Full Stack Bassist Group (Scott's Bass Lessons).

[Square]

I played it. It is basically an invitation to apply for their Blueprint program - which basically amounts to weekly one on one session with a SBL instructor. He doesn't mention cost, but I found out elsewhere it is around $10K for the year.

SBL Blueprint - link

Talkbass thread on Blueprint - link

Holy smokes. I don’t know about you but where I come from it better include dancing girls and “party favors” for that price.

To each his own, but yeah, not for me.

Anyway I’m still excited to get going on this FSB program.


So how many folk do we have here that are taking this journey with me? Let’s get a count.

 

[SteveCS]

The way I’m reading the info is that you should really have solid (at least) beginner to low intermediate level of ability on the bass to take advantage of the course.

the course is not for very early beginners.

This is quite intriguing when the primary focus of the FSB* seems to be on back-filling the basics which apparently, none of us possess. The very long sales page reads like a word salad study, telling everyone, in as many ways as possible, how incompetent we are because our fundamentals are missing:

"... a few essential aspects of rhythm and harmony, plus a few simple — but vital — playing techniques."
"... knowledge of music..."
"... critical elements of harmony, theory, and musical styles..."
"... command of their role as a musician and member of the rhythm section."

Putting the patronising words and sweeping assumptions aside for now, I respectfully suggest that these things are missing from the vast yet seemingly deficient content, courses, programmes and materials, and not from most players. Reading between the lines there is almost an admission to this effect. Even the 'heavily discounted' $500 looks like one big chunk for what is readily available from a couple of decent method books for less than $30.00.

As always, IME and YMMV

* An unfortunate acronym

 

[SteveCS]

weekly one on one session ... around $10K for the year.

$200/week to manage your diary (there is additional musical content not available elsewhere) = total madness, IMHO.

 

[Square]

This is quite intriguing when the primary focus of the FSB* seems to be on back-filling the basics which apparently, none of us possess. The very long sales page reads like a word salad study, telling everyone, in as many ways as possible, how incompetent we are because our fundamentals are missing:

"... a few essential aspects of rhythm and harmony, plus a few simple — but vital — playing techniques."
"... knowledge of music..."
"... critical elements of harmony, theory, and musical styles..."
"... command of their role as a musician and member of the rhythm section."

Putting the patronising words and sweeping assumptions aside for now, I respectfully suggest that these things are missing from the vast yet seemingly deficient content, courses, programmes and materials, and not from most players. Reading between the lines there is almost an admission to this effect. Even the 'heavily discounted' $500 looks like one big chunk for what is readily available from a couple of decent method books for less than $30.00.

As always, IME and YMMV

* An unfortunate acronym

Two things come to mind here.

I think it is entirely possible to be a working/functional bass player and still have no real idea what you are doing musically or why you’re doing it.

There is the old joke.

When I started I took lessons. The first lesson the instructor showed me the G note. The second lesson the instructor showed me the A note.

What did he show you on the third lesson?

I never went back. I had a gig.

This some what parallels my introduction to bass. As a guitar player my Dad handed me a bass and a cassette tape of his band. He banished me to the basement and said “we have a gig this weekend “.

After that weekend I played in his working band every weekend for a solid year. We played bars and parties around the Kansas City area. I had no clue what I was doing or why.

Since then it’s been decades of guitar and a few years on drums, but very little bass. Very little. I have taught guitar both privately and professionally, to many students just starting out. I know full well the dangers of distraction and putting the cart before the horse.

The FSB program seems an opportunity to study some basic (bass focused) music application fundamentals in a structured and metered way. This leads to the second point, accountability.

Today there is a fire storm of available info. It’s easy to dabble here and there. Running in circles as it were. I’m hoping that FSB will help me break this propensity and provide a foundation suitable for future self directed, reasoned study.

In the end, I live in a cultural wasteland with little availability to solid private instruction. At $500, FSB could be money well spent. That will depend on me more than anything else… I hope.

 

[Nuisance]

I bought a lifetime membership at SBL way,way, back when it was Scott and a white board. They have come a very long way with SBL.

It’s almost like SBL has a split personality. There’s all the “HEY, CHECK THIS OUT!” marketing stuff, and then there are the courses, Players Path, pathways, genre studies, technical instruction.

The SBL players path is excellent. At any level, there are half a dozen study pieces in various styles. Pick three. Work the pieces. There are video with tab and notation below, supporting material in pdf form( it’ll open a new tab) and audio including a looper with or without bass…..plus a breakdown of what’s going on theory wise. No hype, just the steak. If you are working on reading, you can get rid of the tab and just see standard notation.

Same with the newer pathways. Calm,clear, instruction, backing tracks with or without bass, the written charts, plus the scales, arpeggios, and theory. I’m really enjoying the funk pathway. My reading has gone from non existent to semi literate with the reading courses in conjunction with the other offerings.

Now, the extra up sells like fretboard accelerator and such, well….you still gotta do the work and put in the time. And I kinda feel like if you are a subscriber or lifetime member, the upsell is kind of cheeky. It’s SBL content….

Truth is, I bought the accelerator thing, and, well, I hate exercises and still haven’t finished it. I get more out of the sight reading and other courses, and have more fun. Maybe this winter I’ll dig in again, but frankly guitar is getting the hours.

I’m a huge fan of online education. I live in the sticks. I have time when I have time. I can jump into SBL and it remembers exactly where I left off. I can have the sheet music up on one monitor, video on another, and the backing track or audio up and off we go. Anytime.

And if I want some hyper coffee time content, they have that too. They can also do good interviews, but my gold standard for interviews is Rick Beato.

I haven’t checked out the full stack pitch yet. I’ll take a look.

I’m super satisfied with SBL, it was money well spent and it’s there anytime I want.

I also got the lifetime membership back 7 or 8 years ago.

Got it on sale. Best $100 I ever spent.

 

[mcaputi]

This leads to the second point, accountability. I’m hoping that FSB will provide a foundation suitable for future self directed, reasoned study. That will depend on me more than anything else… I hope.

Hi @Square - YES, accountability absolutely! That's the main reason I am taking this course. I need the structure, dripped out lessons, homework, and the weekly guided study.

Did you see this: Your Questions Answered – Full Stack Bassist | Scott's Bass Lessons

There is no forum included, but there will be a comments area under each lesson, and SBL chat hosts will answer questions there. However, it produces 30+ chat rooms, one for each lesson, so it becomes a time burden to remember and search what you posted and where you posted it.

I'm thankful for this forum where we can post all in one place, encourage each other, and hopefully resolve issues that arise. When I was a Freshman engineering student at Manhattan College, I dormed with 4 other engineering students. We were able to ask each other for help on Calc, Phys, Chem, etc., immediately. That's similar to what we can do here for FSB topics.

Scott discusses several questions far more in depth in the video than he does at the end of the FSB promo. He also stated that the 365 day money back guarantee can be used any time during the program without having to wait for the 365 days to elapse.

 

[c5hokie]

Two things come to mind here.

I think it is entirely possible to be a working/functional bass player and still have no real idea what you are doing musically or why you’re doing it.

There is the old joke.

When I started I took lessons. The first lesson the instructor showed me the G note. The second lesson the instructor showed me the A note.

What did he show you on the third lesson?

I never went back. I had a gig.

This some what parallels my introduction to bass. As a guitar player my Dad handed me a bass and a cassette tape of his band. He banished me to the basement and said “we have a gig this weekend “.

After that weekend I played in his working band every weekend for a solid year. We played bars and parties around the Kansas City area. I had no clue what I was doing or why.

Since then it’s been decades of guitar and a few years on drums, but very little bass. Very little. I have taught guitar both privately and professionally, to many students just starting out. I know full well the dangers of distraction and putting the cart before the horse.

The FSB program seems an opportunity to study some basic (bass focused) music application fundamentals in a structured and metered way. This leads to the second point, accountability.

Today there is a fire storm of available info. It’s easy to dabble here and there. Running in circles as it were. I’m hoping that FSB will help me break this propensity and provide a foundation suitable for future self directed, reasoned study.

In the end, I live in a cultural wasteland with little availability to solid private instruction. At $500, FSB could be money well spent. That will depend on me more than anything else… I hope.

Well said.

I’m basically the guy in the joke. I was in a band before I ever took a formal lesson. I just memorized tabs for a few songs and away I went. I’ve taken some lessons since then. BassBuzz gave me the fundamentals (great classs that I would recommend for beginners who are learning on their own). And then I’ve taken some in person classes. But I’ve never really advanced beyond the memorize a tab and repeat it stage of things. I’m hoping this class will propel me forward.

 

[GR7G5TER]

Well said.

I’m basically the guy in the joke. I was in a band before I ever took a formal lesson. I just memorized tabs for a few songs and away I went. I’ve taken some lessons since then. BassBuzz gave me the fundamentals (great classs that I would recommend for beginners who are learning on their own). And then I’ve taken some in person classes. But I’ve never really advanced beyond the memorize a tab and repeat it stage of things. I’m hoping this class will propel me forward.

Same I was playing in an originals band at 16 never having had bass lesson in my life, I'd been playing for about two months, met up with the guitarist one night and he taught me the tracks and never looked back! First gig was 4 months after that!

I stopped playing for a very long time and for the last few years since I've got back in I've not really learned in a structured was, got into an originals project again and created the baselines for that.

I'm hoping this cores is going to fill int he missing pieces for.

I can play, but i can't PLAY play if you know what i mean.

 

[Crofty]

I just signed up after mulling it over for a week or so.

I started playing bass in the late 90s and played in a few punk/grunge/90s rock type bands, but I never really learned "how" to play. I used tabs to learn songs, and usually had to dumb them down to meet my limited skill set.

I quit playing music many years ago, band drama & the bar scene wasn't for me so I sold all my gear and moved on to other hobbies.

After 20 years I got the urge to play music again, bought a guitar & took lessons from a great teacher. Learned a bit of theory (scales, triads, etc) and enjoyed it overall , but the guitar wasn't doing it for me. So a bought a bass (& another, followed by another lol). Continued with lessons but quickly realized while my teacher could teach bass, but he wasn't a bassist. His approach was that of a guitar player playing the bass.

So I've just been playing on my own, learning a few things here and there. I've completely fallen back in love with the instrument and want to really learn how to play it.

I can't wait to get started!

 

[mcaputi]

I just signed up after mulling it over for a week or so.
I quit playing music many years ago.
After 20 years I got the urge to play music again
So I've just been playing on my own, learning a few things here and there.
I've completely fallen back in love with the instrument and want to really learn how to play it.
I can't wait to get started!


Awesome, Crofty! The few of us here can start the FSB program together! So many have the same story. For me it was 14 years of not playing bass before I started again. However, I never played in a band, as almost all of us here have done. I got together a few times with others to play, but that was it. It's been all practicing at home or in my office at school.

 

[mcaputi]

I see that in teachable, they list the number of days when the modules etc will start. So I put together a spreadsheet to show us the dates of when modules and etc will become available. I can't post a spreadsheet, so I posted 2 pdf files. One is the Original Schedule using the days given as shown in the course, and a second one with "adjusted" days. I like to know these things in advance to help me with long range planning for my school and summer schedule.

Take a look and let me know what you think. I might send this to SBL tomorrow to see what their feedback is. Thanks.

 

[Square]

I see that in teachable, they list the number of days when the modules etc will start. So I put together a spreadsheet to show us the dates of when modules and etc will become available. I can't post a spreadsheet, so I posted 2 pdf files. One is the Original Schedule using the days given as shown in the course, and a second one with "adjusted" days. I like to know these things in advance to help me with long range planning for my school and summer schedule.

Take a look and let me know what you think. I might send this to SBL tomorrow to see what their feedback is. Thanks.

It looks like you put some time into this..

I do see the changes from the schedule to the "adjusted" schedule, but help me understand the thought behind these adjustments.

I will admit I haven't dug into the schedule listed on SBL too much. I have a tendency to overthink things, so I'm just letting the chips fall where they fall. Living for the moment so to speak.

You mention school and summer. Are you a teacher?

 

[mcaputi]

Thanks.
In the Original Schedule, Module 1 is available on Mon, Nov 25,
then the Pro Skills Workshop 1 is available on Mon, Dec 16,
then Module 2 is available on Mon Dec 23.

This all makes sense, one after another.

But then Pro Skills Workshop 2 is available starting on Mon, Jan 27
which is one week AFTER when Module 3 is available on Mon, Jan 20.

It seems to me that Pro Skills Workshop 2 should instead be available first on Mon, Jan 20,
FOLLOWED by Module 3, which should be available on Mon, Jan 27.

This mismatched week availability continues for the rest of the FSB Intensive.

I'm guessing this is just an "oops" type of small error that was made and that it will be corrected soon.

Yes, I'm a Professor of Engineering. Engineering Fun and Belonging | News | Hofstra University, New York

 

[mcaputi]

Also, I thought each lesson was going to be released separately. It looks like an entire module is going to be released, making it less of a weekly drip of content and more of a glass full of content.

 

[Square]

Okay that makes sense. I guess we’ll get a better understanding as time moves forward.

I asked about teaching because my wife teaches 7th grade, my son teaches 1st grade and one of my daughters is a professor of anthropology.

I’m surrounded.

 

[mcaputi]

Wow! Cool. My wife is a retired HS math teacher, my sister is a retired grade school music teacher, many other teachers in my wife's extended family.

 

[mcaputi]

I knew it. The FSB Intensive opened up already. Six participants commented already, 3 hours ago.

 

[c5hokie]

Thanks.
In the Original Schedule, Module 1 is available on Mon, Nov 25,
then the Pro Skills Workshop 1 is available on Mon, Dec 16,
then Module 2 is available on Mon Dec 23.

This all makes sense, one after another.

But then Pro Skills Workshop 2 is available starting on Mon, Jan 27
which is one week AFTER when Module 3 is available on Mon, Jan 20.

It seems to me that Pro Skills Workshop 2 should instead be available first on Mon, Jan 20,
FOLLOWED by Module 3, which should be available on Mon, Jan 27.

This mismatched week availability continues for the rest of the FSB Intensive.

I'm guessing this is just an "oops" type of small error that was made and that it will be corrected soon.

Yes, I'm a Professor of Engineering. Engineering Fun and Belonging | News | Hofstra University, New York

I definitely didn't take any classes like your link describes. Albeit was a long time ago. Va Tech EE '94

 

[Square]

Just watched the intro. I like the outline. Looking at the second video now.

 

[mcaputi]

I definitely didn't take any classes like your link describes. Albeit was a long time ago. Va Tech EE '94

I had a feeling you went to VaTech since your username has "hokie" in it. Manhattan College, BSEE 81; VaTech, MSEE 84; VaTech, PhD EE 91. You didn't have my Circuits class there since it was a service class for all nonEE majors!