JK - Evaluation: Lesson 4

Complementary Studies: Liam Marley

Pupil: Joe Kosminsky
Date: 17/12/07
Evaluating Time: 2hrs


Lesson four acted as another recap lesson so that certain techniques and exercises could be refined and polished to aid in advancing for the next couple of lessons. The advancement of the right (plucking) hand was imperative for future lessons as the bass patterns will get more complicated then the simple, nearly root noted bass lines. As these get more complex the fingers will have to be quick and nibble, needing a longer stretch and a lengthier stamina. This is why the lesson concentrated on improving the pupil’s right hand form so that coordination between the two hands could gained.

The subject of interval notes was demonstrated once more to allow the pupil to learn the patterns and to hear the pitch of the notes. Finally a basic lesson in music theory was implemented in this lesson so that the pupil would not be confused in future lessons when technical words are utilised.


Lesson Objectives:


1.) To persist with working on the pupil’s correct fingering techniques with both hands, this time concentrating on the right hand (plucking hand), using exercises such as walking across the strings (as seen in lesson 3, objective 2) to aid with the pupils string crossing.

Outcome: The right (plucking) hand had not really been a problem with Joseph as up till now he has been using his one finger to pluck the strings. This one finger technique could be seen as a similar technique to the thumb style of bass playing, however with less versatility and speed, as the thumb can act as a plectrum, which can give the player incredible speed much faster than the two finger technique. The one finger had been sufficient enough for the simple blues bass patterns that Joseph has been previously learning, but it will never enable the pupil the speed that is necessary for trickier bass patterns.

To progress with more challenging bass lines the pupil will have to begin using two fingers to pluck the strings. This is why the pupil practiced raking the strings one by one, with the fingers plucking the strings in a walking motion. Joseph accomplished this after ten minutes of practicing along to a blues bass line, with a minimum of unwanted strings being hit. The pupil’s ability to pick this technique up quickly stems from his experience with the six-string guitar.



2.) To continue with the explanation and demonstration of fifth and eighth interval notes, so that the pupil captures a better understanding of what they are and their purpose.

Outcome: Interval notes still acted as a problem with Joseph as he could never remember the correct pattern at which the eighth and fifth interval notes would be played. The pupil had the same difficulty in the previous lesson with differentiating between the two intervals; it was not until the intervals were put into the context of scales that it was understood fully. Explaining that a fifth interval was the fifth note that is played in a scale and the eighth interval (octave) is the eighth note in a scale put this subject into perspective. The pupil could already hear that the notes were in tune (with the root note), he just had to associate each interval note with its different fret placement.

After recalling the interval notes using the scale of C major, the next scale in line, G major, was then utilised to demonstrate fifth and eighth interval notes. This scale was used, as it was the first scale to incorporate accidental notes, i.e. sharps and flats. The major scale of G had one accidental note contained in its scale, which was an F#, the fifth interval note. Without delving into major scales too much, Joseph then demonstrated his knowledge of interval notes by playing the G root note and its fifth and eighth intervals.


G -|---------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------|
D -|---------------------------------------------|-------5------5--------5-5----------5-5-----------------|
A -|---------5------5--------5-5--------5-5--|------------------------------------------------------------|
E -|-----3------3------3-3--------3-3--------|---3------3------3-3---------3-3------------------------|

-----------------------Fifths------------------------------------Eighths (octaves)---------------------



3.) At this point it is important to give the pupil a basic understanding of music theory, so that they can progress rhythmically as well as technically. During this lesson the pupil will be taught the principles of beats and bars and the most common of timing signatures 4/4.

Outcome: This was the most difficult subject to grasp for the pupil, as there was so much to learn in one subject, especially at the end of the lesson when the pupil is tired and their concentration is fading. What made matters worse is that Joseph was not so keen in learning the theory side, as he was the practical side. The decision was made that a basic knowledge was necessary for the pupil to progress and learn the practical avenues of bass guitar.

Joseph was already familiar with beats and bars from his experience of producing music and programming drumbeats so this was not a section that had to be concentrated on. Instead the explanation of time signatures and note lengths were subject of discussion. These were confusing initially to Joseph, which was to be expected, especially as the time signatures can have more than ten beat values (with muted and dotted notes). However Joseph only had one note length to study, the crochet or quarter note, which happened to be the note we had been using for the blues bass patterns. After demonstrating the value of a quarter note, with Joseph then playing it himself to a 4/4 time signature beat, the pupil became more confident in understanding the basics of music theory and more open to the prospect of learning it.