I got sent an E-mail saying I was cited in this thread, so this is just some background to my interactions with him
As one of Jeff's perceived problems, he gave me more stick than many, water off a ducks back to me, but not for Jeff it seems when found "wanting" on some of his ideas.
Now again I have to say big Jeff Berlin fan, always have been since the 70s when his name was being talked about here in the UK.
Jeff and I had very similar musical backgrounds, we both started on different instruments and both had formal training from a young age, we both changed to bass. We both come from an era where the teacher is always right...even when they are wrong, we both had verbal and what is now considered 'physical abuse' in or training...all that means is our teachers were allowed to hurt us if we done wrong.
When I first caught up with Jeff on the internet we swapped ideas and teaching philosophies...we were pretty much in a agreement on everything...except metronomes and how to function on the web.
Many of the things he spoke of were things we spoke of, quite a few things could be ideas that I spoke of first with him, but because those ideas came from my teachers I would assume they came from many teachers and more than likely came from his as well, but those ideas were based in proven fact and use.
Such as "You cannot teach yourself because you are not qualified to know what you need to learn" or Music itself is the reward, all music theory is based on proven facts, but its use is open to subjections" or "You cannot play what you cannot hear" and other such ideas.
So in one of his threads on Myspace I think it was he got laid into a young player about.......metronomes. Victor Wooten says use a metronome like this, what did Jeff think? Well it got out of hand as you would expect with all sorts of comments commending famous players that use metronomes, and condemning Jeff for his stance. I sided with the young kid and asked Jeff to produce proof...documented proof that metronomes were bad.
He provided hearsay stories, which I questioned again, and then he sent me a ranting E-mail, which I replied to informing him that being on line is not his "classroom" and what he says needs to be measured and thought out, you cannot express your opinions in that way on line because anyone can see and read it, in your classroom it goes no further then the door...you can see and judge how what you say is being taking....another ranting E-mail, this one quite vindictive and then he banned me from his conversations and that was it...or so I thought.
Moving on a few years he appears on Talkbass, invited again by mods, he had a column once before, so I logged in, and posted that if he continues in the way he has done in the past it will not end well. Sure enough it starts good but then he gets into corners he cannot get out of, the metronome debate came again, as did some of his home spun philosophies, with his reputation to back it up.
Now a reputation is only worth something if the people you talk to are aware of it. I had already spent years telling students to listen to what he says and ignore the ranting, but it was proving harder and harder as more and more new players were contradicting what he was saying...in the end it was becoming two camps of opinion, Jeff's and everybody else's...with Jeff in the losing camp as far as being on-line was concerned.
In the end it got all messy, Jeff got personal with me, again water off a ducks back no worse than a bad review, the reason he got personal was because if he could not attack and bring down what I was saying he would attack and bring down me....and every time I walked away from his thread thinking it was done, he would bring me back in by trying to dis-prove or use me to make his point by quoting me or naming me in threads. For my part it was all good humoured, even the so called personal stuff, because I have confidence in what I say and post, for Jeff it got him wound up to the extent that maybe he had to have the last word on anything concerning me. To me it was nothing, not a second thought giving to him other than, The music world, bass playing in particular, is losing the chance to learn from a very unique individual about life, learning music and playing, he continues to not 'get the internet'...it is not a classroom with boundaries, it is accessed by anyone with a modem, in many countries across many continents, so you do not choose who comes in to it, you do not say how what you say is interpreted or taken, advice and criticism is the same thing. If you tell some one their technique is wrong..is that advice or criticism? If you start to be hard on someone how can they read the tone of our voice or the body language you are using...if you are making a strong point with passion, how does the reader know it is not being personal or vindictive?
Jeff has so much to offer, and should have more respect than he gets, but his actions and words get in the way. For example, and we spoke of this scenario, if you do a clinic how do you stop it form descending in to arguments about what you did say, rather than what you now want to say? The waters get muddied because people will hold you to what you once said because you said it with an absolute......no way out.
That is what happened on a few occasions on TB, yes he is brilliant, yes he can sight read the sock of many, yes he needs to be listened to and yes he can back it up...that is not arrogance, that is him believing in himself, which all great people have, the problem is confronting people after a point has been giving...and giving a few points yourself Jeff is 'mending his way' then it is just a better understanding of the modern teaching world where his 'pupils' are not his, they are just seeking on-line advice or tips..or just looking for justification for what the way they learn and play....which is not the same as showing up in a classroom every day looking to learn.
I am still a big fan, I could never fall out with him, or hold any grudge because that was how I was taught by my teachers.....they were hard.
The music world is a lesser place when his voice is diminished because younger player do not resonate with that type of teaching or attitude, political correctness is what it is, but we come from a different era, and I hope Jeff learns to work in it rather than rile against it.
Yours faithfully,
That Kid (aged 56 and a half)
