I majored in Music Theory & Composition in college a very long time ago, with sax (alto and tenor) as my principal instrument. So treble clef was my stomping ground.
I played bass in a band briefly, using a pick and sticking to I-IV-V blues scale. Hey, it was rock and roll. And it was loud and the girls liked it, so…
Given my background, I reached out to Mark to ask which course plan he recommends for me.
First and foremost, he replied right away. Damn. Now, that’s service.
He said:
“The Chord Tone Essentials course is my go to recommendation for most people looking to develop their overall bass playing.
Simple Steps To Sight Reading is my other recommendation. Both of those courses provide a depth, duration and level of learning hard to find from other sites.”
So that’s what I’m doing next. I’ve bought both courses.
I bought Mark’s new Technique Builder during the intro sale. I’m liking it so far and could see buying some of his courses as supplements to B2B as you get further along or finish B2B. Mark does tend to “noodle” a bit more when showing things, ie playing them rapidly, but I think that’s more to show you what is possible, etc (he does them slowly, too).
The forum over there is absolutely terrible though XD
Chord tones is great.
Site reading - you may find sub-benefits. You are musical enough to quickly pick up on what notes are where on the staff. The drills (many and many and long long long) are there to enable you to know the fretboard and play without looking. This course needs a better name, as it is very very valuable there.
It arrived a couple hours ago. I just finished changing strings (GHS Bass Boomers) and replacing the stock strap buttons with the quick release strap buttons. Now I’m doing a setup on it to get it sounding perfect.
He’s a really good guy and very responsive. Not as drab as people make him out to be, but yes he’s not Josh. His courses are more in depth than b2b, they have a very music school feel. It can be a little confusing separating what is essential VS esoteric in his courses because he tends to cover everything soup to nuts. But what is chaff to me may be wheat to you, so I get it. Chord tones and scales are the two must have, he recommends chord tones first but as Pam said it really doesn’t matter what order. And he has a great live hang on FB weekly.
Good to know about the Saturday hang. I’ll have to get in on that.
Yeah, I’ve had a lot of music school profs. To a person, they’ve been absolutely committed about two things: music and teaching, in that order. Each had his/her unique personality and approach: some zany, some dry as dust. I’ve experienced the gamut.
I like Josh’s approach for his breadth of knowledge and player talent, presented in a gentle and obviously caring manner. He has made a conscious and savvy decision to create a course strictly for beginners. It is a savvy business model because there will always be beginners, regardless of whether they choose to learn more after this course.
Mark struck me as the type of teacher I’m familiar with: a music school professor. Obviously, he can play his ass off, which is the proof of the pudding. And I dig his comprehensive and encyclopedic soup-to-nuts teaching approach.
