FOR MANY MUSICIANS WHO ARE SERIOUS ABOUT THEIR craft, attending a music school has always represented the surest way to prepare for a successful career. But as the entertainment business continues to be impacted by technology, the economy, the Internet, and changing tastes, the demands on today’s bass players— and music school faculties—have shifted substantially. Inspired by Gerald Veasley’s comments about his Bass Bootcamp and Flea’s mention of his Silverlake Conservatory of Music, we asked a panel of nine highly regarded player-teachers—Bootsy Collins, Alphonso Johnson, John Patitucci, Jeff Bradetich, Chuck Bergeron, Lincoln Goines, Jerry Watts, Jeff Berlin, and Bruce Gertz—to share their thoughts about the value of going to music school, what can and can’t be taught in a classroom, and whether bassists should strive to be proficient at doubling, playing other instruments, composing, and producing.

The first question many self-taught bassists ask is, “Is a formal education the best idea?” In today’s world of YouTube lessons, instructional DVDs, play-alongs, and bass teachers on Craigslist, why should a young player spend the money and time to go to a music school? Even Gertz, a professor at Berklee, acknowledges that in today’s world, a “street” player with a laptop can go pretty far. But besides the obvious value of networking and camaraderie, the biggest reason to go to music school is structure.

“Formal education offers a focused, progressive path to developing all the skills, abilities, and knowledge a professional musician needs—in the shortest amount of time,” says Watts, chair of the bass department at Los Angeles Music Academy. Bradetich goes even further, calling music school an all-but-absolute necessity for the serious player. “Today’s musicians are expected to know every different style, plus all the theory and history necessary to make an informed performance,” says the director of the double bass program at the University of North Texas. “Without a formal education, trying to compete with all of the fine players that have this knowledge is next to impossible.

Once a player has decided to enroll in music school, it’s important to see how each program’s approach matches his or her own. When we asked our panel about their teaching concepts, everyone recommended private lessons for beginning players. Most teachers tailor their approach to each student. As CalArts faculty member Johnson says, “I meet with my students and fi nd out what they want to know, and then I share whatever knowledge I have about the subject with them.” Bootsy Collins encourages students at his Funk University to choose which professors they’d like to work with; Goines and Gertz, fans of one-on-one interaction, both emphasize teaching students how to teach themselves. Watts strives for a balance between real-world and academic mindsets in his small classes. Patitucci makes sure his students are able to compose two- and four-bar groove patterns that are the foundation for tunes, and Bradetich stresses that, over time, “proper technique mechanics, plus good practice methods, will produce the greatest progress.” What the programs all have in common is an emphasis on the fundamentals: time, feel, getting a good sound, developing technique and a touch on the instrument, ear-training, harmony, and theory. Learning repertoire, in addition to developing solo chops and stylistic versatility, usually comes later.

DIPLOMATS & BABYSITTERS

Preparing oneself to make a living as a bassist is perhaps the most popular reason to go to music school, so we asked our panel how their curricula prepares bassists for the job market. It’s a credit to these players that their responses didn’t come off as advertisements for one program or another. Instead, they outlined practical, diverse approaches that carefully address the needs of today’s bass players. As one might expect, each program has its own way of rigorously drilling students in the skills demanded of a working pro, but several panelists emphasized other aspects of being a career bassist, too.

Jeff Berlin takes a wholly different approach to the question. “The Players School curriculum doesn’t prepare students for specific market employment, because being employed can’t be learned in music school,” he says. “Nor can rock, groove, studio performance, or anything that will impact one’s playing or employment be learned in a classroom. The market requires the ability to provide a musical service, and this service rests upon one’s ability to play. Therefore, my students get comfortable seeing pure music in school, and subsequently feel comfortable when they see the same notes and chords on a gig that they have gotten used to seeing in a music school.”

BESIDES BASS

In the interest of preparing their students for a workplace that places a premium on diverse skills, most program heads strongly encourage bass players to learn keyboard (Patitucci and Johnson make sure their students learn to play drums, too). Others aren’t so emphatic. “Keyboard or guitar skills are certainly useful,” says Goines, “but all that information is available on the fingerboard of the bass—I learned that from watching cats like Ron Carter, Eddie Gomez, Steve Swallow, and Jaco.” What about composition and production skills? “I encourage students to write grooves and tunes—and I mean write, not just record them into a machine,” he says. “You’re using more of your musical brain that way.” For Watts and Bergeron, basic production, recording, writing, and keyboard chops are essential in today’s workplace. Most of the panelists agree, although Patitucci tries not to spread students’ energies too broadly until they have an understanding of the fundamentals. Losing focus is one of Berlin’s concerns, too. “I don’t think you should pursue being a producer unless you actually have an interest in producing,” he says. “Composing is also a different type of musical dedication. One can make way more money from publishing than they can from plucking bass strings, but writing, like playing bass, requires time and attention to do well.”

Our panelists teach at institutions that span the spectrum of size and affordability, from state universities to academies they founded themselves, and they don’t agree on every facet of music education. Despite the diversity of their approaches, however, they’re all fiercely dedicated to ensuring that the next generation of bass players is ready to hit the ground running. As UM’s Chuck Bergeron says regarding whether bass students should take production, composition, and keyboard classes, “We strive to help students become as well prepared as possible, so that when they go out into the real world, they know how to use all the tools in the toolbox.”