Bass lessons in Amarillo
Electric bass, one to one, every week in downtown Amarillo. For a complete beginner, and for the guitarist whose band just lost their bass player.
The short answers
- How much are bass lessons in Amarillo?
- $50 for an hour and $30 for a half hour, once a week, materials included and no signup fee.
- Who teaches bass?
- Grant Fithen, who teaches guitar and piano here as well, and CJ Carter for beginner bass. You keep the same teacher every week.
- I play guitar already. Is bass worth a lesson?
- Yes, and it is a short conversation rather than starting again. The alphabet and the fretboard carry across; what does not carry across is the job. Lessons for a crossing guitarist go straight at the right hand, the time and the note choice.
- Do I need my own bass?
- Yes, you need one to practice on at home. If you have not got one yet, say so on the signup form and we will tell you what to look for before your first lesson.
- Where and when?
- 818 SW 7th Avenue, Amarillo, TX 79101, inside Spacecamp Studios in downtown Amarillo. Monday to Thursday, 9:00am to 7:00pm, by appointment.
What we teach first, and why
Rhythm before notes. It is the whole job.
A bass player who only ever plays the root note, and plays it dead in time with real conviction, is a genuinely good bass player. A bass player with every scale and loose time is not. So the first lessons here go after the time, and the notes get added to something that is already solid rather than the other way round.
Four strings, four little pianos
Open strings E, A, D and G, and the same four letters again at the seventh fret as B, E, A and D. Count the alphabet up one string at a time, remember that there is no note between B and C or between E and F, and land back where you started at the twelfth fret.
One formula, every key
C major first, because it has no sharps and no flats in it. Then whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole, half, run from every open string. You do not need to know the note names to do it; if the pattern was right you finish on the twelfth fret.
Roots, then fifths
Whatever letter names the chord is the root, and the root is the one note a bass player has to nail. The fifth is the next most useful, and a root with a fifth on top is the same shape under your hand as a guitar power chord, which is where a crossing guitarist gets a free week.
The right hand
Index and middle finger walking alternately across the strings, from the first lesson, because the alternative is a year of one finger and then a year of undoing it.
Reading, early
Rhythm notation comes before pitched notation here, which is the other way round from most books. The reason is practical: once you can write a rhythm down you can write your own idea down and practice it during the week, long before you can read a melody off a page.
What to bring
- A bass
- Nothing to buy. Tab, charts and sheet music are included in the lesson price
- No bass yet? Say so on the signup form and we will tell you what to look for before the first lesson
Where to next
Grant teaches guitar and piano as well, so a bass lesson and a guitar lesson can be the same teacher. Guitar lessons, the price list, who teaches here or write to launchpadmusicacademy@gmail.com.
Book your first lesson.
Tell us who is learning and whether you already play guitar, and we will come back within one business day.