I have been playing bass, on and off, for about a year now. I used to play guitar (still do actually, but my main focus is now bass) so I am fairly competent on the physical aspects of playing the instrument. My concern is the actual playing of the music per se. All I have been doing up to this point is learning songs, via tab, and playing along with the original recording.
I want to change this, so I signed up for some music lessons!
(this eventually has a point, don't worry)
However, I have no idea what exactly it is I want to learn! There are so many things that I want to do with the bass, and music in general. Likely the main thing is writing my own music. I also want to be able to improvise things on the spot with a band (I believe this is called 'jamming'? *correct me if I'm wrong*).
A majority of my bass idols have a fairly solid background playing jazz. They all have used this jazz background in their playing. Should I learn to play jazz in order to play like these people? It is a music genre that has always fascinated me, )though i never catch myself listening to it because I have no idea where to start looking for bands that I would like).*by play I mean create music, not mimic their technique in playing the instrument*
Also *this is directed to teachers and anyone that has taken lessons* what usually happens in the first lesson with a new teacher or student? I really have no idea what I should be expecting from this first of *what I hope to be* a long and fun process of learning the craft!
Hopefully that wasn't too long, and made sense.
