My Bass Lessons
Philosophy
My goal is not to turn you into a bass-playing robot, but into a creative musician who uses the bass. I want you to understand music in a way that you can create it, not simply recreate it.
Learning songs and basslines is an essential part of learning, but that’s not all you should do. You need to understand how music works: Why these rhythms? Why these notes? Why these techniques? With that you will be able to create and improvise your own music. At the same time, it will give you a deeper appreciation of the music of others.
What to Expect
Lessons are private, one-on-one lessons. 30-minutes, once-a-week.
Beginning Students
I love beginners! You’re a blank canvas, and I can get you thinking about music and the bass in a way that will accelerate your learning.
I have a well-developed beginner curriculum of which I am very proud.
You will learn things like:
- the role of the bass
- the elements of music: melody, harmony and rhythm
- beginning technique
- holding the bass
- plucking
- fretting
- muting
- common bassline patterns and example songs
- fun and easy basslines
- scales, arepeggios, chord tones
- basics of rhythm
- reading music
- music history
There’s a lot more. The beginning is well-balanced with fun and work.
Experienced Students
If you are experienced, I’ll first need to assess where you are and what gaps you may have. You may know what you want to study, or you may not. I’m very flexible, and I like to work on many subjects. It depends on the student and where they want to go.
Some things which I find myself working on with students who are further along:
- walking basslines
- creating basslines
- deep dive into harmonic analysis
- exploring the playing styles of particular bassists like James Jamerson or Paul McCartney
- breaking down and understanding different styles of music
- soloing
- sight reading
- composition
- piano skills
- music history
I like such a wide range of music and get into so many things. In one lesson I’ll be talking about the jazz giant John Coltrane and in the next I’m talking about industrial music pioneers Coil. After almost 30 years of teaching, I don’t get too many new and unusual requests from students. I probably have a lesson plan to address any style or topic in which you’re interested.
Virtual
I teach lessons via Zoom.
Location
While I am located in Houston, currently I only offer Zoom meeting bass lessons.
Times
I juggle a lot between private students and studybass.com. Times are very limited. The more flexible your schedule is, the sooner I can get you on my schedule. Unfortunately, expect to be on a waiting list.
I teach on weekday evenings and Saturday mornings and afternoon. All Central Standard Time (CST).
Lessons are once-a-week at the same day and time.
Fees
Lessons are scheduled weekly at the same time each week.
Most months will have 4 scheduled lessons, while some may have 3 due to holidays. You will be alerted to each month’s schedule.
Lessons are paid monthly before the first lesson of the month.
| Month | Fees/30-min | # Lessons | Common Schedule |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | $200 | 4 | Off New Year’s Day |
| February | $200 | 4 | – |
| March | $200 | 4 | One Skipped Day TBD |
| April | $200 | 4 | – |
| May | $200 | 4 | Off Memorial Day / Off 5th week |
| June | $200 | 4 | – |
| July | $150 | 3 | Off July 4th weekend |
| August | $200 | 4 | One Skipped Day TBD |
| September | $200 | 4 | – |
| October | $200 | 4 | One Skipped Day TBD |
| November | $150 | 3 | Off US Thanksgiving Weekend |
| December | $150 | 3 | Off 23rd to 2nd |
Policies
Each month’s time is set aside for you in my schedule.
There are no makeup lessons, credits or refunds if you miss a lesson for any reason.
Let Me Know
Don’t waste your missed lesson time! If you can’t make a lesson, let me know beforehand and ask me to use your time to help you in some way.
I’m happy to help you: research new gear, learn a song for you, make a play-along track, write out a lesson for you in email, critique a video of you playing, or whatever else.
Set Up Lessons
I am almost always on a waiting list, but don’t let that discourage you from writing me.
Please contact me through https://www.studybass.com/feedback/ or email me with the following:
Subject: ‘Bass Lessons’
Tell me about your background and what you want from lessons.
Tell me what times you are available for lessons.
Include your phone number.
Send to: lessons (aaahht) houstonbasslessons.com
(Be sure to check your junk mail if you haven’t heard from me within a couple of days.)