Bass Guitar Lessons
All guitar students will learn to read standard notation, tablature, or both. Teachers will devise a customized curriculum for each student which will incorporate the style of music that the student wants to learn in addition to teaching music theory, history and other appropriate musical skills.
Bass Guitar Lessons
An amplifier is provided in the lessons
- Recommended starting age: 10
- Recommended lesson length:
- Age 10-11, 30 minutes
- Above age 11, 60 minutes
Equipment needed: You’ll need to have a good quality, student model bass guitar to practice at home and at your lessons. At home, you’ll also need a bass amp and guitar cord. Look for a 4-string bass and expect to spend $150-250 for a new student model, or used, higher-quality bass. You’ll also need a bass amp (only for the electric bass and only at home—we provide amps at the school), which will be approximately another $150-200. While a cheap guitar amp will “work,” a bass amp will sound much better and last longer. Basses with 5, 6, or more strings are available, but are only needed for professional use
Practice time: 15-20 minutes per day for beginners, increasing over time to at least an hour per day.
Starting age: We recommend age 10 as a great age to start learning bass. Younger students can find the instrument quite uncomfortable to play—even if they can get their fingers stretched out to reach more than a fret, or two—because the instrument is very heavy and it requires a fair amount of pressure to hold down the strings. At the right age, however, learning bass can be very satisfying because learning an actual ‘song’ can happen a bit sooner than with other instruments.
Additional info: Students can begin on either an electric or acoustic bass guitar (not to be confused with an orchestral, upright bass). Both use the same tuning, have the same number of strings and are learned in a similar way, so the choice is the student’s, however; some acoustic basses—like the Guitarrón Mexicano—can be too large for a smaller student to use. As with guitar, daily practice is important to build strength and fingertip calouses.
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