Is the problem with me or my teacher?

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Hi!

Guys, I really need some advice because I’m losing motivation, and I’m not sure if this is normal and I should keep pushing, or if I should take a different approach in one specific area.

Some Context

I’m 34 years old and started playing bass almost 1.5 years ago with the BassBuzz course (which is great!). Once I finished, I did a bit of the 50 Songs Challenge, but then I started learning other songs since most of the ones in the challenge weren’t really my taste.

After a while, I had about 20-25 songs that I could play from memory at full tempo, with the bass removed from the original track (I use Moises for that).

At that point, I decided I needed to accelerate my learning and got a real-life teacher.

For over half a year now, I’ve been attending 1-hour classes every week. I like my teacher as a person, and I enjoyed the lessons at first, but over time, I’ve started to feel demotivated.

The thing is, I feel like he gives me songs that are too difficult. I play about 1 hour a day (adult life…), and when we start a new song in class, I basically have only 6 hours to learn it before the next lesson (well, I don’t have to, but then what’s the point, right? :laughing:). And honestly, I’m just not able to do it…

At first, I thought, “This must be the way—pushing myself to the limit to progress.” But then, over Christmas, I got the Hal Leonard Bass Method (Books 1-3), and it was the complete opposite. It starts super simple, from the very basics, but even though the skill level is low, I actually feel like I’m progressing. I’m almost finished with Book 2, and it feels great.

So, I told my teacher that I’d like to slow down, go back to the basics, and maybe focus on technique exercises instead of just learning difficult songs.

He said that every song he assigns is chosen for a reason—to introduce a new concept. And yeah, I totally get that. But shouldn’t we start with something simple and gradually progress?

For example:

  • The first slap bass song he gave me was “Love Games” by Level 42. And now I’m sitting here, frustrated, writing this post because I can’t even get one bar right… Playing ghost notes in that configuration and tempo is just too much for me. And I’m expected to learn the whole song in six hours?
  • Another time, I was supposed to learn “Spirit Crusher” (I highly recommend checking out the tabs and tempo for that one—lol). And yes, I eventually learned it, but I played it with terrible technique, and it took me four weeks of doing nothing else.

OK, Back to the Point

Is this normal? Is the best way to learn actually pushing ourselves to the limit, or based on what I’ve described, does it sound like this isn’t the best use of my time?

Right now, I really enjoy working through my book and learning songs I like. But whenever I have to pick up my bass and learn something for class (even when the songs are fine), I feel demotivated because I know I’m going to struggle a lot.

Tbh I’d prefer to have no teacher at all, but I have a bit of a FOMO that without teacher I will not progress :frowning:

What do you guys think?

Thanks!

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No, it isn’t the way things should be.

Unfortunately, a teacher like this might be more typical than anything else. But that shouldn’t be your experience.

You are actually forging and following your own path. Trust that.

@Gio and @JoshFossgreen, can you weigh in with your years of teaching fu?

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Not to mention… you are paying the teacher… when you bring up concerns… they should be addressed.

@zlykalafior :
If a teacher is going to force material that you have told them is too difficult for you… then you need a new teacher. One that actually listens to his/her students and works WITH them.

My 2 bits. :slight_smile:

I hope you can get things sorted. Don’t let this make you give up though! You can find better.

Another option… continue your online learning through sites like Talking Bass… or SBL … :slight_smile:

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All I am going to say is if a teacher started teaching me slap with a Mark King line like this then I would run screaming

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Ya that ‘teacher’ needs some lessons in reality.

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No, he needs lessons in pedagogy. The guy flat out doesn’t know how to teach.

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Honestly, what it sounds like… is he is picking the hard shit HE knows how to play as a flex. So he can show ‘how easy’ it is…

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Well, I don’t know what else goes on in your lessons, but from the face of it, this is not normal.

When I introduce a new concept with a student and want them to work on a song, there is a lot of basic instruction, excercises, technique and then the song is the application.

So, for example, if I want a student to focus on major scale stuff, I’ll teach the major scale fingering.
Play it in a bunch of keys.
Play some different major scale patterns.
Talk about chord progressions and how they reference the major scale.
There are songs to go along with these - one of my favorites is Soul To Squeeze.
Tricky bass line, but not too tricky, but has lots of cool stuff (particularly at the outro) to see how you use a major scale for fills, for melody, and also for playing the chord changes.

I would expect that song to be a 2-4 week experience for an adult student who isn’t in college / not playing professionally.

I’ve been teaching for over 20 years now, so I think my expectations and pacing is pretty accurate.

Without knowing what else happens in a lesson, what things are explained or gone over, how a song is introduced and explained, etc. - I can’t say much about how the lesson and information is structured.

I can say that expecting a student to master a challenging song (that isn’t part of their regular band/practice/performance routine) would be a steep ask, and - without lots of technique and concept instruction to back it up - would seem too weighted on the songs for my preference.

It’s all subjective, and it comes down to if you think it’s helping or not.
1 on 1 instruction is only a benefit if the instructor is teaching you specifically, and not running you through a student conveyor belt.
That’s why you’re paying so much for personal instruction.

Not sure how this sounds to you, but I’m always happy to weigh in on things from the teaching side.
Best of luck to you!

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change teachers.
you should do this over time anyway and learn from many people.
finding a teacher that meshes with your needs and that he/she gets it and listens is hard. like finding a good threrapist or barber.

some folks know how to teach one way, or certain things, may not be what you need. not that they are bad, just not for you at this time. more common than not.

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I would say this a way to do it, and even that some people react well to this method of teaching, but the normal… definitely not. A good teacher should be able to learn their student and use the teaching method that works best with that student. Doesn’t sound like that’s what is happening here.

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I’m not a huge slap fan but that song is really not that hard. The vast majority of it is a slap on the E, a left handed percussive slap and a muted slap on the E. The rest is mostly slapped hammer on from 5-7 with the odd pop on the G string.

It would take 1-2 hrs to get down the basics of it and then the rest is just working on your speed.

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Whether the song is technically hard or not isn’t really the issue here… the issue is that a student ( the one paying ) approached a teacher (the one being paid ) with concerns about the content… and got roadblocked.

Everyone learns differently… a good teacher will know this and have multiple strategies ready.

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This^^^

A song that is “simple” for one player can be more than challenging for another. We are all different, and a good teacher realizes that. That is the most important distinction between a good and a not-so-good teacher.

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They went to a teacher to up their game, now they don’t want to do it… well you can’t love everything in life, you have to make choices. Getting better is hard, getting better is work and you’re not always going to love it. If they don’t like the lessons and teacher and he doesn’t match up with their learning style then stop going and find another one.

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Which is what has been suggested

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The fact that you bring this up means that you don’t feel it is right. That should be sufficient…
You brought your concerns up, he ignored it. As a student, you have done what you can to remedy the situation.
I would have no remorse about movinng on, you are paying for the privilege and therefore have the choice.
Too often we feel a loyalty to companies or individuals that don’t actually give us a good service. We need to learn to recognise this and place our loyalty accordingly

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Almost every slap song out there is slapping 1-2 strings and popping 1-2 strings. If you take the LH slap out of this song, it’s slapping an open/muted string and slapping/popping on 2 frets, you don’t even have to move your hand for most of the song.

An hour a week lesson and 6 hours a week learning is a lot of time, I wouldn’t be doing that, half of that would be more than enough for me. I usually only play about 4 hrs a week.

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For me, the fact that you voiced concerns and they were essentially dismissed is a deal breaker.

A good teacher will push you to some extent. If you aren’t being pushed you aren’t going to progress. However a good teacher will also listen to you when you say “this is too hard/we’re moving to fast/I’d like to take a couple steps back because I feel like I didn’t get XXX technique or concept” and adjust accordingly.

IMO, a teacher who doesn’t listen to these requests is likely not a good teacher. Lots of really good players couldn’t teach if their life depended on it. Teaching is it’s own beast that’s really completely separate from your playing skill (although you need to be able to play to teach). At the very least, it sounds he is not a good teacher for you. And that is not a failure on your part or his part. Someone can be a great teacher but still not be the right teacher for you. Ultimately, you’re the customer and you can choose to find a different person to purchase lessons from for pretty much any reason.

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Very well said Vader … especially that ^^^

It can start good… then go south too… Like the OP described.

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Welcome Zlykalafior–

I’m pretty much in agreement with most everyone here so I won’t rehash. But I will bring up a term I heard some time ago, back in my career years, that I haven’t seen here or in any other post: Comparison Other.

A comparison other is just what it sounds like…someone else you compare yourself to, either consciously as a role model or mentor, or unthinkingly because they do the same thing you do, like play bass. If you choose the wrong comparison other(s), you can depress and defeat yourself very quickly, so it pays to choose, and associate, with those that are good for you whenever possible.

We’re at Bass Buzz, so let’s use bass as our example. You’re a bass player. So was Jaco Pastorius. If I told you, at your stage in your musical development, to compare yourself to Jaco you’d think I was nuts, and you’d be correct. But people come up with their own comparison others all the time, and it’s a huge reason people quit things like…oh…learning to play an instrument. I’m willing to bet that in early 1978 there were a ton of aspiring guitar slingers who picked up a copy of Van Halen I, heard “Eruption”, then put their guitar back in the case and left it there. They picked Eddie Van Halen as their comparison other, even unknowingly, and figured, “There’s just no way…”

It’s good when a teacher takes you out of your comfort zone, but the better teachers know just how far to take you out of it. It’s a fine line between productive practice and panic.

So if, on reflection, you find that your instructor’s methods have you comparing yourself to him, or Mark King or some such, that could be what’s bringing you down. The only bass player you should be comparing yourself to, especially at this stage of your development, is the one you were yesterday.

Something to think about, hopefully.

P.S. — The Hal Leonard method is a good resource, and Ed Friedland is a great author and instructor. (His book on walking bass lines is wonderful.) Note that on page seven of the method book he doesn’t have you performing “Portrait of Tracy.” There’s a reason for that…

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