eMedia Bass Method Review:

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Our 2nd Place Rated Bass Guitar Program:

 

DISCLOSURE: We are paid by the companies who's products we review. Each product reviewed has been thoroughly tested by us. The opinions offered here are all our own and all information was verified as accurate at the time of the review.

So Close To Perfect But…?

The popular eMedia Bass Guitar Method is designed to teach the essentials of the 4 string electric bass to absolute beginners. It makes clever use of CD-Rom technology by incorporating multi-screen video and audio enhancements to many of the 120 lessons. Several helpful tools like a metronome, a way to record practice sessions and a tuner are included to keep practice sessions on target.

About The Instructor: According to the publisher; John Arbo has been teaching bass for over 25 years and is currently, ( as of 2010 ), on the music faculty of the New School in New York City. He has performed with Liza Minelli and Les Paul, among others, and has been the bassist for many Broadway shows.

What Skill Level Is Taught?

This is geared for beginner students that have never touched an electric bass guitar before. They will learn how to play along with a band on the most basic level of simple songs. This course does not teach intermediate material.

The Physical Parts of The Bass Guitar Course Include:

(1)  CD-Rom Disc that contains all of the lessons, tools, audio files and video files used in the course.

The 120 Lessons Are Organized Into The Following Sections:

1. Introduction: includes how to use the CD-Rom

2. About the Bass: the parts of the bass, amplifying the bass, stringing, tuning, set-up, holding the bass, your first bass line and more

3. Simple Bass Lines With Catchy Rhythms

4. Walkups, Walkdowns and Syncopation

5. Reading Tabulature

6. Reading Standard Music Notation

7. Intervals Scales and Triads

Guitar Tools Included On The CD-Rom

• Animated Fretboard – shows the neck of the guitar from several perspectives to give a visual indication of exactly where to place your fingers as a song or exercise is played.

• Variable-Speed MIDI – slows down the audio to any tempo.

• Reference Tuner – provide the correct reference sounds for each string on the bass guitar. Using the built in microphone on a computer lets you visually see if you are flat or sharp.

• Chord Dictionary – provides the sound of a non-bass acoustic guitar playing the chords that are found in the 35 songs taught in this course.

• Digital Metronome – provides a visual and audible cue for learning to hold a tight beat.

• Digital Recorder – allows you to compare your playing with the instructor’s version.

Computer Compatibility: Windows and Mac

The Negatives

The format of this bass guitar course is that of an eBook which is designed to be read from a computer. The lessons have buttons to click that reveal video and audio snippets for enhancing the written word. While this is a clever way to bring the written word alive, it is just not as effective as an all video lesson format. The best way to learn to play a musical instrument is by watching and listening and not by just reading.

While the short video segments are well organized and make excellent use of multi-screen production for revealing critical details, they are just too small. With a screen size of only 4 ½” wide by 2 ¾” high, (11.5cm x 7cm), they are also way too small to view all of the critical details. Bigger is always better when learning from video.

EMedia suggests reducing your computer’s screen resolution to the minimum. I found that this does help increase the video screen size to a little over double while maintaining acceptable clarity. However this solution is inconvenient and produces a screen size that is still much smaller than other competitive courses.

Many laptop speakers are not designed to reproduce the sounds of the lowest of the base notes. This can result in either a useless garbled sound or even no sound at all. A solution might include; plugging a good set of headphones or external speakers into the computer.

The Positives

• This program is extremely well organized and covers the right topics for beginners.

• The CD-Rom is easy to set up and simple to use.

• The ability to record your practice sessions to compare them to the instructor is an excellent idea.

• The instructor has a clear, precise and relaxed style of speaking that is easy to understand.

• The built-in reference tuner and metronome are helpful.

• The eMedia Bass Method incorporates over 35 songs that include other instruments into the lesson plan. This is a necessary and practical way to learn to learn to begin learning to play with a band.

Support

The eMedia website offers a “Frequently Asked Questions Section” that offers solutions to the most common technical problems that occur while using the program. No questions about playing bass guitar offered.  In fact there does not appear to be any way to reach the instructor or other students for questions or discussions at all.

Guarantee: This seems to vary but in general 30 days for a full refund is typical. Sometimes the shipping charges are not refunded if you just change your mind. This is not the best return policy when compared to other competitive products.

Price: $49.95 USD

The Bottom Line

eMedia’s Bass Method comes close to being a great beginner 4 string electric bass guitar course. It sets-up and runs smoothly. It is well organized and taught by a good bassist who happens to also be a good instructor. The software tools offer smart enhancements to the learning experience.

Where this program falls down is in its use of video. The videos are beautifully produced but the screen size is way too small to always see the detail well. Learning to play bass well is all about getting the details. It would be a far superior instructional course if each lesson was wall to wall video instead of just short snippets.

The bottom line is that you can definitely learn to play beginner bass with this CD-Rom course. The problem is that there other better programs like the Learn and Master Bass that are all video, include intermediate as well as beginner material and cost about the same.

Click here for more information, testimonials and sample lessons or to purchase the eMedia Bass Method.

DISCLOSURE: We are paid by the companies who's products we review. Each product reviewed has been thoroughly tested by us. The opinions offered here are all our own and all information was verified as accurate at the time of the review.