For you teachers: How do you teach?

[Bassplayer92]

I'm thinking of getting back in to teaching and since I haven't done it since I was in college, I'm wondering how you teach lessons one on one?

Do you have your own lesson plans?
Do you recommend the student buy a particular book and teach from it?
Does the student pick out a book they want to learn from?
Do you just teach them what they want to know or teach them your own real world lessons?

Any help you can give is appreciated! Thank you!

[Stumbo]

~Teaching Bass
1 Teaching ideas
2
Becoming a teacher
Carol Kay's bass learning/playing advice

[colcifer]

Enhanced autodidaction.

[Bassplayer92]

Thanks Stumbo, I found that thread when I did a search, but I wanted more answers from those people who give lessons to students.

Colcifer, are you saying that I need to teach myself how to teach students, or that students should teach themselves? Either way that didn't answer my questions at all.

Any teachers have some constructive help?

Thanks.

[bassandbeyond]

For private lessons, my approach varies somewhat from student to student, but I always steer them towards theory, reading, and systematically learning their way around the fingerboard in all keys. But if, for example, a student likes to read but is not interested in improvising, I won't force the improv on him.

IME, most students need the discipline of having an agenda laid out for them, so I always give them an itemized list at the end of each lesson of things to practice for the next week. If you want to work through a method book with them, I think Ed Friedland's books are good for beginners.

[Stumbo]

Originally Posted by bassandbeyond

IME, most students need the discipline of having an agenda laid out for them...

Curriculum is always good to work out ahead of time, just like school teachers do.

[sammyp]

for beginners i've been using the Hal Leonard fast track book 1 ...it has tab and good play along practice files ....i would prefer it if every student would have the patience and seriousness to learn to read from Hal L Method Book 1 but it's a fast food world.

for students who have some facility on their way in i get em playing famous baslines like Come together, Stand by me etc .....then for the students who are serious and on thereway i teach em songs they want to learn and inject theory, exercises and scales when i feel the time is right!

There seems to be 3 levels of students in my world.

1. i think this is kinda cool but i don't have a favorite band, bass player or song ...my parents think i should do this.

2. i really like music and bass ...i know some songs i wanna learn but for some reason i don't practice enough.

3. i'm really into it and i give it all week long!