I have been teaching electric bass, double bass and music theory for nearly twenty-five years. I have worked with both beginners and advanced students, as well as with professional musicians across styles as diverse as rock, jazz and classical.
My programme is based on a series of original manuals I have personally developed and tested, which include both practical and theoretical units. The purpose of my courses is to eliminate any technical, theoretical or musical doubts in order to enable all musicians to achieve their best results according to their individual talents.
I live near Bologna
and teach to both single individuals and groups of students.
Courses overview
My electric bass and double bass courses are structured into 3 levels. Each course analyses in detail the elements that are needed to build both accompaniment and solo lines. A lesson is an ensemble of interconnected subjects that include practical drills, instrumental technique, music theory, sight reading and ear training.
At level One, you will learn the hands technique and how to build accompaniment lines (chords, arpeggios, exercises on the major and blues scales, sight reading).
At level Two and Three, you will learn how to play as a soloist and how to interpret different music genres like rock, funky, Latin and jazz (extended chords, principles of harmony analysis, modes of the minor melodic, harmonic, diminished and hexatonal scales, substitutions, melody harmonization).
The lessons
I provide personalised lessons, this means that although a musician needs to acquire many different skills (reading, improvisation, harmony, rhythmic divisions, capacity to play different styles and to use different techniques...), the learning process can vary from one person to another depending on several factors, such as time availability, prior experiences, clarity about aims, and ability to organise one's own work.
A lesson can last from one to two hours, depending on how much time and effort the student can dedicate. Basically I believe that one lesson a week is the best way but in some cases (i.e. before an exam or a concert) it might be useful to arrange more than one session per week.
Before starting the lessons, I need to arrange a preliminary interview and in some cases even a practical demonstration, so as to identify the student's objectives and assess his/her proficiency level.
I generally advise my students to start from the very first unit of my book, even if it might contain topics they presumably know. Since my method analyses in detail every subject from a theoretical and practical point of view, I want to ensure that there are no "untapped" areas. In case a student has a good knowledge, we might decide to use a few units at a time.
From level two, my handbook should be complemented by other material to enhance further progression.
Any complementary subject is agreed beforehand by student and teacher according to which specialisation the student wants to get. Main subjects are: ear training, tonal harmony, jazz harmony, contemporary harmony, piano practice, hands coordination, listening guide, music history, sight reading, style and technique analysis.