• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join freeLog in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Scott's Bass Lessons? Any Good? Any Bad?

Yes, but not for me. They seem like nice guys, but they do come across as a bit “look at me.” In my opinion, there are better alternatives for taking really good bass lessons online. But again, this is just my personal opinion, of course.
So when you tried Scott's lesson course how did 'Look at Me' effect quality of course and which other courses have you tried that in your opinion are better
 
So when you tried Scott's lesson course how did 'Look at Me' effect quality of course and which other courses have you tried that in your opinion are better
Online bass lessons are often quite personal because they adapt to your skill level, learning pace, and musical goals.

When I tried Scott’s Bass Lessons, the piece "Look at Me" didn’t lower the overall quality of the course, it actually showcased how musical concepts are applied in real songs, which made the lessons feel more connected to performance. However, the experience depends on your learning style.
 
I’ve been playing for a number of years, and I liked some of his courses for specific content, to expand skills or just give an organized method and curriculum. Most of the info on his site is available elsewhere for free; but if your time is valuable, his structure is great, and well worth the money. If you need to do Internet lessons, SBL is as good as any I have seen. The over-the-top salesman stuff gets annoying: Every new course is the end all be all, unlocks the magic, etc. I get that they need to make a living; fine with me, it’s just off putting and gives me the urge to value the content less, but some of it is really good. A person who can see and critique you, answer questions, etc. is great, especially for new players; but for online content, his is good.
 
I've had a lot of students come to me after a good amount of time using SBL, and they showed zero signs of having gotten anything out of it.

i've seen stuff that looked cool? but never seen any results. small sample size, but my experience nonetheless.

i've heard it's hard to cancel - wasn't there a thread suggesting that was intentional some time ago?

I agree, a real mentor in person is the best way to develop. if you can't have that find a great teacher you can see via zoom.

SBL can likely supplement that, or serve as cool entertainment value.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Lee Moses
I like watching the free SBL videos when they profile different bass players and bass guitars and genres on bass.
Scott showed how to play a short Jaco Pastorius riff that appeared easy enough to tackle.
I do the learning the cheap way and I just watch the small sample that Scott teaches on his videos.
I will watch the part over and over again until I learn the notes.
It's not perfect but it's free.
It's still a lot better than when I used to rewind cassette tapes over and over... 🤪

Here's my short video of me playing that small Jaco riff I learned from Scott yesterday;

 
It's been awhile, but the lessons are good. I felt a lot of the lessons were geared towards the intermediate to advanced bassist. IMO, his approach to teaching beginners isn't as good as sites like BassBuzz.

Once you get into the site the lessons aren't all taught by Scott; he's tried to structure it like a university where you have different instructors teaching different courses and has experts within various subjects. Some go deep into specific genres, some go deep into theory, some go into composition.

What you get on the site is different than the YouTube content. The content gets more serious.

There is excessive spam email, but that can be solved with a filter to divert it to my spam folder.
 
Yes, I have done a couple of their courses - 9 years ago. A jazz one (for beginners) which helped me enormously as a previously church and rock-covers musician. I found it very efficient (able to pause and practice until ready to move forward).
Around this time I went from being a bass player who could play ok in Gmajor to a musician who could understand chord structure, extensions and actually know where the notes are on the fretboard. I was motivated and I got a lot out of it. Well worth it for me at that time.
I agree the e-mail mailing list is spam-tastic (unsubscribed), the YouTube videos are often interesting - but nothing like the structured courses that I’ve done.
Hope that’s interesting.