Teaching bass guitar?

Question

so i'm going to start giving bass lessons...this is a definite as my student comes in today!

i am very excited but since this is my first time, i want to make sure i am doing everything alright. i have played for over 8 years now so i'm pretty confident with what i know, plus i have taught little things to friends here and there but i have an hour to fill so i want to see if my plans are okay.

i'm going to start by teaching him how to tune, then show him how to properly pluck. after enough single-string plucking, show him how to move around the fretboard, switch strings while stopping them properly, etc.

as you can see, i have a general idea on what to teach and i plan to go at his pace. does this sound okay? am i missing anything?

thanks in advance

Answer 1

do you know theory?  i've found that when i give bass lessons, its always important to instill a bit of theory with the kids.  they may not like it now, but theyll thank you later.  and i only played bass professionally as a punk player who rarely used theory, but i saw the importance.  teach the kid all the scales, major and minor, pentatonic, and modes (myxelidian, phrygian etc).  teach them the names of the parts on the bass, and the general idea of how the bass works, and the function the bass serves in a band, why does a band need bass.  this is not all for the first lesson obviously.  you might want to teach them the basics and fundamentals of jazz, blues, and funk, such as using the fleshier parts of your fingers and the basic elements of slap-pop playing.  playing with a pick is important to learn for metal, believe it or not, and jaco pastorius even used a pick on occasion.  oh and teach him who jaco pastorius is.  most kids don't know that.