How long did you take lessons?

[DiabolusInMusic]

I've been playing for a decade and I still take lessons on and off, I am always looking for a new respectable teacher. Nobody knows everything but i might as well try right?

I'm currently not taking lessons aside from my own lessons but I do know the name of my next teacher, just no time right now.

So in answer to your question, probably forever.

 

[Ed Fuqua]

First, I didn't ask my instructor to "do" anything for me. Somebody handed me Invalid Link Removed article and it made so much sense to me I wanted to study with the guy that wrote it. We worked on getting to a relaxed tension free physical approach, to hearing with more and more clarity, to approaching improvisation (in the jazz idiom) with your own voice rather than a pastiche of acquired licks or haphazard and random note choice from chord scales. Ear training through singing and identification of intervals in the first octave, in the second octave, triads and their inversions in open and closed positions, 4 part chords and their inversions in open and closed positions. We did not get to the point of doing 4 part chords with one tension, then with two tensions.

 

[lfmn16]

My instructor is good with helping me figure parts to a song and for writing out lines that I want to learn.

Showing you how to play songs is not the same as teaching you to play bass. If this is what you want, fine, but there are a lot of things you should be learning such as technique and theory.

 

[OnThaCouch]

Thanks for sharing the article. Lots of great stuff. I agree with the thoughts shared by Mr. Solomon. I am taking lessons for the first time in years and after a looooong layoff. My instructor has the same approach. I feel so much more "connected" to the learning process, my bass, and music. The downside is that it has curbed my GAS pretty well .

First, I didn't ask my instructor to "do" anything for me. Somebody handed me Invalid Link Removed article and it made so much sense to me I wanted to study with the guy that wrote it. We worked on getting to a relaxed tension free physical approach, to hearing with more and more clarity, to approaching improvisation (in the jazz idiom) with your own voice rather than a pastiche of acquired licks or haphazard and random note choice from chord scales. Ear training through singing and identification of intervals in the first octave, in the second octave, triads and their inversions in open and closed positions, 4 part chords and their inversions in open and closed positions. We did not get to the point of doing 4 part chords with one tension, then with two tensions.

 

[Rickett Customs]

Within my first 5 years of playing, starting in 1985/1986......until 1990.
Many years in cover bands warped my mind for awhile......

Then this year, picked up where I left off with theory, in lessons........

If you get to a point where you feel you can't learn anything more, it's time to quit

 

[keiththebassist]

Never had one formal bass lesson. Though I do get plenty of informal training watching and learning from other players...

 

[Jayhawk]

I took them for about two years. I stopped because both my instructor and I agreed that I had achieved what I had set out to achieve when I began taking the lessons.

 

[rydin4lifebass]

I had a lengthy talk with my instructor. We're moving into interval training and working with some albums with classic and well-known bass lines (Zeppelin II, Stax Records, etc.). We're going to work with this and help me figure out bass lines to songs I like so that I can use my ear better to figure things out on my own. I'm also working with chord charts and hearing the changes/intervals etc....thanks for all the input!

 

[carlthegroover]

So far, only one year of one-on-one lessons at a local music store. But it was pretty useful to start learning how to play the instrument alongside a teacher, and I was lucky to have an actual bassist instead of a guitarist-turned-bassist. He showed me correct techniques and helped me develop some sense of groove. I stopped because of financial issues, and because I thought it was time to move on and find someone else to learn from (long story).

I'll be taking more lessons sometime in the near future (especially to focus on sight reading, jazz essentials, more theory and songwriting... I've been thinking of drumming lessons too). For now, I'm happy learning by practice by jamming with my band.

 

[Mulebagger]

Just two. The guy kept selling me stuff and spent half each lesson trying to convince me that the Washburn bass on the wall was better for me than my 75 Jazz.
I was a broke college kid so I took the DIY route.

 

[carlthegroover]

First, I didn't ask my instructor to "do" anything for me. Somebody handed me Invalid Link Removed article and it made so much sense to me I wanted to study with the guy that wrote it. We worked on getting to a relaxed tension free physical approach, to hearing with more and more clarity, to approaching improvisation (in the jazz idiom) with your own voice rather than a pastiche of acquired licks or haphazard and random note choice from chord scales. Ear training through singing and identification of intervals in the first octave, in the second octave, triads and their inversions in open and closed positions, 4 part chords and their inversions in open and closed positions. We did not get to the point of doing 4 part chords with one tension, then with two tensions.

Awesome article. Really inspiring. It also made me realize I'm focusing on only three of the five aspects he mentions (I don't practice much theory or improvisation... the latter only with my band).

 

[MrLenny1]

Transcribe a song yourself, completely, bass line, melody and chords.
I did this years ago, took me 40 hours of work on one tune.
Great way to really learn something, ear training galore, then have your instructor
check it out for accuracy.
Also, I did a Classical Bass method book(Edouard Nanny) for proper fingering, the best thing I ever did to improve speed and clean playing.

 

[Ed Goode]

Am I missing something here? I really, truly don't want to be rude, but if you have been taking bass lessons for 2.5 years and are still working with tabs instead of notation something is not quite right. While it is wonderful to be able to get something out of a lesson other than just scales, after that much time you should be at least familiar with figuring out song keys and learning most normal bass lines from a tune ....

Might I suggest that you figure out what it is you are looking for in bass instruction, then locate a teacher that will help you reach your goals. If your only goal is to have someone show you how to play a bass line note-for-note, then maybe you have the right person. But if you're paying hard-earned coin for lessons you may as well get at least the fundamentals taught to you as part of the deal.

Again, no disrespect meant, but something sounds funky (and not in a good way) ...

 

[bassbully]

Ummm...Never had a one.

 

[rydin4lifebass]

I've never really given him a goal or something to work towards because I've never really had one to be honest. He's brought up the idea many times of sight reading and things like that but I never showed an interest on it I guess. I'm now going to work with him on figuring out chords and bass lines and working with interval training as well...

If I had to set a goal, I would say that I want to be able to listen to a song and work to figure out the changes/chords and then figure out the exact bass line to it. I'd also like to be able to get a set chord progression and be able to "jam" over it. My instructor also talks about using interval training to help with this...which I'm not sure how exactly that fits but I've included it below...I guess my goals would be:

1) To be able to listen a song and figure out the chords (by ear or chord chart) and then transcribe the bass line.
2) To understand intervals and how they apply to learning songs and bass lines.
3) To use chord charts and intervals to jam over a chord progression or chord chart.

Do those make sense and work to take to my instructor?

 

[henry2513]

About a year or so once per week.

 

[P_Randolph]

I took drum lessons for a little while when I was really young. That is about the extent. I am planing on picking up cello and taking cello lessons very soon though.

 

[Kubicki440]

Around 3 years for me. I haven't been playing for quite some time now (since 2000), with the job, college, and family I have been sidetracked.

I am seriously thinking about taking lessons again. I am looking into a teacher (Mike Georgin) from Willis Music in Florence at the moment.

 

[Spin Doctor]

I've never really given him a goal or something to work towards because I've never really had one to be honest. He's brought up the idea many times of sight reading and things like that but I never showed an interest on it I guess. I'm now going to work with him on figuring out chords and bass lines and working with interval training as well...

If I had to set a goal, I would say that I want to be able to listen to a song and work to figure out the changes/chords and then figure out the exact bass line to it. I'd also like to be able to get a set chord progression and be able to "jam" over it. My instructor also talks about using interval training to help with this...which I'm not sure how exactly that fits but I've included it below...I guess my goals would be:

1) To be able to listen a song and figure out the chords (by ear or chord chart) and then transcribe the bass line.
2) To understand intervals and how they apply to learning songs and bass lines.
3) To use chord charts and intervals to jam over a chord progression or chord chart.

Do those make sense and work to take to my instructor?

You are still missing the point. Your goal is to be able to play what you want, and understand what you are doing. If you just let him teach you using his own curriculum, you will probably be able to achieve that goal. You don't need to be telling him what to teach because you don't have enough knowledge to dictate anything. If you learn the fundamentals of music in particular, you can do anything. The mechanics of playing bass is easy. You make sounds by thumping the string, plucking the string with your fingers, or using a pick. You make individual notes by pressing on a fret. That is all the easy stuff.

What you want to know about (whether you realize it or not) is how to apply those things to music. You can't start in the middle and get it by learning baselines and fluff stuff like that when you have no idea how any of it goes together. That's why you are still fooling with tabs after over 2 years of lessons. You have to start from the beginning of music fundamentals and work forward. Knowledge of modes, scales, arpeggios, pentatonics, subdividing the beat and all the rest, will unlock the whole musical world. With that knowledge, you can come up with your own bassline or learn one from a CD in a matter of minutes instead of days or weeks.

All you need to tell your instructor is that you want to be able to play whatever you hear. Then let him take it from there. You are making the whole process too complicated and wasting your own time. The method to success often looks like the hardest way, but it is actually the easiest. Basically all you have been doing so far, is forcing your instructor to make you a half-assed bass player.

 

[EggplantofDoom]

My father showed me how to string and tune it. All else was Self taught. So...about 10 mins of lessons?