My first two lessons with Gerald Veasley

[COOL AND DEADLY]

First off I'd like to say what a great experience I had at Bass Specialties in Bensalem, Pa., close to Philly. I actually havn't bought anything there yet, but the owner there treated me like I was his best customer. It was also cool to see Anthony Wellington just hanging out talking about how he tries out a bass to get the truest sound and tone from the instrument. It was cool, I got a lesson from a real pro while I was waiting for a lesson with a real pro. There were some other "heavy hitters" there i didn't know or recognize. Also the owner, Glen sets these lessons up for $30 a half hour, wow! I know some music stores where they charge that for Joe Shmo guitarist who also teaches bass.
My first lesson (and really my first real lesson ever) I was a bit nervous. Then I met Gerald and everything was cool. His positive attitude and laid back. sincere personality set me at ease. Then I played a little bit for him, a bassline I wrote about a week before. He closed his eyes and listened intently. He seemed to sincerely enjoy my playing. Then he watched my hands and tecnique as I played. He had some technical advice for me that helped me get cleaner stronger tone fronm my notes.
I guess I had develpoped some bad habits in five years with almost no instruction. He pointed out that my left thumb was up past my first finger changing the angle of my hand. He also saw this caused me to almost barre the frets with my fingers rather than fret with my finger tips. Of course sometimes barring is good, not always. He told me to position my thumb low on the back of the neck, directly behind my second finger. Okay, I know it's beginner stuff, but it helped me out. He also said it was like "holding a tennis ball with my left hand." Then he addressed my right hand. I had always dug in deep with the fleshy part of my fingers, coming from reggae experience. He showed me if i use just the tip of my finger I could play faster and more articulately. Then we did some scales in a musical song like style. He went over the half hour and really wanted me to get things right, pushing me without being bossy or pushy.
Next time, I showed him how his instruction helped me by playing the opening figure from "the Chicken." He had me play it again and he played the horns parts on his six string. Then when the first change in the song came I sort of faded out. He then showed me the changes patiently as I flubbed through them awkwardly. He made me stay at it until I played the whole thing up to and including the walk down. Then he had me play the Cycle of Fourths. Then he made me play it on each string. My weak knowledge of the fretboard became glaringly apparant. He helped me go through it a few times and wrote the cycle down for me. Again we went over the half hour and I left feeling empowered and inspired.
There was some more stuff we worked on, but this thread is very long already! So I'm looking forward to a next lesson and very grateful to Gerald and to Glen at Bass Specialties. I hope I can afford and attend Gerald's bass boot camp this year. He is a remarkable educator!

[LeonD]

I've been to Gerald's boot camp. Well worth it.

Gerald's a good guy and teacher.

LeonD

[Hoover]

$30?!?!? Shee-it, that woulda been worth it at $300 a half hour. Congratulations.

[Freddels]

Originally Posted by LeonD

I've been to Gerald's boot camp. Well worth it.

Gerald's a good guy and teacher.

LeonD

When did you go? You'll have to tell me more about it.

[LeonD]

Hey Fred,

I want in March of 2007. It was a fun time. Relatively low pressure. One of those "you take away what you put into it" scenarios.

I skipped this year but was thinking of going in 2009. Either that or Jeff Berlin's week long mini school (it's around the same time in March). Obviously the logistics of going to the Boot Camp would be simpler.

I was thinking we should hook up and do some jamming. We can talk about this also. I'm away this week but home for a while after that.

LeonD

Originally Posted by Freddels

When did you go? You'll have to tell me more about it.

[VroomVroom]

Outstanding! I would love to take some lessons from Gerald Veasley - that's awesome! Hopefully, by osmosis, you'll get even more inspiration and soul out of the time you spend with him than you do actual technical knowledge. Good for you...

[steverosati]

Its a great place, I teach there every Tuesday. Glenn is a great guy and knows his stuff.
Gerald and Anthony are great guys too.

[COOL AND DEADLY]

Cool, thanks for reading this post! Bass Specialties is in Bensalem, PA. Email them if you want on the list. Great, great bassists give lessons and hang out there. They also have the best high end gear selection I have ever seen. Oh yeah, if you are in or near philly and would like to jam, drop me a pm! I'm scheduled for another lesson with Mr. Veasley in December. Looking forward to it.

[Bluesy Soul]

What a great post! Thanks for sharing that--and keep it coming.

$30 for a half-hour is an unbelieveable price for a lesson from Gerald Veasley. I'm tempted to commute from Denver.

Many years ago, I picked up a minor in music theory and I use that knowledge constantly, of course, in my playing. It's always nice to be reminded that most of the great bassists we hear are well-rooted in both technique and theory.

Jaco had long fingers, incredible double-jointed thumbs and seemed to be celestially-inspired, but he also happened to know exactly what the hell he was doing and often practiced fiendishly. It's no coincidence.

Thanks again, COOL AND DEADLY. We're anxious to hear about your December lesson.

Bluesy Soul

[Myke Myke]

Originally Posted by COOL AND DEADLY

First off I'd like to say what a great experience I had at Bass Specialties in Bensalem, Pa., close to Philly. I actually havn't bought anything there yet, but the owner there treated me like I was his best customer. It was also cool to see Anthony Wellington just hanging out talking about how he tries out a bass to get the truest sound and tone from the instrument. It was cool, I got a lesson from a real pro while I was waiting for a lesson with a real pro. There were some other "heavy hitters" there i didn't know or recognize. Also the owner, Glen sets these lessons up for $30 a half hour, wow! I know some music stores where they charge that for Joe Shmo guitarist who also teaches bass.
My first lesson (and really my first real lesson ever) I was a bit nervous. Then I met Gerald and everything was cool. His positive attitude and laid back. sincere personality set me at ease. Then I played a little bit for him, a bassline I wrote about a week before. He closed his eyes and listened intently. He seemed to sincerely enjoy my playing. Then he watched my hands and tecnique as I played. He had some technical advice for me that helped me get cleaner stronger tone fronm my notes.
I guess I had develpoped some bad habits in five years with almost no instruction. He pointed out that my left thumb was up past my first finger changing the angle of my hand. He also saw this caused me to almost barre the frets with my fingers rather than fret with my finger tips. Of course sometimes barring is good, not always. He told me to position my thumb low on the back of the neck, directly behind my second finger. Okay, I know it's beginner stuff, but it helped me out. He also said it was like "holding a tennis ball with my left hand." Then he addressed my right hand. I had always dug in deep with the fleshy part of my fingers, coming from reggae experience. He showed me if i use just the tip of my finger I could play faster and more articulately. Then we did some scales in a musical song like style. He went over the half hour and really wanted me to get things right, pushing me without being bossy or pushy.
Next time, I showed him how his instruction helped me by playing the opening figure from "the Chicken." He had me play it again and he played the horns parts on his six string. Then when the first change in the song came I sort of faded out. He then showed me the changes patiently as I flubbed through them awkwardly. He made me stay at it until I played the whole thing up to and including the walk down. Then he had me play the Cycle of Fourths. Then he made me play it on each string. My weak knowledge of the fretboard became glaringly apparant. He helped me go through it a few times and wrote the cycle down for me. Again we went over the half hour and I left feeling empowered and inspired.
There was some more stuff we worked on, but this thread is very long already! So I'm looking forward to a next lesson and very grateful to Gerald and to Glen at Bass Specialties. I hope I can afford and attend Gerald's bass boot camp this year. He is a remarkable educator!

Man i was supposed to follow anthony wellington up there but i ran into an issue with traveling up there!!!!.. Kinda blown i didnt go now

[COOL AND DEADLY]

Thank you very much, Bluesy, I'll post again after my December lesson. That's too bad Myke Myke, but Gerald will be there about once a month. So I'm sure you too can get on board. Anthony Wellington is a great teacher too, I hope to get some instruction from him too. There is a great article in Bass Player about him this month.