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Berklee Bass Teachers

DirtPoorRobins

DirtPoorRobins

Apr 18, 2005
1,494
472
VA
#1
I'm sure some of you have had lessons with teachers at berklee, or go to berklee right now. Who was your favourite bass teacher there. I'm looking to take lessons on electric from someone there, one of the teachers there recommened Joe Santerre, but I'd also like to study jazz as well and he seems like mostly a slap and rock guy. Any input would be great thanks.
 
#2
Jim Stinnett is the best bass teacher I have ever encountered. He will get your chops in shape and teach you how to play jazz like the great players- PC, Bird, Grant Green etc. Jim teaches a very methodical approach to walking that is extremely accessible- and if you listen to the great players (PC, Ray Brown, Christian McBride) it's what they do 90% of the time! He is involved with guys like Todd Johnson, Joe Hunt, Lionel Loueke, Michael Manring. Check Stinnett out- he's the freaking man.

[email protected]
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#3
I just saw that you live in NH- Jim lives in Candia, a few minutes outside of Manchester. He also organizes the New Hampshire Bass Fest which is a really great bass gathering with a large emphasis on playing (I have gone for the last two years and we play probably 5 hours a day) and education. Faculty includes Todd Johnson, Michael Manring, Joe Hunt, Dave Buda and many more. It's a very cool experience that's right down the road from you. I definitely recommend checking it out.
 
#4
DirtPoorRobins said:
I'm sure some of you have had lessons with teachers at berklee, or go to berklee right now. Who was your favourite bass teacher there. I'm looking to take lessons on electric from someone there, one of the teachers there recommened Joe Santerre, but I'd also like to study jazz as well and he seems like mostly a slap and rock guy. Any input would be great thanks.
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I studied with Joe Santerre when I went to Berklee.
I learned a bunch about a lot of different stuff from him.
I found him to be a really easy going guy and a great teacher.
We became friends & after school he even called me to sub some gigs.
Don't sleep on his jazz chops ... He's a student of the legendary jazz teacher, Charlie Banacos.
I first took a jazz lab with him, which prompted me to study with him privately.

Good Luck ... there are lots of great guys teaching there.
Anthony Vitti is another great teacher there.
 
#5
I'm not knocking Santerre, but in my experience (a bass lines class) he really didn't even try to teach us anything, he just said- "Ok, play a walking bass line over these changes." No direction with regards to what notes are appropriate or what jazz players actually play.
 
#6
Yeah, my experience with Joe was a waste of time. He's a great guy and knows his stuff, but we just didn't click. He spent all of our lessons just going over rather mundane exercises and material for the proficiency, which was WAY beneath my level of performance. Very little time actually playing music, so my private lessons were dissapointing to say the least.

My favorite teacher here hands down has been Dave Buda, with whom I've learn a whole hell of a lot about bass playing and jazz in general. He knows exactly where your weak spots are and exploits the hell out of them, which is why a lot of people don't really like him, but it is a good way to deflate your ego and actually learn some nuances about playing music. Bruce Gertz also is a great teacher - guaranteed to "blow your mind" with regards to theory. If you take Dave Clark's advanced rhythmic concepts lab, you'll also have your mind blown (the final exam, for example, had a section requiring everybody to play whole note quintuplets at 40 bpm.)
 
#7
I'd High Suggest Anthony Vitti, Bruce Gertz, and Lincoln Goines. I've only heard great thing about Vitti, Bruce is a great teacher, i dont think any teacher at that school is as knowledgeable as he is, and Lincoln is a very nurturing type of teacher, he'll find where you're at and point you in the right direction in 1 lesson.

Jim stinnett is a great teacher, just not a very nice one IMHO.
 
#10
Truth is unless you have a in with the guy the teachers are like classes. The higher level students get first shot. There are only so many slots of instruction per teacher,once there filled....


Certain teachers have less slots than others,combine that with popularity.Because of this Danny Mo is a hard guy to get a lesson with.


You need to very honest with your self about what you want to learn,How you learn. How loaded up you want to be. Self motivation vrs external motivation.


If you could answer these questions very honestly I think it would help alot in giving you a good answer.


A/ How important is technique in instruction to you? Ex.. Lockwood is a phenomenal teacher but he's a upright guy and has little to bring to the table regarding e bass technique.

B/ How are you with criticism and "harsh"motivational approaches. Some teachers are very blunt with expressing negatives be it,Performance,punctuality,picking you apart. Others might smile and seem all happy with you while you may be wasting everyone's time.

C/ You will not have enough time at that school to be properly prepared for everything. You will make choices and compromises. Certain teachers will load you more than others.


D/ Some teachers Tour..... be aware of that it sucks to have your guy gone for 3 weeks and then want to make it all up at once...during finals.


E/ Do you want a "specialist" if so what do you want to sudy?





Aj
 
#12
hey, i'm walking this may, here's my review of the teachers

I was placed with Barry Smith, and stayed with him for 3 semesters, he was an absolute MONSTER upright player (Juliard grad), and very easy going at lessons, let you take things at your own pace, and pointed me towards some amazing music/recordings.

Then i took some 2 semesters with Matt Garrison, he had me shed some of his favorite tunes (inner urge, freedom jazz dance etc) and he had a lot of really neat tricks (harmonically... like substitutions... he'll teach you the 4 finger thing if you're looking for it) and really helped me understand/incorperate some tough stuff like the altered and diminished scales. Then he started touring and he kind of went away for a while. I'm not sure if he's back teaching yet or what's up. Dave Buda stepped up and filled in for him a few times, and he's a pretty great teacher as well. Dave knows how to exploit your bass playing weaknesses, but not in a "you suck" way, very helpful.

My last semester of PI i was with Lincoln Goines and he was my favorite, really cool laid back guy, but he showed me some technique exercises that really helped out. If you feel like you're lacking direction on where you want to take your playing next, he's the guy to go to.

I had some of the labs with Ron Mahdi, Bruce Gertz and Fernando Huergo--- those guys were all amazing and i would be they'd be great teachers too.

Danny Mo only takes like 2 students a semester so it's really hard to get him until your final semester, i had him for a lab and we didn't gel, i wished we did but i felt like he was annoyed with the rest of the class. It was a reading 1 lab and a few of the kids would play while he was talking etc... haha so i dont really blame him.

I've heard great things about Anthony Vitti but never had a chance to study with him.

It's really hard to go wrong with the bass department... :bassist:
 
#13
Thanks a lot so far guys. I'm really looking for someone who will push me hard, and I do well with harsh criticism. My musical goals are mostly pop/funk/rock, but I also love playing jazz which I studied throughout college. I really want to understand my role better and the choices to make while being a bassist in a trad. rock/pop/funk band. Danny Mo sounds like a great fit, minus the part about not being able to fit in his schedule.
 
#14
If you're doing jazz on electric, there is only one choice, and that is Oscar Stagnaro.

If you want to take from an upright player as well (which I suggest you do, because even if you don't play upright, you can pick up phrasing and dynamics), you should get with John Lockwood and Bruce Gertz.
 
#15
As far as crazy ex factor serious musicianship combined with great teaching...

+1 to above, Stagnaro and Lockwood IMHO. They're the best


BUT....

Oscar is is difficult to read you need allot of self motivation to study with him. He'll let you float. He also is reluctant to lay into you,He's just really nice. Too many compliments. I mean I generally know what I'm doing good, I want to hear 10 things I'm not doing right and maybe I'll not be aware of 3-4 of them,,,,,That is the feedback I want.

Thing is.......Tell him that and you have a whole new Oscar tearing you up (smiling and nice).

He also Tours allot if you really considering him write him a email asking him how he looks for the semester.


Aj
 
#16
John Lockwood IMHO is the "best" double bass player in Boston.This man was Alan Dawson's first call partner for years before Alan left us.

He is so humble and down to earth, Very smart but not a intellectual. He'll talk about some crazy stuff like sewing his own leg back up after a bicycle crash as a boy in south Africa. He'll take a 50 dollar gig on Tuesday playing with "anyone" just because he love to play. He can play it all....

There is no one on that faculty I respect more than John.


He will load you up, and push you hard.Complements are rare. I always felt in over my head with him.Every thing felt half prepared. I had to deal with some self issues to accept that to keep going back.



Aj
 
#17
DirtPoorRobins said:
Thanks a lot so far guys. I'm really looking for someone who will push me hard, and I do well with harsh criticism.
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Stinnett will absolutely chew your ass out if you don't practice your ****.

As far as I'm concerned, he's really the only way to go if you are looking for a focused, organized, comprehensive course of study. In my experience, many of the bass teachers at Berklee are much better players than instructors.

You should come to on of Stinnett's Bass Workouts or the New Hampshire Bass Fest to get a feel for his teaching style.
 
#19
Oscar is is difficult to read you need allot of self motivation to study with him. He'll let you float. He also is reluctant to lay into you,He's just really nice. Too many compliments. I mean I generally know what I'm doing good, I want to hear 10 things I'm not doing right and maybe I'll not be aware of 3-4 of them,,,,,That is the feedback I want.

Thing is.......Tell him that and you have a whole new Oscar tearing you up (smiling and nice).
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Yeah, I had this experience with Oscar in his advanced Latin lab. I didn't feel like he kicked my ass enough, really. I still feel like I'm half-assing my Tumbaos (although they're a lot better)
 
#20
Andrew Jones said:
I've never studied with Stinnet.Barely know him at all. I've heard he's harsh/blunt. A buddy said he was great because he was terrified of him so he practiced his but off. LOL that's awesome! What ever gets you putting in the hours right?
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Jim tells it like he sees it, that's for sure. He's an amazing teacher, though, specifically outside of Berklee. Take his Bass Performance Group lab- it's pretty much the only lab in which I've learned anything...

Better yet- come to the New Hampshire Bass Fest June 24-27. Michael Manring, Todd Johnson and other really great players are going to be teaching and playing. It's going to be a great time- funwise and educationwise.

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