Bass Academy

Overview

Week course31 July – 6 August

Bass Apprentice: Bassics with Terry Blyth

The ideal foundation for budding bassists. If you’re a beginner or an early learner with less than a year’s playing experience, then our foundation course could be just what you’re looking for. Focusing on a thorough grounding in playing basics, this course addresses key areas of learning, providing a solid base upon which to build in the future. Students will also rehearse with the early stage guitar and drum students to prepare for the student showcase.

Principal areas covered include:

λHarmony - what chords do you need to know and which is the best order to learn them in?

λMelody - the importance of setting up a good fingering regime for all the basic level scales.

λRhythm - timing is everything!

Bass Level 3/4: Bass Boomers Academy with Alan Mian
sponsored by GHS strings

The fine art of bass-playing explored with one of the UK’s leading session players! This is a unique opportunity for serious bass musicians to study at the very highest level. The new Bass Academy will focus on helping students to develop a flawless technique and rock solid sense of rhythm. Mastering killer bass lines, understanding how to apply the right notes for the right chords and creative improvising to the max! Chords, scales and complex time signatures will also be covered in depth.

About the tutors  

Terry Blyth is an experienced bassist and band leader. He’s worked with producers such as Greg Haver (Manic Street Preachers, Tom Jones) and Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet). Terry has been signed to various rock bands and has co-written numerous songs that appeared on film and TV soundtracks. A firm believer in education,  he is also a contributor to the Rockschool grade series for bass. (He’s performed with X-Factor’s Chico too, but don’t tell anybody).

Alan Mian is one of the most “in demand” bassists on the London music scene. He has played with many top jazz and funk artists including Wynton Marsalis, Julian Joseph, Amit Chatterjee and The Drifters. Alan has also worked in musical theatre playing in The Blues Brothers, The Rocky Horror Show, 42nd Street and the world’s premier Rolling Stones tribute band, The Counterfeit Stones. Alan is currently playing with The Amit Chatterjee Alliance and The Allstars Collective who have backed such stars as Joss Stone, Hamish Stuart, Jocelyn Brown, Heather Small and Alexander O’Neal. Alan has written columns for Total guitar magazine and has been a tutor at the Institute of Contemporary Music Performance for over 10 years. www.alanmian.com