I just recently stopped taking in-person lessons after 3.5 years

[inkblowout]

And I'm not sure how I feel about this, in one way I'm happy to stop because the lessons I've been taking the last 1-2 months have been kind of useless to me. There were also some lessons during the past year that I haven't been satisfied with as well. On the other hand, I'm saddened to stop taking lessons as I've taken weekly lessons for the past 3.5 years and it's been a part of my routine so I'm saddened that this door of my life will be closed from this point on.

For context, I've taken lessons since February 2021 right after I got my first bass guitar in January 2021. I've tried learning online on YouTube, TB, and Reddit and I felt like that wasn't helping so I opted to go to a bass teacher for some lessons. The teacher is considered the best in the city, other bass teachers in the area speak highly of him and he has 40 years of pro bass playing experience and knows his stuff. But he primarily focuses on jazz which I'm more a rock/metal guy. My teacher however took an approach that you can choose what to learn which was fine at the moment but after 3+ years, for the past 1-2 months I felt like there was nothing to bring up in my classes anymore. Not only this, I feel like the dynamic of my relationship with my teacher has been shifted from "Student-Mentor" to a "Friend-Friend" relationship which also meant a lot of time was being wasted by just talking with each other wasting my money. (And the classes weren't cheap, it was $75 for an hour lesson and he was considering raising the price to $100 soon.) Also, keep in mind that the majority of his students leave after 1-2 years of lessons and I'm currently his most tenured student.

Not only this I have achieved my goals, I originally wanted to play songs that I enjoy and now I could play 98% of songs I liked with practice and dedication on my part. But when I recently introduced my teacher to a very technical song I wanted to learn, my teacher was stumped and it was clear he couldn't teach me how to play it and I had to use online resources and my own time to learn the song myself. My other goal is that I wanted to be in a band and start playing live shows, and recently in the past month I got into a band and I'm playing my first gig tomorrow! So now I don't feel there is an incentive for me to take lessons as my teacher would not be able to teach me how to play their originals as my band uses tabs as sheet music and he cannot read tabs for some reason.

The reason why I'm writing this post is that I was always led to believe on Talkbass and on other forums that taking bass lessons is the way to go, which I agree with if you are starting off. But I feel now that I've outgrown these lessons and that there isn't really any use for me to take these lessons anymore. So I'm just wondering if anyone had felt they "outgrown" their need for lessons like I did? Just thinking about it, I don't know how some people can take lessons for 5, 10, or even 20+ years. I feel like I'm at fault for how I approached my lessons but at the same time I feel that I've evolved so much over the 3.5 years of playing and now I feel competent playing the bass.

Edit: Oh and keep in mind, quitting lessons hasn't changed my love for the bass. I'm still trying to keep my habit of practicing 1 hour a day!

 

[kleinenenten]

I think it's more important that you keep challenging yourself on the bass. You may no longer learn anything from this teacher, but you can still take "lessons" from any number of other sources, whether that is some of the online resources you mention or other musicians. Now that you're in a band, you have plenty of lessons to learn about getting the right tones together, locking in, etc., as well as all the logistics. I've actually debated going back to getting lessons for years, but can't seem to find time. For me, it would be really just to see how I can improve my technique and learn some simple theory, as I'm almost completely self-taught outside of my first two years of lessons ~25 years ago. And those lessons really focused mostly on the physical aspects of playing such as hand position, technique, finger positions, etc., but no real serious theory. I'm incredibly grateful for those lessons, as they certainly prevented me from developing bad physical habits that would have hindered me, but as I've tried to learn more technical things, I feel like there's got to be a better way than my method of just sheer repetition. Maybe there is a technique/position/whatever that could help me!

 

[tranceFusion]

If you liked taking lessons but felt they were stale, it might be helpful to find a different teacher. It’s beneficial to take lessons from different people as they have different things to teach you. It’s also ok to take a break or find another way to learn.

It seems a lot harder for a teacher who has been teaching you for years to come up with new ways to challenge and interest you, compared to a new student. So thats not really a slight on the teacher either.

It sounds like your time with that teacher is over. It doesn’t mean your previous time spent was wasted or that you need to feel bad about it.

 

[dc-upright]

With the new band there is plenty to keep you busy. I would suggest if you miss the lessons try a different teacher! It never hurts to have a different perspective!

I recently have started taking upright lessons for the bow after 25 years of bluegrass bass playing. I told the instructor today how much playing with the bow is helping my bluegrass playing as well as my electric playing.

Fresh eyes often help!

 

[Minimalist]

Maybe you have outgrown your teacher but not not outgrown being taught or learning. Hope that makes sense.

 

[KenD]

The fact that your teacher couldn't help you with the new song you wanted to learn says to me that you need to move, either to another teacher or spend some time learning on your own or with band.mates.

The fact that the. teacher couldn't play the song in question is irrelevant IMO. A good teacher should still be able to guide you in analyzing the song and breaking it down into learnable, manageable parts.

 

[OldCoupeTom]

And I'm not sure how I feel about this, in one way I'm happy to stop because the lessons I've been taking the last 1-2 months have been kind of useless to me. There were also some lessons during the past year that I haven't been satisfied with as well. On the other hand, I'm saddened to stop taking lessons as I've taken weekly lessons for the past 3.5 years and it's been a part of my routine so I'm saddened that this door of my life will be closed from this point on.

For context, I've taken lessons since February 2021 right after I got my first bass guitar in January 2021. I've tried learning online on YouTube, TB, and Reddit and I felt like that wasn't helping so I opted to go to a bass teacher for some lessons. The teacher is considered the best in the city, other bass teachers in the area speak highly of him and he has 40 years of pro bass playing experience and knows his stuff. But he primarily focuses on jazz which I'm more a rock/metal guy. My teacher however took an approach that you can choose what to learn which was fine at the moment but after 3+ years, for the past 1-2 months I felt like there was nothing to bring up in my classes anymore. Not only this, I feel like the dynamic of my relationship with my teacher has been shifted from "Student-Mentor" to a "Friend-Friend" relationship which also meant a lot of time was being wasted by just talking with each other wasting my money. (And the classes weren't cheap, it was $75 for an hour lesson and he was considering raising the price to $100 soon.) Also, keep in mind that the majority of his students leave after 1-2 years of lessons and I'm currently his most tenured student.

Not only this I have achieved my goals, I originally wanted to play songs that I enjoy and now I could play 98% of songs I liked with practice and dedication on my part. But when I recently introduced my teacher to a very technical song I wanted to learn, my teacher was stumped and it was clear he couldn't teach me how to play it and I had to use online resources and my own time to learn the song myself. My other goal is that I wanted to be in a band and start playing live shows, and recently in the past month I got into a band and I'm playing my first gig tomorrow! So now I don't feel there is an incentive for me to take lessons as my teacher would not be able to teach me how to play their originals as my band uses tabs as sheet music and he cannot read tabs for some reason.

The reason why I'm writing this post is that I was always led to believe on Talkbass and on other forums that taking bass lessons is the way to go, which I agree with if you are starting off. But I feel now that I've outgrown these lessons and that there isn't really any use for me to take these lessons anymore. So I'm just wondering if anyone had felt they "outgrown" their need for lessons like I did? Just thinking about it, I don't know how some people can take lessons for 5, 10, or even 20+ years. I feel like I'm at fault for how I approached my lessons but at the same time I feel that I've evolved so much over the 3.5 years of playing and now I feel competent playing the bass.

Edit: Oh and keep in mind, quitting lessons hasn't changed my love for the bass. I'm still trying to keep my habit of practicing 1 hour a day!

Interesting post for me to read. I started bass quite late in life (age 75 - now 82) to fight the hand stiffness accompanying the onset of arthritis. I love it but will never "play out". I use short scales to help out my hands after an active life including senior hockey from age 36 to age 79). As you can see, I am pretty far toward one end of the "career spectrum". Also, since we live a little apart from larger population centers, I chose self-study via online bass teaching sites and nearly daily practice using YouTube song videos with bass tabs. This approach suits me and meets my needs. Just as the Bruins were never going to call me up, likewise I will never be a session musician or band member. I just like playing...well enough that I currently have 5 basses and am "always looking". You didn't mention your age or level of self motivation to practice/learn new techniques, so it is hard to weigh in on the question with much meaningful analysis. 3.5 years of lessons is a lot. If you mentioned how often you went, I missed it. I just had a casual conversation with a fellow patient at my wellness appt. with my M.D. and she mentioned taking lessons (about 20-25 minutes from where I live) for $25 per half hour. She was a newbie and starting from scratch, but your lessons are much more costly. If the teacher is more friend than mentor, you have correctly noted your $$'s are being diluted. Also, there have to be other teachers who might be more helpful with "dad rock" (my interest too). I don't know enough about it to go much further, but there have to be walking lines, fills or tips on soloing in the rock genre someone else might show you. I am however curious about the song or songs you have found escaping getting captured under your fingers (assuming you don't mind sharing). I know in my experience that certain songs which one might anticipate being difficult just seem to fall into place while certain others keep slipping away. As simple as it seems, I just need a certain type of increased finger dexterity to play the basic line in the Staples "I'll take you there" as there is one note I struggle to pluck timely...yet Elvis's "Suspicious Minds" bass line as quick and "cluttered with notes as it is" is easier for me. Go figure. What I do now is force myself to practice those songs with what I have found to be challenging lines, whether it be stretches, slides or timing (for example "Love Shack"...a tacky song these days, but to me a great exercise piece to speed up fretting. Now, probably everyone on here can easily play all of those, and I have once again laid bare my mediocrity, but all in the spirit of sharing some thought on your lesson dilemma. I guess the underlying issue is for you to identify your ultimate goals and be honest with yourself about what is required in your view to get you there. Lessons can teach you a lot, but after a certain point in time, you leave the nest and fly on your own. Keep in mind, getting a private pilot's license takes a minimum of 40 hours and many students do so in 50 hours or so. I'm guessing you're fine where you are for now. Perhaps you keep the guy "in reserve" and go back for skills tune-ups from time to time if you slip into any bad habits. Just my2 cents worth and this from someone who never takes the show on the road. One final example...when I turned 70, I wanted to build a car (street rod styled to look like an old racing coupe). I had utterly no experience in building or on such an undertaking. My avatar on this site is that car...after 4 years of working and learning. Being too late to let life keep passing when I started, I did my learning just a bit ahead of my doing and managed to get it "built enough" to drive. Unless you aspire to be a studio session bass player, sounds as if you are already accomplished for the next phase of your bass career. Have at it!

 

[matt holt]

I taught bass lessons for over 15 years, and I would almost always "graduate" students after 3 or 4 years of working with me. things always got to a point where it felt like I had given them what i have to give, and they already knew what I was going to say about whatever work they've done for the week without me having to say it. I also always tried to be really honest with my students that nobody's good at everything, and if there were certain things they wanted to study that weren't my strengths, it would probably be a better use of both our time for them to find someone who specialized in those things.

It sounds like you've reached both of these points with your old teacher; I think it's a natural part of the teacher student relationship. If you can do everything you want to be able to do on the bass (or at least understand the process for how to learn the things that you can't do but want to be able to do) then I'd say you have what you need. With that said, it might also be worth finding a new teacher, especially one who is more of a rock/metal person. it sounds like your old teacher was a heck of a player, but again, no one is good at everything, or is perfectly versed in all styles of music. Somebody who specializes more in rock or metal will probably have insights into those styles of music that somebody who's mainly focused on jazz might lack, no matter how good the person is at jazz.

 

[PrimitiveMan]

Taking a break is fine for a bit if you're still challenging yourself.

It does sound like you outgrow this teacher but there are many others.

Reach out to some bass players in your genre of choice that inspire you and take a zoom lesson here and there is another good choice

Sounds like your hard work has paid off! Keep going

 

[J-phatt]

I might be the reprobate but I haven’t taken a single lesson since I was a teenager. I took lessons where the teacher did nothing more than help me to learn to play songs I liked. I also studied classic guitar in junior college. Since then I’ve played to records and in bands, and interpret sheet music and don’t seem to lack the ability to challenge my technical abilities in approaching music that is a challenge. I never tried to play jazz, but I don’t listen to it either so no love lost. It’s not my thing and I don’t enjoy it so not being able to play it doesn’t make me feel inadequate to anything but jazz.
I just started on bass after a very long time on guitar and other treble clef plectrum instruments. I find the example of good recordings of meaningful music a strong basis on which to build my practice of the instrument. These days I’m focusing entirely on Jamaican music and trying to emulate the aesthetics of ensemble playing Jamaican bassists are so good at. I desire acutely to play with other musicians who love Jamaican music but find my life situation in this city makes it difficult to find other players of my own ilk because I’m an amateur in a city of professionals. Lessons won’t change that.

 

[ProbablyTooLoud]

Studying jazz or classical doesn't mean you have to play it/perform it, but I'm pretty sure experienced teachers of those styles will challenge you for far longer than 3.5 years. If you go there in your training, I'm also pretty sure you'll improve in whatever genre you perform.

 

[BrotherMister]

Just to play devils advocate:

I graduated college with a degree in music. I’ve played professionally for 12 years. Everything from tv gigs, studio work, big bands, jazz groups, session dates, pit orchestras and just about anything you can name. I’ve taught, and continue to teach, students from across the world all during that time as well.

I still get go get lessons.

 

[edwinhurwitz]

I think that the fact that your teacher taught jazz and doesn't read tabs is fine. There are lots of tabs out there for metal music and learning songs is your responsibility. I never teach licks to my students and while I'm willing to go over songs with them and help them understand them better, it's more important that they go through the process of listening them and figuring them out.

But, it sounds like you are due for a break. Go play in bands for a few years and then re-evaluate whether you want to take more lessons. In fact, my best students are the ones who no longer have time for lessons because they get gigs and go on the road. Some of them do quite well for themselves and play arenas and other large venues.

But, I agree with BrotherMister. No matter what level you are at, there's always more to learn and it's always helpful to get someone else's perspective. I'm thinking I might try to find a teacher (I'm 63, have a music degree and have been playing professionally for decades). I'd probably study more jazz.

 

[Shenron]

And I'm not sure how I feel about this, in one way I'm happy to stop because the lessons I've been taking the last 1-2 months have been kind of useless to me. There were also some lessons during the past year that I haven't been satisfied with as well. On the other hand, I'm saddened to stop taking lessons as I've taken weekly lessons for the past 3.5 years and it's been a part of my routine so I'm saddened that this door of my life will be closed from this point on.

For context, I've taken lessons since February 2021 right after I got my first bass guitar in January 2021. I've tried learning online on YouTube, TB, and Reddit and I felt like that wasn't helping so I opted to go to a bass teacher for some lessons. The teacher is considered the best in the city, other bass teachers in the area speak highly of him and he has 40 years of pro bass playing experience and knows his stuff. But he primarily focuses on jazz which I'm more a rock/metal guy. My teacher however took an approach that you can choose what to learn which was fine at the moment but after 3+ years, for the past 1-2 months I felt like there was nothing to bring up in my classes anymore. Not only this, I feel like the dynamic of my relationship with my teacher has been shifted from "Student-Mentor" to a "Friend-Friend" relationship which also meant a lot of time was being wasted by just talking with each other wasting my money. (And the classes weren't cheap, it was $75 for an hour lesson and he was considering raising the price to $100 soon.) Also, keep in mind that the majority of his students leave after 1-2 years of lessons and I'm currently his most tenured student.

Not only this I have achieved my goals, I originally wanted to play songs that I enjoy and now I could play 98% of songs I liked with practice and dedication on my part. But when I recently introduced my teacher to a very technical song I wanted to learn, my teacher was stumped and it was clear he couldn't teach me how to play it and I had to use online resources and my own time to learn the song myself. My other goal is that I wanted to be in a band and start playing live shows, and recently in the past month I got into a band and I'm playing my first gig tomorrow! So now I don't feel there is an incentive for me to take lessons as my teacher would not be able to teach me how to play their originals as my band uses tabs as sheet music and he cannot read tabs for some reason.

The reason why I'm writing this post is that I was always led to believe on Talkbass and on other forums that taking bass lessons is the way to go, which I agree with if you are starting off. But I feel now that I've outgrown these lessons and that there isn't really any use for me to take these lessons anymore. So I'm just wondering if anyone had felt they "outgrown" their need for lessons like I did? Just thinking about it, I don't know how some people can take lessons for 5, 10, or even 20+ years. I feel like I'm at fault for how I approached my lessons but at the same time I feel that I've evolved so much over the 3.5 years of playing and now I feel competent playing the bass.

Edit: Oh and keep in mind, quitting lessons hasn't changed my love for the bass. I'm still trying to keep my habit of practicing 1 hour a day!

Your journey is just fine!

Learning lasts forever even after school ends.

Most people that keep studying something all their life transition from student (follows teachers) to researcher (creates their own path). You can always have more lessons later in your life if you want, but after 3 years spent as well as it sounds, you are ready to be your own teacher, and maybe even someone else's.

Also don't forget that the world is also your teacher: your peers, your bandmates, and other musicians always teach you something. Even students do, it's a known fact that few things improve you more than teaching others.

Now get out there and gig the best you can!

 

[Geogio]

There are instrument lessons, which are very common and necessary.

And there are music lessons.

It might be time for intermediate/ advanced formal training on this instrument that you now have become somewhat familiar with.

Perhaps your apprenticeship is over and you are now just approaching the journeyman phase.

 

[MrClassicMetal]

Not only this I have achieved my goals, I originally wanted to play songs that I enjoy and now I could play 98% of songs I liked with practice and dedication on my part. But when I recently introduced my teacher to a very technical song I wanted to learn, my teacher was stumped and it was clear he couldn't teach me how to play it and I had to use online resources and my own time to learn the song myself.

Out of curiosity, which song was that?

 

[Jogobass]

Some people keep taking lessons because if it doesn't work out they can always blame the teacher. But if you teach yourself you only have yourself to be accountable to.

 

[Geddaric]

Never Stop Learning.
I`ve been playing for 40+ years and I still find there is plenty out there to learn.
In the end, it`ll make you a better bass player.

 

[bobba66]

I'm trying to relearn things I could play with ease, 40 years ago. What a strange journey.

 

[Polfuste]

Depends on your goal:

- If your goal is being professionnal musician, you just have to find next step you need and a teacher compliant with. Whatever area you want to cover, you'll always need more tools to improve and achieve your goal. Sight reading, Harmony, Ear training, explore different styles to be the most versatile bassplayer , composition, communication, how to run your business, etc ...

- If your goal is to play in bands, in amateur/half pro gigging goal, learning songs, compose songs without intention to "make it"; you have perhaps all tools you need. Next step can be Ear training to be the sharpest guy and able to react in real time during gigs to anything happening in the song.
Jazz and improvisation can help you on this area and expand your horizon, even if it's not a music you want to play with bands.
And if you have a complicate tune to learn, free tools exist to slow down songs without touching pitch. So you can transcribe it and work your ear.
Perhaps the next step is not a teacher but you to find your own way to work and continue to improve.

I never took lessons in 34 years of Music, (except an un-successful Harmony course try which i quickly realize these mathematics were not for me ) cause i have a natural very good ear.
But last year, i've learned to read and write sheets with a book, to be able to compose things and share with my instructed bandmates. It took me 6 months with a book + one week to learn to use Musescore; sheet writing software and i 've written my first sheet. (corrected by my bandmates, so it's somewhere like i took a lesson with them to write better).
So the important thing is to define your need; what you want to achieve, and then think about tools and/or lessons you need to reach it.