Teaching a bass lesson with a guitar in hand is a good idea

[Earthday]

Just wanted to share that I took a few bass lessons recently with a teacher who taught with a guitar in his hand instead of a bass. Obviously that won't work with a beginner who needs to be shown technique, but I am technically sound and was taking the lesson for theory/musical reasons.

I learned a ton about chord inversions, how the bass can cause inversions in "normal" chords, and playing with diminished chords. It's all the type of stuff I had read about, and tried to play with in a band setting, but MAN it really hits home when I'm playing with a teacher who is explaining what's going on and it's nothing but my bass and his guitar - and he would keep playing until I stopped him so I had time to internalize the sounds we were making.

Just thought I would post this. Maybe you teachers out there should try a lesson like this, or you students should ask your teacher to use a piano or guitar.

[Hollywars]

A lot of people like to teach on piano's, and my bass teacher has urged me to try some of the stuff we've been working on on piano.

[MalcolmAmos]

Going to try that. CD playing and jamm a bass line on the keyboard. With a digital recorder turned on. Now why did I not think of that........

[ricca]

I teach bass from 15 years.
I always use guitar or piano to show how harmony works and play along with my students to let them hear how bass lines works with chords.

[bronzdragon]

I am a rather new bass player, and my teacher (who is teaching from a lead guitar perspective) uses his guitar all the time.

I'm finding it hard to learn bass basics. However, I have learned several things involving how a bass fits in behind a lead in and with drums in a band setting.

I've also learned fast on how to pick up root notes from watching the lead, when I get lost.

~r~