Becoming a Bass Guitar Instructor?

metalguy2 · #1 12-12-2005, 09:45 PM

Does anyone have an suggestions on how to get myself started becoming a bass instructor. What kind of credentials would I need? Things like that.
Right now I am learning how to site read. And compose songs. But I was thinking.. Is it more a matter of who you played with or do I need a degree?

JimmyM · #2 12-12-2005, 11:51 PM

Any idiot can hang up a shingle and call themselves a bass teacher. All you really need is a good grasp of playing, a good grasp of music theory, and students who aren't as good as you.

But if you want to get sort of serious about it, you need to choose learning materials wisely. Get good books that are both easy to understand and demonstrate the knowledge you're going to teach.

Naturally, the more educated you are and the better you are, the more valuable you can be as a teacher. However, not everyone needs a degree and credentials to teach. The most important thing is to be able to convey what you're trying to teach to your students. Not as easy as it seems.

metalguy2 · #3 12-13-2005, 01:56 PM

That was actually exactly what I wanted to hear. Because I mentioned this a couple of people I know and they immediately said. "Don't you need a degree to do that?!" I am a little happier now knowing that my mentality I have right now will probably get me to where I need to be.

FireBug · #4 12-13-2005, 02:54 PM

Another thing is to have a good attitude. Of the eight lessons I've had in my life, half of them were horrible because the guy was always stoned and arguing with his girlfriend.

I then switched to a an excellent guy who had an outgoing personality and actually had a passion for music. Parents were worried that he didn't teach kids to sight read, but eventually he dropped all the kids that weren't serious and I have to say he produced some excellent guitarists (he was mainly a guitar teacher). He really allowed them to find their voice and in doing so helped them to develop the musical "ear". I was one of his most favorite students and we would jam together. Our practice session was always scheduled for the end of the day so that we could play for several hours. That's another thing I liked about him. He was very involved with his students.

So yeah, just be a stand up guy and learn to convey your knowledge accurately for each individual student. Patience is also a necessity.