Tips for getting the most out of private lessons?

I’m working on one…

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A jam session is a face to face, intreactive coach envirornment. You are learning from the others.

You can learn to play an instrument online, any instrument and get then mechanics down.
But to really know how to play…I agree with @PamPurrs, you need feedback.

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That’s great to hear. :+1:

Will it be a community thing?

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I enjoy his courses a lot! I’ve done his Slap Level 1 course and am currently doing the chord tone courses.

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Just a few people at my American Legion post who play instruments. I started talking it up early last year, and then Covid spoiled my plans. I just recently started talking it up again. Two of the people have experience playing in bands, so I’m going to put them in charge of the mechanics of the sessions, while I handle the logistics. It’s coming back together slowly.
Once it has launched, I’ll probably talk it up with other posts and see where it goes. My plan is to keep it within the American Legion family (veterans, spouses, sons, daughters, etc.).

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That’s next for me after the current course.

I used to teach skiing professionally. One of the things I found when being coached myself was that 5 different race coaches could give me feedback but sometimes it was the way that just one of them presented the information that made a change in my skiing.
I’m applying the same principle to learning bass.

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This sounds so familiar to me.
It’s a hoot and just you wait and see how fast it grows :slightly_smiling_face:

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+1000 to this. Takes a special, often twisted path to get info into my thick skull.

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Here’s my two cents.

  • Have a plan. Don’t be dependent on the teacher to set the agenda.
  • But sometimes they do. It’s a give and take
  • Be comfortable with the teacher you have. If not, find another teacher
  • If you don’t know what your agenda should be, having a lesson or two might help bring focus. You may not know enough to have an idea what you want to work on yet. An in person lesson sprouts questions in my head, it might just get the ball rolling.
  • Have a song or two in your back pocket to learn. I started with My Girl and Zombie.
  • There are things your teacher does not need to spend a lot of time on - learning the fretboard for one. You can do this without paying money.
  • Learning the fretboard will make your lessons more cost effective. When the teacher says “Start with C, then G, then D” you will know what they’re talking about and how to play it
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  • Instructors generally don’t use tab, so be able to read basic music notation (even if slowly)
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For $100/hr they should be able to use braille :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

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It’s been 10+ years or so, but this was definitely not my experience. Any instructor that expects their student to already know how to read music - I’d look for a new instructor…

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I was taught how to read tab when I learnt guitar way back in the stone age

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Yeah was gonna say - statistically most bass instructors are probably slumming guitar instructors anyway, and it’s much more likely that those kinds of instructors won’t even know sheet music themselves, than it is they will ban tabs :rofl:

We’re lucky to have dedicated bass instructors like Josh and Gio. Looking around town here I found some good ones like that, but many more “I teach Guitar! And bass.” types.

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My teacher teaches guitar, and piano. He does play bass in a band though. You have to find the right teacher.

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Yep.

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Where do I sign up for that?

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^Also interested

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I agree! You need a teacher you fit with. I have been taking lessons for a few months with Luke Appleton. He plays bass and guitar(was the bassist for Iced Earth since 2012 and plays guitar for Absolva a UK band with his brother) and it has helped a ton. Like Gio said I listed the bands and music I like we spent time seeing I did know and what gaps needed find and started there. I do 4hr blocks of lessons at a time for £90 (120 US) I can can do in 1/2 hr or hr lessons at a time.

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I was going to ask this same question, so thanks for doing it for me! I have read the thread and found many interesting ideas.

My wife gifted me for Christmas a series of 5 lessons, in presence (if COVID allows it, of course).

I think I will bring myself a music notebook AND a normal notebook, to take notes.

First of all, I would like to know if I have developed some kind of bad habits (e.g. hand posture) or tendency, and how can correct it.
Second, I plan to tell the teacher the kind of music that I like listening to and what I would like to sound like.

Third, I will ask for a series of “objectively measurable/attainable” goals/exercises… Then, let’s see how it goes from there! Hope we are good match. I am a bit nervous and excited at the same time!