Bass Lessons By Correspondence Tour

Since I receive quite a few questions regarding the format of my bass lessons by correspondence program, I thought it might be most easily demonstrated through a step-by-step tour. Here's exactly how it works.


After accepting you as a student and receiving your lesson's purchase, your first lesson will be posted within a few days on a lessons page made specifically for you here on my web site (example pictured to the right). I will then notify you via e-mail with a link to your lessons page where you can view and download the material at your convenience. Each lesson will consist of audio instruction and notated exercises that will be easily accessible from your lesson's page. By simply right clicking the lesson links located on your lesson's page and choosing "Save Target As" if you are using Internet Explorer or "Save Link Target As" if you are using Netscape, you can save all the lesson material to your computer (PDF, MP3, etc.) It's that easy! I recommend that you create a special lessons folder that is specifically dedicated to our lessons somewhere on your computer so you have a place to download and save our lesson material. In order to maximize your time, I would suggest taking good notes in a notebook or on a notepad as you listen to the audio instruction so you don't have to spend time listening to the audio clips multiple times or needing to rewind or fast-forward through lesson audio clips in the future. As soon as you download all the notated examples, I highly recommend that you print them all. I have always personally felt that it is an annoyance having to read notated examples on a computer screen because you almost always have to stop and scroll further down the page to complete the exercise. If you have a printed hard copy version of the notated examples, you don't even have to turn on your computer to work on the lessons. In fact, by taking good notes from the lesson audio clips and printing all the notated examples, you can practice the lesson material anywhere without the need of your computer. I will plan on posting a new lesson every other week, and each new lesson will build upon the material found within the previous lesson.



With each lesson you will receive an MP3 audio clip containing instruction and lots of suggestions for practicing the notated exercises, generally 30-60 minutes in length depending on what we are discussing in that particular lesson (example pictured to the left). Over the past several years, I have experimented with a number of audio formats and media players, and I feel the MP3 format provides the best and most comprehensive platform for delivering my digital media lesson material. I have found that the Windows Media Player delivers the highest fidelity audio and best quality video at any bitrate from dial-up to broadband.



Every lesson will also contain a number of lesson pages consisting of exercises coded in the Portable Document Format (PDF). PDF is the world standard for the most reliable distribution and exchange of electronic documents and forms. It is a universal file format that preserves the fonts, images, graphics, and layout of any source document, regardless of the application I use to produce it. All standard notation, tablature, and text is created with Finale (the world standard for creating, editing, and printing music). Adobe PDF files are compact for downloading and can be viewed and printed by anyone with the free Adobe Reader software (example pictured to the right).






As you are working through the lesson material and a question comes to mind, you can simply send me your questions via e-mail. I make every effort possible to reply to my correspondence student's questions within 24 hours, especially if it requires an immediate response from me in order to keep you progressing through the lesson material. If you submit a question that I feel may be more thoroughly answered in a lesson audio clip or does not require an instant reply, I will save your question(s) and provide answers in the very next lesson audio clip. Whatever the question(s), you will always receive an answer from me by the next lesson. During the week in between lessons, we can schedule a live one-on-one chat session using my chat room where we can discuss your progress, answer questions, and chat about all things bass (example pictured above left). I can schedule my work day around chat sessions, but if your hectic schedule simply does not allow any time throughout the day to correspond via an instant messenger, we can just as easily correspond by way of e-mail. Taking advantage of one-on-one chat sessions with our lessons is recommended but not required.

As a correspondence student, you also have the option of scheduling a live chat with me on the phone through my toll-free number (students located within the continental United States only).

Thanks again for your continued interest in my bass lessons by correspondence program. If you have any further questions regarding my correspondence lessons, please feel free to drop me an e-mail at: instituteofbass@yahoo.com.

I look forward to hearing from you and getting started with our lessons soon!