Do Guitar Tricks Teach Bass Lessons?

If you’re a blossoming bass player looking for online lessons, you may have undoubtedly come across Guitar Tricks. But does this resource teach bass lessons?

In this article, we will answer this question and help to point you in the right direction. By the end, you will have a good idea of what’s available to you as a bass player. 

Do Guitar Tricks Offer Bass Lessons?

While Guitar Tricks is an excellent resource for guitar lessons, unfortunately, it does not offer bass lessons. This can be a bit of a bummer, especially considering the number of lessons and songs it offers for guitar. 

However, you do have some hope if you’re looking to boost your bass skills. While you could always take lessons from a local instructor, there is an online resource you can use.

Where Can I Take Bass Lessons?

YouTube can provide an excellent number of lessons from different instructors. However, this isn’t always the best for those looking for a detailed roadmap structure of learning.

Depending on how long you’ve been active in the world of music, you’ve likely heard of JamPlay. Although this site was initially built to provide guitar lessons, they do offer a large number of bass lessons.

Have you ever wanted to take lessons from world-famous musicians? This is your opportunity.

With a membership, you’ll have access to everything you need to get started on the bass. You’ll need a separate membership as required for the bass lessons, as one membership doesn’t cover both bass and guitar.

What Does JamPlay Offer For Bass Lessons?

JamPlay’s bass section has only grown in years and offers quite a bit of content with high-quality production. The website offers something for all musicians, which is excellent if you wish to be a well-rounded bassist. 

Let’s take a closer look at what JamPlay has to offer in regards to its bass lessons. We will cover each facet of the site to help you decide if JamPlay is right for you.

What Kinds Of Lessons Are Available For Bass?

JamPlay offers a large range of different lessons for bass players. These are categorized in a number of different ways including:

• Lessons designed specifically for beginners
• Genre-specific courses
• Skill-based courses (technique, rhythm, ear training, improvisation, maintenance, etc.)
• Songs
• Artists studies
• By instructor

While many online lessons sites provide a guided pathway, JamPlay allows you to bounce around and learn what you want. This is great if you have been playing for a while as it allows you to integrate certain elements of music.

With that being said, the beginner’s section (called “Phase 1”) is an excellent resource for a beginner. This portion of the site features beginner lessons taught by 10 different instructors. 

Because JamPlay has taken this approach, it gives you the choice to learn from who you best connect with. Some lesson series are more in-depth than others. This is because each series is another instructor’s take on what is important for a beginner.

Should you decide to take every lesson in all of the series offered, you will be busy for hours. Some of the lesson material may be a bit redundant in the beginner’s courses, but that changes with specialized lessons.

How Good Are The Videos On JamPlay?

One of the biggest things that JamPlay has going for it is the quality of its video lessons. Each of their lessons is shot with high-quality production value, with many of their newer videos featuring 4K resolution.

JamPlay is unique in the fact that they have up to 5 different camera views for each lesson video. These views include:

• Student view as it would appear looking at the bass from 2nd person
• Instructor-view, looking at the bass from the 1st person point of view
• Picking/strumming hand view
• Dialogue view, showing the entire picture of the instructor overall

These multiple views really allow you to see every facet of the instructor’s lesson. Some aspects of bass playing may feature nuanced technique, and having these views allows you to see everything clearly.

While watching the videos, you can easily change the playback speed from 10% to 200%. Slowing things down is sometimes a must to really nail down tricky passages. Being able to speed things up can help you cement newly mastered concepts.

You can even create video loops of your desired length which is very beneficial for learning new concepts.

Each of the videos is in easy-to-digest time lengths, with individual lessons rarely running beyond 20 minutes. This really helps to bring focus and attention to one bit of knowledge at a time. If a lesson covers a more time-intensive topic, the lesson is divided into a series of smaller videos.

It should be noted that you can optionally buy ownership credits to download the lesson for lifetime access. A paid current membership is not needed for this feature.

Does JamPlay Offer Supplemental Material? 

JamPlay does supplement their lesson videos with a number of different resources when applicable to the lesson. Depending on what you are studying, you can expect to have access to:

• Notation and tablature
• Recordings of various audio mixes

You can conveniently take your own notes within the lesson itself. These will stay saved within the lesson interface for easy reference should you revisit the video.

If you have any questions, you have the option to leave a comment on the lesson or ask the teacher. This promotes a feeling of community to the site and helps to give you the answers you seek.

What Kind Of Instructors Are On JamPlay?

As previously mentioned, JamPlay has a large number of bass instructors contributing to their resources of lessons. The beginner lessons (“Phase 1”) alone have video series from 10 different instructors.

When you start to take more specialized lessons, you will encounter lessons from more instructors. As a total number, JamPlay currently has 21 different instructors. More instructors are likely to be introduced to the database in the coming future. 

The following list is an example of some of the bass players providing lessons on JamPlay. I’ve taken the time to add which musical groups they are known for playing with.

• Billy Sheehan (Steve Vai, Mr. Big, Talas, Niacin)
• Bryan Beller (Aristocrats, Dethklok)
• Freebo (Neil Young, Bonnie Raitt, Ringo Starr)
• Robbie Merril (Godsmack)
• John Deservio (Black Label Society)
• Rex Brown (Pantera)
• Dave LaRue (Dixie Dregs, Steve Morse Band)

What Music Genres Does JamPlay Have Bass Lessons For?

Compared to the guitar side of JamPlay, its bass offerings for genre-specific lessons are a little underwhelming. However, despite this, JamPlay does have a very in-depth offering for the genres available.

Currently, JamPlay offers lessons in the styles of:

• Rock
• Blues
• Metal
• Jazz
• Celtic
• Funk

Each category has its own specialized lesson series teaching a specific aspect of the genre. This is definitely ideal for those that have gone through the beginner lessons and learned the fundamentals. 

How Many Songs Does JamPlay Have Bass Lessons For?

Again, compared to JamPlay’s guitar lessons, the bass song lessons are very underwhelming with regards to the total number available. To be frank, JamPlay as a whole is lacking in their licensed song lessons when compared to Guitar Tricks. 

However, as Guitar Tricks does not offer bass lessons, JamPlay’s song database isn’t too bad. Their song listings might not be in everyone’s tastes though. 

The artists whose songs are featured include:

• Black Label Society
• Megadeth
• Pantera
• The Beatles

Currently, there are only 32 songs with bass lessons available. This is perhaps the most disappointing aspect of using JamPlay for bass lessons. 

Is JamPlay Worth Using?

Overall, I think that if you’re looking for a way to learn the fundamentals of bass guitar, JamPlay is worthwhile. Though its song list might not be ideal, the number of specialized lessons makes a membership well worth the price.

The price of JamPlay for a month is about the average cost of 1 in-person lesson from an instructor. Because of this, the cost of a membership is of extreme value. Especially taking into account the amount of information that is readily available to you. 

Beginners who are looking for a clear-cut pathway may struggle with the multiple options available. Then again, the multiple-instructor approach can give you quite a bit more education than a one-way approach. 

Should you not be satisfied with your experience, JamPlay does offer a 30-day money-back guarantee. So if you’re inclined, it’s essentially a risk-free trial to see if JamPlay works for you. 

Do Guitar Tricks Teach Bass Lessons, Final Thoughts

When it comes to taking bass lessons over the internet, it seems as if your options are quite limited. Especially when compared to what is available for guitarists.

Fortunately, JamPlay does offer worthwhile bass lessons. As the company was recently purchased by TrueFire, we are likely to see this resource grow over time.

Whichever method you choose to learn the bass, be sure to be kind to yourself. Don’t forget to enjoy the process along the way!