Bass Guitar with Brian N.

I've been making my living playing all kinds of music for over ten years. I feel that working on and creating music night in and night out with bands and artists from rock to hip-hop, pop to jazz, folk and country to disco has given me unique insights into what makes a good bassist. There's a balance to be struck between theory and instinct, as well as technique and emotion. I tailor each lesson to each student, creating most of my own lesson materials. These can range from pages of scales and arpeggios, to full transcriptions and even audio recordings of practice tracks. I like technology and feel it can be a valuable part of the learning experience. But generally, I teach by having students learn songs and basslines, then illustrate musical ideas and principles by pulling directly from the music we've just been working on. The most important aspect of my approach, however, is to find what brings out students' passion for music. I've been fortunate enough to have studied with some amazing players who's love for music and their instrument inspired (and continues to inspire) me. If I can find that, you will practically teach yourself. *** Lesson Details *** Sample Lesson Plan for a beginning/intermediate electric bass student. (With beginning upright bass students, I tend to focus a little more on the technical aspects of the instrument at first.) I. Technical Simple technical exercises aimed at developing good technique and physical comfort with the bass II. Practical We'll look at Songs/Basslines (usually of the student's choosing) and learn how to play them, pulling out salient points relevant to bass instruction and music in general. For intermediate/advanced students we'll incorporate Music Theory as we work through songs. This is also where I'd introduce reading music notation if that is something the student wishes to learn. III. Theoretical Work on scales that we've encountered in the song or bassline we've been working on and relate them to making music. *** Studio Equipment *** Home recording studio setup for recording lessons as well as making practice tracks. Amazing Slow Downer (for the record, this is the best $50 investment you can make in your musical education.) Practice bass and guitar amplifiers. Drum kit Ability to quickly create sheet music and tablature with Finale and Power Tab. *** Travel Equipment *** Two Channel Practice Amp iPad with good quality mic for recording lessons and playing audio lesson material. *** Specialties *** Electric Bass Styles- Rock, Country, Retro styles of R&B and Top 40 Upright Bass Styles- Classic Jazz and Gypsy Jazz, Bluegrass, Jump Blues Establishing solid fundamentals. Ear training and transcriptions.