Just finished giving my first official* bass lesson ! A while ago I saw an ad from someone who plays accordion and keys, who was looking for a bass teacher. I told him he was welcome to come over for a chat, to see if we'd be a good fit and if I could teach him anything.

So today he came over. Tuned the basses and plugged them (both) into my little Peavey practice amp, and asked him to play me something. He's been learning a blues progression from a book with an audio cd, apparently. So I used that as a basis to correct his left hand and right hand positions and fingering, and gave him a shifting exercise I learned from Todd Johnson's DVD to work on.

All this took the best part of over an hour, but by the end of that hour there was a marked improvement in his playing, both in sound and fluidity (?). He himself told me too that he noticed it was "easier" to play the way I told him. We haven't agreed on a second session, because I told him it's better if he works on what I show him until he really has it down cold, and then come back for more.

He asked if I can play "Fire" by the Pointer Sisters, which I can't, but I agreed to learn it and show it to him next time. I did stress that it will be more beneficial for him if I focus on improving his technique, so that he can learn tunes by himself because what's the use of paying someone else to show you how to play a song?

One piece of advice I gave when he asked "How can you make your bass sound louder**?" was "turn up your amp" He understood. Anyway, I had fun this evening ! I hope he calls or mails back for additional lessons, but even if he doesn't, this was a good experience for me !


* official, because he paid me even though I said I'd do the first session for free
** he already has a black Jazz-bass copy so he is set in his loudness

Congratulations!

Good stuff! I'm sure this will also help you, both in terms of making you analyse your own playing and renergising your enthusiasm.

But maybe you should wait awhile before the 'managing band relationships' session...

Congratulations...!! I could never teach. My technique sucks and I don't know anything about playing or music. Don't have time to learn because I am out gigging all the time.... Muahahahaha!!...

Seriously, I need some lessons. I hate lessons.... but I need some lessons.... I bore myself when playing.

Classic....

Nice one!

Teaching can be really rewarding, especially if you have a great student who is keen to learn.

Good luck with it.

Stu

(The Pointer Sisters' version of "Fire" is in Db. It's all about phrasing. The part I enjoy most, though, is singing backups.)

I guess it's official! Got a mail from my "student" saying he's working hard on what I showed him, and will let me know when he's ready for a second lesson. So I'll start learning "Fire" and see if I can build his next lesson around that song. Oar knot, we'll see

If your arrangement works for both of you, that's fine. Everybody learns at their own pace. However, for some, regularly scheduled lessons can be a motivation.


The main (opening) riff for "Fire" is just two notes: root and 6th (down a minor 3rd). You could take this as a starting point and look at similar bass lines, like "The Long Run" by the Eagles (which adds the 5th). You can get a lot of mileage out of just those three notes; you can probably find a lot of songs that use them.

From a theory (harmony) standpoint you can expound on those bass lines and introduce the major pentatonic scale.

"Fire" also has some other time-tested devices.

First off the verses end on the V (Ab) to set up the choruses (which start on the I, Db).

Second, the bridge starts with a cycle of 4ths/5ths kind of thing (Gb/Db/Ab) that pianists use to death.

Third, how does the bridge end? A classic ii V to lead back to the I (Ebm Ab to Db), a ii V I.

Like I said the rhythm is all about the phrasing. Which notes to stress (accent), which to play long or short, etc. Other than that it's just 8th notes. It can be a good counting exercise, too.

Congrats, Eddie!

I, also, recently (re)started teaching.

My new student and I played together in several bands back in the 70s and 80s. Ironically, back then he played bass and I played skinny-string. Now I'm playing bass guitar and teaching him skinny-string. So far, we've concentrated on the theory he needs to build improvised lead lines.

I hope your experience is as good as mine.