RH - Evaluation: Lesson 1

Complementary Studies: Liam Marley

Pupil: Robert Hamilton
Date: 06/02/08
Evaluating Time: 1hr


This was the first lesson for the second pupil so as before with the first pupil (Joe Kosminsky) not a lot was expected. This was even more so with Robert as he had no musical experience before, where as Joseph had at least played the acoustic guitar (six string).

It became obvious that Robert concentrated more during lessons than Joseph did, he was more attentive and it seemed he was interested in learning all aspects of the bass and not just playing the bass guitar.

Robert was genuinely intrigued learning the bass guitars history and background and he was ready and willing to take in the bass’s anatomy. As expected the pupil attempted to take in all this information, as they were keen to learn, however it is a lot of information to hold especially when the bass consists of around twelve to thirteen parts.


Lesson Objectives:

1.) To give a brief history and explanation on the bass guitar itself so that a better understanding of the instrument is reached.

Outcome: The pupil was very interested in the origins of the electric bass guitar, as most people, Robert believed that it was just a spin off from the six stringed electric guitar created by Leo Fender. After introducing Robert to the instrument and informing him of the first electric bass made – the Precision Bass, he understood the need for this instrument to aid bass players in being more precise with their fret notation.

This brief history helped to ease the introduction of the next subject – the anatomy of the instrument, as it had introduced certain parts of the bass like the fret board, the frets and the neck.


2.) To teach the anatomy of the instrument, explaining the different parts that make up the bass.

Outcome: Paying particular attention to this part of the lesson, Robert wanted to take in as much as possible so he could play the instrument more efficiently. However there was too much information at once to expect the pupil to be reciting each part of the bass at will. This subject would be covered again in the next lesson, while a diagram of the instrument, with all its parts labelled, was handed to the pupil so he could study it.

3.) To get the pupil to hold the bass in a comfortable and correct position as not to cause any discomfort or future damage.

Outcome: This was the first stage in getting the pupil playing the bass guitar, as holding the instrument correctly and in a comfortable manner is just as important as applying the instrument itself. Holding the instrument was not a problem for Robert as he used his thigh correctly as a support and his left thumb on his fingering hand to support the neck. However it became apparent in the next part of the lesson that Robert would have problems with the finger techniques that were utilised to form notes and therefore play the bass guitar.

4.) Finally show and explain correct and comfortable fingering techniques with both hands, while getting the pupil to play a basic bass line.

Outcome: It was inevitable that the pupil would not grasp these techniques first time round, as Roberts fingers were not familiar with moving and stretching across the fret board. Nor were they comfortable with striking the strings at the bridge end of the bass as to not catch any unintended strings. Robert’s problems were not unusual for a beginner and with time would be polished with practice. It became apparent that Roberts’s main fretting problems were utilising four fingers in conjunction with four frets, as it is common for many players to stick to just three or even two fingers, however this is bad technique and doesn’t lead to improvement.

On observation Robert seems to be less confident with his fourth finger and therefore less strength in this one. This will be strengthened using warm up exercises each lesson to get the pupil using every finger frequently. The pupils right hand form (plucking hand) at this stage was sufficient enough as nothing strenuous would be played, Robert occasionally clipped other strings however this was mainly due to the length of his finger nails, which I advised should be clipped for the next lesson.