What to look for in a good bass teacher

[missime]

Hi to all,
New to the whole bass/guitar music thing, I have bought my first bass and I'm slowly ( very slowly) trying to work my way through a crash course book.
What should I look for to find a good teacher to help me progress???
Thanks in advance. 😊

[BassTractor]

Hi Missime,

First things first: welcome to BC. Stay here and lots of info will flow your way.
Second: there are bound to be some very good teachers on BC, so if you're in the UK, you should just tell where you want a teacher.

Depending on in what country you live:
An educated bass guitar teacher working in a subsidised community music school, should be able to get you to play all kinds of styles with all kinds of techniques, and also teach you how to do so so you avoid damage to your hands, arms, neck and back. This should not cost much.

Other teachers can of course be just as fine, but you'll have to do more legwork to find out if they indeed are. One great test is: do you look forward to the next lesson?

No reason to find a (locally) famous player unless they come with recommendations from other pupils. Too many famous players are not very good at teaching or teaching beginners - if they teach them at all.

I'm sure others will chime in with the stuff I didn't think of.

Good luck and anjoy the site.

best,
bert

[MiltyG565]

hi, and welcome!

I take lessons myself, and i can say that there is no one thing that will make a teacher good. everyone learns differently, so a good teacher for someone might not be a good teacher for you.

for me personally, i get along really well with my teacher, and we have a laugh in our lessons, and he really takes things in small steps to makes sure i learn right, and i play well. the most important thing he taught me, and i agree with him 100%- [b][size="4"]If you are going to learn a song, listen to it, not just once or twice, but a lot of times. know that bassline in your head before you try and play it.[/size] [/b][size="5"][size=4]it's good advice. also, when you are learning a song, go through it, pick out the parts that are difficult, then learn them slowly. breaking it down like that lets you absorb the information better, and after working out the difficult parts of a song slowly, playing it through will feel like second nature after a while. [/size][/size]

don't try and punch above your weight. as a red hot chili peppers fan, i couldn't suggest much of their stuff for a beginner. flea tends to have quite fast or intricate baselines- not ideal for a beginner. you could try a simplified version of by the way that i use though. it wont be much use for playing along with the track.

don't make the mistake of trying to teach yourself from videos on youtube. it will not help you starting out. you will need someone to point out where you are going wrong, how to improve your technique- you don't get this from a guy on youtube. think of those videos are tabs- they cant teach you anything unless you are at that level, it can only tell you what notes to play to play that song.

i have said a lot of "don't do this blah blah blah"- but starting out, i wish i had realised the importance of music theory. a little goes a long way. you will pick up things like scales without knowing you are doing it (don't worry, that can take a while without studying theory). it is very useful for improvising and creating songs, and also jams. being able to recognise a few guitar chords could go a long way.

obviously this is a lot of information, and i don't want to put you off, much the opposite, but i think these things are quite important. i took lessons for a few months when i started out, then i ran out of money, so i just learned by myself, and that was fine, i was playing songs that i like, but i didnt fully understand quite alot of it, and when i returned to lessons, i realised i had done myself a dis-service, as i had developed very little as a musician. i have been getting lessons now again since june, and i have developed far more in those 4 months than i did the entire year before. so its worth sticking at it!

that was a lot, but the MOST important thing of all- [b]ENJOY IT![/b]
no point being a musician if you don't enjoy it (it takes work, but you will get there )

[Rick's Fine '52]

Welcome to basschat.

I had a similar dilemna.

I received this teachers CV, and thought she had all the neccessary attributes to help me improve my playing;

[SimonEdward]

[quote name='Rick's Fine '52' timestamp='1348653270' post='1816383']
Welcome to basschat.

I had a similar dilemna.

I received this teachers CV, and thought she had all the neccessary attributes to help me improve my playing;


[/quote]

Good lord!

What a lovely looking BASS.. I'll get me coat..

<sound of tumble-weed>

[philparker]

Although it's a difficult decision at this stage to know how far you wish to develop as a bass guitarist, it is worth considering having a teacher that can help you develop in theory and technique and overall musicianship as well as playing ability on the bass guitar.

If you only want lessons as a means to an end to learn to play songs and play in a band then this will broaden your availability of possible teachers, but may limit your progress in the long run.

I would recommend a teacher who is academic in approach (not necessarily B Mus or even qualified) who is at least able to take you through a progressively structured learning process to intermediate level and give you the best foundations to later help yourself, whether that be self-learning or more advanced lessons. A teacher (who can be self-taught) who is primarily a bass guitarist and is enthusiastic about everything 'bass' as opposed to a guitarist who occasionally fills in for bass and offers it as an extra choice to guitar lessons would also be a better choice.

I occasional teach my ex-wife's son with some guitar lessons, when they visit on holiday, and even though he's been having group lessons for a couple years the emphasis is on 'fun' rather than theory and musicality and I get frustrated having to explain things that should be elementary for his playing ability and wish he had been better 'tutored'.

It may take a few lessons to work out if the teacher is exactly what you require for your own development - so don't be concerned about quitting and finding another, most teachers won't be offended and you are the customer!

Good Luck and welcome to the forum - even though I'm a relative newbie myself!

[fatback]

I'd agree with philparker.

Try to find a teacher who will build on theory as well as technique. Otherwise you'll never feel on top of the job.

And welcome to BC