^You know, I wind up teaching a lot of young students. With the old blue Mel Bay book 1 for guitar it is suprisingly easy to teach even a 2nd grader to read music. No flash cards, memorization etc, just doin those simple songs, that's all it takes.
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Jeff Berlin Discussing Music Ed
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^ Learning to read is as rudimentary as learning to tune your instrument or how to hold it correctly and get a good tone. It's not that big a deal but those from the Flat Earth Society in the other thread which thinks they need to fact check proven teaching methods would disagree.
If people are nice with me, it is easy to be nice with them. Everybody has been totally cool which makes this a pleasure for me. Ask away Friends, and if I can help you, I will!
Good material answers practically all questions. Less quality material plus a broad avenue to learn from specifies little which means that on learns little. There are so many bass players who say that they have been playing for years, but who also claim to have a lot of difficulties as players. The answer about why this is clear; they haven't learned the right ways to play. But the term "right ways" throws people who want a concrete answer. My suggestion is to start with my 16 points of learning. Plus, find any teacher who runs the show, not the students and who offers music in their music lessons. You will be more than 50% closer to your goals as improving bass players this way. Good luck to all.
Jeff,
Do you ever deal with young students? Mine are all on guitar, I was wondering what your thoughts are for students up to 3rd or 4th grade. I've had success, though I'd probably personally recommend piano.
Do you ever deal with young students? Mine are all on guitar, I was wondering what your thoughts are for students up to 3rd or 4th grade. I've had success, though I'd probably personally recommend piano.
Violin and cello don't lend themselves to jazz that often. True, there was Joe Venuti and Stephan Grappelli, but these guys are only a few of the handfull of jazz violinists that I am aware of. I don't know any jazz cellists, but there must be some.
I am not sure that jazz studies should be added to their classical practicing because jazz arco musicians have pretty strange technique, totally contrary to the technique required by classical playing. Perhaps you can buy some CD's and simply play them around the house. This is what my father did for me when I was a child, and I am full of the terrific music to this day fron the music that I heard over 45 years ago. You can start with the Grappelli CD's, just to introduce your kids to a new sound. Then, they might consider looking into this music as they get older. I hope this helps.
Not the best way to learn harmony or soloing. A key center doesn't represent each chord. They represent a sound that fits in general terms over more than one chord. Example: a C scale fits over a D-7 G7 Cmaj7 II V I. But the note B doesn't fit very well on a D-7, the note C fits even less on a G7, and an F doesn't work on a Cmaj7 academically speaking. It is better to learn each chord and then move into the next one as they come up. THIS is great playing and even if it takes a little more time, so what. Good luck.
Clinics come up from time to time. Sometimes a school contacts me to do a seminar. I go to Mexico this winter because a university asked me to come. Plus I have a seminar in Chicago this Aperil, but I don't remember the school name. It's the school that Paul Wertico works at.
Everybody struggles to keep up the enthusiasm for practicing. Frankly, it can be a a bit of a task. It isn't always that I joyfully sit down to practice something. But, I still get such a thrill out of holding an instrument that I don't struggle with anymore, not I struggled with it for years when I was young. I just sit down and do what I have to, like it or not.
My jazz experience began at 19 when I first went to Berklee. In those days, it was a small school totally dedicated to jazz only. These were the people who guided me to this music, a music that I originally rejected. I wanted to play rock. That's right! I wanted to have nothing to do with jazz except to learn how to play better and understand music better. But, as I found out, I was born to enter into this wonderful world where something new was always waiting for me each and every time that I played. Had I argued with my teachers the way that some do today, I never would have found out what I found out because I would have rejected it outright. Seriously, I am glad that I did my job back then to become what I became.
You are darn right. It took some doing, but you guys got your thread back in your hands. Congratulations!
You are right, but, what you and I know isn't known by a lot of people. It isn't popular with some guys to hear that, indeed, there are very awful learning methods out there.
+1 to hating Tab! I have never understood the use of tab, although it does have an ancient tradition going back to Lute music(not the same as today's tab) I am biased, having taken piano lessons since I was 7, I learned to read both cleff's early.
Learning to read music is painful, I remember horrible flashcard sessions, but once you are past the hump, the whole world of music opens up for you. Also, it makes learning a new instrument so much easier, since once the reading chops are developed, all you have to focus on is the challenges of the new instrument. When I started playing upright bass at 15, I shot ahead of my fellow students, since I could already read bass clef, I just had to learn where the notes where on the bass. I already had some idea since I had been playing elec bass and guitar since I was 13.
This is not to say that one should neglect ear training, which is a common mistake of many classical students. Their reading is so proficient, that it becomes a crutch. As the ancient chinese proverb says "an unguarded strength is a double weakness"
The ideal practice session should involve both sight reading, and transcribing by ear, to strengthen both muscles.
Guys who refuse to learn to read are really shooting themselves in the foot. I can't understand this attitude.
The attitude comes from not knowing. Plus some lesser capable sources of musical advice are embraced as good advice. The message of learning music is barely heard anymore which is a shame because great musical studies solves every problem that one might encounter as a developing player. I simply don't agree that there are lots of ways to learn because most players don't seem to learn well with this attitude. But, there ya go! P.S. Reading is a little tedious at first, but what new experience isn;t. I can teach a guy to read fairly well inside of three months. In fact, I've never failed at doing this!
Agreed to all! I don't know why some guys make learning music hard on themselves.
Learning how to read isn't complicated and the benefits come through within a couple of weeks. Not improved technique, which takes longer, but a significantly increased need to represent musical things which now gives need to improve one's technique. It is a win-win, but some guys will never know this.
No I don't. The Players School of Music only accepts people 18 and up. I never do private lessons anymore. Too busy watching House.
Originally Posted by southpaw420
If taking a dump on the strings makes a sound you like, and can use, by all means keep on doing it.
Jeff said: Art is such a broad principle that some guys believe that everything works. I suppose that it does, but I can make this a little more practical. Don't follow this ridiculous bit of advice, even if he was being facetious. Learn properly and do not confuse art with learning. They practically never relate.
If taking a dump on the strings makes a sound you like, and can use, by all means keep on doing it.
Jeff said: Art is such a broad principle that some guys believe that everything works. I suppose that it does, but I can make this a little more practical. Don't follow this ridiculous bit of advice, even if he was being facetious. Learn properly and do not confuse art with learning. They practically never relate.
Hahaha. He was replying to somebody's question "Is it wrong to play with your thumb?"
He was stating a ridiculous analogy that, even though some ways might be a bit..uhm..different, they can't be "wrong."
Time to go. I have some last minute shopping to do. Happy Holidays to All! Be well and eat a lot of turkey. As I do every year, I am the one who prepares and cooks the whole meal. I'm quite good at it, now that I've learned well the right ways to cook.
Time to go. I have some last minute shopping to do. Happy Holidays to All! Be well and eat a lot of turkey. As I do every year, I am the one who prepares and cooks the whole meal. I'm quite good at it, now that I've learned well the right ways to cook.
Although tongue in cheek, this is a great point! In cooking there are tried an true methods to doing certain things-the oven temperature needs to be exact, you have to knead the dough this many times, etc. Why is that we feel music is different?
That is why I advocate learning upright bass. The challenges presented by the physical size and difficulty of the instrument absolutely require solid instruction, or you are on a oneway path to bad intonation and tendentitus. Maybe, the instrument will humble its students to actually listen to their teachers.
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