Bass Guitar

This program is also a graded curriculum designed to build and develop reading skills, improvising, music theory and general musicianship.  Students are taught to build strong fingers with a series of graded finger exercises.  Bass guitar strings are much thicker than regular acoustic or electric guitar strings.  Students will build hand and finger strength so they develop the squeezing muscles in their fretting hand. 

Bass students learn how to read notes in the bass clef and how to count rhythms. Reading music helps to memorize the names of the notes on the fretboard, which is essential for any good bass player.   Chords and scales are also explored in order to teach each student how to construct a good bass line under any chord progression.  Once he/she understands time signatures and note values, improvisation begins with simple root - 5th bass lines.  Ear training is also developed in order to ensure that each student will have the capability of learning songs simply by listening for the low bass sound on a recording. 

The Conservatory offers lessons on 4, 5 or 6 string bass.

Those bass students that are proficient enough are invited to participate in our band programs.