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A guy with a P Bass walks into a bar.....

#82
I take his money, destroy his bass in front of him, castrate him and then kill his parents so that "bass player train wreck lineage" is officially broken, tell him he got off easy, and kick him off of my continent. Then I smugly go back to my teaching studio, from where I personally have NEVER caused a train wreck, and shout, "ALL RIGHT, WHO'S NEXT?"
 
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#83
Nashrakh said:
I"m a bit concerned that the OP does not clarify whether the player in question might be the teacher in this scenario. :laugh:
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Altitude said:
Every post but one so far assumes they are the teacher and the jamming bass player is the student. As you wrote this, it actually could be the other way around, which makes for a more interesting discussion IMO.
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two fingers said:
If you're the student, quit worrying about it. A good teacher probably won't bring it up.
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If I'm a prospective student, and I just witnessed my prospective instructor take a major faceplant at an open mic I attended, I think that conversation starts with "Bye."
 
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#84
BlueTalon said:
If I'm a prospective student, and I just witnessed my prospective instructor take a major faceplant at an open mic I attended, I think that conversation starts with "Bye."
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Nah. I'm telling you, I'm a pro player (for around here anyway). I have had amateur players derail a stage full of good players. That says nothing about any one player on stage. Period.
 
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#85
Ran many "open mic" nights (and days) on a few college campuses and bars in the U.S. This is what I tell the bass player:

#1: Find the root and/or ask the guitar player (just play the root for now!)
#2: Keep it SUPER simple (1/2 or whole notes are FINE as everyone else wants to shred)
#3: Just tap your foot to what the drummer is doing and play the same rhythm

I don't take nor ask for any money the first time. If they come back, I refer them to a real pro ;-)
 
#89
two fingers said:
Nah. I'm telling you, I'm a pro player (for around here anyway). I have had amateur players derail a stage full of good players. That says nothing about any one player on stage. Period.
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It may not say anything about any one player at that one moment, fair enough. But over the course of an hour or so, it's rather easy to suss out who knows what they're doing and who causes train wrecks. Presuming there's a stage full of good players and an amateur causing them to get derailed, that situation will sort itself the moment the amateur is ushered off the stage.
 
#92
BrotherMister said:
The jam and the type of bass are irrelevant. The moment someone steps into the room with me, or appears on screen, we are there for the purpose of learning.

As an educator I have to often find the source of the problem which is at times so far removed from the breaking point that the student had no idea. That's why we are working together. That's why I encourage lessons over video lesson sites, you get someone focused on you and your playing. If they are worth their salt they are able to break things down and present information in an engaging and accessible way to whoever they are working worth. So unless I was at the jam session and listening to it there is no way I can reliably diagnose the problem and the student may be bias about their own playing either positively or negatively.

I'll ask why they are wanting lessons and the long term goal. My job is to help build a knowledge base that people can draw on and manipulate in any musical situation they find themselves in.

I have one question I ask every single student on lesson 1. I have my reasons for asking it and the answer changes for each student, but there is a correct answer. The reason I ask it isn't to make the student feel inferior or insignificant, it's to break down their own barriers and preconceptions so that we can work on getting better together.

What that question is I'm not going to say, I save that for those with the curiosity and desire to truly learn enough to come study with me but in all the years I've taught nobody has once got the answer correct!
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42?
 
#93
Nashrakh said:
I"m a bit concerned that the OP does not clarify whether the player in question might be the teacher in this scenario. :laugh:
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OB1.jpg
 
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#96
Start at the beginning.

I remember a pickup country gig I did 30-years ago. ... The band really liked me and ask if I could do NY eve with them. ... I couldn't do it but, they then contacted a bass player, who said he could pull it off, but I knew he couldn't, so they hired him. ... About two weeks before NYE I had a gig with them but was offered a better paying gig and asked to sub out and suggested they should hire this other guy as a rehearsal for NYE. ... Well they did and the guy proved me right, that he wasn't good enough, but the band still blamed me. ... I said, wasn't it better you found out before a big NYE gig you hired the wrong guy. ... Sometimes common sense is no where in the room.
 

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