to avoid!

However, the point about a total beginner (13 years old or otherwise) is a good one. How would a total beginner know which was a good lesson series and which wasn't? It is difficult to pitch at beginners without seeming totally patronising...
[/quote]

This is a problem I'm hoping to solve

[surfinbernard]

There is a very good bespectacled German guy who does great lessons for non-beginners (he does have some beginner lessons but I'm not sure how 'beginner' they are) which I sometimes have a look at:

[media]http://youtu.be/RY0YP_7mE-o[/media]

But when I started learning bass it was before the time of Youtube lessons, not by much, but by the time I discovered Youtube I was past the basics. I learned by playing along to Hendrix etc. but I was fortunate to have a trained ear to start with as bass was not my first instrument. I also had a very boring but effective boom about technique which got me off to a good start.

There is such a lot of variety on Youtube and some lessons are great while others are worse than useless. I go on there for a few different instruments as well as reviews etc and find I might have to click on a few before finding a good one but they are on there.

[BottomE]

[quote name='surfinbernard' timestamp='1342607264' post='1737661']
There is a very good bespectacled German guy who does great lessons for non-beginners (he does have some beginner lessons but I'm not sure how 'beginner' they are) which I sometimes have a look at:

[media]http://youtu.be/RY0YP_7mE-o[/media]

But when I started learning bass it was before the time of Youtube lessons, not by much, but by the time I discovered Youtube I was past the basics. I learned by playing along to Hendrix etc. but I was fortunate to have a trained ear to start with as bass was not my first instrument. I also had a very boring but effective boom about technique which got me off to a good start.

There is such a lot of variety on Youtube and some lessons are great while others are worse than useless. I go on there for a few different instruments as well as reviews etc and find I might have to click on a few before finding a good one but they are on there.
[/quote]

He's Danish FFS - Marlowe is a great guy - nice lessons, he plays things slowly and the vids are of good quality - he talks slowly and clearly.

[steve-bbb]

[quote name='OliverBlackman' timestamp='1342603362' post='1737545']
That is nice but I'm looking at lessons rather than arrangements

[/quote]

i posted that one because it is the complete piece - if you look on his youtube channel you will find the tutorial for it and other stuff

[surfinbernard]

apologies Marlowe, Danish.

[Commando Jack]

Another vote for MarloweDK, he's very clear and doesn't go too fast.

[OliverBlackman]

[quote name='surfinbernard' timestamp='1342607264' post='1737661']
There is a very good bespectacled German guy who does great lessons for non-beginners (he does have some beginner lessons but I'm not sure how 'beginner' they are) which I sometimes have a look at:

But when I started learning bass it was before the time of Youtube lessons, not by much, but by the time I discovered Youtube I was past the basics. I learned by playing along to Hendrix etc. but I was fortunate to have a trained ear to start with as bass was not my first instrument. I also had a very boring but effective boom about technique which got me off to a good start.

There is such a lot of variety on Youtube and some lessons are great while others are worse than useless. I go on there for a few different instruments as well as reviews etc and find I might have to click on a few before finding a good one but they are on there.
[/quote]

I have used Marlowe myself, some very good stuff there and he's clearly a good player. I haven't seen any really basic stuff from him but I will browse his YT channel soon. Thanks for the post
[quote name='steve-bbb' timestamp='1342607734' post='1737681']
i posted that one because it is the complete piece - if you look on his youtube channel you will find the tutorial for it and other stuff
[/quote]

Ahhh my bad! I will check his channel later to. Thanks for posting!

[deanoet]

As a music beginner I tend to use YouTube to allow me to just hear the bassline being played, then I use a tab site to get the notes played.

Making sure to filter out the poor tabs / lessons


As a total beginner to music my pet hate is people showing you a nice beginner scale / song, playing it full speed, then slowly and then launching into "Okay, start on G#"
G what? where is that?
"Then go to a C"
Wait a min i havent found G# yet

:-)

[OliverBlackman]

[quote name='deanoet' timestamp='1342612967' post='1737842']
As a music beginner I tend to use YouTube to allow me to just hear the bassline being played, then I use a tab site to get the notes played.

Making sure to filter out the poor tabs / lessons


As a total beginner to music my pet hate is people showing you a nice beginner scale / song, playing it full speed, then slowly and then launching into "Okay, start on G#"
G what? where is that?
"Then go to a C"
Wait a min i havent found G# yet

:-)
[/quote]

Thanks for your post, this is exactly what I want to know! I did the same as you (listening to the music and then looking at TAB to see how close/ correct I was/ wasn't. I would listen to the original song and try to work it out for yourself, the reason I say this, rather than using bass covers on YouTube, is whats on YouTube is the up-loaders idea of what it is, not necessarily what it really is. If I had uploaded videos when I was 16/17 they would probably have been wrong like so many out there are. But getting back to my point, if you listen to the song, try as best you can to work it out, then look at TAB or YouTube covers to see how close you are to other peoples opinion of it. This will help you trust your ear.

Then when you can trust your ear, you can stop using TAB/ YT. But one way to make your ear stronger is by learning scales/ arpeggios as these are what basslines are made up of, theres no secret, its just scales played with variations. Learning these will get your ear recognising where the notes are in a shape, which helps you pick things up by ear quicker. The quicker you can do it, the more songs you can learn, the better you will become. So a few months of boring scales is totally worth it in the long run!

Regarding your pet hate that is a very valid point. Most of these on lines tutors presume you already know the notes on the fretboard, its a mistake I made to start off with private tuition. My advice is to learn the notes using exercises you find on videos and scales! But pause and rewind the video, I know its not as good because it restricts the flow of the lesson but with learning bass repetition is everything! I'm still doing tedious exercises really slowly after 10 years of playing.

I will be posting a list of what I would say is "good" content at the end of the week, which will all be favourites on my YT channel so easy to find and sort through.

Hope this helps people, Ollie

[deanoet]

Thanks for your response.
I am still at the verticle wall that is music.
I know what sounds right, but I wouldnt know a note by sound or name yet

I know the main riff (is it a riff?) to Seven Nation Army is: 7, 7, 10, 7, 5, 3, 2 on the A string
But as to what notes they are... v0v

It isnt really hindering my learning at this (very) early stage not knowing, but i can appreciate that knowing would potentially open up a lot more. To give you an idea of my level I can play the above riff convincingly (other people recognise it), i can play a disjointed F1 theme tune and a tiny bit of pink panther theme.


An ideal learning website for me would be for it to be broken down more
Most lessons are:
Play at full speed
Slowly go through the notes
Play at full speed
End

Most songs, as you say are just patterns in different places.

Having a website with the ability to loop certain sections would be handy, also to slow it down as well.

A website or program like Tab Pro(?) providing the ability to add over the top the other instruments and sounds on the proper full song 1 at a time
Like add in the drums to keep time
Then add in the guitar(s)
Then add in the singer(s)
You can then play along to the original, but providing the bass
If you imagine a Rock Band / Guitar Hero style setup. Maybe Rocksmith will provide it?

There may be a website that does this, but I havent found it yet if there is

Not sure on copyright and all the legal side of it would be removing the bass line / drums / guitar to allow you to play your own over it. I suspect it may be like recording the radio. You shouldnt do it, but it is unenforcable. Start to put the radio recording on a website and suddenly you have Sony all over your ass with scary lawyers.


Just waffling, typing out my thoughts and random thinkings, but yeah. Maybe i just learn in an odd way. But it seems that most learning material out there is to give you the end result and the ingredients (notes) and chuck you in the deep end.

[OliverBlackman]

What would be cool for you to do, is while you play the riff to Seven nation army, instead of saying the fret numbers, say E, E, G, E, D, C, B (also its easier to play the G on the 5th fret of the D string instead of the 10th of the A string. You probably know that but just thought I'd say in case.

The F1 theme is Fleetwood Mac, the chain (again just in case you didn't know) and starts at 3.04 on this video. [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcawnRIyeok"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcawnRIyeok[/url]

Again it would be good to say the notes, so A, A, B, C, B, A, G, A, B, E

If you learn the music alphabet is A, A#, B, C, C#, D, D#, E, F, G, G# then learn that the open strings on your bass are E, A, D, G, then you can just move along one fret at a time, working out the notes. Rather than trying to remember all the notes, at first just try remembering the notes for the songs/ riffs you play.

It may seem like unnecessary work but is completely worth it in the end.

[LiamPodmore]

[quote name='deanoet' timestamp='1342618631' post='1737971']
Having a website with the ability to loop certain sections would be handy, also to slow it down as well.

A website or program like Tab Pro(?) providing the ability to add over the top the other instruments and sounds on the proper full song 1 at a time
Like add in the drums to keep time
Then add in the guitar(s)
Then add in the singer(s)
You can then play along to the original, but providing the bass
If you imagine a Rock Band / Guitar Hero style setup. Maybe Rocksmith will provide it?

There may be a website that does this, but I havent found it yet if there is

Not sure on copyright and all the legal side of it would be removing the bass line / drums / guitar to allow you to play your own over it. I suspect it may be like recording the radio. You shouldnt do it, but it is unenforcable. Start to put the radio recording on a website and suddenly you have Sony all over your ass with scary lawyers.


Just waffling, typing out my thoughts and random thinkings, but yeah. Maybe i just learn in an odd way. But it seems that most learning material out there is to give you the end result and the ingredients (notes) and chuck you in the deep end.
[/quote]

It's still working with tab (And standard notation) so there's still room for errors, but Guitar Pro, Tab Pro, etc... allow you to do this to an extent. It plays through the tab for you, so you can cut out any instruments you want, or just make them a little lower or the bass higher, etc.. along with pitch-correct tempo changes, looping certain sections, speed-increasing looping and more.

The MT9 Music Format will do everything you want, but it isn't really around anywhere unfortunately, life would be a lot better if it was though.

Liam

Edited July 18, 2012 by LiamPodmore

[Steve G]

[quote name='OliverBlackman' timestamp='1342614282' post='1737866']
is by learning scales/ arpeggios as these are what basslines are made up of, theres no secret, its just scales played with variations.[/quote]

May not be a secret but to a complete novice at any form of music I didn't know this when I started. I also don't have the ear I learnt scales from a book after I bought my bass as it it least sounded ok doing them, and I could do them. it wasn't until I had some lessons that this was explained to me. Big step tbh. I'm not much further than that now but it does help when you start trying to do a tune.

Edited July 18, 2012 by Steve G