Would you spend $2000 to learn to play jazz online?

[dbsfgyd1]

Why is it we would never consider doing this for a sport yet would do it for music?

i'm not so sure that is accurate. I have plenty of friends that spend way more than that in sports like softball where spending $800 on just a glove and bat is normal. Then there are the batting cages, tournaments with travel expenses, uniforms and fees to join leagues. Total cost per year can go way north of $2k.

Don't get me started on the golfers….

But on the question of me paying $2,000 to learn how to play jazz OL, that is a hard no. One main reason is the width and depth of what is called Jazz make it unlikely you will end up as a finished product at the end of the sessions.

No doubt by the end you will have a greater appreciation for the art form, but making you commercially viable? Either you have chops, which is a lifelong journey of dedicated practice and performance or not, and or the musical sophistication required.

Personally, if I was going to play jazz, I rather play it on a tuba gigging paddle wheel river boat.

 

[Chrisk-K]

Buying a good $2k bass would give you a better ROI.

 

[Ulf Buck]

 

[MYLOWFREQ]

Nope.

 

[micguy]

But wait, the class size is limited (67 spots) and they will never offer this again… it is a one time opportunity and it will expire… I saw the counter, they're serious… once that counter times out, there are no more chances to get it… gone, never again. Don't miss out… limited time offer… this just dropped into my inbox, again.

I was once "invited" to a time share presentation - lots of the same high pressure sales tactics - you HAVE to sign up today (and its gonna go fast!!!). I said, "give me your business card, we'll think about it". He said he couldn't do that. I said "if I called you tomorrow and wanted to buy a time share....you'd say no?" He didn't answer. 10 years later, I got a notice in the mail - they were still trying to sell time shares for that place.

 

[kevmoga]

No. Also ignore all the jazz bashers here on TB and pursue your interest. Plenty of instructional books available, Rufus Reid's stuff is classic. Most importantly, listen to the masters, absorb the music, learn the language, and grow big ears. Like many others said, find a local or semi local coach. A basic grasp of music theory is your friend.

 

[Kubicki Fan]

I would not sign up for that offering.

A motivated, serious student would, no doubt, benefit from taking a well designed course. It all depends whether the SBL Jazz course is 'rich' enough to be worth 2K. The majority here seem to doubt it.

What I doubt is that if the course is a financial success, it won't be offered again.

 

[JazznFunk]

No. I'd spend that money to get a teacher you can see in person every week and bounce ideas off of and get direct, in-person guidance. Also, get out to jam sessions and save $$. Buy Rufus Reid's 'The Evolving Bassist', Ray Brown's method book, and even Michael Moore's book (the bassist, not the filmmaker). Another book that is aimed at soloing but helped me HUGELY getting every aspect of my playing together was Marc Johnson's 'Concepts For Bass Soloing'. The way things are outlined and the examples used helped me in soloing AND walking/thinking about chords and bass lines.

 

[MCF]

Listen to great recordings of great players. Practice constantly. Play with people in real life. Jazz.is human. Spend your money going to hear great players live, keeping your axe in good shape, and lessons in person with an exacting, articulate, passionate teacher if you don't think you're making progress on your own.

One of the worst things that happened to school music programs, and learning in general, was going to "remote learning" during the Covid lockdowns. You can't learn musical human interaction by watching a screen.

Nope.

 

[Alexis Duntov]

I am a lifetime member of Scott's Bass Lessons. I signed up years ago, at a greatly discounted price, when whey were doing a quick cash grab. These days I don't go on the site that much. But this evening I was poking around to see if there was anything new there.

Turns out, there is something new... the SBL Jazz Lab. I didn't read the whole thing because the ad is a ridiculously long, click-bait style essay designed to give just enough info to keep you reading. I just fast-forwarded to the end.

It's basically a combination of different styles of instruction...

• SBL Mesh Framework Curriculum
• Flexible Video Lessons
• Weekly 1:1 Video Feedback
• Live A-List Masterclasses
• Weekly Live Group Workshops
• Excel at 3 Jazz Standards

They go on to say that this level of coaching would cost $5200 at Berklee. But they're marking it down from $5200 to a mere $2000.

I choked.

So I went back and read more and I'm just not seeing it. Am I missing something? For $2k I could do a good amount of private lessons with some pretty decent teachers. Or maybe that's what this is and I just don't see it?

Did anyone here see this and sign up?

View attachment 5447638

"
Would you spend $2000 to learn to play jazz online?"


Uh…if it that were possible, then yes. But it ain't! So, no.

 

[Thady]

But they're marking it down from $5200 to a mere $2000.

Maybe it's a profit deal?

I'd rather do

For $2k I could do a good amount of private lessons with some pretty decent teachers.

that.

apb T.

 

[LG TPAFL]

But wait, the class size is limited (67 spots) and they will never offer this again… it is a one time opportunity and it will expire… I saw the counter, they're serious… once that counter times out, there are no more chances to get it… gone, never again. Don't miss out… limited time offer… this just dropped into my inbox, again.

Right? 67 spots.....How do they arrive at that number? If it was open to anyone and everyone and never expired it would only be worth $200....you either take the high volume/low margin or the limit the supply/max the margin strategy. Counter...what a joke. I'd hate be #67.

 

[FretlessOwl]

Scott's bass lessons is my #1 SPAMMER. I have asked twice to stop sending their annoying emails and they continue.

They seem to be preying on gullible people.

That's all I've heard. And they'll do anything to get your email address too.

 

[brianrost]

While I would certainly consider studying with a truly great player (Ron Carter, Dave Holland, Buster Williams, etc.) if I was already at a high level of ability (and I'm not!) what I've found is that learning how to learn is perhaps more useful.

I went to a lesson one time moaning about how I hadn't been able to master the homework I was given the previous wee. The teacher said he didn't expect me to master it in one week, but to get started on it and be able to revisit it as needed. I was seeing that teacher for a specific problem I had on stage. I played him some pieces that I always struggled with and then a few I never struggled with and asked him what I needed to do. I spent a number of months working on floating thumb technique, alternative fingerings and steady tempo exercises. No, I didn't master each week's material but about six months down the road I was on a gig and suddenly I was playing stuff I never could play before. It just took a while to sink in. So I stopped taking lessons after a few months but I still go back and work on the stuff I learned then when I run into problems with a new song I have to play.

Today's digital tools make transcription much easier than it was in the days of wearing out LPs by dropping the needle trying to work out songs bar by bar. The thing that transcribing really did for me was to understand that some things that sounded complex to me were really very simple and that in almost every piece I'd be surprised by something such as repeated motifs/cliches unique to the player or what seemed like wrong notes against the chords.

Transcription has developed my ears big time. Just two weeks ago I was asked to play a George Benson song that I had tried to learn about six years ago. Back then here was one section that I literally had to sing quietly as I played it in order to get it right, even after I had painstakingly transcribed it. When I went back to listen to the recording again, I could hear that section in a way that allowed me to play through it without going back to my transcription and working it out slowly note for note…it just made sense to me now while it didn't then.

I had a one day lesson with a jazz bassist years ago and he said something that stuck with me. You do not have enough time in your life to transcribe in full every single song you want to learn. The point is to transcribe parts of songs that catch your ear and then figure out how to apply those ideas to other songs. After all, how many ways are there to traverse a ii-V-I or reharmonize rhythm changes? Thousands! Just comparing how many bass masters approached the same song will always turn up new phrases that you can use.

I read an interview with a jazz pianist who studied with Lennie Tristano who is legendary as a teacher. The pianist said Lenny wanted him to work on Charlie Parker's recording of "Scrapple in the Apple".

Step #1: learn to sing the entire song, heads and solos, note for note in all 12 keys.

Step #2: write it down on paper and analyze the chord progressions

Step #3: start learning how to play it on the piano.

Apparently the first step took many months and it was almost a year before he was allowed to start trying to play it on the piano.

Anyway, you are probably not going to get that sort of teaching experience online for a few grand.

P.S. and slightly OT Compared to how most of us learn songs, this may seem insane. However, Ed Fuqua has posted here at TB about working on a song for months and months in order to really learn it. I believe him because I have many songs I think I know in my repertoire, but when I go back after a long time and listen to the recordings I learned from I hear things very differently and notice I'm making a lot of mistakes from not listening closely enough the first time.

 

[InhumanResource]

NO! and I don't want to hear or see Ian Allison....

That dude and their short form videos are super annoying.

WHY THE INDEX FINGER CRUSHES EVERYTHING!!!

 

[InhumanResource]

I would not sign up for that offering.

A motivated, serious student would, no doubt, benefit from taking a well designed course. It all depends whether the SBL Jazz course is 'rich' enough to be worth 2K. The majority here seem to doubt it.

What I doubt is that if the course is a financial success, it won't be offered again.

There's no way it's worth it when you can get going with actual lessons AND meeting actual connected players for a few hundred bucks at the nearest community college.

 

[nonohmic]

Lol, he's gone mad.

Go to learnjazzstandards.com. It's an awesome place to learn jazz and it's like 20 bucko a month or something.

 

[Artman]

Jaco never needed any $2000 lesson plans.

 

[groovepump]

Why is it we would never consider doing this for a sport yet would do it for music?

ABSOLUTELY TRUE.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

I've bought some of his other lessons in the ~$100 range, but the latest batch of classes where he's comparing SBL to Berklee and charging thousands is kinda nuts. I forget what the plan was before this but it had 8-10 classes per week with a live instructor. That's great unless you have to work, which is when most of the classes took place. Oh well, Scott has built this for a long time and is probably making a lot of money doing it. Of course he has a lot of over head too. Scott and Ian snippet - Hey, I just bought a Ken Smith. Bro! I just bought a Ken Smith too!! Let's compare!!