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July 2023 by Jeremy Hofer
This review is long overdue.I started playing bass early June 2020, teaching myself for a year as my pandemic "get away". After a year teaching myself I found Russ online. I had my first lesson with Russ on June 18th, 2021. Today, July 8th 2023, I played my first ever gig - a professional gig - at Black Cat in DC.When I started with Russ the only thing I knew was that I wanted to learn and know everything I could know about electric bass guitar. I never thought about playing professionally at all, I just wanted to learn and have fun. That all rapidly changed once I started studying under Russ.Russ is a working musician who has decades of real world experience playing and teaching bass. All the knowledge and experience he has gained he is willing to give to anyone that wishes to learn. Hearing about his experiences, and seeing what he does and can do in person and professionally via his youtube videos, my goals with bass rapidly changed. I went from just wanting to have fun in my room to dreaming and yearning to play professionally like Russ. Today that dream became a reality. I am now a professional bass player.Over the 2 years I have worked with Russ I have learned not only technical music knowledge and theory crossing a diverse range of music genres and styles - blues, country, rock, funk, jazz, beebop, afro-cuban, and more - but a functional, practical, and professional skill set. Walking out for my first gig today I felt more than prepared and was able to confidently execute to a very energetic and engaged crowd numbering in the hundreds.Regardless of your interests and goals with bass guitar Russ can and will help you learn. He can and will prepare you to achieve any goal you may have. He may even help you learn and realize goals you never dreamed.Check out his youtube channel for a taste of what lessons like him can be like, as well as examples of his professional work.I am very thankful for Russ and I look forward to many more years studying under him.
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April 2023 by Séamus Welch
I cannot recommend Russ Rodgers enough as instructor for anyone looking to take their bass playing to the next level.His years of experience as a musician and instructor are evident from the first lesson, and he is well of knowledge for every aspect of the instrument-- no matter the genre of music, he knows how to show you what it is you feel you're missing to make things click. Whether you want to play blues and jazz, slap the bass in a funk style, or even figure out what's going in your favorite heavy metal track, there isn't a style out there the he can't handle.He incorporates the music you're interested in playing to teach you proper technique, the working musical knowledge and vocabulary behind it, and the ability to play and construct bass lines on your own as well. He creates a welcome environment for learning where despite his own skill and technique, the student does not feel intimidated, but inspired to keep playing and has numerous unique and fun methods in his toolkit to help you understand the concepts. This all serves to make the necessary time you spend to improve a fun experience to look forward to, and not just a chore to be endured to get to an end goal.My own confidence in my ability to play has increased exponentially thanks to Russ, and yours will, too.
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February 2023 by Jeff
I've been taking weekly lessons from Russ for six months and I highly recommend him as a bass guitar instructor. He's provided me with the instruction and direction I need to achieve my goals. Some people are better teachers than others and Russ is the best I've had the pleasure of learning from. He's there to answer questions I have and explain anything I don't understand. If you're looking for a one on one bass instructor who's a professional and knows how to teach, I recommend you give him a try.
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May 2021 by Roy Purdie
Russ is an exceptional instructor. Takes time to figure out your strengths and weaknesses and helps you figure out what you need to work on to help you get better. Would highly recommend. He is also knowledgeable about all types of music.
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April 2021 by Roy P.
Russ is a great teacher. I took online lessons from he and he took the time to talk to me and figure out exactly the things I wanted to learn. He helped me to develop strategies to progress in playing the things that I wanted to play and is a great resource for learning any type of music. He has a great library of tools to use that help you to increase your knowledge skills and abilities on bass. Would highly recommend him as an instructor.
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December 2020 by Daryl Davies
Russ is my teacher. His music and bass guitar knowledge and translation is immaculate (A+). I walked into my first session with him a couple of months ago with no knowledge. I did not even know how to hold the guitar. He customized my training and today I am proud to say that I can tackle some complex songs. We have navigated from Gospel to Blues to Jazz to R&B to Reggae. In as little as three weeks I was able to perfectly play the Blues.Russ is so good that he went with me to choose and purchase my first bass guitar.I will highly recommend him to anyone that has never played the bass guitar before and even for bass professionals.Russ is a professional !!!!!!
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August 2019 by Alex Mayes
I have been taking lessons for months now. I played bass for a few months now but Russ is really helping me to increase my musicality. He only wants the best for his students and he himself is a amazing musician. The knowledge I am learning from him his priceless.
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February 2019 by David Banks
After years spent on the bass but never really progressing, I have found Russ Rodgers to be the ideal bass guitar instructor.
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January 2019 by David B.
After years spent on the bass but never really progressing, I have found Russ Rodgers to be the ideal bass guitar instructor. --Russ is a real bass player, with decades of high-level professional bass experience in a wide array of musical styles. He is expert with the bass from slap-and-pop to rock to jazz, not a kid who plays Metallica on a guitar and thinks he can teach bass because the guitar and bass both have strings tuned to E-A-D-G. --In addition to decades of professional bass experience, Russ offers decades of experience in professional bass instruction. He is a great teacher, listening to his student and patiently learning about their knowledge and musical goals. He starts with fundamentals, patiently answers questions, and is committed to taking the student as far as he or she wants to go with the bass. His knowledge of musical styles, bass guitar technique, and music theory are encyclopedic, but he explains them at a level that is appropriate and accessible for the student he's working with. --Russ makes expert use of teaching aids, from thorough instruction sheets provided in electronic formats that are accessible to the student, to online videos he has created, to play-along-with programs, but always based on face-to-face or Skype-based personal instruction. Russ is electronically proficient, and he makes effective use of that proficiency to provide a wealth of excellent instructional materials to his students, such that I would not hesitate to take instruction from Russ remotely. You'll learn much, much more from Russ than from an armload of bass instruction books from Guitar Center or Amazon. --If I was a professional bass player like Russ, maybe I wouldn't be as friendly, modest, and nice a guy as he is. He never "talks down" to me, but is always patient and supportive. He is generous with his time, and encourages me to contact him between lessons with questions to maximize the rate at which I progress. He is always enthusiastic, and loves to teach. --I wanted to buy a new bass, and Russ engaged immediately to assist me. He offered guidance regarding how to pick the right bass for me, we discussed different bass options and how they related to my musical preferences and goals, and he then unilaterally offered to meet me at the guitar store of my choice (Chuck Levin's Washington Music Center). He played the bass I was interested in, found it to be lacking and explained why, and pointed out a much better option that was still affordable. I bought the bass, and it plays much better and easier than I've ever experienced. His often-repeated motto is, "I support my students," and he is totally committed to his students' musical growth. Russ Rodgers is a great guy, a great bass player, and a great bass guitar instructor. You'll progress farther and faster than you might imagine, and you'll enjoy getting there. Don't hesitate, contact Russ today. David Banks Rockville, MD
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January 2019 by Dedra Dixon
I've had the pleasure of being taught by Russell...As a beginner bassist, I've had lessons on and off for 5 years, but never achieved my desired outcome of playing in front of people because I didn't feel that I was proficient enough to play with confidence. However, when I started taking lessons with Russell, he was knowledgeable, patient, attentive and ultimately encouraged me to perform my first jam session..which helped me to become a proficient bassist. Now I can that I'm a bassist that plays with confidence. For anyone that is seriously looking to become a more proficient bass player, I would highly recommend taking lessons from Russell.
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January 2019 by Dean D'Angelo
I have now been taking lessons with Russ for several months. He is a very gifted, thoughtful teacher. He has laid a course where I started from scratch and can now play along with songs and "think through" bass lines and even improvise a bit. Highly, highly recommended.
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January 2019 by Jesus Ortiz
While living in Beijing, China, I had the opportunity to start my bass guitar path with Russ, not a Chinese speaker, I needed someone who was able to teach me in English and Russ was definitively my best bet, the classes thru Skype were very practical and you are able to record your lessons so you can refer back to them when needed.
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January 2019 by Brian B.
I've been taking bass lessons with Russ for nearly 15 years. For the first 5 years or so we did in-person lessons. During that time Russ was already doing online Skype lessons with students in various parts of the world, and at some point he encouraged me to consider trying the Skype lessons. Initially I didn't understand how a Skype lesson could be equally or more beneficial than an in-person lesson, but Russ told me that many of his local students had switched over to the Skype lessons and they loved it... and that I should at least give it a try. So I did. And guess what? I discovered there are so many advantages that it didn't make sense to continue with the in-person lessons! So I've been doing the Skype lessons for nearly 10 years now... and I'm glad I switched when I did because both Russ and I have relocated to different states since then and continuing lessons has been seamless.
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December 2018 by Brian B.
I've been taking bass lessons with Russ for nearly 15 years. For the first 5 years or so we did in-person lessons. During that time Russ was already doing online Skype lessons with students in various parts of the world, and at some point he encouraged me to consider trying the Skype lessons. Initially I didn't understand how a Skype lesson could be equally or more beneficial than an in-person lesson, but Russ told me that many of his local students had switched over to the Skype lessons and they loved it... and that I should at least give it a try. So I did. And guess what? I discovered there are so many advantages that it didn't make sense to continue with the in-person lessons! So I've been doing the Skype lessons for nearly 10 years now... and I'm glad I switched when I did because both Russ and I have relocated to different states since then and continuing lessons has been seamless. Russ is an accomplished bassist with an impressive teaching résumé and performance credits, and over the years he's developed a teaching system that works really well. Starting with the philosophy that music is a language, he breaks it down into 4 primary sections - Styles, Scales, Technique, and Reading - and within each there are subsections that are covered based on the student's individual needs and goals. Not only has Russ developed a great teaching system, he's also a great teacher. He has the gift of being able to impart knowledge in a concise and clear manner that can turn something seemingly complex or confusing into something that's easily understood. Also, I appreciate the fact that he puts a lot of emphasis on developing proper right and left hand technique, as well as developing "muscle memory" - this has greatly improved my playing ability. Whether you're a beginner who wants to learn how to play some songs, you're an intermediate bassist who plays at church or in a cover band and wants to improve skills and technique, or you're an advanced bassist who wants to become a serious Jazz musician - Russ can help you. He will make you a much better player as long as you're willing to put in the effort. I highly recommend that you give Russ and his online Skype lessons a try. Just do it!
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December 2018 by Mikael S.
I heard about Russ from a previous bass instructor that I took lessons with for several years. He had taken lessons from Russ before. At times during the lessons he would bring up Russ's name and tell me that he had learned what he was showing me at the time from Russ. He had me on my way to playing bass, but I had some technique issues going on with my plucking hand I was trying to work out. I had thought serious about just giving it up. For a good year I thought I was just going in circles and thought what I had learned and could do was all I would ever be able to do. I decided to start up lessons with Russ through Skype and I wasn't sure how it was going to work, but it was really easy to set up and it was just like I was sitting in front of someone from my own home. After just several lessons Russ fixed my technique issue I had and it totally changed my playing in a big way. It became so much easier to play things I was reading. I soon progressed really fast with my playing and began to play things I never thought I could. Russ has a way of teaching things easy that seem hard. There's never a lack of material to practice and he sends backing tracks to the material you play, so it makes it more fun to practice and it never gets boring. The lessons can be as easy or as advanced as you want. He asks what your interested in learning and caters the lessons just for you. He sends a lesson sheet and the recorded video of the lessons, so if you need to look back at something you can. I've taken lessons from several people throughout the years and I've found with Russ I could take lessons from him forever and would still never learn everything he knows. I know that there will always be something he can show and teach me that I don't know and I take lessons from Russ once a week. If your a beginner or advanced player there's something you can learn from Russ.
