OK, rookie question but I've been playing 10 months and think I may need a new teacher. I'm totally new to bass but love it. I'm 50 and before this could play about 6 chords on the guitar and that was it. Never had a guitar lesson. I don't get to practice bass as often as I should but 2 small children and a full time job take up a lot of my time. I've had a lesson every 2/3 weeks for the last 10 months. I found my teacher through my wife's drum teacher. She's young but a music graduate and multi instrumentalist who majored in bass. She has great knowledge, great taste in music and is really encouraging. I'm learning to read music with her and we've covered the scales, circle of 5ths and she's challenging me to learn the fretboard (no tab) which I like. But, my technique sucks. In 10 months we've only really focussed on 4 songs, 3 of which have been too much of a stretch for me (Higher Ground, Hit me with your Rhythm Stick and Crazy Little Thing Called Love -all too fast for me). I'm finding it really discouraging and after a while I just don't want to practice. I just pick up my bass and mess around or resort to playing simple stuff from YouTube instead. Am I just a slow learner, not practicing enough (45-60 mins 3 or 4 times a week), or do I need a new teacher with a more gradual approach? I realise that she is trying to challenge me but it just feels like I suck all the time. I struggle with damping and the string noise I get with my fingering technique seems really bad. What do you think?
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Do I need a new teacher?
- Thread starter Yonni
- Start date
No need to play fast at first, try playing them really slowly and speed up over time... ...and I think this is a discussion you should have directly with your teacher first.
That's a red flag.
If you're reading music, you should be doing simpler and shorter learning pieces from a method book on sight reading. Good books will give you a variety of styles to work with and manageable length of pieces. Ideally, you want to work on novel pieces that you haven't heard before to see if you can apply your reading skills and play the piece correctly.
It's important to remember that our teachers are not our only educational resource. The best musicians I know are relentlessly curious and motivated self-learners. Perhaps adjust your expectations so that 10% comes from the teacher and 90% comes from self study. For example, for every 1 song your teacher gives you to learn, pick 9 more songs and figure them out on your own. I recommend to start with easy material that will give you a few "base hits" and a feeling of progress. There is no shame in learning simple but beloved material like Happy Birthday, Mary Had a Little Lamb, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, etc. 
She is providing you an extremely solid foundation on theory, whether that is the best way for you to learn bass only you will know.
Those are terrible first songs for a beginner to attempt IMO. You should start it slow with some simple stuff with good technique and work into the harder / faster / more technically demanding songs.
I would say that whilst Crazy Little Thing, at least the right notes in the right order, might be reasonable after 10 months, busking through Hit Me at tempo without having developed proper technique and stamina (both L and R) could easily lead to injury and pain and a very short career as a bassist. YMMV
Your concern with your progress and all these questions you have are exactly what a budding bass player should have. It's normal for progress to slow after a while because the better you get, the harder it is to reach the next plateau. If you feel like you're doing everything you can to improve, just let the process do its thing. On the other hand if you feel like you're short-handing yourself with practice, you probably are. Remember that good technique comes from knowing where to put our fingers and why we're putting them there.
Sounds to me like just growing pains. Let the process do its thing.
Sounds to me like just growing pains. Let the process do its thing.
Exactly...then presenting the pupil with a song like "Rhythm Stick"...
. No wonder the OP feels frustrated. As with learning in general...you have to learn to walk before you can run. It also comes from knowing that not having both wrists as straight as possible... over stretching on the lower frets..not warming up and down using gentle stretches...not keeping the fingers and hands as relaxed as possible...not having a good stance...not wearing the bass at a medium height...gripping the neck too tightly...etc...can all lead to injury problems later on.
As I mentioned earlier, this is generally ( or SHOULD be..) taught at the start of a series of lessons.
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Ok, thanks for the responses. Lots to reply to.
Coyote & Portland - I like the approach but have my doubts about the application. That I can talk out with her hopefully.
I agree about the pieces too. I do try to read music when I deconstruct the song at home but as I know them all I can cheat with rhythm etc. when I should be counting I'm just hearing the bass line in my head.
Steve - I can manage CLT full speed but with sloppy technique. Hit Me gave me a real magical moment when I strung a couple of the verse measures together for the first time. It was a real challenge and I'm playing them really slow but it's fun. My muscles aren't up to it yet though.
Fear - We've gone over strap length, thumb position and right hand (fingers for me, just feels more natural, but I'll learn pick too). I found wrists an issue but I think I've corrected that. She did go over it early on but I slipped into bad habits at home.
My sense is that she's a knowledgeable and enthusiastic teacher but she's young (24) and still learning to listen to her students. I think there are 3 things going on from your responses 1) This is fairly natural 2) I need to be open with her about this 3) I'm probably not studying as much as I should.
Coyote & Portland - I like the approach but have my doubts about the application. That I can talk out with her hopefully.
I agree about the pieces too. I do try to read music when I deconstruct the song at home but as I know them all I can cheat with rhythm etc. when I should be counting I'm just hearing the bass line in my head.
Steve - I can manage CLT full speed but with sloppy technique. Hit Me gave me a real magical moment when I strung a couple of the verse measures together for the first time. It was a real challenge and I'm playing them really slow but it's fun. My muscles aren't up to it yet though.
Fear - We've gone over strap length, thumb position and right hand (fingers for me, just feels more natural, but I'll learn pick too). I found wrists an issue but I think I've corrected that. She did go over it early on but I slipped into bad habits at home.
My sense is that she's a knowledgeable and enthusiastic teacher but she's young (24) and still learning to listen to her students. I think there are 3 things going on from your responses 1) This is fairly natural 2) I need to be open with her about this 3) I'm probably not studying as much as I should.
Long story really short. After 10 months you should be gigging.
Of course, IMO.
Of course, IMO.
oh my, those are fairly hard for first songs to learn. i started much simpler. first song learned was stand by me
OK...I'll step into this one with the music educators out there. I would submit, based on the OP's age and lifestyle, that he will never be a professional musician. So why learn to read music at this point? I would say don't do that and wait until you have a need for it...you get a gig someday that requires it or you are just naturally interested in getting more than tabs offer. That will save you some time. It's good stuff but I would get a little further down the road first b/c it will take you a lot of time. You will improve but probably not need to use it. The bands you will find yourself playing in for the near future are not going to be handing you notation to read more than likely. I do agree you should have a discussion with your teacher...and slow down the metronome a lot increasing it slowly over the course of your practice between lessons.
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
I think you need to sit down with your instructor, and go over your goals and her projections. Make sure you are on the same page.
But after 10 months of playing, especially since you have some guitar background, you should be further along than you are now. Whether that is a result of not practicing enough, I have no idea.
But after 10 months of playing, especially since you have some guitar background, you should be further along than you are now. Whether that is a result of not practicing enough, I have no idea.
Before I'd judge the situation, I'd be curious as to the arrangement of the songs. Yes, the 'as recorded' versions of Higher Ground and Rhythm may be a little tough for a 10 month veteran... but are the versions you've been given to work on (excuse the terminology) 'dumbed down' a bit? I have given students simplified versions of songs they want to learn when I know they weren't ready to handle an exact match to a recorded version. I didn't want to frustrate them, but at the same time satisfy their appetite for learning.
I notice OP also mentions practicing for 45-60 minutes 3 or 4 times per week. I understand the time demands making this tough to do more. However, I would propose trying to do 20-30 minutes everyday instead. Especially when starting out, it's important to gain familiarity with an instrument by being with it as frequently as possible. Don't let noodling or YouTube videos distract you. Focus on the lesson at hand and get to work on that first. If you have extra time, then go and experiment with the videos, etc. From a teacher's perspective, I feel there are a lot of those 'YouTube lessons' that can be sort of counter-intuitive to what a teacher may be guiding you towards.
Have this conversation with your instructor. Be open and completely honest about everything you've mentioned in your post. Maybe she has a grander plan for instructing you than she's explained to you. Maybe she's trying to put a round peg in a square hole also. The only way you'll ever know is to ask the questions to her.
Good luck and keep working at it.
You don't have to gig or play in a "band" as such. However, a jam from time to time with other like minded people is one of the most beneficial things for helping you to develop as a musician.
