The main four elements to study are Melody,Harmony, Rhythm and Instrument Technique. Melodyis a series of notes played one at a time, Harmony is the combination of notes, Rhythm is the placement of notes in time and Technique is the physical aspect of playing music.

Though I’ve further broken these four subjects down to twenty areas of application, these are the four main areas to become skilled at. Within these subjects are all the specifics such as scales, chords, grooving, theory, ear training, etc.

A beginner mainly needs technique to get rolling; a more advanced player might need rhythm and ear training, and well… it breaks down how ever it does according to the consultation information and the student’s interest.

A most important part of studying music is being INTERESTED in what you are studying. When you are working on the things you need the most in order to do what you want to do it can be easy to remain interested.

Musical Specifics

TECHNIQUE: left hand, right hand, picking, strumming, finger picking, bowing, plucking, slapping.
MELODY: major & minor scales, arpeggios, pentatonic scales, blues scales, other scales. Theory, fingerings and application to soloing, song writing and improvising.
HARMONY: chords, chord progressions & intervals.
RHYTHM: time, meter, sub-beats, grooves, phrasing.
READING & NOTATION: chord charts, notes, rhythms, full notation, all chart types, transcribing.

THE ESSENTIALS

• Left hand technique.
• Right hand technique.
• Basic theory.
• Learning how to get around on the neck (fingerings).
• How to use the controls on your instrument and amp.

APPLICATION

• Playing songs and bass parts you like.
• Rhythm skills for grooving and soloing.
• Tonal skills for bass lines, understanding music, playing tunes, soloing and composing: scales, arpeggios, pentatonic & blues scales and interval studies.
• Harmonic understanding. This deals with chord types and chord progressions. Depending on the goals, we cover playing through chord changes and the development of bass lines in any style: jazz walking bass lines, reggae, funk, rock, etc.
• Independence skills: learning to sing and play at the same time.