I know I said it before, but study kills GAS!

[Altitude]

I do think it's a good idea, when you get really serious in your mind about buying a new instrument, to spend a few minutes playing the ones you have before you pull the trigger. Whenever I do that, I come away with a sense that what I already have is good, and that money would not be well spent to simply broaden my options.

OTOH, if I were to do the same thing and still feel like I needed the new bass, it might provide some validation to the decision.

 

[Dr. Cheese]

i study music and bass regularly, but: i don't need any more instruments and i may not deserve the ones i have! alas, no GAS for me.

the fact that your teacher kicked your butt and made you think = one powerful lesson! hang in, cheese: none of us can coast the hill unless we've climbed out of the valley.

I think you get my point. I was practicing, but not quite pushing myself like I should. That was the point my teacher was making.

 

[Copperhead]

I argue there's inherent value in both, but I think a lot of people will grant authority to monster players with online followings without really questioning how valuable or useful their advice is to the individual play

With no disrespect I think this is equivalent to the "if it's on the internet it must be true " quip that's thrown at people who seek information therein.
While there are some people who are going to be that naive, that kind of comeback can be an insult to someone's intelligence as well.
Just because one feels the need for a teacher, it doesn't mean they don't have the discernment to vet a teacher and their credentials, as well as evaluating if they are the real deal or just a four flusher.

 

[Dr. Cheese]

There is a point for many where the issue becomes "is the bass better than I am?". My contention is that as long as the bass is set up well with good low action and good intonation, it should be a decent tool to learn with. You may think you would sound better with different pickups, etc., but as long as you are not struggling to play the bass because it's ergonomically badly set up, you should be OK. As long as the bass is set up so that it's capable of being played with ease by a good player, then the bass may be better than you are, in which case it's not holding you back.

It also occurs to me that the teacher is entitled to critique technique and correct it, but he should not be doing it in an abrasive way. The student is entitled to call time out and ask for a more constructive critique.

I feel no guilt or shame about owning nice gear. I just know that quality of gear is not my problem!

 

[Admiral Akbar]

About a month ago, I was at my lesson, slogging through the first three bars of Jaco’s “River People.” My teacher wanted to hear how I practiced at home. After listening to me, he tore me a new one; pointing out how my raking persists, he criticized my intonation, thumb position on the back of the neck, my poor time, etc. Later, I found myself thinking that if I have made so little progress in two years, maybe I am too set in my ways, and I should quit my lessons. I am 90-95% self taught for over forty years. Maybe I should accept where I am. After a supportive pm with Mr. OB (TB member and Fender fan) and some text messagess with my teacher, I decided to fumble along, the best I can.

The one thing that never crossed my mind was how great another bass would be. No marvelous boutique Jazz will give me better time. No awesome Dingwall will improve my sight reading. No new rig will make me clean up my left hand technique. To be honest, my lust for gear had largely subsided when I decided to buy a DJ5 instead of a Sadowsky, but that tough assessment of my teacher really hit home that I needed to be a better bassist, not buy a better bass.

I just felt like sharing that, especially for any younger musician who might be side tracked into thinking “if I only had ____.”

Thank you, Cheese.

“I need to be a better bassist, not buy a better bass...”

Is a mantra for ALL OF US.

 

[JRA]

I think you get my point.

i do get your point! i've had teachers who've rearranged my cheeks for laziness/sluffing. one cat just laughed at my attempts. i didn't like it. but it made me want to be stronger/better.

makes me want to practice...so it won't happen again!

 

[pie_man_25]

I have known this teacher for many years before I became his student. Even though it hit me hard, I know that he is not a mean guy, but he is a legitimately great player of Jazz, avant-garde and pop music. He knows I want to be great as I can be, and I guess he felt it was time to kick my butt in gear.

Sometimes you need to take the nice approach, sometimes you have to be the bad guy. Knowing when and how to do either is the hard part. It's all good, even if he screwed up, you've got the resilience to know he's not crapping on you, he's crapping on your work - which still sucks, but that's something you can change and control.

 

[JRA]

"is the bass better than I am?"

i have never owned an instrument which was not better than me. but i'm also fairly lucky!

 

[onda'bass]

I have had both kids of teachers, the demanding one always got more out of me. I was ashamed to play bad I front of them, and work my butt off so it didn’t happen. A teacher that pushes and doesn't sugarcoat is a good teacher, versus one that always say that’s great you’re killing it, when you know you could do better.

 

[cheapbasslovin]

There is a point for many where the issue becomes "is the bass better than I am?". My contention is that as long as the bass is set up well with good low action and good intonation, it should be a decent tool to learn with. You may think you would sound better with different pickups, etc., but as long as you are not struggling to play the bass because it's ergonomically badly set up, you should be OK. As long as the bass is set up so that it's capable of being played with ease by a good player, then the bass may be better than you are, in which case it's not holding you back.

It also occurs to me that the teacher is entitled to critique technique and correct it, but he should not be doing it in an abrasive way. The student is entitled to call time out and ask for a more constructive critique.

I was actually referring to more specific upgrades. You can't learn fretless without a fretless, maybe you're cutting into your practice by not being able to carry your amp around, things like that.

 

[JimmyM]

I suggest finding another teacher. IMO, by criticizing you he displays what a poor excuse for a teacher he is.

Got to disagree. Do you want to learn or be humored?

 

[cosmicevan]

I suggest finding another teacher. IMO, by criticizing you he displays what a poor excuse for a teacher he is.

Exactly. A good teacher’s most important job is to inspire. Some people like to tear down. Now he has to point out what needs improvement but it’s the way they do it that’s important.

I know there were others with similar sentiments as these, but reality check on life - LEARN to accept ALL feedback, no matter how it is delivered or how much you'd rather not want to hear it. When I stopped defending myself in life (whether it be work related or personal) and started listening to what was said and asking myself what can I do about it going forward instead of justifying why it happened is when I started to really grow. My career took off, my personal relationships thrived, and I've learned how to be a better version of me - mostly accepting that I'm constantly working on myself. Just this week, I got a promotion at work and the SVP of my company personally delivered the news to me and he said the thing that sets me apart from the pack is my ability to accept feedback and do something with it.

We live in a society where everyone is afraid to offend or be offended and it is a BIG problem. When you are uncomfortable from feedback, when it makes you feel bad...those are REAL growth opportunities to improve. Sugar coating things to soften the blow isn't helping anyone. Sure there is a nice way to say things and a not nice way to say things, but if you are looking to grow, you must learn to accept all kinds of feedback...and you must also learn to take positive feedback and examine how it could have been even better.

...unless ofcourse all you are looking for is someone to stroke your ego, in which case, yes find a new teacher who will praise you when you perform at sub-par levels. I would rather strive to find the one wrong thing to fix than celebrate the 99 things that went perfect. All successful people in life don't look for excuses or explanations for why things are they way they are, they look for ways they can make it even better.

 

[Dr. Cheese]

No one would tell BB King or Albert King that the way the practice, their positioning, etc. was wrong. If your style works for you and you can still learn to play different styles and theory, then thats all that matters.

I'd find another teacher that will focus on wh. Mat you want to learn vs re-inventing the way you play, unless you want that re-invention.

My teacher has always said that

No one would tell BB King or Albert King that the way the practice, their positioning, etc. was wrong. If your style works for you and you can still learn to play different styles and theory, then thats all that matters.

I'd find another teacher that will focus on what you want to learn vs re-inventing the way you play, unless you want that re-invention.

My teacher always that if I can do something cleanly with my current technique, fine. My teacher would also note that BB King was phenomenal at being BB King, but he would have been a horrible Al DiMeola. Most of us don’t have the option of being an in demand idiosyncratic player.

 

[JimmyM]

My teacher has always said that


My teacher always that if I can do something cleanly with my current technique, fine. My teacher would also note that BB King was phenomenal at being BB King, but he would have been a horrible Al DiMeola. Most of us don’t have the option of being an in demand idiosyncratic player.

Exactly . Using famous people as a reason why someone should take the easy way out always ignores the elephant in the room...

You ain't that famous person!

 

[MrLenny1]

Sometimes you need a reality check.
I just started lessons with a good teacher who is
25 years younger than me. He is putting me thru all the basics
with a metronome,yes Jeff Berlin, a metronome.lol
In just 2 weeks my playing has improved thru 2 scale exercises
concentrating on really knowing the neck.
Hang in there Cheese.

 

[bherman]

I listened to the video - I think that you have real issues with time. Sounds like you keep straying away from the metronome beat. Maybe 60 bpm is too fast - when I am learning something (say a scale exercise) I'll sometimes start really slow, like 40 or 50 bpm. Don't move from that speed until you can nail it in perfect time. The most important thing for bass is to always be right on the dime when it comes to the beat. Maybe your teacher can give you some exercises (not based on a song) to get you up speed (no pun intended) to that point.

 

[Slough Feg Bass]

I just got a new UB teacher, and first full lesson is scheduled for next week !

what works for me to cure GAS ? write new songs and figure out cool ways to record them to the best of my ability. I can spend weeks on 1 song just getting all the parts and lyrics, then recording it will take another couple weeks, and the whole time I just use what I have because it is all pretty decent stuff and the gear really isn't the problem...

 

[Grahams Groove]

With no disrespect I think this is equivalent to the "if it's on the internet it must be true " quip that's thrown at people who seek information therein.
While there are some people who are going to be that naive, that kind of comeback can be an insult to someone's intelligence as well.
Just because one feels the need for a teacher, it doesn't mean they don't have the discernment to vet a teacher and their credentials, as well as evaluating if they are the real deal or just a four flusher.

None taken...

These are somewhat different points though. There are plenty of people using the internet to conduct lessons, compile info, expand their musical horizons, etc. And many of them are doing it successfully. I'm not arguing from the perspective of a Luddite or saying that the internet is a throw-away. I feel quite the opposite.

My point is that there are people on YT, Instagram, FB, etc. who have become very adept at marketing themselves, amassing a following, attracting endorsements, and getting hits/views without necessarily having significant experience outside of that particular medium. It often seems logical (not speaking to naivete or intelligence here) to assume these people are a a reliable or quality source for information if they are talked about a lot, come up in your video feeds, top google searches, etc. Saying that is counter-intuitive isn't calling people stupid - it's highlighting the fact that we perpetuate those assumptions within internet culture.

I've always had that attitude toward internet celebrity status more generally, but hearing that commentary from Elitch made me more aware of some of the internet sources I've gleaned bass info from. I've experienced the same thing trying to self-assess & rehab minor injuries from running or climbing. It's easy to fall into that trap of having 'done some research' & quickly instituting practices that had little meaningful vetting. (Maybe that's me being uniquely stupid, but I doubt it.) Hence, the point I was making about it being foolish to take a video from a guy who is best known for his YT videos and throw it in the face of a player/teacher who may have much more experience where it matters for the student in question.

FWIW, I don't at all consider this black & white. The point is that it's worth pausing before jumping into a YT tutorial or video series to really examine what kind of credentials or experience this person has aside from knowing how to utilize the medium better than most. Conversely, I don't assume that a player with tons of experience and recording under their belt will be well-suited to teach those things. It goes both ways, but we have way more opportunity to take online info as a given than we do to engage with people who have immense experience to share.

 

[Dr. Cheese]

I listened to the video - I think that you have real issues with time. Sounds like you keep straying away from the metronome beat. Maybe 60 bpm is too fast - when I am learning something (say a scale exercise) I'll sometimes start really slow, like 40 or 50 bpm. Don't move from that speed until you can nail it in perfect time. The most important thing for bass is to always be right on the dime when it comes to the beat. Maybe your teacher can give you some exercises (not based on a song) to get you up speed (no pun intended) to that point.

The thing I do not understand is that I lock instantly with drums or I can play fine with a track. Metronomes are really hard for me.

 

[Grahams Groove]

The thing I do not understand is that I lock instantly with drums or I can play fine with a track. Metronomes are really hard for me.

I go through phases on that too - depending upon how regularly I'm practicing with a metronome. Out of curiosity, where have you developed most of your bass playing experience & skills? Playing to recordings, playing with people, lesson books, etc?