So you're saying there are more crappy bass players than crappy guitarists? Again, nothing but idle speculation and unsupported assertions - nothing to back up any of these claims.
As I mentioned in some other places, your entire post is rather meaningless because you haven't given any specifics about what methods you are criticizing and what methods are good. You have spoken the whole time in very broad generalities, and have also brought no empirical evidence to support any of your claims.
As an aside, with all due respect to your academic credentials, they are meaningless with respect to your knowledge and ability in the area of teaching. You might be the most knowledgeable EBGuitarist in the world but that doesn't mean you know anything about teaching. Great teachers by no means have to be great pedagogues. So your list of academic credentials followed by the claim that you're an expert on teaching bass is a non sequitur. Far more convincing would be a list of great players that have emerged due to your tutelage as opposed to other 'new fangled' teachers, etc.
All I got from your post was this:
We all know about fake news - but let's not forget there are also a lot fake bass teachers out there, and it gets me peeved.
So, thanks for that. I'm not Jeff Berlin but I also know that. You don't even have to know anything about music to know that - all you need is some common sense. They world is full of charlatans and it's not hard to spot them, regardless of what they're peddling. So, welcome to the world - don't let it get you down.
Yours is a very well explained post. Thanks for sharing it.
Here is my bottom line: With very little exception, I can't make any statement without some people finding flaws with them. I see this as a knee jerk reaction. As a test, I once wrote that Jaco wrote out the famous bass solo on his debut record, Donna Lee. Which he did! People were furious and for a long time, I was lambasted for stating that the solo wasn't improvised. People went crazy!
When a new record of his called "The Criteria Sessions" was released, it included a version of Jaco playing Donna Lee almost a note for note duplication of the one on his first record. He was still writing out the solo during the time that he recorded this version, but it was essentially the same solo. When I reported this on line, not a single person that took me to task either acknowledged that I was correct, nor apologies to me for their personal comments to me.
This is just an example of the uber-fan attitude that some have and it gets in the way of clear thought and discussion about learning. This is why I generally don't care what people think anymore when I post my thoughts. Some people prefer to argue. I don't! When it comes to someone entering into this mindset in the comments that they share with me and others, I will never respond to their posts.
Everything that I have shared with people about learning music was shared with me by some of the greatest teachers/players in music. I tested out many of the lessons and I learned where the source of capable playing came from. Everyone with a similar background as I had knows these things.
I don't have data to share, but, if I did, I wouldn't share it with people. Too many people are poised to argue and split hairs and I prefer to not participate in this kind of exhausting back-and-forth discussion. I believe that any data that I might have gathered will cause a lot of people to argue with it. Some people really aren't into finding out new things that might benefit them, and so, I just offer my thoughts. People can take them or leave them as they wish.
Regarding how I arrived at my conclusions about teaching, realize that I've done clinics on almost every continent for over forty years. I taught in several schools and I have seen a large number of people on-line when I used to teach one-on-one. Remember that I am trained in music since age five and have an insight into learning that only people with my background might have. I saw that almost everyone shared the same playing deficiencies, sort of those common difficulties in playing that might show up with someone that was limited in their knowledge of music and instrument. Those people that watched my impromptu clinics at the Cort booth at NAMM were witnesses to the common difficulties that everyone exhibited when they sat down with me. While is was easy for people to fathom my points about learning while we were all together in a live teaching environment, people on-line aren't so open to even ponder my points of learning that I can prove in a classroom.
The planet's musicians, since the days of the drum beating caveman, were all self taught (in charge of what they wanted to learn with) or they were taught musical content. This is practically everyone's story since the beginning of music but even here, some people will choose to argue. Long ago, I decided to not engage with bass players except to only share my thoughts and leave it at that (although I have a totally different interaction with people that meet with me on my Office Hours on-line classes. We're engaged together.)
I'll share my thoughts and then leave it at that. If anyone wants my advise, I'm here to help.
