Hey basspeople
I have recently aquired a small, very part-time job at a music store in my college town. I am teaching bass guitar to three students, two of which are brand new to bass and playing music altogether.
I am writing to poll those of you with teaching experience, but first let me outline the situation.
Student1: about 15, Has been playing for maybe 3-4 years, decent feel, ideas, ears, and basic technique. Problems include
laying too much, sloppy technique, and no theory/formal training. also a reluctance to practice "nutritional" items.
students 2&3: Brand new, 13 and 17, respectively. I have only had one lesson with each so far, in both cases it was a trial case to see if they liked bass. They did, and after the lesson, both purchased a bass from the store I teach in. (this tells me at the very least that I am not failing miserably)
So as I started writing this post, my intentions were to just open up for discussion how i might better access my students and get them to focus on what i think they need, while not boring them with the fruits and veggies of theory and technique. I have since come up with a few questions, but any input at all is greatly appreciated.
-How do you get them to practice not only what is fun(songs), but what they need (metronome, scales, chords, proper technique)?
-What would you teach a literal first-timer bassist? (first time holding bass is in your first lesson)
-What ratio would you say you spend teaching them things they ask about vs. things you think they should learn?
-Do you give them any input at all as to what they learn?
-If technique is really poor, to you hold it to them to fix it and do nothing until it is better, or do you move on to another area of instruction and hope that the technique comes around through practice and necessity?
These are all the questions I can think of now, more to come in the thread I am sure. Again, any input not based on these questions is also appreciated.
