I know we already have a B2B Alumni thread, so I hope this is not duplicative, but I would like to know what other alumni are doing as far as structured practice and maybe share whatever resources we are using.
I have been working through Jeff Berlin’s “Bass Mastery” reading course and am finding it very challenging to play anything consistently above a 60 bpm without any slip ups. I also purchased Josh’s arpeggio PDF that I have been using and still am going through my Hal Leonard Method books (half-way through book 2). For Christmas, my wife got me Ari Cap’s music theory for bass book, but I haven’t done a lot with it.
But, right now, my biggest frustration is I feel like I am “floundering” so to speak. I’ll work on Jeff’s book for a bit, do a couple of the mini tunes in the Hal Leonard book, and then get bored and start learning a new song to cover. Doing the covers def helps with my speed, but I usually rely on tab, so feel like I am “cheating” and have no real way to measure my progress anymore.
So I am interested in what other people do for structured practice or “what’s next.”
I am aware of SBL (I get enough emails from them), but I am really turned off by the format, the amount of “talking without substance,” and the attitude there.
I am also aware of Mark’s Talkingbass stuff, but haven’t purchased anything from there yet, as I feel I have enough unused resources I need to finish (see above).
I still feel like I have not “mastered” the fretboard and am torn between following a more “academic” approach to learning at this point, or a “learning by playing songs” approach.
Interested in the comments the veterans here have,
But - Songs are VERY helpful.
Want to master the Fretboard?
Mark Smith’s Sight Reading or Ari Cap are popular.
I think a blend of songs and lernin’ are best, you don’t have to do one or the other.
What I found…
I despise SBL
Mark Smith - sight reading/scales/chord tones - do some, stop, do more, stop, go back, etc. It’s not a do in a row until your eyes bleed from boredum.
Ari- haven’t found value I didn’t get with Mark
Rich Brown (The BrownS’tone on YouTube) - has been a HUGE help. a little disorganized, but if you just sort all his videos oldest to newest, and do the lesson ones, its great.
I have learned more fretboard through his exercises than anyone else.
A lot just takes time, doing whatever. The whatever is whatever holds your attention, doesn’t matter much past that honestly, you will learn regardless.
And there are still periods of waffling and wandering.
One of the reasons I went back to the 50 songs for a bit now and banging some out.
Thanks. Wasn’t aware of the other thread. I am a little intimidated by Mark at Talkingbass, as he talks really fast and I find I have to repeatedly stop, restart, and rewind his content because it is so fast-paced and he is already onto the “next step” in the lesson while my brain is still trying to figure out what he just said/did.
I do a lot of pause and repeating with any online, I take notes repeat and repeat. Would be nice if he set it up a bit more like Josh in bite sizes. It is not as easy to manage for sure.
@Old_WannaBe if a slightly slower pace of delivery is what you want give Dan Watkins a look. I’m doing one of his courses and really like his teaching style.
I wish I had a nickel for every time I stopped, rewound, and replayed while going through B2B. With Josh, Mark, or whomever I’m learning from, I usually watch the video several times with lots of pausing and rewinding. It’s the nature of online lessons.
Because some of us have finished the B2B course with Josh but are keen to continue our Bass education journey Practice / lessons beats new gear.
He also does a Funk Course. Anyway I think he’s got a great teaching style YMMV.
OOOOOH!
Thanks @Barney this is grand!
I have been looking for something exactly like this.
Stu Hamm’s is slap only, Nik West’s is buried into her beginner class ans also a lot of slap.
Rich Brown has this intertwined in his stuff but also a bit too jazzy for me wants.
Most excellent, thanks for the GREAT lead!
(almost as much fun as getting a new bass )
Yeah I’m not on commission or anything. I just like his teaching style. It’s unfussy but with enough gold in there to keep me interested. 30 day money back guarantee, seems like a fair deal.
Hey, I was really just making a lame joke about the branding and marketing slogans, not commenting on the quality of the content. I’m glad to know about other options that you like. Thanks for bringing it to our attention.
@john watching Dan Hawkins latest video he talked about converting his Soul and Motown book into a course that’s probably coming out in the next few weeks FYI.
Sweet
I’ve got the Jamerson book “Standing in the Shadows” with all his bass lines in it, plus the whole story of him, it’s great. This would be a cool shortcut to studying all of them and figuring it out on your own.
His funk course is simple but intense, really good stuff. Months of stuff that just helps you play better.
So I am now in the last module of B2B. I stretched the last module for while because ending it was freaking me out. I have proven to be unable to find structure by myself in activities that are challenging and require continuous learning.
When I drove my son to his drum class last week, I asked his teacher, who also is a bass teacher, if he still could take adult students in, and I am starting next Thursday. I am excited yet terrified. I know he is a drums legend here, and I hope his teaching skills are as good in bass. It turned out really hard to find teachers around here, and I had no other choice than to turn to the big music school. We’ll see how it goes.
Practice / lessons beats new gear.
)
