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Uninformed music teacher

#21
RustyAxe said:
1) Practice is what you do at home on your time. You don't need anything other than your bass and your fingers.

2) Rehearsal is what you do in the jazz room with the rest of the combo.

Sounds like you're trying to practice in the main band room while others are playing. I can't see how that would work.
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No, I think I get what's going on. It sounds like the teacher is trying to give the students independent work time. This is really good because it allows the kids to progress at their own pace. Strong students aren't held back by the slow progress of others, and it's easier for the teacher to give more attention to the weaker students who need it.

The problem seems to be that the school has a poorly-designed music room without any adjoining practice rooms, so everybody has to play in the same room.
 
#22
Don't ever underappreciate time you have in your day to just play your bass. Many people on this forum would kill for 45 minutes every weekday to strap on their bass and improve their skills. You have that. Don't waste it.

A few thoughts.

1. A keyboard amp is not optimal. But, if its not broken, at least it will amplify you to where you can be heard. Use the amp as an opportunity to improve your tone with just your bass and your hands. Really learn what "your" sound is.

2. Don't practice slap in the band room. Honestly, its annoying as hell to listen to it over and over and it has very little place in Jazz music.

3. You can walk and you know Major and Minor scales. Great! What about triads, inversions, circle of fifths? Maybe your teacher can't help you. But, maybe you could go to the library to get a book on them (I suggest Ray Brown's Bass Method) or maybe you could borrow that IPad to download some exercises from the back of some old Bass Player magazines?

4. Even if none of the above is practical for you and you are stuck sitting in a room full of horn players blowing away - you still get to play your bass. Try improving your ear. Listen to whatever line the horns are playing and try to immediately find the correct key and note(s) on your bass neck. This is a fantastic exercise that will improve your ability to solo and to play in improvisational Jazz ensembles.

Long and short. The glass is not half empty. Its half full. Seize the day. Grab your bass and make things happen for yourself. The only thing standing in your way is you.
 
#23
BassCliff said:
Hi,

As long as you're practicing by yourself, how about a headphone amp? Something like this:

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You can plug in your mp3 player and jam along to your music. I think there are even units with a built-in mp3 player or effects, metronome, rhythm patterns, tuner, etc.

You can put it in your pocket and not worry about it getting stolen. ;)

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff
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Does it have a headphone output?
 
#25
lfmn16 said:
I may have identified the problem. :D
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Ok, I see I wasn't clear. We decided on a couple off jazz songs to start with, and those were songs I need to improve basslines on. Now we are working on the songs where I have to slap, and I really haven't worked on slap since I don't do it often. But now that I need to do it for songs we are playing in an upcoming concert, I really need to nail the slap. Sorry, now I see that it made me look like a know-it-all. :)
 
#26
funkytoe said:
Don't ever underappreciate time you have in your day to just play your bass. Many people on this forum would kill for 45 minutes every weekday to strap on their bass and improve their skills. You have that. Don't waste it.

A few thoughts.

1. A keyboard amp is not optimal. But, if its not broken, at least it will amplify you to where you can be heard. Use the amp as an opportunity to improve your tone with just your bass and your hands. Really learn what "your" sound is.

2. Don't practice slap in the band room. Honestly, its annoying as hell to listen to it over and over and it has very little place in Jazz music.

3. You can walk and you know Major and Minor scales. Great! What about triads, inversions, circle of fifths? Maybe your teacher can't help you. But, maybe you could go to the library to get a book on them (I suggest Ray Brown's Bass Method) or maybe you could borrow that IPad to download some exercises from the back of some old Bass Player magazines?

4. Even if none of the above is practical for you and you are stuck sitting in a room full of horn players blowing away - you still get to play your bass. Try improving your ear. Listen to whatever line the horns are playing and try to immediately find the correct key and note(s) on your bass neck. This is a fantastic exercise that will improve your ability to solo and to play in improvisational Jazz ensembles.

Long and short. The glass is not half empty. Its half full. Seize the day. Grab your bass and make things happen for yourself. The only thing standing in your way is you.
Click to expand...

Ok, let me clarify.
Every other day I go to the jazz room, where there is a keyboard amp, guitar amp drums and keys.

The days I'm not in the jazz room, I'm in the main band room, where concert band reherses (not that class period though) in that room there are no amps, drums, or keys, just chairs and stands.

My school is about 45 min away (its a really good public school where you need to apply to get in, unless its your base school). I don't want to bring my amp, I practice afterschool daily, which means I would lug it on the school bus everyday, which isn't good for you or the amp. (Its my only amp)



Good news is someone donated another amp (yay) so I can practice now.
 

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