How to interview a teacher?

H2ODog · #1 02-02-2007, 08:37 PM

Well, after being away from bass a couple of years i'm getting back into it. I had teacher for a coupe of months years back but never realy asked any questions, he was a great guy but lacked in theory. So tomorrow i have an appointment to interview two bass teaches at a local place where lessons are given. If you were in my spot what would you ask them?

MichaelScott · #2 02-02-2007, 08:53 PM

1) Are you a pro (meaning gigging) bassist?
2) If you are pro where can I see you play live?
3) Where did you go to school?
4) Who were your bass teachers?
5) What type of bass do you prefer to play? (4 string fenders? 9 string custom monsters?)
6) Have you written anything that I can hear a recording of?
7) Can you do intonation set ups?
8) How long do you spend practicing every day?
9) What sort of material will you provide me or will we work from? (Most teachers have exercises they will give you or books they teach out off)
10) What inspires you to play bass?
11) what do you like about teaching?

You really want a gigging bass (not guitar) player as your teacher that gives you answers that you like to those questions.

MikeBass · #3 02-02-2007, 09:19 PM

Who do you agree with more:
Jeff Berlin or Steve Bailey???

Bassist4Life · #4 02-02-2007, 10:15 PM

A very basic but important question to ask is, "What would a typical lesson with you look like?"

If he has to do a lot of thinking, then he probably hasn't given it much thought. That's not a good thing. He (or she) should be able to tell you what skill/knowledge areas are covered in each lesson without getting all confused.

I would have other questions to follow, but that would be my first one.

I wouldn't go to a teacher that says, "We'll do whatever you want to do in your lessons."

Joe

Bassist4Life · #5 02-02-2007, 10:19 PM

I like these questions too.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MichaelScott

1) Are you a pro (meaning gigging) bassist?
2) If you are pro where can I see you play live?
3) Where did you go to school?
4) Who were your bass teachers?
9) What sort of material will you provide me or will we work from?
10) What inspires you to play bass?
11) what do you like about teaching?

steveb98 · #6 02-04-2007, 09:10 AM

Asking a few questions about the instructors taste in music helps to see if they understand the style. But there are great teacher of Music and Bass who won't know about your favorite bands, they teach you music and technique you can apply to any music. Choosing a teacher because they know your fave bands tunes, means your will learn a bunch of bassline and licks, but nothing about creating your own lines, or understand what your fave bass player is doing.

When I go to a pick a new teacher I like to just chat to them for a few minutes. That gives me a idea how easy they are to talk with, or are they trying to dominate the conversation. I usually will mention the style of music or area I want to study. See if they respond with some comments about about that area. Sometime I will slip in a simple question about something I already know to see first if they know it and how they explain it. After that rest of conversation just BS about music. I also tell them up front I just want to take a few lessons to see how it works out. This gives me an easy out if I don't like the way the lesssons are going. Then I will usually take two to four lessons. I feel that gives enough time for both of us to see if it is going to work. I have only quit a teacher once after one lesson. It was very famous big name player. He spent too much time trying to impress me with who he was talking to in all the phone call interuptions. Then what lesson time we did have was too little and too basic.

So find a teacher hopefully from hearing about them from others. Call them and chat to see if easy to talk to. Then tell them you are only commiting to a few lessons to see how it goes. That gives you an easy out, and if you sign up for more lessons they know it is going well.

H2ODog · #7 02-04-2007, 11:14 AM

Well, i went to the place and got to meet the two teachers that are available there. I have some mixed emotions about it all. The first guy i talked to (briefley) commented that he tours and may not be available on a regular basis which is ok, but that was the first thing out of his mouth and i haven't even asked a question. It didn't seem like he was very interested in getting the business so i said thank you and moved on to the other guy.

The second guy was a pleasant person and would seem like someone i could work with. The only thing was when i got around to asking about learning theory he mentioned he is not strong in it and if i get in too deep he would have to refer me to someone else. He said all his students prefer TAB, well that's cool but i would like to learn to read music. Since i am so rusty being away from it for so long i decided to take 4 lessons and see how it goes. I figure i need to start from almost the beggining (i played for 1.5 years, 4 months w/a blues band) so i'm not an accomplished bass played by any means, so i could profit from the teacher at least until i see that i'm not getting what i want.

The teacher (second guy) mentioned he gigs with a couple of bands and has never had to read music, he folows charts when he needs to. So how iportant is it for a teacher to know how to read music? I imagine that at my level i can learn alot form him but i guess not theory. So i give it 4 lessons to see. What do you guys think?

jimbob · #8 02-04-2007, 09:34 PM

If you want to be a good site reader then you should go to a Music instructor who knows how to read music Specifically Bass Clef. Bassists, keyboardist or even a guitarist can teach you how to read music. Although in some instances, it may take a lesson or 2 for the guit

ar teacher to rearrange his brain to read bass clef.

Good luck with the lessons!

steveb98 · #9 02-04-2007, 11:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by H2ODog

The second guy was a pleasant person and would seem like someone i could work with. The only thing was when i got around to asking about learning theory he mentioned he is not strong in it and if i get in too deep he would have to refer me to someone else. He said all his students prefer TAB, well that's cool but i would like to learn to read music.

I would pass on any teacher who says he's weak in theory and mainly uses TAB, he is only going to show you licks and not be able to explain what they are based on. You could get as much hanging out at a music store talking to guys trying out basses or talking to other bass players in the neighborhood.

morf · #10 02-05-2007, 04:31 AM

I usually ask for the first lesson for free, and we do a quick hour just talking, him showing me his chops and me showing him mine. After that if I feel the guy showed me and told me things that seem interesting and that I want to learn, then I'll go for it.

H2ODog · #11 02-05-2007, 08:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by steveb98

I would pass on any teacher who says he's weak in theory and mainly uses TAB, he is only going to show you licks and not be able to explain what they are based on.

Thanks for the feedback guys.

Steve, i hear you. I only decided to go with this teacher for 4 lessons because it's been so long that i have forgotten most of what i learned and i'm so rusty. I figured for the first month just about anyone could help me out. So i give it 4 lessons and meanwhile see where it goes and also keep looking at onother place i have in mind. I agree with you completely on your comment on "not be able to explain what they are based on".

This other place i'm looking at has guitar teachers and no bass teachers. But one of those guys plays bass in on his band so he also teaches bass. I was told he knows theory but since he is primarily a guitar teacher i wonder if i should only concentrate on teachers that are primarily bass teachers. Dang, i did not think it would be this tough to find a quality teacher that knows theory and basss combined. So i'm going to check this place out in a few days and see. If that does not work out then i may need to look further away from home but that would suck as i drive alot as it is for my commute to work.

Thanks again to all you guys.

Gyoon · #12 02-05-2007, 10:15 AM

Guitar teachers who teach bass . . . I've taken over a few students from guitar teachers and they seem to have quite underdeveloped right hand technique. also, I can hear other bass students during their lessons with guitarists (thin walls) and they don't develop as fast as mine. I'm bragging, for sure, but I attribute this to the fact that I am passionate about the bass. It's MY thing, at least these days. Also, don't underestimate the power of osmosis! An acute student will take things from you that you didn't even point out. That's when my students SCARE me.

Here's the questions I would ask:

Are you an actual bassist in a musical group?

How much can you explain to me how I could go about constructing my own lines? (maybe even suggest a line and ask them if they could briefly describe WHY those notes were played. If they just lay down a bunch of "oh man, Bootsy is a cosmic force to be reckoned with!!" and nothing else, you have a pretty good idea of who you're dealing with)

Do you know songs by (your favourite band)? They don't even have to like it. I'm not the biggest Good Charlotte fan by any stretch, but if I can use that to teach my student the importance of pumping dead even eighths, then I get excited about that.

Glenn

Zebra · #13 02-05-2007, 10:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MichaelScott

9) What sort of material will you provide me or will we work from? (Most teachers have exercises they will give you or books they teach out off)

This is really the only question from above that I actually like. I think the thing that you need to know about a teacher is if the kind of thing they teach is what you want. I took lessons from a jazz guy who taught me all the stuff I needed to know about jazz stuff. If I wanted lessons about slapping and stuff, I would go for a different teacher.
Other than that, none of their background, education, current status as a player, preference in basses or anything else necessarily means jack about their teaching ability. The interesting thing about teaching something is that it's a separate skill from the subject you're trying to teach. Being good at it doesn't mean you'll be good at teaching it. You're just going to have to demo them to see if their method works for you.