Hi All, this is a great idea for a thread/post, sorry I am a bit late to it. I started as a beginner in August last year, took a couple of beginner courses with another online tutor (the only one at Josh’s level of teaching, in my opinion), then started on this course in October. I got to the end (not completing all the fast workouts or additional material), then went back and did parts of it again (and the other beginner courses on the other site). Still there were some parts I couldn’t quite do or do well but mostly I could and it’s a brilliant course. What I found helpful was Josh’s list at the end, where he picks out some key workouts and says if you can do all of these you can count yourself as having ‘passed’ the course. Still, I haven’t gone through all the additional material, drum tracks etc. There’s so much good stuff…certainly this course is value for money! I am still a beginner, with much to learn but this course gave me confidence. Currently I’m trying to learn songs and some music theory and working on technique. Long way to go.
Congrats @MikePhil !!
Awesome, congratulations on your progress.
If you ever feel STUCK, as in, you keep doing the material, but don’t feel you are progressing, obviously, moving on to other courses from other sites (Mark at Talkingbass.net is awesome for this, also Damien Erskine at BassEducation.com is also great, with lots of lessons included in monthly membership of $10 I believe, with options for lower yearly costs), and there is a myriad of free and paid for lessons available out there.
However, if you do get to that, all too familiar feeling, lost feeling, where you are not sure what course to start next, or what part of your playing to focus on, or, which parts of the courses you already took, to focus on, then I would highly suggest taking a couple private lessons.
If you can take them on a regular schedule, like once a week, or once every other week, once a month, or even just once, or twice, it can really help.
With a quality instructor, they can observe, and assess, quite quickly, where your strengths are and where your weaknesses are, plus you can talk to them about your plan for future courses, and they can assist in which should come next, and which should follow, and even which to not take for a long time.
My experience, this was invaluable. I played guitar many years ago, it had been a long time, but I did feel comfortable getting back into it, so I started by getting some books off amazon (scales and learn bass guitar quickly, etc…) and went thru those, as far as I could follow at the time. Scales were easy to follow, but when they started talking about arpeggios, triad’s, chord tones, the little information they gave before going off to charts and pictures didn’t cut it for me. I started watching videos on YouTube, mostly BassBuzz, SBL and TalkingBass, along with others for certain songs I wanted to learn quickly.
I was doing another course, free one, and I was good thru lesson 10, and on lesson 11, it seemed like I walked out of a high school class, straight into a top music academy at the advanced levels. I was all like WTF, first we cover the major scale, then its all modes and 7th chords with 7th and 11th and flat 13th and double sharps and I am like Homer Simpson, “DOH”.
So, I ended up finding this site and Beginner 2 Badass, and it was amazing.
I was so hooked on the course, I completed it in a week. Having played before helped, but I was shocked at how much I learned over that week, and then going back thru most of it again, I learned a ton more.
I had a plan to get Josh’s books and take TalkingBass Scales essentials, but I was not certain this was the right path. Plus there are so many other courses or programs you can get involved with, it would SEEM like you could not make a wrong choice. However, to me, if I make the wrong choice, I will focus on something that will be good to know, but my overall progress will diminish. Sure, I can play C the major scale, and all of its modes all over the neck, for instance, but is my timing good, can I read and understand tabs / notation? Is my plucking hand technique ok, and do I fret ok? What about my tone, and muting, etc…
So many questions, so even if you are on a path, you don’t know if it is the right one, if you should take a different path prior to this one, or should you be on two or three paths at the same time.
SHOULD is very subjective, this is why there is plenty of content to access free or paid, but there is no SET OF RULES WHICH TO DO FIRST, and or when to do them.
This
Is exactly what the instructor is for, and why even a few sessions can be so valuable. Once I started bi monthly lessons, I saw my biggest flaw was timing, when getting to 16th notes, 1/8 and 1/16th rests and syncopation.
I got way better explanation for scales, along with great practice routines and methods to work on both.
That was the tip of the iceberg, but it gave me a path, where all the lessons I was reading and taking were confirmed to be a good path for me, but by incorporating other aspects of playing, that I was just not focusing on at all, it gave me perspective to a much larger picture. This was invaluable.
I took classes via Zoom, 2 times a month for a few months, and it was great. Unfortunately, I got an infection and was in the hospital for 20 days, and my recovery was months long, and by the time I was playing again, I just can’t afford to take lessons now. BUT a part of each lesson sticks with you, and the confidence I got, knowing I was working in the right direction really helped me, cuz after B2B, I was feeling a little lost, and really wanted to make sure I was not just flailing around, treading water, hoping not to sink.
YMMV, there are plenty of self taught players that are light years ahead of what I can do, many of them are famous, so it is not mandatory, but if you feel a little stuck, and you are able to, taking a class or two, or more if you can, can really be a life saver.
I should also note, that taking a class with THE WRONG instructor, can be a bad thing. I have heard horror stories of people almost quitting because of the instructor, to just wasting money on a guy that wants to talk all day about how good he is, so researching a good instructor is important.
I used @JoshFossgreen, and would go back in a heartbeat if I could afford to, but there are many good instructors, just be sure to ask around for references, or even ask Josh if he has spots open.
Thanks for this. I’ve read every word - I really appreciate a long reply (as I tend to write long messages too) - especially when everything you’ve written here is valuable. I am doing some courses with Talking Bass, but that’s the only place apart from Josh I’ve used (apart from looking up random YouTube bass videos on certain subjects). Good advice on that feeling of getting a bit lost. And that there’s no set rules for how to learn. Last year when I started, I did try to get a tutor too as where I work, there’s a music community mostly from the US (I’m from the UK) and there were regular band and jam nights but that all stopped with Covid, and obviously I couldn’t get a face to face tutor, and we are still not really there yet. But I would consider an online ‘live’ tutor (eg via Zoom) definitely. I did think to go with Josh as he’s so good but thought he’d be fully booked out, plus felt a bit awkward at asking one of the top online tutors, at my level (I know that’s a bit of a negative way of thinking and I am quite positive). I’m not a conventional student as I have small hands and fingers, a tiny span (even after 9 months of stretching from just playing) and previously broken ring and pinky fingers which restricts my movements a bit. I’ve had to customize the playing a little with a lot of shifts so don’t play like the textbook! Anyway I am gonna look into this. Though I’m older to be learning from new (58), I’m really enthusiastic, and can’t read or get enough info about the bass. What a great sound it makes! I’ll make a copy of your comments/advice tomorrow and keep them in my bass progress file. Big cheers to you for taking the time to answer!
Awesome @MikePhil . Please keep monitoring and posting here as we are a very supportive and informative group.
Thanks Pam, will do. I didn’t realise how active this group was. I started the B2B course back in October but hardly used the Forum! I’ll be on here more often now.
If you weren’t a bit lost, then you wouldn’t have anything to learn. The good news is we are all a bit lost on various things here, its part of the deal when you decide to learn an instrument (or anything). But don’t take the ‘lost’ as ‘I can’t do this’, take it as ‘how do I figure this out’. Eventually the lost feeling becomes another bullet point of your to do list to sort out, and becomes a goal vs a struggle.
Hey Mike @MikePhil ,
Everyone uses different processes for recording,
I use one platform for everything.
If you have a Mac it’s easy, one stop shop.
I use Garageband to record, photo booth to shoot video at same time,
And mix it all together in iMovie.
I use a presonus 24c DAI straight into DAW garageband.
I create a file in garageband and drag and drop the song I want to record in, remove the bass line from the song and record my own.
Cheers Brian
I too have this problem, my fretting hand, the ring finger bends towards my middle finger, and it is nearly impossible to fret 1 finger per fret unless I do small micro shifts and / or change the angle of my hand so my fingers are at about a 45 degree instead of parallel to the frets. Many people do this, so its not a big deal, but I sure do wish my ring finger were more coorperative.
Also, I broke those 3 fingers (middle - ring and pinky) in a car wrek when I was 18, and I started playing guitar about 6 months after that, so I had to learn fretting with my fingers messed up anyway, its not like they were good, I was playing, they broke, I had to re-learn, and if it was, I could see it being way more frusterating.
That said there are certain guitar chords I just can not do, and I am sure there will be some bass chords, as I progress further that will give me trouble, and / or be impossible to do.
Also
Don’t cut yourself short, your level is fine for lessons. Josh is the best bass instructor on YouTube for any level, and he excels with beginners, where others kind of lose beginners at some point in most lessons. I dont’ want to put you, or Josh on the spot, that is not the intent, but if you ever wanted to take a lesson or three plus, if he has open slots on his teaching days, I am sure he would accommodate you, and you will feel less and less beginner status with each passing lesson.
Great idea to put it in your files for future reference, as now might not be the best time, but when it is, he is not hard to find.
@T_dub thanks again. We have the same! My ring finger bends towards my middle finger. The pinky was a worse break but it has healed more or less straight - except I struggle to make it go flat on the frets (for playing between two strings on the same fret). It does bend but seems unresponsive for that! I have to keep working on it and I sometimes use the ring finger instead, which though pointing the wrong way, can be flattened out to get to two notes on same fret. I’m glad you said it was ok to angle my fingers sometimes as the fingers at right angles to the frets doesn’t always work.
Anyway I only have two fingers like that, you damaged three! But I reckon that if Django Reinhardt, Tim Buckley and Tony Iommi who all had damaged fingers went on to be great guitarists, I can at least aim to be an average bass player! So no excuses for me. I know this will hold me back for some chords in future as you said. But when I was 16-17 I bought a 6 string electric guitar and gave up as couldn’t make chords easily (didn’t really know what I was doing). I didn’t know until not long before I bought a bass last year that it can be played by notes. So I feel I’m well suited to bass!
Might look into a personal tutor. Thanks again!
Hey Brian @TKNA36, thanks and I appreciate your time replying. I have a Windows machine so probably need a bit more of a setup then than the simplicity of doing it all with a Mac. So, once I have a DAI, and software on the laptop that can take the DAI, is that all that is required to get the signal in?
Regards, Mike
That should be adequate. Most name brand DAI’s come with drivers.
Behringer UMC22 is a good, inexpensive DAI. It comes with some software, but if you want a good software bundle with it, the Scarlet Solo 3rd Gen comes with alot of good software, like DAW and plug ins, along with samples if you want to get that far with home recording.
Personally, I only use the DAI into GB, and don’t any plugins. I am sure I will eventually.
Yes Mike @MikePhil ,
There are plenty of options with DAI,s
They are reasonably priced depends on what you want,
Cheers Brian
Great thread I have read each entry!
I started B2B May 21st and yesterday I just completed Module 3. So will be starting M4L1 tonight during my practice session. I really enjoy Josh’s teaching style and how things progress not only slowly and build on previous skills taught but in a logical way. Other online lessons take more of a shotgun approach and we are left to our devices to figure it out. Josh keeps me motivated and having fun.
So far it’s been pretty straight forward I imagine when I get into the secod part of the course (Module 5 and beyond) that things will get more complicated. Even though some of the workouts are not 100% perfect I am taking Josh’s advise and just keep moving forward and I am sure things will fall into place.
Typcially I do one lesson per day during the week and on weekends I do a moring session and an evening session, I am enhoying the process and journey and dont want to just rush through it I figure I will be done the course by Mid to late August which is a good pace for me.
Oh, you are soon to meet Billie Jean 
Don’t worry too much when you get there. most people trip up there. The lessons after it get easier, ut is just sort of a bump in the road, a reality check if you will.
Don’t rush thru it, but don’t let it hold you back. Again, once you get the slow work out, you can move on, but keep coming back to this one, it is highly rewarding to get the medium and fast workouts.
@MikePhil just to simplify things: There are two main ingredients required to accomplish recording. A DAW (Digital Audio Workstation), which is the software part. As I mentioned previously and have others, you have many choices for DAWs, ranging from free ones with limited capabilities, to more complex ones, with robust capabilities. Do your research to see which suits you. I have tried/used a couple of them, and have settled on Reaper. There’s even a thread here for Reaper.
The second ingredient is the DAI (Digital Audio Interface) which is the hardware component. I use the Zoom U-44, but there are many other choices. It has been pointed out in other comments that some come with software (DAW), but I play that down as I think you’d prefer to choose whichever DAW you’re most comfortable with.
The only thing needed after that is the required cables, and some learning on your part.
Yeah, I came back from surgery and am at Billie Jean. Dead halt lol. Going to take a bit to play at speed.
Interesting… Most people need surgery after Billy Jean 
Remember, once you can play it as the SLOW speed, you can move on, and come back later to get the Medium workout. The Fast one is not even a requirement for the BadAss Test at the end I dont think.
