Should You Take Bass Lessons?

Should you take bass lessons? This question is asked by both beginners and experienced bass players alike. While beginners are looking to excel as quickly as possible, experienced players are looking for that extra bit of knowledge that will make them even better than they already are.

The truth is, bass lessons are not for everyone. Let’s take a look at some hypothetical situations to help decide if bass lessons are right for you. 

Beginner Bass Players

A lot of beginners decide against taking bass lessons. I’m not sure if this is because they’re new and not sure if they want to invest further money into their instrument, or if they think playing bass is easy and lessons are unnecessary. Of course, they’ll soon find out that this isn’t true at all. 🙂

It’s understandable however, because beginners will likely see a lot of relatively quick progress early on. It’s easy to gain skill very quickly right off the bat, but getting better takes longer as time goes on.

Still, I feel it’s a good idea for beginners to take bass lessons as soon as possible after they purchase their first bass. If for anything, than to ensure they’re using the proper playing technique. Bad habits can develop early on, and the longer you let these bad habits develop, the harder it will be to get rid of them.

This doesn’t necessarily mean you need to stay in bass lessons for months or years, although it certainly wouldn’t hurt you. However, the proper playing technique is absolutely vital to understand, and the best way to get it down quickly is by learning from an experienced player. The thing about technique is that you may never know you’ve been doing it wrong until it’s too late – in which case, you’ve got a real problem.

Intermediate Bass Players

I see a lot of intermediate bass players entering into lessons, and I think this is great. Often at this point, they’ve hit a plateau and no longer feel they’re making the type of progress they made in the past. While this is perfectly normal, I understand the feeling of plateauing and the desire to continue to grow.

If you feel like you’ve hit a plateau as a bass player, I strongly encourage you to consider taking lessons. However, it’s important to find an instructor that is more knowledgeable than you in both music ability and music theory. This can be difficult depending on where you live, but it’s absolutely vital. I’ll get to this further towards the end of this article.

By this point, you should be branching out and learning more than just your favorite songs. Your instructor should be teaching you various scales to play, instructing you on intervals, and teaching you music theory. You may also consider exploring different genres of music at this point. You’re no longer learning how to play songs, you’re learning how to play bass.

This is what is really going to make you a great all-around player, while also giving you the skillset you need to compose your own songs and beautify the world with your music.

If you haven’t hit the plateau yet, keep learning on your own until you hit it. Or, get into lessons now and avoid hitting the plateau altogether (or at least prolonging it substantially!)

Professional Bass Players

I should note that I do not consider myself a “professional” bass player, but still feel justified to give this advice.

By the time you’re a professional bass player, your time will be best spent outside of a classroom. That’s not to say lessons would be completely useless for you, but chances are you’re a better player than the instructor and won’t have much to gain from the lessons. Of course, this isn’t the case for all students, so analyze your ability and judge for yourself.

The best use of your time will likely be through gaining real world experience – working with other musicians and performing shows. Your bass expertise is meant to be shared with the world, and playing only in your bedroom doesn’t help you achieve that. There are a lot of lazy bassists out there, so the world would love to hear you.

Playing with other musicians is an entirely new task all in its own, and even the most experienced players can find it challenging at first. The sooner you get started, the better.

Regardless Of Your Skill Level…

Regardless of your skill level, I strongly encourage you to join a program like Tony Grey’s Bass Academy. This program is great for several reasons:

• It teaches you almost everything you’d need to know about playing bass – technique, a multitude of genres and styles, and music theory.
• Cheaper than traditional bass lessons.
• You can go at your own pace.
• You’re learning from a professional.
• Over 200 lessons available, with more available each month.
• Did I mention it’s cheaper than regular lessons? Use all the money you save to get a new bass or equipment, and use all the time you save to practice further and improve faster.

It’s really a win-win, and a great choice for people who want to save money on bass lessons while also going at their own pace. No other course like Tony Grey’s bass academy is available in this price range, so it really is a good investment. You’ve already invested hundreds (or thousands) of dollars into your instrument, so you may as well make the investment to master it, right? Right!

Rodniki Click here to visit Tony’s website!

So having read this article, what do you think? Are lessons right for you? Why or why not? Looking forward to hearing from you!