Working through Talking Bass courses has been a really interesting learning experience for me. Most of Mark’s theory-based courses have sparked memories of my music college theory days. But Mark’s bass-centric emphasis has been far more helpful for my achieving my playing goals.
That said, nothing happens in a vacuum. For me, that’s meant that life is what happens while Mark is busy making other plans courses. 
A few years ago, I started my TB study journey by reaching out to Mark to seek his advice about where I should start. Given my background, he replied that Chord Tones Essentials should be my first course. As he had created the framework of his Chord Tones course based on how he had fashioned his own personal way of absorbing that massive chunk of knowledge in music school, he summarily vouched for its efficacy.
However, while Chord Tones is a great deep dive into understanding the construction of bass lines, I also wanted to improve my post-B2B bass technique chops, so I also got Mark’s Technique Builder, Groove Trainer, and Scales courses.
This all happened back when lockdown gripped the world, so I had the time and opportunity to devote to studying and practicing.
Fast forward to the last two years: Mark develops new workbooks and courses based on feedback from his students and the experiences he’s learned over the last ten years as a course creator. (As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, his workbooks alone are really great for providing technique etudes — Cyborg Bassist for scales, Walk that Bass being complementary for Simple Steps to Walking Bass, etc.).
I’ve been working through Creative Bassist and I think it’s an excellent post-B2B course of study. It combines many aspects of Mark’s theory-based courses, but without the ultra-deep dives. Essentially, it’s aimed at arming intermediate players with the vital information and structure required to jam and, ultimately, solo.
Creative Bassist starts with an explanation and examples of rhythm theory, i.e., note durations laid out on a rhythm grid (similar to how Josh presents it). But it builds from there to methodically create a logical framework of how to conceive, create, and ultimately play your own bass lines.
That said, as is always the case in life, there’s no free lunch.
Creative Bassist is a big swing of a course. It requires a lot of student thought, homework and practice to absorb and implement its material. But anything worth doing is worth doing well. And if that means hunkering down and putting in the time and effort to yield the results you seek, get ‘er done.
For those who prefer to learn/play cover songs from tab or elsewhere, a course like Creative Bassist won’t be appealing. But for anyone who seeks to create and play original bass lines and, ultimately, solos, Creative Bassist provides a comprehensive roadmap for achieving those results.
