School time - Tony Grey Bass Academy

 

As much as I really, deeply love books as a source of music instruction, this is the 21^st century after all and various online school and courses are the go-to places for all kinds of education, so playing bass is no exception. While still nowhere near the amount of instructional material available for guitar (or drums), there is enough bass dedicated options in the World Wide Web to cause hardship when attempting to use the one that would be right for you. If that is the case, let me try and offer some help!

Speaking of the online schools, I have always been skeptical of the term “academy”, but the website presented here is probably the most deserving of such title of all. Tony Grey’s has already been mentioned in this blog, but the simple fact is that as great as his book is, it contains just a fraction of the material offered in the Tony Grey Bass Academy website.

 

There are several elements working in conjunction that make this resource excellent. Obviously, the sheer amount of the material is staggering, but there are even “heftier” ones out there. The instructor’s expertise and professional background are also undisputable, but again, some of the other instructors are probably even more impressive in this regard. Visual design and ease of use are of the top shelf level, yet, certainly not the clear winner… OK, so what is it then!?

The aspect that takes the cake, and makes the TGBA my favorite (even among a few other I deeply like) is its methodology of presentation and thorough lesson plan. Being that my day job is a school teacher, there is nothing that speaks so sweetly to me as a well-though, expertly crafted, and skillfully taught curriculum. On top of that, Grey puts a premium on helping his students in figuring out how to organize their practice sessions in a manner that would be most conducive to achieving the desired results. 

Not only is the practice planning the first item on his default teaching agenda, but he will give all the newly joined students a free personal lesson/session to address the topic. Besides that, the academy has a forum reserved for the members, where Grey regularly addressed all the questions and clarifies any doubts about the lessons, if the students have any. As an instructor, Tony is a mild mannered, soft spoken gentleman, who will spare you the TV infomercial over the top sort of banter, and will instead focus on the details of the material being taught and how it will help you become the best player you can. And detailed it sure is! The academy lessons are done as videos with graphics where needed, supported by PDF files of written notes and transcribed music examples from the videos (no tabs, but fingerings indicated), as well as backing tracks for your practice. Here is an example of his teaching:

Now, the membership fee, while not among the lowest on the ‘Net, is more than fair if you keep in mind everything you get for it. Many other people strive to give the impression of a great deal, with a bunch of so-called bonuses thrown with the main offer, but the fact is that you probably won’t even look at those more than once. The Tony Grey Bass Academy, on the other hand, is founded on a premise of sincere care for the students’ progress, and conceived in such a manner that you will keep coming back and referencing its material regularly to get the reap the full benefits from learning.

Finally, Tony’s own personal story of learning music is the one of overcoming obstacles and dealing with doubts that many of us “average Joes and Janes” face quite frequently. Learning about it will probably reinforce your confidence in the material and the man teaching it, this further inspiring you on the path of musical development.