30 year bass vet starting lessons.

[jazzbass_5]

Ok, Ive been playing for almost 30 years now.

So, I decided I am going to take Bass lessons (from a GIT Grad).

I have no real formal training and have played for years by ear. I've done well for myself in this respect but believe it's time.

I would my TB friends comments, Ideas and whatever else you would like to add. Thanks all!!

[sound of bass]

I too have been playing 20+ years with no formal lessons. Not because I didnt want to or felt it was unnecessary, but just never had the time with career / family. Theres sooo many ways to learn these days, books,dvd,cd's,tab, TB and other sites, but you can never replace a quality teacher with one on one instruction. Good luck and have patience, its going to be all new compared to how you've played this far.

[jazzbass_5]

Bump.

[WhiteKnuckles]

I played for twenty years without formal lessons then started taking formal lessons about two years ago. I came in with great fingerstyle technique, but lacked so much musical knowledge that I felt I was falling way behind my peers. I knew some basic theory, but applying it to my playing was another story.

First thing I realized after sitting down with my new instructor, was how badly his playing shamed my own. I thought I was a half-decent bassist, but he quickly proved otherwise.

I learned more about playing in the first 6 months of instruction as I did the previous 19 years of playing. We've been just bouncing around different styles and ideas for the past year. I'll go into a lesson with a question and my instructor and I will end up going off on interesting tangents that lead to more ideas and more questions.

That said, I'm taking a break from lessons for a couple months so I can go though this massive notebook full of info, really hone what I've learned, and start to apply it. There is just so much I still need to improve on. This isn't a fault on my instructor, this was me overloading myself, not practicing on my own enough, and moving past things before I fully understood them.

Looking back, I should have came up with a solid practice/study schedule between lessons. It's probably the best advice I could give you.

Anyways...good luck and enjoy!

[jazzbass_5]

Originally Posted by WhiteKnuckles

I played for twenty years without formal lessons then started taking formal lessons about two years ago. I came in with great fingerstyle technique, but lacked so much musical knowledge that I felt I was falling way behind my peers. I knew some basic theory, but applying it to my playing was another story.

First thing I realized after sitting down with my new instructor, was how badly his playing shamed my own. I thought I was a half-decent bassist, but he quickly proved otherwise.

I learned more about playing in the first 6 months of instruction as I did the previous 19 years of playing. We've been just bouncing around different styles and ideas for the past year. I'll go into a lesson with a question and my instructor and I will end up going off on interesting tangents that lead to more ideas and more questions.

That said, I'm taking a break from lessons for a couple months so I can go though this massive notebook full of info, really hone what I've learned, and start to apply it. There is just so much I still need to improve on. This isn't a fault on my instructor, this was me overloading myself, not practicing on my own enough, and moving past things before I fully understood them.

Looking back, I should have came up with a solid practice/study schedule between lessons. It's probably the best advice I could give you.

Anyways...good luck and enjoy!

Thank you, I start today (Tuesday) and I will take that advice! I'm looking forward to what's in store!

[sevenyearsdown]

I just took up double bass at 30y/o and started with my first formal music lessons of any kind. Not only does it help the technique, theory, etc....but my teacher often points out details about the music that I never really listened to or for in the past. Sometimes the details about the whole piece of music or more inmportant than just learning the lines. I've found lessons to be a really inspiring experience.