I would like to try an online instructor, but I have no idea how to go about finding one, let alone finding one who is actually good at teaching.
I’ve been through the B2B and am now working on Talkingbass courses. I am slow to learn and slow to play, but that’s ok. I’m looking for an instructor to help me with some issues, like flying fingers, muting, inconsistent right hand, etc. I assume these are fairly common topics for bass playing instruction.
I live in a rural area. There is an instructor in the closest town that had great reviews. I gave him a try and I’m not at all happy with the instruction. After two lessons he has not given any useful feedback, and has offered up material that is much too difficult and not what I want to work on right now (tapping and popping!) He literally has not had me play anything for him. He asked me a few questions about my playing, but never let me finish answering nor asked follow up questions. I have mentioned both in correspondence and in class that I am trying to play with better hand positions.
I bring him up because I know he is on some of the online instructor sites, and I want to avoid him or other instructors like him.
These are physical issues which no one can really help you with, these things get better as you gain control over yourself through physical practice and exercise. Get control of yourself through doing.
Practice is what counts most, have you put in your first 500 hours yet?
Flying fingers, what can someone else do about them for you, maybe hold them down? These are things no one else can do for you.
They are your fingers and if they don’t do what you ask of them you need to practice and gain control of them, no one can do this for you.
If you practice much it will come, repetition is how we learn, build control over our selves and get better through doing.
It’s very definitely a cool situation, I have a lesson tonight actually. The lessons are a lot less punk rock than I think you’re probably thinking though. My homework for the past 2 weeks has been playing some James Jamerson bass lines, finger positioning drills, and composing at least 15 original riffs. We don’t talk about his career a whole lot tbh. He’s just a really cool teacher.
I have been practicing consistently for about a year and a half. I can video myself and see that I’m doing this. I watch Josh’s videos and follow those exercises. But I don’t know what I don’t know. I would like someone to look at how I’m playing and give me feedback as to how to do it better. I’m putting in the work. But I don’t want to put in 500 hours to find out I need to unlearn bad habits I don’t even know I have.
I was looking for tutors who had profiles that I could read up on, and tried to match as close as possible to what I was interested in playing. Then, I just happened to stumble into an opportunity to learn from a bassist from a pretty famous band from the 90s (who I happened to really be into then). As much as possible, I’d read through instructor profiles if you can.
That’s a really good point… I’m also kinda secluded from musicians and teachers, but I may look into that myself.
A good musicians input is always welcome also…
