Life Lessons for Bass Guitar – Episode 1 Part 1

Welcome to the first episode of “Life Lessons for Bass Guitar”. In part 1 you’ll learn what these Life Lessons are all about plus why having someone to give you encouragement and motivation is vital to learning. It’s my goal in these episodes to give you some tips and ideas, and also share some stories with you that are going to help you to progress as a bass player.

Text Version: Life Lessons for Bass Guitar – Episode 1 Part 1

Hi, this is Tom Boyd, and the craziest thing just happened to me. I came up with the idea to sit and do this new bass series called Life Lessons for Bass Guitar. So I was just sitting there at my computer desk and the thought just came to me. And you know how like whenever you have a good idea the symbol in the cartoons and things is that a light bulb comes over your head and lights up and it’s like ding, you know, you’ve got an idea.

Well I’m sitting here at my desk, this just happened like ten minutes ago. And suddenly I’m sitting here, and I get the idea I want to do these “Life Lessons for Bass Guitar”. And rather than a light coming on, I’m sitting there and my light bulb in the room just goes boom, and I’m in the dark. The only light is the light from the computer monitor in front of me just giving a little bit of light so I can make my way out of the room to go and get a lamp from the next room.

“I just found that really crazy…”

So like I just found that really crazy, and I don’t know if it’s a good sign or a bad sign. Obviously normally they say when you have a good idea the light comes on, and in this case the light went out.

So basically the idea of “Life Lessons for Bass Guitar” is to deliver to you some tips and ideas, and also share some stories with you and some things that are going to help you to progress as a bass player.

I’m going to keep these nice and lighthearted. They’re going to be really like informal and kind of chatty rather than like “step one do this, step two do that”. They’re just going to be like as if you had sat down in front of me and we were just chatting over a cold beer or a cup of coffee and I’m just talking to you about bass, and that’s the way I’m going to do these.

So if you like this kind of thing, then stick around. If you like just direct how-to information, then, you know, feel free to pass on these. But for the people that want them, I think you’re going to really find these valuable. They’re really going to bring to you some ideas and things that you can start to use in your playing, and also help to motivate you.

I think that’s one of the things that a lot of bass guitar lessons and things really miss out on. They give you the how-to, and you play the video, and it’s “ok now press this note and press that note”. They give you the instruction of how to play a song, for example, but there’s no motivation or encouragement in any of the lessons that I’ve seen online or hardly any of them.

“It’s very easy to end up just giving up or quitting because you’ve got no one behind you”

None of them kind of keep you going each day and give you the right encouragement, and I think that’s something that a lot of people lack and really need who don’t have the luxury of a local private teacher. When you have a local teacher, you see them each week, and they can kind of encourage you and point out where you’re going right and where you’re going wrong, and kind of keep you active. And you know, you’ve got that set schedule each week that you have to kind of attend the lesson or turn up for the lesson. And so it kind of keeps you going, where when you’ve kind of been more self-taught, or you’re learning using online materials or online courses and lessons and things like that, see it’s very easy to end up just giving up or quit because you’ve got no one behind you kind of telling you what to do and telling you like how to do it.

Let’s say you get the how-to but you don’t get the encouragement and the feedback that I think you really need to become successful on bass. And there are some people who can manage and teach themselves, and that’s fine. But I think they’re like the 1%, and I think 99% of people need that kind of interaction and encouragement, and some daily and weekly tips and things just to keep them focused on their bass playing and reminding them to even pick it up rather than it sitting in the corner collecting dust.

So I just want to share with you a quick story that happened to me when I was playing a gig a few years back.

To be continuted…

Thanks for reading Life Lessons for Bass Guitar #1. Be sure to check back soon for part 2!

- Tom Boyd

P.S Click Here to sign up for my Speedy Bass System and begin learning bass the easy way.