Short version: I’ve been taking in-person lessons and don’t think I’m quite getting out of them what I’d like to be. I think this isn’t the right instructor for me. Trying to decide what the best course of action is.
Full version: I’m new to bass. I want to take in-person lessons along with my online/self study. You don’t know what you don’t know. An experienced instructor can identify technique issues that I’m oblivious to.
Local School of Rock is literally two blocks from work. Got connected with one of their instructors. I’ve had four lessons. I don’t think it’s the right fit.
It’s fun to hang out and play. He’s encouraged me to pick some good challenge songs for my level. Working with him has helped me identify a few helpful techniques. But he does not do a lot of just sitting and watching me play to observe my technique.
Example from last lesson: After warming up, I played the song I’d been working on for the past week, “Oye Como Va”. He played along with me, watching a video with a running tab to keep up. So his attention was on that, rather than watching and listening to what I was doing. So we finished the song, and he didn’t have any particular critique or advice on how to improve.
I don’t know if I’m expecting too much. If I should step away from private lessons for a bit, focus on self-study, and come back when I’ve built up more specific questions; talk to the owner of the studio about what’s going on and see if they’ve got another instructor; or just find another local teacher not affiliated with them.
Payment there is by the month. So I’ve got one more lesson there next week that I’ve already paid for.
Regardless of whether he’s a good player, he doesn’t sound like a good educator. In particular he doesn’t seem to be doing the one thing you really want from him; giving you direct feedback on your playing. I think I’d move on.
Go through the Beginner to Badass course, first and foremost. As evidenced by essentially everyone who has, you will learn more and better technique and theory than you will from some rando “teacher.”
It’s difficult to find a really good bass teacher. Many are guitar players who feel the need to branch out by offering bass lessons in order to make more money. Nothing against making a living, but such would-be bass instructors don’t deliver the quality or quantity of what a beginner bass player needs to learn in order to be able to play.
@JoshFossgreen is the exact opposite of that. He’s the real deal. Trust him and you can’t go wrong.
I think that is the most important thing you should be looking for if you get in person teaching , a lot can learned online but not that.
And as @MikeC said:
Go through the Beginner to Badass course, first and foremost. As evidenced by essentially everyone who has, you will learn more and better technique and theory than you will from some rando “teacher.”
I would bring up the issues you are having, or, better, your expectations to the teacher. Talk to him/her about that! They can’t guess to what you are looking for and it requires some kind of dialog to arrive at a common ground. I totally understand the feeling of “you don’t know what you don’t know”, but you need to give the teachers some clues at least.
Also, just because they are reading tab doesn’t mean they are not hearing what you play. But, yes, if you feel your fretting/picking needs more attention (or just feedback on that aspect), point that out.
I’d think most teachers are happy to get feedback the other way round, as that informs their path forward for/with the student.
That all said, it is certainly possible he/she is not a good teacher or just not a fit for you. In this case, don’t waste your time anymore and move on. But, as Mike pointed out, it’s hard to find a good teacher, and the next one might not be a good fit either
Finally, apart from in-person IRL teaching, there are many teachers offering in-person zoom lessons - maybe something to consider!
I’m very against School of Rock as a vehicle for private instruction.
The business model is franchise-esque, so it is inherently going to cut corners on quality and focus because all operations have to operate the same.
You won’t necessarily have a teacher whose primary instrument is your instrument, even.
My brother worked with them for some months and while I think their program where bands learn songs and play songs live is powerful and helpful, his account of how lessons worked was very unimpressive.
I would get out of that scenario.
If you can find a private teacher who is a dedicated and focused bassist and has taught for a long enough time to have an actual approach, curriculum and teaching experience, it can really be worth it.
But definitely don’t assume that just because someone has hung their ‘bass teacher’ sign out their door that they have any idea what they’re doing.
It’s a hard thing to do, and a lot of people assume that being able to play = being able to teach.
When you have a good teacher, you’ll know. They’ll inspire you, they’ll give you interesting things, and they’ll have comments and challenges that are specific to you, your obstacles and your goals.
I am. Tried out another online course for a week. Felt “meh” about that. One week into B2B now. Very happy. On Module 4 and about to tackle Billie Jean.
I see online lessons as separate from in-person. Josh is clearly a really excellent instructor, but video-Josh can’t see what my hands are doing and give me feedback.
I’ve learned and instructed enough other skills to know that it’s a lot harder to unlearn a bad habit than to learn a good one.
I guess question is whether to bring my concerns to the owner/manager at the SoR first, or the instructor. Was probably going to talk to owner/manager first, since I have multiple avenues to contact him.
Thanks. I think this is what I needed to hear and confirm my own impressions. Things aren’t bad. They just aren’t right.
I’ll ask around. Fortunately I’ve got lots of connections. I’m in a service-industry-adjacent job (brewer), so I work with a lot of musicians who can help steer me toward good contacts.
I agree that I think SOR does excel in their band programs. The lessons work to help you focus on issues you may be having with songs that are in the setlist, but likely not best for just pure lessons. My plan is to finish B2B, then try and find someone local. Good luck.
This is so true; I used to do commercial software training (C++) for a living and whilst I knew my C++ back to front I had a lot to learn to teach it well.
It’s actually one of the down sides of most university structure. What are the profs at university there for? Is it to teach or to research. I would guess that for most it is the latter and I certainly had my fair share of lecturers who were world leaders in their field of knowledge but couldn’t have taught a fish to swim. (there were others, of course, who could do both brilliantly, thank goodness!)
Always talk to the teacher first before escalating. Only fair to give him a chance to sort things out first.
I was a teacher before I was a brewer (and now I drink less). I’ve also instructed partner dancing, skating, and high performance driving. I am better at instructing those things than actually performing them.
I can’t speak to all school of rock locations but I kind of joked with other people that I’m stuck there because my bass teacher is that good. he’s been playing/gigging for 40 years and has really helped me demystify some things and connect theory to the songs we are learning. I’ve only worked with one other instructor there who is a multi-instrumentalist but I would trust him with teaching me bass too. Could be my location just has some good eggs.
I actually just joined (2 weeks) SOR Adult band after playing bass for 4 weeks…guitar for several years though. It has been a blast and the lessons do just what you said. But, if I was ONLY doing lessons there, I could see how it could be lacking. Got my first show in December…Yay.
Drop him now, you are not ready for a on going one on one yet.
Rule number one: A student must be ready for the teacher.
You are several hundreds mistakes short of getting a private lesson.
You can get heck of a lot out of B2B when you finish and still not getting it on right with your playing the songs you like then you know it’s time. You know what you need and the right questions to ask.
Another great motivator is posting your progress, song covers on the “post your cover” thread.
I started a private instructor when I enrolled in SBL… because half of the things they were throwing at me I couldn’t translate or transcribe without having to go on GOogle or buy books.
Yes, the teacher helped at that point. Then I started B2B after I removed my cast… slowly. Teacher was a bit redundant… because I would tell him what I was learning and he then basically just gave me “homeworks”… and small explanations.
Do B2B first. Then try TalkingBass. If you feel you are stuck at a certain point use the forum… someone will for sure try to help… if nobody can… then you find a teacher to help you smooth the rough edges.
I’ve learned and instructed a lot of skills. Every single one, there has been some little habit that new learners think they’re doing right, but don’t realize they’re doing wrong. Almost every time, it takes an experienced outside person to see and correct that. The longer it goes uncorrected, the harder that habit becomes to break.
I don’t know what that’s going to be with bass guitar. That’s why I want a good instructor now.
I’ve always found that as a beginner is when good instruction is needed most.
