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Fellow teachers: advice for a new young bass student.


mhr74

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Posted

So I'm going to start teaching bass to an 8 year old boy, the younger brother of one of my guitar students. I've had very few bass students in my ten-year teaching career and I be ignorant to available materials/ solid approaches.

 

Any advice on books to use, not use, approaches for teaching the lil' man? :poke: :wave:

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Posted

it really depends on many things... I would give the kid a few warmup exercises, teach him how to tune the bass and then maybe give him a simple song to jam one (something riff based, like Sunshine of Your Love, or something that he would be familiar with....) I wouldn't get into walking bass, dead notes, chords, slap/pop, etc. just yet. It's a beginning 8 year old.

Also, what you could do in this particular case is teach him the bassline to one of the songs you are teaching/working on with his brother (on guitar). That way they can get the double pleasure of practicing together, and grooving out with a nother musician. It will certainly make your new bass player friend get better quicker....

;)

As far as learning materials, they are varied and multiple... I still stick with the concept of asking what the kid likes to listen to and what he wants to play. Say he picks a tune in which the bass plays arpeggios... That would be a good time to bust out the arpeggio sheet and teach him about them and what they are, etc. Pentatonic scales, fills, grooves, etc. etc.

I find it is always best to form a plan for each individual student based on their personal progress and desires.

Good luck.

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I've found much of the stuff I teach on guitar works for bass students as well: Scales, arpeggios, riffs. The trick is customizing that info for bass, as they generally don't want to strum chords the same way a guitarist does. Gotta focus on grooves, implied harmonies, etc.

 

Slap/popping is in the equation for most students at some point. ;)

 

I also started getting more bass books and instructional materials to supplement my ideas. It's cool to talk about the power of a steady 8th note groove, then hand over a song that uses it.

  • 1 month later...
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Posted

Here's my big three with prepubescents:

A) Never assume a prepubescent has any talent whatsoever. Assume he can't count to 4 without dropping the bass. Kids are trained in school to nod yes and act like they understand, when they don't.

 

B) Reinforce, reinforce, reinforce and reinforce some more. Be enthusiastic when they play their first note, and tell them how awesome it was. Generally, prepubescents get their excitement from playing from you. It is a rare case where they get it from the bass and the music.

 

C) Know that with prepubescents, the main thing you teach is discipline. If the kid is a prodigy, great. Chances are, there is no telling if he is going to be a player or not. Your job is to, note by note, develop an artistic aesthetic within the child that will last a lifetime. And that is only going to happen if the child utilizes discipline. Reward his work and accomplishments with enthusiasm and musician cool. Or even a surprise piece of candy.

 

Just a few things. Hope they help.

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