bass lessons not going too well....

[charic]

[quote name='dood' timestamp='1328740380' post='1532102']
Ok ok ok guys, the cash is in the post!

;0)

No honestly, I genuinely mean this: Thank you for the kind words, it's very much appreciated and I'm happy that you've enjoyed my sessions as much as I have delivering. I love my job and can't think of anything better than playing Bass all day and sharing the low end goodness!

Iconic, I've ping'd you a reply back.
[/quote]

Oh good! That'll go toward the next lesson then

[cytania]

First off, there's nothing to say you can't have several bass tutor's and see them as you feel fit. It's not a martial arts film master/pupil thing... :-)

Beware 'not taking your medicine' syndrome or even not understanding what's being said but, you need to look at what you like about this tutor's playing. Were you complimenting his playing in a 'that's nice' way or do you _really_ want to get that style? The guitarist turned bassist is a sort of sub-style (seeing alot of it on TOTP on BBC4) so understanding it's [s]handicaps[/s] peculiarities does help.

Try some other tutors maybe in a few months you'll think; 'Hold on I get what that guy was saying' and you can reconnect.

[oldslapper]

Sometimes it's nobodies "fault" that lessons don't work out.
I've picked up business from perfectly good tutors, due to all sorts of reasons, some of which will include "personality", or communication style, etc. I have also "lost" business to others for the same reasons.
Some tutors are "rigid" and systematic in their approach, others are less so, some students respond to structure, others don't.

I believe the trick is to listen to the student and ask questions, until you are satisfied that you have some grasp of their wants and needs and learning style. The students responsibility is to communicate what they want from lessons (even if that means something vague like "I don't know, I'm just bored with what I do").
It's also a students responsibility to ask questions throughout a lesson, particularly if they don't understand what you're trying to communicate.

If the tutor in question didn't ask you any questions and just played his bass AT you, then criticised your playing, then that's pretty unhelpful to you. If you didn't ask him any questions to clarify, or didn't challenge him, then that's unhelpful to him and you.

Beware of the tutor that: -

Doesn't listen to you.
Doesn't ask questions.
Noodles on their guitar whilst your talking.
Shows off their chops to impress you.
Talks about themselves endlessly.
Gets arsey if you don't understand what they are trying to communicate.
Doesn't challenge you once in a while (in a way that doesn't belittle you).
Is not actively looking to improve their own musicianship.
Is on the SOR!

One last thing, you're not only investing in the 30-60 minutes you spend in the lesson, it's the days in between that are just as important. It's boring to say but, it's a waste of your money if you don't practice what you've been set. And that doesn't mean a 2 hour "cram" the night before. It also becomes very boring for you and the tutor if you're going over the same thing in a lesson week after week because you haven't bothered to practice in between.

None of the above is aimed at the OP, just a general brain fart.

And lots more stuff that people have already said an will say..

Probably all b@*#s, but it's helped me.
And I'm sure Dood is the dude as he has a good rep here, enjoy!

Bye, off to school now.

[woodyratm]

I echo the comments about Dood - great guy.

If he were closer to me, i'd probs go to sharpen my technique.

Also - that post count. Christ on a bike?!

[Fat Rich]

[quote name='cytania' timestamp='1328775552' post='1532369']
First off, there's nothing to say you can't have several bass tutor's and see them as you feel fit. It's not a martial arts film master/pupil thing... :-)

Beware 'not taking your medicine' syndrome or even not understanding what's being said but, you need to look at what you like about this tutor's playing. Were you complimenting his playing in a 'that's nice' way or do you _really_ want to get that style? The guitarist turned bassist is a sort of sub-style (seeing alot of it on TOTP on BBC4) so understanding it's [s]handicaps[/s] peculiarities does help.

Try some other tutors maybe in a few months you'll think; 'Hold on I get what that guy was saying' and you can reconnect.
[/quote]

Exactly, the more people you learn from the more you'll learn (usually!). One teacher may recommend a certain technique, another may dismiss it and recommend something different.... it forces you to figure out what works best for you. For example my first teacher played with a pretty regular style and muted the strings mostly with his fretting hand and with the thumb of his picking hand sitting on the E string or occasionally the A. My next teacher muted almost exclusively with his picking hand and had a really tight staccato style so I tried that too. I now use a combination of both techniques to suit what I'm playing, leaning towards picking hand muting for punchier lines and fretting hand muting for more laid back stuff. Similar thing for slap, I learned the way my teachers played but ended up finding my own way which works better for me.

Some people shy away from lessons or music courses because they think they'll emerge at the end of the process as some kind of clone, that shouldn't happen if you've a strong musical personality and even less likely if you learn from as many people as possible.

Plus there are plenty of top players who still get lessons, even though some are considered masters of their instrument. Never stop learning!

Edited February 9, 2012 by Fat Rich

[seashell]

[quote name='oldslapper' timestamp='1328779539' post='1532422']
One last thing, you're not only investing in the 30-60 minutes you spend in the lesson, it's the days in between that are just as important. It's boring to say but, it's a waste of your money if you don't practice what you've been set. And that doesn't mean a 2 hour "cram" the night before. It also becomes very boring for you and the tutor if you're going over the same thing in a lesson week after week because you haven't bothered to practice in between.

[/quote]

Great post oldslapper! As a learner myself I would agree with all that. I am really lucky to have found a great teacher who ticks all the boxes you mention!
Also your point above about what you do in between being really relevant. I don't think I would ever have had the self motivation to practice so much if I hadn't been going to lessons. I would feel too shamefaced to turn up not having improved at all since the last time, so I an quite dilligent with the practice. I am motivated by praise and I always get a little 'pat on the back ' for practicising which perks me up no end!

That said, at my next lesson on Sat I am going to have to confess that I lost the handout he gave me last time and so haven't been able to practice anything on that! But I have been practising some other stuff instead.

[icastle]

[quote name='cytania' timestamp='1328775552' post='1532369']
It's not a martial arts film master/pupil thing... :-)
[/quote]

...hammer on....hammer off....hammer on....hammer off...

[Prime_BASS]

[quote name='Fat Rich' timestamp='1328783504' post='1532489']
figure out what works best for you. [/quote]

I think he has already done this.
Although it should never stop you learning new things.

I'm self tuaght, started with a pick and 3 years on I'm just as tight with my fingers as with a pick. Faster with my fingers is some cases, as I learned from [url="http://basschat.co.uk/user/1177-mcgraham/"]mcgraham's[/url] stroking strings techinique to be faster when doing 16th's, which is extremely useful when in tune with double bass pedal useage.