Do Skype Lessons Work?

[hxbass]

I'm struggling to find a good teacher in East London/West Essex so I'm considering lessons via Skype.

I have no experience of using skype at all let alone for receiving bass lessons. I was wondering if anyone has experience of this type of lesson and if they are worthwhile. How do they compare to a face to face lesson?

Also, my wife and daughters wont appreciate my awful bass playing (I'm a beginning)through an amp. Is there any way of plugging the bass into the pc so that I can hear me though headphones and the teacher can also hear their end?

Look forward to any advice


Thanks


PS If you have any teacher recommendations for people who have perfected this way of teaching that would be great.

[Number6]

Hope an East London tutor replies to this as it would be very useful for me too.....

Last time i played bass before picking it up again the Internet didn't exist.....lol

[nnspok]

Hi there hxbass and number6-

I'm a London based teacher who has the capability of skype teaching, so have a few comments on the topic for you:)

Generally, I do all my teaching out of southwest London, however I have done some skype lessons in the past.
In my experience, this has worked, but it does also come down to how the student learns best.

The easiest way I have found to have skype lessons is with the student playing through an amp using the computer's built-in mic (if it has one) while I send a direct signal of my bass and voice through skype so there's a clean audible signal for you to receive.

On the other hand, if you're concerned with noise, you could use a similar setup to what I have using a two input interface which then allows you to skip out having to plug into an amp and lets you send your bass signal straight to skype. The downside of this is that there is some money to be spent on getting this equipment, so if you can manage to get away with plugging into your amp once a week it is probably a better way to start out at least.

In terms of writing and documents, skype works great as the application allows you to send through pdf's and other documents while talking, just as if I were to put something in front of you in person. This allows me to send over notes and music during the lesson along with a practice plan for the coming week with just a few clicks.

Visually, things work out pretty well. If you have the camera positioned properly, it is a similar view to looking at my playing in person, the downside to this is that you can't move your head to get a closer look! However, with a little communication you can change camera angles and get the same techniques across.

Happy to help out if you've got any other questions.
Alternatively, if your interested to see how skype works out for you, drop me a pm and we can set up a time to try it out.

All the best
-Noah

[OliverBlackman]

Re Skype lessons, It depends on both your connection and the teachers connection. I've found when having meetings on Skype that the connection usually reduces in quality around the 45 minute mark.

Also as a beginner your main concern will be getting the right technique. This will be hard to address over Skype for a teacher as they will not be able to get the full picture of how and where you're positioning your hands, and strap.

I get lessons over email, which suits my needs but these are purely just on exercises to improve my improvisation and theory, so it works for that.

There are many great bass players in East London, I'm sure I've seen some in the "tutor" section here on bass chat before.

Regarding playing through your PC. You need a recording software such as Garageband (not sure if you can get this on PC) or equivalent and a USB audio interface. An interface should cost just over £100, and will allow you to practice through headphones.

[Steve Woodcock]

[quote name='hxbass' timestamp='1397131530' post='2420967']
I'm struggling to find a good teacher in East London/West Essex so I'm considering lessons via Skype.
[/quote]
[quote name='Number6' timestamp='1397134666' post='2421001']
Hope an East London tutor replies to this as it would be very useful for me too.....
[/quote]

Hi both, I teach and am based in south east London if this is of any interest to you?

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/180288-bass-tuition-available-in-south-east-london"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/180288-bass-tuition-available-in-south-east-london[/url]

[Number6]

[quote name='Stickman' timestamp='1397330214' post='2422946']



Hi both, I teach and am based in south east London if this is of any interest to you?

Very useful to know :-)

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/180288-bass-tuition-available-in-south-east-london"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/180288-bass-tuition-available-in-south-east-london[/url]
[/quote]