I got a student…

[Dan Bozek]

He’s the 6th grade son of my good friend, who coincidentally gave me some good pointers when I was starting to play many moons ago… Had the first lesson tonight, and it was really positive and fun.

I have a pretty good idea of how to get things rolling and keeping it fun, but I don’t regularly teach and was wondering if some of you guys had some good general resources to pass on to me so I can slip in the important stuff while we learn songs that he and his older drummer brother want to play. Is there any good literature available somewhere online, etc…? Thanks!!

[MalcolmAmos]

• Try Google. I get good results with Google.
  
  
• www.studybass.com.
  
  
• The book, Bass Guitar for Dummies will have all the how to do it stuff he needs to get off on a good start. Start on page 1 and do not skip pages. Let Dummies be your lesson plan, yep, you gotta have a lesson plan laid out before he gets there for his lesson. He does not know what is to happen in the class, if you are going to wing it and hope something good will come, well good luck with that. It's up to you to take him down a specific path. Let him know what is on the path and lay out some time schedules - goals.
  
  
• Google again for fake chord sheet music. Google the key words; guitar chords, "name of the song". There are several sites, bookmark the site that has songs he likes. You already are teaching him how to play from fake chord. One new song per week. Little paper on the theory involved with this song slipped into his bass case before he leaves. In fact all the homework needs to be on paper and put into his bass case. He is not going to remember what you told him in class. Something about geese and 12 year olds waking up in a new World each day.
  
  
• Show him how to lock in with the kick drum using generic I IV V progressions. So he and his buddy can play together.
  
  
• Google again for backing tracks. I find that I can call up fake chord on most any song I want to play, then Google will also pull up a video of someone playing/singing that song. Show him how to play-a-long to the video using fake chord sheet music. Best instructor (rhythm guitar) I ever had- early on in my training - gave me a CD of three songs; one in A, another in D and the last one in G and told me to play-a-long with them every day. I Learned a lot from those three songs. Ask him to show you what he has been able to accomplish with them. First part of the lesson is show me how your homework went time. Middle part is for the new song of the week. Then the last part of the lesson is for questions and a review of what happened today. That what happened today is kinda important.
  
  
• Hope he likes Country. Country is dirt simple three chord songs, major chords and 4/4 time signatures. At any rate pick easy songs for him, not necessarily the one that he wants. That one can be a reward after he learns some of the stuff you will be teaching him.

Have fun.