I recently spent a week at Jeff Berlins Players School of Music and thought I would share my experiences there.
A little background first. I am one of those guys that has always had a guitar laying around, but never really learned how to play other than the most common chords and some melodies learned note for note. Earlier this year I began making an effort to really learn to play and along the way decided that I wanted to try the bass, so I bought one a couple of months ago. It didnt take long for me to put the guitar aside and concentrate on the bass. Gotta love that low end!
I wanted to find an instructor locally, but was unsure of how I could find a knowledgeable one so I started looking for a short course I could attend and get started with someone who really knew their stuff. After reading some of the reviews of Jeffs one week course, I decided to try it out to see if he could get me pointed in the right direction.
When I arrived at the school he had pulled in right behind me and met me as I was getting out of the car. He was very friendly and welcoming. We took a quick tour of the gardens and the school, meeting Vicky along with some of the other students. I was lucky in that I was the only one-week student there and the other students were just finishing up their summer semester, so I got to spend a lot more time with Jeff than I would have otherwise.
After checking in with Vicky and filling out some admin stuff, Jeff sat me down and plopped a trombone exercise in front of me and asked me to play it. I had been trying to learn bass clef in the previous weeks, and managed to slowly get through it without chewing my tongue off! I would lose my place, or get confused on the notes, but he was very laid back the whole time saying things like, Take your time. Lets fix that part. Try that one again. Start whenever youre ready "Don't try to perform it, just play it a whatever pace you can".
He kept telling me that mistakes didnt matter, just stop and fix them. He was able to put me at ease fairly quickly, and it began to feel more like a couple of friends hanging out than a rigid teacher/student relationship.
After correcting some physical issues with my playing, he had me work on the trombone exercise for an hour.
I then had an hour with Matt Bokulic on Harmony and Theory. Matt was also very cool and explained things very well. I had also been studying theory recently, but he was able to clarify a lot of things for me. Listening to him explain things made me wonder why people wouldnt want to learn this. It was all good stuff and helped me to understand why and how it could be applied.
I got to sit in with the other students for the ensembles and didnt do very well, but got better each time. Again Jeff stressed that mistakes dont matter when you are learning. Just fix them and move on.
Since I was the only one-weeker, I got another hour with Jeff in the afternoon, followed by another practice session, and another ensemble. In the evenings I would review and practice at the hotel.
Each day was like the first, but with a little more added as I got familiar with the concepts. He didnt try to overwhelm me, but kept a steady push with lots of encouragement. If I was lagging a little we would try to figure out why and then move on. About the middle of the week, I felt like I had regressed to Day one and could do nothing correctly. Jeff & I sat and talked it out over coffee and he said he expected it to happen. He put another exercise in front of me afterwards and I seemed to get back into it again. He said not to worry about it, it happens to everyone, and you have to suck to get better. There will be highs and lows but like the Dow Jones Index the trend will continue upwards if I just continue to do the work. By the end of the week, there was a definite, although small, improvement. He also said improvement will come about in small increments, not giant leaps, and by learning and practicing new things. Much like Scott Devines recent video.
He also recommended that I find a good teacher when I get home that will teach music, not licks or chops or technique, but actual music. No pressure to come back and take more courses from him, just find a teacher that teaches music. After being with Jeff & Matt for a week, I have a pretty good idea of what kind of teacher I should look for, and what I should be learning.
I know that Jeff has some detractors here (either for his message or his delivery) but I found him to be very knowledgeable, extremely patient, generous in his teaching, and just a lot of fun to be around. He didnt sugarcoat any faults he found with my playing, but only pointed them out in order to fix them. Hes a straight shooter in my opinion.
All in all, I believe that it was a very productive week for a beginning player like me. I felt like I had a roadmap of what and how to learn in order to become a better player. I wouldnt hesitate to recommend him, and would definitely go back for more.
A little background first. I am one of those guys that has always had a guitar laying around, but never really learned how to play other than the most common chords and some melodies learned note for note. Earlier this year I began making an effort to really learn to play and along the way decided that I wanted to try the bass, so I bought one a couple of months ago. It didnt take long for me to put the guitar aside and concentrate on the bass. Gotta love that low end!
I wanted to find an instructor locally, but was unsure of how I could find a knowledgeable one so I started looking for a short course I could attend and get started with someone who really knew their stuff. After reading some of the reviews of Jeffs one week course, I decided to try it out to see if he could get me pointed in the right direction.
When I arrived at the school he had pulled in right behind me and met me as I was getting out of the car. He was very friendly and welcoming. We took a quick tour of the gardens and the school, meeting Vicky along with some of the other students. I was lucky in that I was the only one-week student there and the other students were just finishing up their summer semester, so I got to spend a lot more time with Jeff than I would have otherwise.
After checking in with Vicky and filling out some admin stuff, Jeff sat me down and plopped a trombone exercise in front of me and asked me to play it. I had been trying to learn bass clef in the previous weeks, and managed to slowly get through it without chewing my tongue off! I would lose my place, or get confused on the notes, but he was very laid back the whole time saying things like, Take your time. Lets fix that part. Try that one again. Start whenever youre ready "Don't try to perform it, just play it a whatever pace you can".
He kept telling me that mistakes didnt matter, just stop and fix them. He was able to put me at ease fairly quickly, and it began to feel more like a couple of friends hanging out than a rigid teacher/student relationship.
After correcting some physical issues with my playing, he had me work on the trombone exercise for an hour.
I then had an hour with Matt Bokulic on Harmony and Theory. Matt was also very cool and explained things very well. I had also been studying theory recently, but he was able to clarify a lot of things for me. Listening to him explain things made me wonder why people wouldnt want to learn this. It was all good stuff and helped me to understand why and how it could be applied.
I got to sit in with the other students for the ensembles and didnt do very well, but got better each time. Again Jeff stressed that mistakes dont matter when you are learning. Just fix them and move on.
Since I was the only one-weeker, I got another hour with Jeff in the afternoon, followed by another practice session, and another ensemble. In the evenings I would review and practice at the hotel.
Each day was like the first, but with a little more added as I got familiar with the concepts. He didnt try to overwhelm me, but kept a steady push with lots of encouragement. If I was lagging a little we would try to figure out why and then move on. About the middle of the week, I felt like I had regressed to Day one and could do nothing correctly. Jeff & I sat and talked it out over coffee and he said he expected it to happen. He put another exercise in front of me afterwards and I seemed to get back into it again. He said not to worry about it, it happens to everyone, and you have to suck to get better. There will be highs and lows but like the Dow Jones Index the trend will continue upwards if I just continue to do the work. By the end of the week, there was a definite, although small, improvement. He also said improvement will come about in small increments, not giant leaps, and by learning and practicing new things. Much like Scott Devines recent video.
He also recommended that I find a good teacher when I get home that will teach music, not licks or chops or technique, but actual music. No pressure to come back and take more courses from him, just find a teacher that teaches music. After being with Jeff & Matt for a week, I have a pretty good idea of what kind of teacher I should look for, and what I should be learning.
I know that Jeff has some detractors here (either for his message or his delivery) but I found him to be very knowledgeable, extremely patient, generous in his teaching, and just a lot of fun to be around. He didnt sugarcoat any faults he found with my playing, but only pointed them out in order to fix them. Hes a straight shooter in my opinion.
All in all, I believe that it was a very productive week for a beginning player like me. I felt like I had a roadmap of what and how to learn in order to become a better player. I wouldnt hesitate to recommend him, and would definitely go back for more.
