What to look for in a bass instructor?

[ccrnnr9]

I am finally making the decision to pick up an sx j-bass and find a cheap but good practice amp to go along with it. At this point though, I really want to spend money on a teacher to have someone guide me on this instrument. I just moved to Fort Collins where there are a ton of instructors and after talking to many of them I find myself wondering what to look for in a bass instructor:

1. Price per half hour?
2. Style to try and learn first (I love blues, classic rock, and jazz most)?
3. Learn to read by ear first or work through a book?
4. Credentials of the teacher?

These are just a few of the many things that set the teachers I have spoken to apart. I desire the ability to play with others and want to learn to play like a bassist, not a guitarist (I am going to put the tele on hold for awhile...wanna really immerse myself in bass). I have found teachers that are just starting to teach, those that have been teaching for years, those with degrees in music, those that only teach students to read music, those that train by ear, etc. What do you guys suggest?
~Nick

[bobbybigmac]

Best advise I can give, having had a few teachers, is to find someone you are really comfortable with. I think that's more important than credentials and price.
Unfortunately it takes time. Just like finding a guitar or bass you like, you'll have to try some good ones and some bad. A good one will mentor you and a bad one will ask if they can hot knife some hash on your stove. Based on my experience, I'd say a bad teacher is one who just sits there and tries to impress you with their skill by his, or hers, continuous playing of licks.
Have an idea what you want to learn. Maybe bring some examples of the songs you like to a lesson and see if the teacher is into them. One of my best teachers lent me his Larry Graham and Johnson Brothers albums to listen to.

I say learn your basics first from some books, get comfortable and gain some confidence, then think about your style before dropping your dough on lessons.
For me the best ear training was a combination of sitting down by myself with a tape
recorder to learn licks and a lot of jamming around. I also invested a few bucks in beginner drum lessons just to get a bit of timing fundamentals down.

Good luck and I hope you soon discover how cool it is to be a bass player.

[ccrnnr9]

Ya I really liked messing around on my friend's bass when he let me borrow it. I just wish I had one now. I am going bass shopping today and tomorrow. I have the Hal Leonard book1 for bass method that I am going to work through before getting a teacher.
~Nick

[Tim Armstrong]

Contact fellow TDPRIer "Paul in Colorado" Honeycutt, he's very well plugged-in to the Fort Collins scene, and if he can't recommend a teacher, I'm positive his bandmate Jim Abraham (who's studied with Victor Wooten) probably can!

Tim

[BobHolland]

I would suggest find a bass teacher. Please don't anyone take offense, but don't take lessons from a guitar teacher that also teaches bass. It is not the same. A working Bass Player would get you started much faster. The way you develop as a bass player is different than playing guitar. Different feel, different ways to listen to music, just plain different. Oh, I don't teach bass but I have considered it many times. In the last 45 years of being a working bass player I have seen many bands with guitar players playing bass & can spot them immediately while listening to their playing.
And now the joke about the kid that wanted to play bass. His father bought him a bass & set up some lessons with a teacher. The lessons went well the first couple of weeks. Then he came home after the 3rd lesson & his father asked how the lesson went. The kid said "I didn't go to the lesson this week, I had a gig".
So you see a little goes a long way, but only if you practice, practice, practice.
Bob

[beep.click]

Originally Posted by bobbybigmac

Best advise I can give, having had a few teachers, is to find someone you are really comfortable with. I think that's more important than credentials and price.

Absolutely; couldn't agree more.

That's why I'm self-taught...

[Open G Tele]

Find a working bass player who also teaches.

All the music degrees in the world don't mean anything if the guy can't actually hold down the low-end in a real band.

Try to find someone who plays fingerstyle in a variety or modern country band.

Most of those country guys have to be extremely versatile thanks to the watered-down "hodge podge" of genres that modern country music has become.

Avoid the guy who only plays punk, metal or slap & pop.

Versatility is #1 when it comes to playing bass guitar in the real world.