Greetings. First post. I am a middle-aged family dude who picked up bass a year ago. Long story short, I did private lessons for a while and they weren’t my thing. I have learned a lot from the free BassBuzz youtube videos and am considering purchasing the Beginner to Badass Course. But, looking at the lessons, it seems a good chunk are really basic gear and really basic intro to music things. I can read music, have prior classical music training on another instrument (so I understand key sigs and “basic” music theory), So my concern is that a lot of the content would be irrelevant or “too basic” for me, although I do still consider myself a beginner.
I am wondering if anyone here was in a similar boat as I am and can offer some advice/suggestions?
So… while I have nowhere near your qualifications, I do have prior bass and musical experience, and I consider myself a beginner as well. (I grew up taking lessons on another instrument, and I have taken a few bass lessons prior.)
Personally, I am finding great value in the courses. They are helping me to correct tons of bad habits I’ve picked up over the years tinkering with bass. They’re also helping me to, eh, connect previously unconnected pieces of music theory that were floating around in my head (like, for instance, I’d always heard the term “intervals” but didn’t understand them, but after finishing the intervals B2B module I realized that I did know what they were, and did understand them, only didn’t realize they were called “intervals”).
I found that, for instance, on each module up to Billie Jean, I was skipping right over the slow and medium workouts and going straight to the fast workouts. Billie Jean, of course, knocked that approach out of the park, LOL. On the ska line in module 5 I was able to go straight to fast again, though.
Your mileage may vary, but for me… they’re definitely value added and I’m really looking forward to the modules that go past the random bits of bass knowledge, theory, and playability that are floating around in my head.
It’s hard to tell since only you know what you know and don’t… the course is basic music but bass focused of course… it’s similar to the YouTube content but even more didactic… so Josh will put you on your way to play bass, regardless of your musical background, that is the goal of the course IMO…. To play.
if you still feel awkward when you play bass and cannot play at all without getting the tab/music sheet from someone else then this course will help you
if you already can grab the bass and play to a tune with little info available and are looking for more music theory, lots of scales, arpeggios, etc then this is not the right course
My guess is that you’ll probably cruise through the first several lessons but you’ll find good new stuff or the same stuff under a new light
I was in a similar situation - four years of classical piano lessons as a child, started bass at age 14 and a few years later was playing in a working bar band. Due to a variety of circumstances I stopped playing bass until the lockdown last year - a “break” of 45 years or so.
I’m taking the course not so much as to learn how to play as to unlearn how not to play, if that makes any sense. I was entirely self taught and my fretting and plucking are unconventional, to say the least.
I flew through the first few lessons but did all the exercises in order to (re)build muscle memory.
Try the course - you have nothing to lose, as it has a 180 day warranty. If you decide it is too basic, a phone call or email will result in a prompt refund.
The first few lessons are like that but within a few days you will be into the nuts and bolts of Bass playing.
0There are 16 modules in the course and everything will go really soothly until you hit Module 4 Lesson 6 which covers Billie Jean. Then it’s not so basic.
I was in exactly the same boat as you at the beginning of 2021.
I have 50+ years of guitar background so I knew theory, chords, the fretboard etc.
I started the course and after 2 weeks was at Module 10 and decided that an intermediate course would have been a better choice. I called The B2B office and got an instant full refund.
So, as @spidey9 said Try the course - you have nothing to lose, as it has a 180 day money back warranty. If you decide it is too basic, a phone call or email will result in a prompt refund.
There’s a bit more to the course than just basics or so I found.
The arpeggios and chord progressions are very cool, then there’s the jazz improv, slap etc. but also some good pointers to steer you away from bad habits too.
I certainly found it put me on the right track
Like you, I had had private lessons, and understood basics like music notation already.
I found a lot of value in the course. Josh is a great teacher, and even if some of it is too basic for you, there’s a lot of value in the more advanced topics (like improvising with drums or over chords) - I mean, it costs the same as just a few in-person lessons and you always have access to it. I got way more out of this than I got out of the private lessons that I took…
Plus, the money back guarantee is there if you end up really feeling that it doesn’t have enough value for you.
Totally agree. This course is also very good at teaching good technique and getting rid of the bad habits early so they don’t become habits that are hard to break. That alone is worth it in my opinion. It’s also mostly a great group here who will support you through your journey. Good luck and, most importantly, have fun.
I agree with what everybody else said. Highly recommended.
One of the hard things for a new, or relatively new, bass player to figure out is where they are in the grand scheme of their learning path. @JoshFossgreen’s course, in addition to all you learn, gives you perspective on where to go next.
Check out this page for some idea of where you will be as you go through each module. BassBuzz YouTube Video Guide
Yup, I get that. As a guitar player for 40+ years, I had my doubts, especially in the first couple of “this is a bass”, “these are called strings” lessons. But I’m nearly finished with my 2nd run through the course and am still learning something from each lesson.
Yes, it is worth it. In spite of many years (off and on) of private lessons, several theory books (some of which I’ve even read!), and playing in a bar band duo, I’ve gotten more out of this course than anything so far.
Thanks everyone. I think I will purchase the course tonight. As someone said, its basically the cost of a handful of private lessons. Look forward to being part of the community, learning, and sharing experiences.
I tried a few different online courses and B2B was hands down the best for me. All the other courses are more like: “Here is what you need to practice. Now go practice!”.
Whereas B2B is much more guided, it is more “we practice this now together”. This might not be the style for everyone, but for me, it was spot on the right thing.
yeah, I forgot about that point, but I think it is one of the things that kept me going thru the course. There was no “let me show you this, now you go do it for a week and come back”. Josh continually guided the progress thru the course, which made things feel less like “homework” or a chore, yet the progress was still being made.
I just started working my way through the course. The first few lessons are super basic. But the basic technique stuff is a good refresher. Also, I find I really enjoy the play along stuff. Even the first couple super basic whole note half note stuff I made interesting by doing 16th notes and playing fifths and octaves…The playthroughs are great to just work on your rhythm and time. And, it forces you to slow stuff down to focus on what you are doing…mistakes become more apparent when playing slow than fast!
So, anyone who reads this thread and is in a similar situation as I have described, go for it.
I’m a synth player/programmer from way back, could already read music, knew scales, etc etc, and have played a few different musical instruments in my life, but I still got a lot out of the course as applied knowledge for bass. The bass technique and in particular Josh’s teaching style around it were superb. I think you’ll get a lot out of it.
