Long story short, I haven't taken a lesson in 25 years! The first lesson I ever took, the teacher offered me a teaching job! I was fun.
The 2nd lesson was with a very good jazz player and I was in a hard rock band. It was essentially a discussion on technique.
I stopped playing altogether for about 25 years! I finally picked up my bass about 6 months ago and have been at it since. I feel I have hit a wall and need some help so after spending some time to find a teacher, I have my first lesson tonight!
Wish me luck, I'm a little nervous and really lookin forward to improving in many ways!:bassist:
thanks for reading!
fishheadjoe

Good luck man. I love lessons.

Well, surprise, surprise... I really don't suck! After introductions, chatting about what I'm looking for, we realized that I have been playing Modes for years and did not know it!
We are going to learn our modes and how to apply them and get a better understanding about what I have been doing and WHY, to become a better player.
Already lookin forward to next week... and yah, he almost had a poop when he saw and heard my Roscoe!!!!!!
fishheadjoe

I also took up bass again a few years ago after a looooong absence. I have been taking lessons on and off ever since. Welcome back to the "low end" and best of luck with the lessons. :)

You might want to check out the following TB threads. Great info/education there:

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=429034 If I only knew then
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=434246 Best musical advice


http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=79878 How to practice bass
http://www.talkbass.com/wiki/index.php/Bass_Line_Construction:_Target_Approach Creating bass lines
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=125519 Intro to scale and chord theory
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=485421 Using modes
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=479401 Learn to read music
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=479642 Learn to read music
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=419687 Read bass clef
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=473968 Theory
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=481465 Things every bassist should know
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=99676 Theory Book Links
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=56761 GI links list
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=482544 Jazz Scales
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showpost.php?p=6485459&postcount=37 Understanding a bass player's mindset
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=484065 Guitar players switching to bass

Online study of music theory/ear training.
http://www.teoria.com/ Check out the tutorials, exercises and reference(dictionary).
http://www.good-ear.com/
http://www.studybass.com/
http://www.activebass.com/

Books and instructional materials
http://www.bassbooks.com/shopping/default.asp

Free Jam tracks
http://www.freejamtracks.com/index.html

Free online lessons
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=481548

This is a very helpful program for learning the notes on the bass clef. (as recommended by AlphaMale)
http://www.download.com/NoteCard/3000-2133_4-10004005.html?tag=mncol&cdlPid=1509909
http://www.playthebass.com print flashcards for learning bass clef, print staff paper

Good for you man! Get dialed in!

Thanks for the links Stumbo! I got some reading to do!
LOL
fishheadjoe

Hey thanks, good thread with lots of links. I think, after not having taken professional lessons in 30 years, I'll follow Joe's lead. Problem with being a bassist is, like Poo's Tigger, you're "the only one." Guitardists get to feed off each other, but bassists compete for the same oxygen once they're in the same space.

I recently started lessons after a long absence.
My teacher is 19 yrs. old and a wiz.
Good luck & enjoy.

I'm 44 and have been "playing" for about seven or eight years and just started lessons two weeks ago. I found out I'm better than I thought, that I'm also nowhere near as good as I thought, and that I'm going to challenge the instructor as much as he's going to challenge me. I'm sure I was at least as nervous as you are, but now that I took that first step I'm really looking forward to pushing myself more than I have before.

Best of luck to you. It should be pretty interesting to see where we are this time next year!

:bassist: