Welcome to Gaia! ::

Summer is coming up soon and I was thinking of taking lessons for my bass.

I have been very independant on learning it so far, and I've come quite a ways, but I would still like some expert training. The only thing is I don't really like being told what to do, and all my other musical lessons haven't gone over all that well. I guess you could say I'm nervous, but do you guys think I should take lessons? Have you ever taken lessons? If so, were they good/fun?

and the only things you know, as far as i can tell, are korn songs learned either from ear or tabs. i wanna go to lessons and such so i can get a better understanding of chords and walking lines and all that stuff, more technique than actual song learning. it may sound cool to play covers, but ide like to be able to screw around with style... xp

...don't make assumptions. I hadn't even gotten into Korn until maybe 5, even 6 months after I'd started playing bass. Yeah, I do play a lot of Korn, but it's not ALL that I play. When I'm practicing, I like to work on those songs, yes, but I do play other things. 'sides, Fieldy was one of the influences that really got me playing bass seriously, along with Les Claypool.

On a side note, I'll correct myself in the fact that I've taken one lesson. I hated it, and that's when I started teaching myself and referring to online lessons and such that I could learn at my own pace rather than have an instructor teach me. I guess I just learn better that way, who knows.

I don't know theory, I'll give you that, but that doesn't give you reason to insult me, or the songs I play, or my influences, or whatever the hell else you can think of. There are plenty of us here who don't know theory. I'm not saying that you're insulting people who don't know theory in general, but it seemed (at least to me) that you were sending out a subliminal message that I was ignorant just because of the fact that I didn't know theory.

I learned theory all by myself. it's not that hard... this note is a C, this is a whole note, this is 4/4 time and this is 2/4 time. Four beats in a bar, quarter note gets the beat. Two beats in a bar, quarter note gets the beat.

I haven't taken lessons, but I'd like to. I use Guitar Pro 4, which helps tremendously. I also try to write basslines to go along w/ the guitar riffs my friend(s) write.

I took some lessons, and my instructor (Which was my friend) told me that instead of him telling me what I needed to learn, I should ask him questions about what I wanted to know. A good bass instructor will do that, it'll help you understand your own style and it will get you better aquianted with the whole flow of bass.
But then again, he kind of quit on me after some time b/c of prior obligations w/ his band.

He also told me that the best way to learn is to just jump into a band and progress as you play. He started out crappy, but after a year, he was pretty damn good, and now after 6 years he's UBER good. Andy Bowers(My instructor friend) could be the next Flea. He's got a style that 's like Flea, but has an infusion of his own mixed in. And his bass playing is incredible, though I have seen one person that can possibly out play him... but I'm not going to tell him that. lol

But yeah. that's my advice

Does he actually teach you, or do you just listen to his songs?

I tought myself. Oh.