The Bass Geek

Before anything else, I can’t believe I just witnessed the Steelers win 3-0 on a field goal late in the 4th.  Against Miami.  A win’s a win, but I screamed.  A lot.  Please make it easier on me next time.

So anyway, I was talking with somebody at work today whose young son was taking bass lessons.  He asked a few questions about the instrument that I thought might help other newcomers.  First, he mentioned that he had a good teacher, and that’s always a good thing.  I benefitted from a couple of great teachers, but I spent some other years without one, and I think that might have been a bigger benefit if one was around.  As it was, I had to spend a lot more time digging in books and recordings (which is also beneficial), but a guide is always helpful. Just in case you’re wondering, I didn’t mention that he should take lessons from me, but I did drop the book’s name more than a few times.

Second, he mentioned that he didn’t think bass was a solo instrument.  I quickly referred him to Seth Horan as a starting point to jump off from there.

Third, he mentioned that his son was taking cello and wanted to know if he should take keyboard. I answered “Absolutely.” Any kind of musical knowledge will help, and especially keyboard - harmony concepts are easily laid out on the keyboard, so it’s a valuable tool. There’s a reason students are forced to take it.

He asked what bassists I recommended, so I gave him the usual list.

Finally, he mentioned the teacher was doing a good job of teaching and keeping it fun. That’s a great job there - it can be a hard thing to balance, and any teacher that manages it is a great educator.

Buying my book still wouldn’t be a bad idea, though.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 27th, 2007 at 12:40 am and is filed under Bass Guitar, Music in General, Pittsburgh Steelers, The Low End In General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.