Bass Guitar with Jesse W.

I have played music professionally for 18 years and also own and operate a home studio. I remember wanting to learn to play bass and guitar when I was young and how exciting it was to imagine playing on stage one day. I love it more every day I play and have embraced the opportunity to pass on my knowledge to students who want to play, whether on a stage or just for fun and personal fulfillment, which is the most important reason to play in the first place. *** Lesson Details *** What students can expect from taking lessons from me is a fun and comfortable experience in a welcoming atmosphere with a laid back attitude where I will have you playing music by your first lesson. I take a similar approach with both my bass and guitar students. For beginners, we will begin with strength building exercises that are geared toward getting you familiar with your instrument but in a musical fashion, so it will not feel exercise. We will start learning scales and chords by the third lesson and by three months I will have you playing songs from different genres. For more experienced players, I will observe and listen to you play to assess and address strengths and areas that we can get to work on right away. I emphasize learning songs from music my students personally enjoy as well exploring and discovering new genres they may not even aware exist. In doing so, my students become more familiar with their instruments at a quick pace and will find they are improving much faster than they may have perceived. I feel the most important thing that must exist between a student and teacher is clear communication. Especially in the beginning with any new student, I will ask questions about what it is that brought you to music, what would you like to get from playing music and as we progress, we will begin each lesson briefly discussing how things are going for you in terms of playing, the previous lessons and how you feel you have progressed. *** Studio Equipment *** Music/recording studio with instruments and amps. Parents can sit in on lessons, and waiting area available. *** Travel Equipment *** I would expect my student to have their own instrument, tuner and cable if the tuner requires one. If necessary, I would be willing to provide a small amp and an extra cord to use in lessons if the student is unable to own their own. *** Specialties *** As a bass player, I am comfortable playing and teaching any style called for from any particular genre according to the traditional role of the bass within a group. Though in my personal projects, I tend to utilize a mixture of techniques and styles that will often technically cross genres within a given song. As a bass teacher, I start with fundamentals but emphasize them in different ways from the very beginning to demonstrate various ways a bass can be played and show how much more an imaginative player can do with a bass. I feel many bass players too often box themselves in stylistically stemming from preconceived notions that the bass has one job, effectively, given the genre, and it must stick to those guidelines. Especially with new, beginner students, I want them to understand from the start that the bass is as dynamic and exciting as an electric guitar, just in its own way. As a guitar player, depending on the project, I like to use the instrument to create atmosphere as much as hold down a melody or riff. I'm a proficient straight ahead player and though I like to explore more traditional genres rooted in jazz, blues, gypsy and klezmer music, I also like to find ways to incorporate elements and techniques borrowed from other genres and blend them in such a way that works without calling attention to itself as opposed to sounding like an unwelcome stranger butting into a conversation.