I'm considering signing up for the year long subscription of the scotts bass lessons website to supplement my practice routine. Is anyone using it? and is it worth that value of $150 for the year? considering lessons can be $50 plus travel time, I see this as a good flexible way to improve my playing.
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Scotts bass Lessons
- Thread starter rcross5
- Start date
I was a member for a few weeks and was mostly disappointed. Scott looks like a great guy and it wonderful that he's doing all these videos and content for the bass community, but I did find the material to lack focus and a clear plan.
I have an instructor, and I'm no longer a complete novice, so I actually don't really "need" supplemental content so much right now, but FWIW I've found even the free content on Talkingbass to be much more useful.
YMMV
I have an instructor, and I'm no longer a complete novice, so I actually don't really "need" supplemental content so much right now, but FWIW I've found even the free content on Talkingbass to be much more useful.
YMMV
Lots of info on this thread :
scotts bass lessons?
FWIW...I too would prefer "Talkingbass" as mentioned above by ProFrink.
scotts bass lessons?
FWIW...I too would prefer "Talkingbass" as mentioned above by ProFrink.
Take advantage of the free trial if you're interested. I see the appeal in Scott's teaching style, I also think he's a good interviewer.
I couldn't ever get them to take me off their mailing list after I unsubscribed though.
I couldn't ever get them to take me off their mailing list after I unsubscribed though.
Scott's Bass Lessons is set up into various categories:
Like any resource, you get out out of it what you put into it..
- Courses - a long form discussion on a topic be one of the various instructors - can range from anything from groove, reading music, using a pick, etc.
- Lessons - a short form lesson covering a random topic
- Seminars - an hour long interactive discussion (with archive) from various teachers
- Bass Hangs - interactive Q/As with Scott
Like any resource, you get out out of it what you put into it..
The answer depends on your circumstances.
If you lived in NYC where there are 100s of great instructors, I would go with a live instructor. In CutnShoot, Texas, Scott may be the best option.
Ditto if you work days or are kind of gassy.
If you lived in NYC where there are 100s of great instructors, I would go with a live instructor. In CutnShoot, Texas, Scott may be the best option.
Ditto if you work days or are kind of gassy.
The price is OK. I am not a member. IMO Scott offers vending machine teaching.
What do I mean by that. He has a lot of videos. Look them over and you decide which one fits you. There are a lot of people that like this method. I want a more organized approach. However....
$150 for a year is not all that bad a price to pay. Back in the day I would spend that much just on books. From what I've seen there is value in anything Scott offers. It'll cost you $150 to pull the lever.
What do I mean by that. He has a lot of videos. Look them over and you decide which one fits you. There are a lot of people that like this method. I want a more organized approach. However....
$150 for a year is not all that bad a price to pay. Back in the day I would spend that much just on books. From what I've seen there is value in anything Scott offers. It'll cost you $150 to pull the lever.
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Much like a gym membership, if you want to get in shape, you dont have to spend money on a gym membership, but it can be a good way to motivate practice. I got pretty into Janek Gwizdala and picked up a bunch of his books in a bundle package on sale so it was a ton of material to work on for essentially the cost of a lesson or 2.
I could have stuck w some of his free lessons or things I found in the internet, but he inspires me and getting the books has inspired me to work on the material and I have expanded my vocabulary as a result. I could have taken 2 lessons w a local and walked away w no new perspective. If it inspires you to work on your playing, it is worth it.
I could have stuck w some of his free lessons or things I found in the internet, but he inspires me and getting the books has inspired me to work on the material and I have expanded my vocabulary as a result. I could have taken 2 lessons w a local and walked away w no new perspective. If it inspires you to work on your playing, it is worth it.
I am always skeptical of online lessons of any sort. I find that as both a student and teacher that immediate face-to-face feedback is the accelerant to learning. There are too many things that are vague that need clarification; something a video cannot do.
I spent $30 on a Federico Malaman slap course, watched it for a couple of days and stopped out of frustration. Not because I didn't learn anything, but because I discovered there was so much more that I wanted to know and ask- but couldn't.
Edit: P.S... I am putting my money where my mouth is as I am taking bi-weekly private bass lessons for exactly the reason above. I want to be hirable in the shortest period possible. Online lessons just don't cut it if you're really serious.
I spent $30 on a Federico Malaman slap course, watched it for a couple of days and stopped out of frustration. Not because I didn't learn anything, but because I discovered there was so much more that I wanted to know and ask- but couldn't.
Edit: P.S... I am putting my money where my mouth is as I am taking bi-weekly private bass lessons for exactly the reason above. I want to be hirable in the shortest period possible. Online lessons just don't cut it if you're really serious.
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Well put. I'm currently a member of SBL but I don't think I'll renew when the time comes. Good guy, tons of content, but really all over the place. Some structure and defined levels would save a lot of time and error. Plus the self promotion and upsell to additional lessons that have to be bought in addition the the annual fee is tiresome.
Currently I'm learning music for a band I'm in that covers funk/blue/jam territory ie. Tower of Power/Allman Brothers/Dead stuff as well as our original music. I'm a guitar player that has transitioned to playing bass to fill the need for the band. I've been playing about 2 years but really want to commit to the instrument and take it to the next level. I'll practice learning the songs I need to for the gig, as well as working scales and picking technique to articulate different tones.
...but in short, I don't have a defined practice routine, and my work schedule can be hectic so that's why I see a benefit to having content I can easily access when I do have time to practice. My question is if SBL is worth that value (and the amount of promo emails).
I think it depends on the person. In my opinion, there's noting like quality one-on one local, in-person instruction.
If you can go that route, do that. Watch out for guitarists who apply guitar knowledge to bass playing. That wouldn't be terrible for a super beginner, but in the long run, a good guitarist doesn't necessarily = a good bassist. It can go that way, but is highly dependent upon the instructor knowing the difference. Some don't.
If scheduling or distance don't allow for one-on one, yea, something like SBL is a great alternative. I've never had a membership because I have very inconsistent times that I can practice and always defer to what any one of my 4 children need or my work needs. I'm a decent bassist, but would categorize myself as an intenely serious hobbiest, but not a pro.
Having said that, I have purchased a couple of the stand-alone courses that are vimeo based. They have been great. I have both the technique and practice accelerator courses and recommend them. I was a self-taught guitarist turned self-taught bassist, and consequentially have holes in my technique and foundation that those course really have been helping me shore up.
Ultimately, there is a lot of good online instruction out there. The talking bass course looks good as well. I've watched some of his free youtube stuff. He communicates his lessons in a very understandable fashion. - The one thing that will help more than anything is to pick something to learn and stick on it until you have it internalized. If you flip from scales, to this lick you want to nail down, to transcribing, to whatever, it will not feel like you have made incremental progress in deference to time spent. Force yourself into a regiment of X amount of time at X time of day on X days of the week and make that your habit. Have a plan for what you will do with that time slot when you sit down and practice before you sit down. Establish realistic progress goals and make yourself accountable to them. Hope this helps!
If you can go that route, do that. Watch out for guitarists who apply guitar knowledge to bass playing. That wouldn't be terrible for a super beginner, but in the long run, a good guitarist doesn't necessarily = a good bassist. It can go that way, but is highly dependent upon the instructor knowing the difference. Some don't.
If scheduling or distance don't allow for one-on one, yea, something like SBL is a great alternative. I've never had a membership because I have very inconsistent times that I can practice and always defer to what any one of my 4 children need or my work needs. I'm a decent bassist, but would categorize myself as an intenely serious hobbiest, but not a pro.
Having said that, I have purchased a couple of the stand-alone courses that are vimeo based. They have been great. I have both the technique and practice accelerator courses and recommend them. I was a self-taught guitarist turned self-taught bassist, and consequentially have holes in my technique and foundation that those course really have been helping me shore up.
Ultimately, there is a lot of good online instruction out there. The talking bass course looks good as well. I've watched some of his free youtube stuff. He communicates his lessons in a very understandable fashion. - The one thing that will help more than anything is to pick something to learn and stick on it until you have it internalized. If you flip from scales, to this lick you want to nail down, to transcribing, to whatever, it will not feel like you have made incremental progress in deference to time spent. Force yourself into a regiment of X amount of time at X time of day on X days of the week and make that your habit. Have a plan for what you will do with that time slot when you sit down and practice before you sit down. Establish realistic progress goals and make yourself accountable to them. Hope this helps!
I haven't done Scott's bass lessons, I do however have a Bachelor of Music degree.
So judging on what I've seen on YouTube, my answer is No.
A lot of his content is generic info that is simply reiterated in a video format.
Try this. Self directed learning.
List the aspects of bass playing that are important to you.
Rate your ability on those particular aspects 1-10 (best to worst)
Flip the list 10-1 (worst to best)
Work on the top three aspects of the flipped list.
Reassess periodically.
That way you work on what you need work on, rather than working on what you are good at.
Just my own history. I started playing when I was 17, never did music at high school, never had private lessons, got myself to a high enough standard to successfully audition to get into university, and obtain the degree using this method.
As for particular exercises the internet has a vast wealth of content available (wasn't like that when I was young) once you figure what needs work, then searching is not difficult from there.
A little tip for nailing the lines of those bands you mentioned.
Set a metronome up to click only on beat 2 and 4 and play with that. It's up to you to state with your playing where 1 is.
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I have a lifetime membership (or whatever it's called) but, honestly, I don't ever visit the site. As a few others have mentioned, it depends on what kind of person you are. If you need structure then I'm not sure how beneficial SBL will be for you (because the content really is all over the place). I will also say that I have a bit of an issue with the idea of so many people getting their "lessons" and tips from the same source. I just imagine all these bassists over the next twenty years playing identical licks (that they all learned from SBL). 
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Rocksmith - not necessarily learning but fun
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TalkBass
YouTube
Rocksmith - not necessarily learning but fun
Even better. Rocksmith on YouTube. Play along on your amp to hundreds of songs for free through your amp.
I have an SBL membership, not sure if I will resign for another year and it is very frustrating that the course that might be most beneficial costs extra, but discounted to members if that even makes it better. I agree that the content is all over the place and there is no learning structure, you have to pick and choose what you want to learn, it feels more like a hangout area, they need to lay it out better since they are the instructors, not the other way. A lot of the courses are kind of over my head and hard to grasp. The one course on SBL that helped a bit, was learning to read music, I got some knowledge out of that course, but the rest are not explained enough, at least to me. I think I am learning more on YouTube; Lukes bass lessons he takes the time to explain and send you some info, Mark's Talking Bass shows you technique and how to play songs, and Study Bass, these have helped me the most.
I just unsubscribed from the free trial membership, and i am glad i got out of there.
I was bombarded with promotional emails on a daily basis, and the courses that i looked into were all a bit too much talking and not enough focus on what exactly i am supposed to practise.
it doesn't help if the teacher shows you how he can play cool basslines. it is better if he shows you simple steps to practise and improve your own playing.
however, if i wasn't put off by the whole constant self-promotion bit, i might have considered staying signed up to get some additional inspiration on the side, and maybe talk to other learners in the 'campus'
I 100% prefer mark smith's talking bass lessons (the actual courses on his website)
I was bombarded with promotional emails on a daily basis, and the courses that i looked into were all a bit too much talking and not enough focus on what exactly i am supposed to practise.
it doesn't help if the teacher shows you how he can play cool basslines. it is better if he shows you simple steps to practise and improve your own playing.
however, if i wasn't put off by the whole constant self-promotion bit, i might have considered staying signed up to get some additional inspiration on the side, and maybe talk to other learners in the 'campus'
I 100% prefer mark smith's talking bass lessons (the actual courses on his website)
