Bass Guitar Lessons on the
Main Line and Delaware County
Main Line School Voted “Best Music and Dance Studio“
by the Main Line Times and News of Delaware County
Main Line School of Music and Dance Bass Guitar Lessons
If you are looking for fun, educational, and inspiring bass guitar lessons from top-notch teachers, you don’t have to look any further. Since 1988, the Main Line School of Music and Dance has helped over 4,000 students of all ages and levels learn the skills that they need to enjoy music and dance for a lifetime.
Testimonial
“We have decades of experience, in both the music and dance schools, at Main Line; 2 kids, 3 musical instruments. I am not sure there is a family at the school who has logged more hours at the Ardmore location. The instructors are of outstanding quality; certainly regional, and some with national and international credentials. What is nice is that most instructors have been teaching at Main Line for years; they ‘get it’; the kids have achieved success at Main Line that permeates their non music and dance lives. The Main Line administration is accommodating and reasonable. Challenges always emerge, and we have been uniformly satisfied with mutually agreed upon results. Main Line has figured out the recipe to have music and dance education a natural fit into everyone’s lives. Main Line is as good as it gets.” (Parents of Andrew and Maeve)
Our Recipe For Your Success
Part of our recipe for helping you achieve success playing the bass guitar is that we utilize proven methods of study to maximize your progress. This makes the learning curve as short as possible and helps to facilitate a much faster progression for you on the bass. Our approach helps to create a fun, balanced musical experience for you while creating an environment that fosters well-rounded musicianship. Additionally, we introduce a wide variety of topics into your lessons that include scales, reading, theory, repertoire, improvisation and a myriad of other topics that will pique your interest. Whether you want to play rock music like your favorite artists, pop styles, jazz (like Joplin and Gershwin) or classical repertoire (like Bach, Mozart and Beethoven), we will teach you the skills that you can apply to any style of music. We will also match you up with the teacher that is perfect for you. Bass guitar lessons are provided in our Ardmore location, our Springfield location, or in the convenience of your own home.
Our Bass Guitar Teachers
The Main Line staff of bass guitar instructors have earned music degrees from universities, are very patient with their students, and have performance experience. Many of our bass instructors even have a Master’s degree or a Ph.D., but most importantly, our bass teachers vary their teaching methods to match your individual learning style. Main Line Music School teachers are youthful, fun and will engage you with material that is both interesting and exciting while tempering it with the necessary amount of structure. Additionally, you get to select your own repertoire so you can learn the songs that inspire you. Our bass guitar instructors combine a mixture of teaching you how to read music while also teaching you how to incorporate your ear so you can hear and recognize notes and melodies. Our Main Line and Delaware County bass guitar lessons are all private one-on-one instruction and lessons are available for thirty (30) minute, forty-five (45) minute or sixty (60) minute sessions.
Beginner Bass Guitar Lessons
Many of our students start out as beginner bass guitar players. You will find that all of our teachers are familiar with current popular bass guitar music, as well as classic rock, heavy metal, jazz and acoustic music. If you are not sure what styles of music you want to study, we can help you decide by exposing you to the different genres of music. You will be able to apply the bass guitar skills that you will learn to any style of music that interests you. With diligent, daily practice on your part, we guarantee that you will be able to play at least one song within the first few months of your lessons. However, many students learn a lot more than one song. You will learn basic chords, scales and other beginning bass guitar techniques that will help you progress to the intermediate and advanced levels.
Intermediate to Advanced Bass Guitar Lessons
As an intermediate to advanced bass guitar student, you will learn improvising techniques, advanced scales, chords, arpeggios and a myriad of other fun techniques. Most importantly, you will learn how music works and gain a greater understanding about how songs are composed on the bass guitar. Studying key signatures, scales, chords, rhythm (and the theory behind songwriting) is paramount to your success on the bass guitar.
Performance Opportunities
We offer you a minimum of two performance opportunities each year at our music showcases. Students perform on a variety of instruments including electric guitar, acoustic guitar, bass, piano, voice, woodwinds, drums and strings. Performers also range from beginner to advanced abilities. Some of the benefits that you get from performing in the showcase include:
- Performing in front of an audience builds confidence.
- An opportunity to apply the knowledge that you have learned in your lessons.
- Setting a goal to master and play a piece of music in front of an audience.
- Performing in front of an audience is fun!
Playing Bass Guitar in a Band
One of the most rewarding aspects of learning the bass guitar is that you will hone the skills needed to play with other musicians. The Main Line teachers will help you develop your skills that will facilitate your ability to play your favorite songs or pieces with a band.
The Main Line Advantage
Since 1988, we have helped thousands of students learn to play an instrument or sing. From experience, we know what is effective and what is not effective. We pride ourselves on the fact that we cater to each student’s needs, not only with top rate music instruction, but with excellent customer service. Our full time office staff takes care of all your scheduling, billing and any other questions that you might have. This allows our teachers to concentrate 100% on teaching you. They do not have to use valuable lesson time to do scheduling and collect tuition.
Ardmore Location (610-658-5284)
692 Pont Reading Road
Ardmore, PA 19003
(down the street from Chestnutwold Elementary School)
This location is in Ardmore, but is also convenient to Bala Cynwyd, Broomall, Bryn Mawr,
Gladwyne, Havertown, Lower Merion, Narberth (Penn Valley) and Wynnewood.
Springfield Location (610-658-5284)
353 Baltimore Pike (2nd floor)
Springfield, PA 19064
(next to Chuck. E Cheese)
This location is in Springfield, but it is also convenient to
Drexel Hill, Media, Lansdowne, Secane and Swarthmore.
In-Home Bass Guitar Lessons (610-658-5284)
These Main Line, Delaware and Montgomery County
bass guitar lessons are given in the convenience of your own home.
Why Choose Us For Bass Guitar Lessons?
- You will learn in a fun, low-pressure environment.
- Our bass guitar teachers are entertaining, youthful and patient.
- Your bass lessons are individualized to your particular learning style.
- You can choose to play classical, rock, pop, jazz or any style that interests you.
- You are invited to perform in two (2) showcases each year.
- You can get assistance outside of your lesson so you do not lose any lesson time.
Five Ways To Get The Most Out Of Your Bass Guitar Lessons
1. Insist On Private Lessons When Learning the Bass Guitar
Group lessons work well for preschool music programs, choruses and theory lessons. However, when learning how to play the bass guitar, private lessons are far superior. In a private bass guitar lesson, your teacher can focus all of their efforts on you. This allows you to learn at your own pace. Additionally, your teacher does not have to instruct the class at a certain level, but has the time and focus to work on your strengths and weaknesses. This is beneficial to your teacher because they don’t have to divide their attention between five or ten students at one time. With private lessons your teacher can help you be the best that you can be.
2. Help Your Child to Set Goals
Goal setting is one of the most important skills to develop in order to be successful in music (and life in general). To be effective, make your goals specific, measurable, and attainable. An example of setting a musical goal for yourself would be to play a particular scale at a certain speed or to have a certain number of pieces or songs memorized. Another goal might be to perform in a recital. Goals are always easier to achieve when you set a deadline for them. Try setting some goals of your own and watch your progress soar!
3. Make Practicing Your Bass Guitar Easier
As with anything else in life, improving in music takes practice. One of the main problems with music lessons can be the drudgery of practicing and the ensuing “fight” between parents and students to practice every day. Here are some ways to make practicing easier:
- Time. Set the same time aside every day to practice your bass so that it becomes part of a routine or habit. This works particularly well for children. Generally speaking, the earlier in the day your practicing takes place, the fewer reminders are required by a parent to get their child to practice.
- Repetition. We use this method quite often when setting practice schedules for beginners. For a young child, twenty (20) or thirty (30) minutes seems like an eternity. Instead of setting a time frame, we use repetition. For example, practice this piece four times every day, and this scale five times a day. A student no longer pays attention to the amount of time they are practicing their bass guitar, but they do become aware that if they are on repetition three, they are almost finished.
- Rewards. This works very well for both children and adult students. Some adults reward themselves with a cappuccino after a successful week of practicing. Parents can encourage children to practice by occasionally granting rewards for successful practicing. In our school, we reward young children for a successful week of practicing with stars and stickers on their work, but praise still tends to be the most coveted reward. There is no substitute for a job well done. We also must realize that we are all human and sometimes have a less than stellar week of practice. In this case there is always next week.
4. How Young is Too Young. Starting at the Right Age
Adults can start any instrument at any time. An adult’s success is based on how willing they are committed to practicing. We teach many beginner students in their sixties and their seventies. For children, starting at the right age is a key element to their success. If a child starts lessons too soon, they may feel overwhelmed and frustrated and want to stop lessons. The last thing that you want to do is to turn a child off to music because they had one unpleasant experience (which could have been prevented). Sometimes if the child waits a year to start lessons, frustrations may be avoided and progress may be much faster. The following are some guidelines we have found to be successful in determining how young a child can start taking music lessons on a particular instrument.
- Bassoon – age 10
- Cello – age 10
- Clarinet – age 8
- Drums – age 6
- Flute – age 7
- French Horn – age 10
- Keyboard – age 5
- Guitar – age 7
- Oboe – age 10
- Piano – age 5
- Saxophone – age 8
- Trombone – age 9
- Trumpet – age 8
- Tuba – teenage and older
- Violin – age 5
- Voice – age 5
5. How Much Should I Be Reading the Notes?
This is a very interesting topic. There are several different approaches to the study of music. Some involve pure note reading and rhythms, while others utilize the ability of the ear. The bottom line is how well a student plays his or her instrument (or utilizes their voice to sing). This may be achieved by note reading, using the ear, or a mix of the two. If the teacher determines that the student is a visual learner, an approach based heavily on note and rhythm reading with some ear training mixed in would work well. If the teacher determines that the student is an aural (ear) learner, a program based heavily on ear playing tempered with some note and rhythm reading would be appropriate. The right frame of mind is crucial for optimal learning. Therefore, catering to your learning strengths will ensure that you get the most out of your bass guitar lessons.
6. Bonus – Have Fun Playing the Bass Guitar
Music should be something that you enjoy for a lifetime. Try not to put unrealistic expectations on yourself or your children to learn too quickly. Everyone learns at a different pace. The key is to be able to enjoy the journey.
Music Lessons (click below for the link)
- Bass Guitar Lessons
- Brass Lessons
- Drum Lessons
- Guitar Lessons
- In Home Lessons
- Keyboard Lessons
- Piano Lessons
- String Lessons
- Voice Lessons
- Woodwind Lessons
Are All Music Studios The Same?
Studio Comparison List (click here)
REGISTER NOW FOR BASS GUITAR LESSONS!
Ardmore Location
692 Pont Reading Road
Ardmore, PA 19003
(next to John’s Sneakers)
610-658-5284
Springfield Location
353 Baltimore Pike (2nd floor)
Springfield, PA 19064
(next to Chuck E. Cheese)
610-658-5284
In Home Bass Guitar Lessons
These Main Line, Delaware County and Montgomery County bass guitar lessons
are given in the convenience of your own home.
610-658-5284