| Name of Student: | Raffaele Mele | Name of Tutor | Nathan North | |||
| Date | 22/04/26 | Time | 9am | Room | 214 | |
| Aims | Apply all previous knowledge to create a baseline for a simple progression. |
| Objectives | Combining composition and improvisation over a progression. |
| Extension If the learner progresses particularly well they may also be able to: | Link the chords to their relevant modes and explain how we can incorporate them into our basslines. |
| Time | Activities | Assessment Methods | Resources |
| 5 mins | Check up on the students practice over the last week. Short assessment of topics covered last lesson to identify any successes or problems they encountered in the last week. Activity: Use the fretboard guide to find the notes G, C, D and E. | Formative assessment of learning to track progress. | 2 basses Cables and amplification. Fretboard map that I printed off for my students. |
| Time (approx) | Activities | Assessment Methods | Resources |
| 10 mins | Create a baseline for the chords C G D Em. I will give the student the opportunity to attempt this and then I will introduce tools such as chord tones and rhythmic variation. Re-apply immediately, reflect on what changed and why. This task is structured from Kolbs Learning Cycle (Kolb 1984) and Deweys Experiential learning (Dewey, 1916) | Formative Assessment | Backing track created in Logic |
| Time | Activities | Assessment Methods | Resources |
| 5 mins | Think about the chord progression in the context of the Nashville number system. Transcribe Another One Bites The Dust intro for next week. Suggest recording practice sessions for reflection. | Formative | Muse Score |
Aims:
Assess the students current ability and identify what they need from these lessons.
Teach him about the basic equipment required to play the bass, including setup and function.
Learn the notes of the strings and how to tune a bass using a free app.
This video shows the introduction activities from the first section of the 3 part lesson plan, which I have based my teaching style on. Research by Paul Harris argues that following this simple structure “Automatically gives pupils a very holistic form of music education”(Harris, 2020). I incorporated this method to ensure the delivery of education is focused and follows a clear linear progression.
I intentionally established a clear student-teacher dynamic from the beginning to maintain professionalism, as I am close friends with my student.
I aimed to be informative without being overwhelming by delivering the information in bite-sized chunks, while encouraging active engagement by questioning and hands on involvement in setting up the equipment instead of simply demonstrating. This aligns with the experiential learning strategy (Kolb, 1984).
Reflection – I could have introduced a mnemonic for the string names earlier rather than waiting until the second lesson. Overall, this was a successful start. A positive learning environment was created, built on our pre-established friendship, which enabled us to cultivate a casual, low stakes environment for learning, supported by Aldridge (2013).
Aims:
Understand the basics of how the bass functions and produce the first sounds.
Learn correct fretting and plucking techniques.
I began with a formative assessment to test retention and reinforce learning through repetition, which has been proven to build more neural connections, supported by Ebbinghaus ‘Forgetting Curve’ (1885).
I focused on equipping my student with knowledge about the bass and how to play it.
This included factual knowledge such as the layout of the fretboard and skill based knowledge like good fretting technique. Teaching this straight away is crucial to prevent harmful habits from forming. I taught one concept at a time using demonstrations to provide a visual representation of good technique before the student attempts to replicate it.
Reflection – I could have incorporated open questions and concrete language to accelerate learning and enhance information retention.
Aims:
Learn how to construct a major scale on the bass.
Play it ascending and descending.
Identify the scale played.
I utilised open questions to promote independent problem solving rather than relying solely on demonstration. This reflects Dewey’s idea of ‘learning by doing’ (Dewey, 1916).
This style also reflects aspects of experiential learning and the sound before symbol approach associated with (Pestalozzi, 1746-1827) and later (Kay, 2013). Both emphasise playing music before engaging with abstract notation.
I set practice tasks as short objectives that worked towards the overall aim of this segment and responded with positive feedback, which was influenced by ‘The power of effective praise’ (Morin, 2024).
Reflection – This was very successful. The student correctly built a major scale from his existing knowledge without requiring a demonstration. However, he misidentified the notes, which led to an insightful discussion about the fretboard.
Aims:
Understand his goals for these lessons.
Understand how to navigate the fretboard.
After covering the fundamentals, I invited the student to explain his goals for bass playing. This student centered approach ensures that students feel involved in directing their lessons. Brown (2008) describes how this approach benefits the student by allowing them to ‘Explore, experiment and discover’ using their ‘natural curiosity’.
I asked open questions to encourage problem solving from the student instead of simply handing them the information. I did this because the student is more likely to store the information effectively if they are actively participating rather than passively attending.
Reflection – I used my knowledge as a teacher to assess that my student wasn’t ready to progress straight to slap bass. Instead, I opted to use my expertise to guide him with a teacher centered approach covering essential skills while assuring that we would cover slap bass in future lessons.
Aims:
Apply knowledge in a musical context.
Develop the ability to listen, visualise and replicate what I play.
Using two fingers on the plucking hand with correct left hand posture.
I employed the copy me exercise, which is a call and response format. This approach shares principles with the Suzuki method (Suzuki,1983), which relies heavily on listening and repetition. I adapted this to form a multi sensory learning task that engages with visual, auditory, and kinesthetic senses, to create a natural and fun learning experience. Gökçe (2024) research suggests that engaging more senses improves retention.
This task heavily links to the sound before symbol methodology and Dewey’s experiential learning. This helps to cultivate learning through enculturation.
Reflection – This was effective because it allowed him to use existing knowledge while learning how to apply it on the bass. However, it is not a long term strategy as the pupil can become too dependent on the teacher. To improve, I could have encouraged him to create a phrase for me to copy, promoting engagement with improvisation and composition.
Aims:
Check the students progress from the last lesson.
Use a tuner pedal.
I started by checking up on my student as this gives him the opportunity to flag up areas which were problematic in his independent work. I can then guide him through exercises focused on the areas of difficulty. In this case, there was no progress to discuss, so it did not work as intended, but I adapted and continued from where we left off.
Instead of starting with a demonstration, I allowed the student to lead while I provided affirmation and feedback to help correct minor issues, such as which way to turn the tuning pegs. This helps to manage the lesson time effectively and keeps the student involved.
Reflection – My students inability to practice over the week was a significant limitation because consistent practice is one of the most predominant factors in accelerating learning. There is a strong correlation between ‘musical achievement and the amount of formal practice undertaken’ (Sloboda, 1996). So I lent him one of my basses for the duration of this assignment.
Aim:
Develop a clean and consistent right hand technique across all strings.
I used a specialised practice task which isolates a technical weakness often overlooked by beginners. Intentionally developing these skills early will facilitate future progress. Exercises like these have proven to be effective by research like ‘The Influence of Deliberate Practice on Musical Achievement’ (Platz, 2014).
I employed a teacher led approach as I can clearly see the limitations in his technique and curated a simple exercise that directly addresses it. Additional benefits of this approach are detailed in ‘Teacher centered approaches’ (Petty, 2025).
He also picked up on my left hand muting techniques unprompted, so I encouraged this and explained its importance.
Reflection – I could have explained the importance of muting and given space for self reflection. I should have also given instruction for how long and how often to practice this exercise.
Aims:
Learn the major scale across the strings.
Begin to understand patterns on the fretboard.
I began with a demonstration, then moved to guided discovery. I chose this approach to add variation and develop different aspects of his musicianship, like his ear, instead of relying only on notation.
Reflection – I could have explained explicitly why bassists play across the strings rather than along one, but overall, he benefited greatly from this exercise.
Aims:
Develop aural skills by learning a simple song without a chord chart.
Identify root notes and play them on the bass.
Applying knowledge learned to a real musical situation to perform a song.
I set this task because I believe that making music should be at the heart of the learning experience, not simply isolated exercises. This reflects the ideas of (Dewey, 1916)
My aim is to go beyond technical exercises and facilitate his ambitions by letting him decide how to apply the skills we’ve been working on. I let him choose a simple song for us to learn together.
This helps him engage with all aspects of music at once. He now has to focus on locking in with the drummer and playing the correct root notes for the chords. Seems as my student is already an accomplished musician I gave him the opportunity to figure out the chords by ear himself without looking at notation. This reflects the way he learned piano, which helped him dive straight into the song.
Reflection – This task was initially too hard as the student is not yet familiar with the layout of the bass to confidently find the root notes. I will aim to guide students through the chords until they have a better understanding.
Aims:
Understand the chord progression theoretically.
Connect the students knowledge of keys with practical bass playing.
I built off the students existing knowledge to accelerate progress.
I also introduced the Nashville number system, which he is not familiar with. This is a great tool to make sense of chord progressions and is commonly referenced in the professional industry so I integrate it into my teaching.
This lesson focused on developing his theoretical understanding of the music not just his technical ability on the bass. This helps to broaden the scope of these lessons and ensure he is receiving a well rounded education.
Reflection – This task was in itself a reflection of work just covered and we successfully analysed the chord progression however I could have incorporated open questions at the end to formatively assess learning.
Aims:
Inspire the student by showing how theory enables you to outline chords creatively.
Introduce complex harmonic concepts such as modes.
I demonstrated this so that the student has a clear understanding of what they are aiming towards and the possibilities of the bass. He already understands harmony from the piano but needs help applying it to the bass.
While talking through my demonstration, I continued to assess gaps in his theoretical knowledge to plan for future lessons.
Reflection – I successfully broke down the theoretical frameworks that allow me to create functional basslines by using sequenced steps to build understanding incrementally. Over the next lessons we will revisit this as the student begins to explore these concepts.
Aim
Recap Lesson and Set Work
Aims:
Learn how to read standard bass notation.
Combine reading notation with major scale practice.
I am attempting to develop every aspect of the students musicianship, so I have now incorporated tab notation. I introduced the notation forms and used an open question to gauge his ability instead of explaining straight away. The student lacked confidence so I picked up again but I kept my explanation brief as he already had some previous experience with tabs.
I presented an opportunity to instantly apply the knowledge in a practice task with my assistance where necessary which allows me to formatively assess learning and helps to establish the information in the students long term memory. Through notation, the student is engaging in visual learning by connecting the notes to the numbers on the tab.
Evaluation
This approach worked particularly well because the student is familiar with standard notation from their classical background.
Aims
Utilise a variety of approaches built off different methodologies to improve the students understanding of rhythm, pitch and harmony.
I am employing a diverse range of practice tasks combining exercises with and without notation to develop both skills in unison and to reinforce the learning by approaching from different angles. This is a prime example of learning through doing (Dewey, 1916).
These tasks also explored different multi-sensory learning methods through a focus on visual, auditory and kinesthetic elements. The effectiveness of these strategies are supported by (Smith, 1998)
By using the students voice to help internalise the major scale and to find the correct notes I am adapting principles of the Kodaly methodology. Kodaly is based on giving direct access to the world of music without the technical issues of instruments by singing. However I am using these concepts in direct correlation with playing the bass.
Reflection
These tasks helped to prepare for later content in the lesson and get the student engaging with rhythm and harmony before we apply it to a song. I could have presented the opportunity for self reflection after each task.
Aims:
Student to demonstrate a performance of a chosen song.
Utilise multi-sensory techniques to accelerate the learning process.
This was a student led activity as I gave them permission to pick a song to learn in their own practice time to bring into the lesson. This provided the center point for discussion and learning. It allowed him to shape the lesson content based on their interests while giving me opportunities to teach new material or build on existing skills.
I chose to combine this performance opportunity with multi sensory learning by placing a mirror in front of the student to engage in visual, Kinesthetic and tactile learning to boost retention. This allows the student to analyse their own technique and helps them to spot issues that would have otherwise gone unnoticed.
Reflection – I identified that the main issue he faced was the rhythmic pattern of the phrase, so this informed the focus for this lesson.
Aims:
Learn to play with a metronome to bring tempo and context to the bassline.
Incorporate elements of Dalcroze Eurhythmics to embody the pulse.
I gained inspiration from the core values of Dalcroze Eurythmics, which emphasise embodying rhythms. I adapted this to help the student feel the pulse and where the bassline sits within it.
I used a metronome in this lesson as it is a fundamental tool for developing your timing as a musician. It allows you to clearly see whether your playing is exactly in time or not as you can’t hide behind anything.
This strategy creates a unique hybrid of the teacher and student centered approaches as I allowed them to pick the musical content of the lesson and now I am using that to lead him in technical exercises that will help him accurately perform this bassline.
This benefits the student as we are now starting to cover a broad range of genres and explore how the role of the bass varies from simply following the root notes to riff or groove bassed basslines with more movement.
Reflections
I realised the student didn’t actually know the bassline’s rhythmic phrasing, so I decided to strip things back even further. This exercise didn’t go as intended however, it showed me where the weaknesses were and allowed us to address those in the next exercise.
Aims
To correctly identify and internalise the rhythmic pattern of the bassline before transferring it to the bass.
I played the track for the student so we have a reference point. I then further utilised rhythm embodiment concepts borrowed from Dalcroze Eurythmics away from the bass. Through clapping along to the bassline, he internalised the rhythm more effectively. This also links to the Suzuki method through this listening and copying exercise. We then re-applied this improved understanding of the bassline in context with the track.
This strategy aligns with developing the whole musician, by strengthening skills such as rhythm without the instrument.
Reflection
This proved very successful, the student achieved a stronger understanding, which resulted in an improved performance.
Aim – Learn how to understand and apply fretboard maps to identify note names.
Begin to memorise the fretboard.
I am now pushing the student to be more independent and learn how to use learning resources for themself. I related it practically to the earlier parts of the lesson to ensure the tasks flow together naturally and he is learning to apply this knowledge in context straight away.
To avoid information load we only learned 3 notes, all on the E string. We will gradually build this up until he can identify every note.
Instead of telling him the notes myself I encouraged him to learn by figuring out the notes independently.
Reflection – Utilising this visual resource allowed the student to use iconic learning which was developed by (Bruner, 1960s). This helped him to associate the frets with notes.
Aims:
To learn the fundamentals of slap bass.
Gain the understanding required to practice slap bass independently.
This was a student led practice task. By breaking down the motions away from the bass before applying it on the instrument, I was able to ensure the student understood the movement without the added complexities of aiming for specific strings. I used a reactive form of enactive learning, which allowed me to effectively combine providing the necessary information and allowing the student to experiment and figure it out for themselves.
Reflection – I was able to quickly teach an advanced bass technique with high success for a new bass player. This was not my top pedagogical priority as a teacher, but it supported the students goals and maintained engagement. However, normally, I would hold off until later before exploring complex techniques.
Aim:
Summarise the work covered and clearly lay out the best way to progress before our next lesson.
I always end by setting expectations for independent practice, as most of the development happens between lessons. I suggested keeping a practice journal to encourage self-reflection and deliberate practice even when outside of lessons.
Reflection – This was a successful conclusion. I sent the student a message detailing all the tasks I’ve set so we have a physical account and he doesn’t have to remember everything individually.
