been asked to give some lessons

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Mr.D

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The other day a kid from my town saw one of my band's gig, and after that he came to me said that he was starting with the bass and he asked if I could give him some iniciation lessons so I accepted the challenge( yup its a challenge for me since is the first time I will teach somebody how to play) :) :)

I'm thinking to give him a sheet with the notes on the fingerboard so he can get used to them, also teaching him the major scales, starting from the most easier of course, some exercises to give him some dexterity exercises for the the right and left hands, also I would teaching him how to read music from a score and so on.
I also thought about recording some exercises with metronome so he get's used to that too and to have some audio support to study at home.

So what you think about this kind of aproach? Am I beeing too extensive, too demanding?
What other aproach can I try?
Feel free to give your opinion it would be nice to learn also from you
 
I think it would be good to start off with a couple simple songs that he can have fun playing, after all it should be fun. Plus you can teach him the scales and stuff inbetween songs. (He could have alot of fun doing scales though. I don't know.)
 
A little bit of `ye olde simple blues can be a nice starter.
My teacher started me of with Live and Judas Pries when I was a beginner.
 
I would say an easy song or two, then some more advanced teachings. I would leave it up to him on the reading music though. I don't read it and probably never will...
 
i'd introduce finger stamina and precision exercises at the very start along with whatever else your doing. nothing to difficult but gets their hands doing the right stuff from the begining.

this sort of thing;
-----------------------------1-3-2-4----------------------------
--------------------1-3-2-4----------1-3-2-4-------------------
----------1-3-2-4-----------------------------1-3-2-4----------
-1-3-2-4-----------------------------------------------1-3-2-4-

start at fret one and go up the neck a fret a time

wish id been doing these since i started because its helps me more than anything else
 
I agree with teaching all the technical stuff and building up a good technique.

However... as a few of the guys have said above... if he goes home after his first lesson and can play a simple bassline to one of his favourite songs, he'll come back for lesson number two!

Good luck...
 
Stroud said:
i'd introduce finger stamina and precision exercises at the very start along with whatever else your doing. nothing to difficult but gets their hands doing the right stuff from the begining.

this sort of thing;
-----------------------------1-3-2-4----------------------------
--------------------1-3-2-4----------1-3-2-4-------------------
----------1-3-2-4-----------------------------1-3-2-4----------
-1-3-2-4-----------------------------------------------1-3-2-4-

start at fret one and go up the neck a fret a time

wish id been doing these since i started because its helps me more than anything else
Click to expand...

Have you seen the book... something like "building bass stamina"... full of exercises like that... I never got right to the end of it, but it worked a treat, made a huge difference to my tone, and I started using my little finger for fretting. You can do it along to a metronome and improve timing and speed at the same time
 
saxonbass said:
Stroud said:
i'd introduce finger stamina and precision exercises at the very start along with whatever else your doing. nothing to difficult but gets their hands doing the right stuff from the begining.

this sort of thing;
-----------------------------1-3-2-4----------------------------
--------------------1-3-2-4----------1-3-2-4-------------------
----------1-3-2-4-----------------------------1-3-2-4----------
-1-3-2-4-----------------------------------------------1-3-2-4-

start at fret one and go up the neck a fret a time

wish id been doing these since i started because its helps me more than anything else
Click to expand...

Have you seen the book... something like "building bass stamina"... full of exercises like that... I never got right to the end of it, but it worked a treat, made a huge difference to my tone, and I started using my little finger for fretting. You can do it along to a metronome and improve timing and speed at the same time
Click to expand...

yeah my little finger used to be useless but now its strong and precise. i do more of these warmups than anything else. i find them fun :oops:
 
Nice treat guys!

Just started last week to teach my 9 year old daughter to play bass. She was asking to play the bass already a few years ago. She started to ask again when my Warwick arrived last year. She saw the fun I have when playing it I guess. So I bought her a short scale Epiphone EB-0 for her birthday. (A long scale Warwick is a bit too large and heavy yet :wink: )

I started with a simple Country style to give her some rhythm feel to start with and she copied me instantly. Something like this:

------------------------------------
------------------3---3----3--3---
3---3---3---3------3---35--3--35
--3---35--3---35----------------

(I hope I get the notation right)

I just opened this treat as she was practising and asked for a new exercise, so I gave her Stroud's exercise (thanks Stroud).
 
lol no worries

if anyone wants to propperly adopt this exercise these are the variations and an indication of how much my fingers and brain like them (this is just me though im sure everyone'll find some easier or some harder) :wink:

1234 (easy) 2341 (easy)
1243 (easy) 2314 (medium)
1324 (hard) 2431 (medium)
1342 (medium) 2413 (hard)
1423 (easy) 2134 (easy)
1432 (easy) 2143 (easy)

3412 (easy) 4123 (easy)
3421 (medium) 4132 (medium)
3142 (medium) 4213 (hard)
3124 (medium) 4231 (medium)
3241 (hard) 4312 (hard)
3214 (hard) 4321 (easy)

i dont know if any of that'll make any sense at all so i'll explain;

eg 3412 would be;

-----------------------------3-4-1-2----------------------------
--------------------3-4-1-2----------3-4-1-2-------------------
----------3-4-1-2-----------------------------3-4-1-2----------
-3-4-1-2-----------------------------------------------3-4-1-2-

then

-----------------------------4-5-2-3----------------------------
--------------------4-5-2-3----------4-5-2-3-------------------
----------4-5-2-3-----------------------------4-5-2-3----------
-4-5-2-3-----------------------------------------------4-5-2-3

until

----------------------------------------11-12-9-10-------------------------------------------
---------------------------11-12-9-10-------------11-12-9-10----------------------------
--------------11-12-9-10---------------------------------------11-12-9-10----------------
-11-12-9-10-----------------------------------------------------------------11-12-9-10----

when your bored of all them you can try doing other stuff;

*play with a metronome and change the speed, both fast and slow (i find it hard to keep it steady and nice sounding when playing really slow)
* doing the same thing in weird funky rhythms (play each note twice and syncopate them?)
* go up a fret after after every four notes (instead after working up and down the strings on the same frets)... something like this

-----------------------------6-7-4-5----------------------------
--------------------5-6-3-4----------7-8-5-6-------------------
----------4-5-2-3-----------------------------8-9-6-7----------
-3-4-1-2-----------------------------------------------9-10-7-8

anyway enjoy :wink: hope your daughter doesnt get bored of them too quick
 
Thanks for the help mates, beginning with some easy songs, it's a great add, how could I forgot that :oops: :oops:

the exercices Stroud gave I already had them in mind, they are very very usefull indeed, thanks anyway mate.

For the reading part,well I thought of that because was the way I've learned and I am basing this on what I've learned but I'll see if it's a good option or no for the kid.

Once more a big thank you for all the help and more suggestions are gladdly accepted :D
 
I think you should offer him the option of learning to sight read... I wish I'd started solely with that... It'll give him more choices later on...
 
This is actually my warm-up walking "Up 'n down the neck" ....



I practice this at least 15 minutes before I start playing. Works for me!
 
Mr. D

I now use some of Stroud's exercises, but also let my daughter start with the C-major scale. And keeping Charmant's post in mind changing the scales into some blues patterns this week. Next step is to find some songs she likes which have some simple bass lines and let her play along with a record.

I think that variety is the key to keep the interest in bass playing.

I doubt whether I will start with music notation right away, cause I have seen not much good stuff on music sheet for bass and when I play myself, I always give it my own interpretation anyhow. I started learning by the ear and just playing with the band. I learned reading later.

I hope you have as much help as I do with the topic you started.

Ewald
 
Btw, if she gets tired of the standard, slow blues, you can take her onto Gary Moore`s "Still got the blues". Gets your fingers going, and the songs are pretty cool too.
 
Btw, if she gets tired of the standard, slow blues, you can take her onto Gary Moore`s "Still got the blues". Gets your fingers going, and the songs are pretty cool too.
Click to expand...


Starting with some blues and also let her listen to Gary Moore but she found Gary a bit old fashion... I guess she might reconsider when she grow up.
I ask her which song she would play. She told me she want to play a song called 'Hey Oh '. It didn't ring a bell, so I went to You Tube and typed it in...
...RHCP?

[Yes why not start with Flea!]

Well, I simplified the bass line, because the basic of this number is easy and off she went. When she has sufficient practised it, I will play the Flea-ish thing on top of her basic line. She will be surprised by this bass duet...
 
Hehe, she might change her opinion after a while, yes.

Btw, "Nothing else matters" and "Enter Sandman" with Metallica could also be good starter.
 
Hey Mr D,
I tell to my students from the beginning that it will be boring first. I ask them to come with notes sheet, and the first thing I am teaching to them is the basics of reading, it is realy simple. Some things about physics, the string vibration, harmonics, theory about how the sound is creating, How is this translating into chords, etc. Just talk. A B C D E F G.
Then I start rythm exercices, on the same lesson. I ask them to read rythm, and just sing. They actually don't touch the bass at the first lesson.
TAAAATAAAAATAAAAATAAAAA. QUARTER NOTES, EIGHTS, ETC, If they can sing, they will play it next time easy with the bass.
Next time I start with the basics of the right hand technique. Finish the rythm reading, and playing, with rests.
3-rd lesson left hand technique, position, exercices.

I try to build a very solid foundation from the beginning. A guy that can write down notes, will play them more accurate.
AFter study, they will learn and play anyway easy tunes, and will have fun, but from the begginning, my exercices are simple and boring.

Very important, I insist to make boring exercices feel good, that's tha basist's job anyway :-) So I tell that if he is bored playing eights A note on E string, it means that he doesn't play them right, because, eights, must feel good when played.

Oh, and I use always a clock and the methronome. 30 minutes of eights can work miracles on students. They really don't know HOW to study, so if you give them exercices and let them home, they will exercice a little, get bored soon, and play other things wrong. And they will not improve their technique.
 
I reckon I would have appreciated being taught by your methods, Florin. For some reason I can do the "boring" stuff for hours on end... I must have the "practice gene".

Good habits and solid foundations.... +1 :wink:
 
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