Randall W  
Instruments: Bass Guitar
Styles: Classical, Jazz, Pop, Rock, Blues, Folk, Country, R&B, Gospel, Musical Theater, Latin, Funk, Electronic, Salsa, Showtunes, Spirituals, Reggae, Merengue, Latin Jazz, Swing, New Age, Samba, Bossa Nova, Soul, Marching Band, Punk, Avant-garde

I absolutely love teaching bass/guitar lessons and recording techniques, and I've been doing it since just after my Berklee College of Music days. I learned from the best (Dave LaRue, Oscar Stagnaro, Bruce Gertz & Joe Santerre) and from years and years of performing live with countless original and cover bands, stage bands, wedding bands, jazz ensembles, big bands, orchestras and marching bands. My experience as a recording/mixing engineer has greatly helped to mold my overall musicianship, as I have had the unique opportunity to work with many incredibly talented musicians, songwriters, producers, engineers, actors and creative-minded people. Music should be fun, creative and spontaneous, and I try to impart that mindset in all my students. I have an incredible passion for music, performing (primarily as a bassist), audio engineering and living life to the fullest!

Assumption #1: all my students want to learn to play well and perform well with other musicians Assumption #2: all my students will practice the material I assign and develop a consistent practice routine Fact #1: nothing comes from nothing (you must practice and practice regularly) Fact #2: you WILL become a good (possibly a great) musician if you follow Assumption #2 and NOT Fact #1 My teaching methods are born from: a) What was taught to me by my musical mentors and b) How my personal experiences have developed my musicianship through years and years of playing and performing. My methods vary depending on the student's skill/experience level, however I stress theory, harmony, rhythm, ear-training and reading skills for all students, regardless of skill level. I like to blend a combination of classical/essential studies using written notation (sheet music/tablature & method books) with learning to "play by ear." As a musician and as a teacher, I have been educated to read music very well, beginning with my introduction to music as a 4th grade french horn student and progressing to my bass studies with Dave LaRue and at Berklee College of Music. I wouldn't be able to play in the Big Band I'm in right now if I didn't know how to sight read music, and read it well! However, many musical pursuits don't require the ability to read music at all. For instance, I am in 2 bands right now that I don't have to read a note. I just learn the song and go out and play it! However, in my experience, simple memorization of a tune won't get you very far. Many guitarists and bassists memorize exact positions on the neck where they play a song, and if asked to play it in a different key or with a different groove, they're completely stumped. What if the singer decides the song is too high for him/her and asks the band to transpose the key on the fly? That happens in live gigs all the time! What if you want to turn an AC/DC song into a reggae song on the fly? Would you be able to do it? You must be prepared as a musician to handle transposition, rhythm and groove changes, tempo changes and a plethora of other things. I teach all this stuff to my students - very valuable musical life lessons! My rock band Wild! likes to tune down the guitars and bass a half step (to help the vocalists hit high notes) but we still play the songs as if we were playing in the original key. However, we have quite a few tunes where we have to transpose back up a half step to accommodate a harmonica solo (evidently, harmonicas don't come in flat keys) or a difficult keyboard solo. If I didn't have the musical experience and training that I do, this would be a very difficult thing to do pull off flawlessly. Another band I recently began playing with, The Sharptones, is playing music primarily from the 50's and 60's which is NOT my genre of music. There are multiple singers and each of them sings in a different vocal range. The band has to, at each practice, transpose the key and chords of the song to whatever feels most comfortable for the singers. Now, I can't entirely trust in my ears because I don't know the songs very well, so I have to trust in my musicianship to get me through the session. I then take the new keys home with me and practice the songs "to the T" on my own so that I am supremely prepared. If you want to learn to be a great MUSICIAN and not just learn the chords or basslines to your favorite songs, take a lesson with me!