Beginner to Badass Reviews? šŸŽø

@JimP now thatā€™s a good method, I will need to have a look at that. :laughing:

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Welcome to the forum @loadpony and thanks for the feedback! Great idea about on-page audio.

And thanks everyone else for your feedback/reviews as well!

Quick reminder - Iā€™m trying to keep this thread limited to 100% review, 0% chat, so if yā€™all can keep side discussions to other threads Iā€™d really appreciate it! Itā€™ll make it easier for people to search this thread.

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I had never picked up a bass eight weeks ago and my initial fumblings with you tube were getting me nowhere fast. B2B gave me the structure to build my skills in a fun but well thought out set of lessons. I donā€™t think there is anything I would change. For me; the music theory was too early in the course but the way it is structured, I just skipped that and went back over it later when I felt ready. And that is one of the strengths of the course.

I feel it has a real niche in getting beginners like me up to speed quickly but with an emphasis on good technique. I didnā€™t find another course like it. (I did look at Talking Bass and SBL amongst others).

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So i finished the B2B course, or did i :thinking: actually i think i just started a journey in to a world of BASS thanks to @JoshFossgreen who within this course really set you of with a really solid foundation, and a quest for wanting more. It has send me down Eartraning lane, over musictheory and in to the land of really hard rhythms. I love that this course takes you in to all types of music instead of just having focus on one. I can now play bass !!
I have a Super Badass Goldstar but it wont stop me !!
I just cant put my bass down :slight_smile:

Thanks BassBuzz

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@RolandDehli congratulations. That was quick
:guitar: :slight_smile: :guitar:

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10 posts were split to a new topic: Confused by neck graphic in B2B

I did complete Beginner to Badass in 30 days. I watched and participated in every Module and Exercise. To do this you have to dig deep and practice at least two hours a day remembering to rest an entire day every week because of tired muscles. I chose this boot camp forum, but recommend that this is YOUR course, so you do you in as many days as you need. At the start of the course you learn how to put the strap on and from there Josh Fossgreen will have you playing riffs from the giddy-up. At the end of the course I considered myself freshly Intermediate. 6 months later I have dozens of bass lines I play by heart, and when I jam with my musical family, I am an asset. I still play 1-3 hours a day in order to be able to achieve true, enduring confidence which is in the spirit of badassedness that I will enjoy my whole life.

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If Josh says ā€œmake bass faceā€ make bass face. You will need it during some grueling 16th notes in the near future. It helps. If he says ā€œrepeat after meā€ repeat after him. If he tells you to sing with the coir, do it. If he says itā€™s time to improv and just groove, you do it. In the end you will understand.

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Good work in getting through the course in that time frame @HannahWalker.
Cheers Brian

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Congratulations @HannahWalker!

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Congratulations @HannahWalker!

Itā€™s good to see you in the forum again. Donā€™t be such a stranger :hugs:

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I just now finished with the Final Quiz for B2B. I wanted to do the whole Super Badass Quiz but it has gotten late and I lost a bit of my concentration so I will do that tomorrow.
It was still fun to see how much progress I have made in such a short amount of time.
I started because I wanted something to do in the huge amount of free time I currently have. Unknowingly I connected with the world of music again, enjoy and want to learn music theory, want to read sheet music instead of tabs because how else do I know how long those notes are? I also started doing vocal training because of it.
Josh said in a lesson ā€œyou are now equipped to write a songā€ or something among those lines and my reaction was: ā€œIā€¦ I just started.ā€ went onto the forum, asked folk here for help but basically Josh was right: I already was equipped to write a song and I did so while not even being half through B2B.
I am used to being a quick learner compared to others in my life but here even I was astonished at my own progress. Iā€™m not saying Iā€™m good but at the same time I feel like if I would play for someone and let him guess how long Iā€™ve been playing the answer wonā€™t be ā€œjust a little over 1 monthā€ but something higher.
Overall I feel equipped to do whatever I want to do with bass. I feel like I have a solid foundation I can build on. Now I will clean and smoothen this foundation and have some thoughts about what to build on it.
I am so stoked to have finished the B2B course and would love to have Josh as a 1on1 bass teacher. So much that I donā€™t think I would be satisfied with another I find in real life close by. At the same time I feel that B2B has given me enough tools to not need a bass teacher in order to develop my skills.
The last video in which Josh talks about how to structure practice was kind of funny to me. I did not finish the course at the time but I feel like I already told others in the forum the basic principles/philosophies because I am convinced that those are good learning strategies.

I loved the course! These are just minor issues/improvements and it may be that some of them are just personal to me.

Constructive criticism:

  • Longer Playalongs in the course extras would be a blast
  • Looking back the information on the left hand shape/position could have been more detailed and keep different body/hand shapes in mind
  • I would have liked the Slap lessons more drawn out into more modules. I would have happily just slapped and crossed strings for a whole module and then add pop in after that. From a learning/progression standpoint it felt like the learning curve has gotten much steeper and it got a bit frustrating.
  • Also about slap: As said those pictures Josh made for me about hand shape for pop would be really useful as FAQ in my opinion.
  • It sometimes annoyed me to hear about specific techniques/muting strategies only in the medium or fast workout because to implement that I often had to go back to the slower speed. At the same time I get that itā€™s optional. It just would be nice to know the options at the point where I try to get my fingers to do what I want them to do.

Half earnest/Half joking criticism:

  • I wanted Josh to say the full ā€œHey now! Youā€™re a rockstarā€ in every speed of the workout. I actually went back to the slow, listened to Josh say it and went back to the fast multiple times.

So again. I loved the course. It is amazing how good it is structured, how it builds on top of each other and every lesson has itā€™s place. The one for slap is just a little small :wink:

Something I forgot in the initial post and would like to mention: I did not expect the bass teacher of an online course to take such an active part. I mean Iā€™ve spent 200 bucks for a video course, not private lessons and Joshs active engagement in the community is worth so much. I really appreciate him taking the time and even make detailed pictures of hand shape to help me.

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Just finished the course! Beginner to Badass is awesome! Joshā€™s method is solid. He takes things step by step. He equips you with what you need to know and then encourages you to get out there and use it. He opens doors to further exploration depending on your own interests. The lessons are fun and also productive. Joshā€™s manner is very patient and supportive; he loves playing bass and wants to help you get there, too!

I am 62 years old, and came into the course with some knowledge of music theory from childhood piano lessons. I took up the guitar 3 years ago, and then acquired a bass. I found Joshā€™s free lessons on youtube, and really liked his approach. Thanks to his ā€œyou can do itā€ encouragement, I tried out what I learned from his video about 12-bar-blues, and blues box shapes, at a jam with friends, and it was great!

So, I decided to sign up for the Beginner to Badass course, to go about learning bass in a systematic way. This is a very well-organized course. Each lesson is about 12 minutes of instruction plus another 6-10 minutes of practice with Josh in ā€œworkouts.ā€ You can replay these over and over if you want. The course includes some music theory ā€“ just as much as you need to know at this stage. Also, it includes ā€œextrasā€ ā€“ music play-alongs, tabs, sheet music, etc ā€“ that will provide hours of practice and exploration on your own. I hesitated before taking the plunge, but the money was well worth it. I highly recommend this course.

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I finished the course yesterday.

I left it after module 16 for a period of time because I wanted to have a bit of a session for a while just sort of playing in general to see where Iā€™d managed to get to - kinda like a review of progress.

And yesterday, I thought Iā€™d finish off the masterclasses at the end.

Have to say the last 2, about the how to practice, what to practice, goals, etc were really good. And I kinda feel bad now itā€™s over!

However, Iā€™m going to sit down and work out my goal(s) going forward and carry on that way, as I like to have something to work towards.

But I feel kinda empty now! This is awful :slight_smile:

Definitely, hands down the best bass course Iā€™ve ever done, so thank you very much @JoshFossgreen - itā€™s been a great emotional roller coaster of fun, and has set me up very nicely for going forward.

Onwards!

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I totally know what you mean. Those last few modules are the best part of the course, and wrapping it all up, you feel sad that thereā€™s not more.

In a way thatā€™s the best sales pitch you can make - when itā€™s over and done, you really really want more :slight_smile:

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Hi @quadfather,
Great feedback on the course, Iā€™m currently in module 15.
I be been stuck there for a while as Iā€™ve been working on getting covers together with @Lanny.
As @howard has also expressed the last 2 modules are the best on the course, now Iā€™m going to have to try and get back there to finish it off.
Looking forward to seeing whatā€™s in the modules about setting practice and goal strategies.
Cheers Brian

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I loved my experience with Beginner to Badass! I found myself slowing down during the last module because I didnā€™t want it to end! This course is terrific for anyone who is starting out on the bass, even if youā€™ve never played a musical instrument before in your life.

I learned so much from this course and had fun the whole time! My favorite part is that from day one, I was playing along to songs that were specifically chosen to match the skill/concept for the lesson. This made learning fun and memorable. The song selection is also great, encompassing a wide range of genres and eras. Josh is a terrific teacher who manages to be personable and funny through the video camera. He breaks things down and explains everything in a way that is simple to understand.

A great feature of the course was how the workouts were split into slow, medium, and fast tempos. This was a great way to gradually build my skills and confidence. It also provided some challenges to revisit after completing the course.

For anyone intimidated or bored by music theory, have no fear! Josh explains music theory in bite sized, understandable pieces and always has you apply the theory to actual bass playing to keep things interesting. I grew up playing the trombone so I was already familiar with a lot of the music theory, but those lessons were still fun due to the play-alongs and I learned some new things as well. So if you already play another instrument, this course will still be great for learning the bass guitar.

Finally, Josh takes the time to address specific questions and concerns in the comments section of each video. A lot of the time I found the answers to my questions right there in the comments. The course is worth the price on its own, but this level of responsiveness truly ensures your money is well spent.

As far as constructive feedback goes, I only have one small suggestion. A feature that would be useful would be the ability to bookmark a lesson or workout to review later. Not a big deal though, since you can just make a list somewhere else of lessons you want to revisit. But if this would be easy to program I think it would be a nice touch!

I am a very satisfied customer! If Josh and the BassBuzz team put together another online course, I will definitely purchase it! Thanks for the terrific experience!

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Iā€™m doing it a bit at a timeā€¦got family care issues that can interrupt things for long periods. I have searched all the bass on line courses and couldnā€™t understand some because of accents. Hated some for showing off too much and instructing to little, found a few that made you wish for a revival meeting to lighten things upā€¦I found you, just the right mix of humor but yet not clownish. You seem to hit the right progression from ā€œdo what?ā€ to theory. Things flow and make sense. The only gripe I have is that you donā€™t show super hot chicks (go the other way if you are a bass chickā€¦) mobbing the bass player as we all know the world should be. I mean come on why would any groupie want one of those little six string thing players??? Please understand the humor here in praising youā€¦donā€™t dis meā€¦Iā€™m into flat wounds. and HORRORS playing with a pickā€¦got a problem with that fellow BG to BA folks??? Outplay Carol Kaye and then come talk to meā€¦thatā€™s where I want to beā€¦now where are my chick groupies??? I ain 't gettin any younger

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Love it @rt66az,
Cheers Brian

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Absolutely amazing course. Thank you! Iā€™ve been making electronic music for over 20 years and wanted to add some live bass to my productions. Iā€™m already doing that thanks to this class. Itā€™s helped improve my music all around. I really enjoyed the theory in this class. And Iā€™m loving playing the bass now. Everything was presented clearly and paced very well. A fun and productive class all around. I canā€™t say enough good things about this class. It was fantastic!

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