Private Bass Lessons

My goal as a teacher is to help you grow into a more confident, musical, and self aware player—no matter where you’re starting from. I work with beginners, returning players, seasoned musicians, and anyone who wants to deepen their musical understanding and improve their playing.

What Lessons Are Like

Every student learns differently, so lessons are shaped around your goals, strengths, and the kind of player you want to become. Whether you’re working on technique, rhythm, tone, improvisation, or playing in a band, we build a path that fits you—not a generic curriculum.

An Empowering Approach to Learning

My goal as a teacher has always been to empower the student. Rather than simply correcting mistakes, I want you to understand how to solve musical problems on your own.

When a student comes to me with a passage they’re having trouble articulating, we don’t just repeat it over and over. I create a simple exercise based directly on that passage — slowing it down, looping it, and removing unnecessary complexity. What was once the most difficult part of the tune becomes the easiest.

We work this way with a few different challenges, and then something important happens. The next time a student brings in a difficult passage, I ask them to describe the exercise they would use to work it out. At that point, the student isn’t just learning bass — they’re learning how to teach themselves.

Working Through Hesitation and Building Confidence

A lot of players carry doubts or a bit of fear when they pick up the bass—fear of sounding bad, fear of not being good enough, or fear of not knowing what to do next. I’ve felt all of that myself, and I understand how real those feelings can be.

Together, we break the music down, take away the pressure, and replace that uncertainty with clarity, confidence, and the satisfaction of real progress.

Core Areas We Explore

– Groove and timing

– Tone and touch

– Technique and ease of playing

– Improvisation and musical awareness

– Playing with drummers and in ensemble settings

– Understanding harmony and song structure

– How to sound great in real-world situations

Interested in lessons?
I offer in-person and online bass lessons.

Check availability or contact me to get started.

A Practical, Musical Approach

My teaching is grounded in real-world playing experience—from jazz and blues to funk, fusion, and singer songwriter work. We focus on the skills that matter on stage, in rehearsal, and in jam sessions. Each lesson builds a deeper sense of confidence and enjoyment in your playing.

Student Testimonials

I had been dabbling with bass for decades and always had a decent ear for learning music by rote. Working with Tom helped me finally understand the underlying bass mechanics of what my ear had been hearing all along—especially within the blues genre. Through our lessons, I learned scale and arpeggio variations that simplified my fretting, strengthened my technique, and gave me a clearer sense of how bass lines function inside a band.
— Seth S.

“I studied jazz theory with Tom, and he makes everything easy to understand while keeping lessons fun and practical. My improvisation and overall musical understanding have improved significantly. Tom is a fantastic teacher, and I’d definitely recommend him to anyone who loves jazz.”
— Otoe M.

Tom’s experience as a musician and educator runs deep — from playing bass in the Army and earning a degree in music to teaching students of all ages, leading ensembles across genres, and performing professionally in Mexico for over ten years.

He’s conducted workshops in multiple states and countries, recorded and toured with Tom Fogerty (of CCR), and appeared at international festivals like the Java Jazz Festival with Kilimanjaro, and the Monterey Jazz Festival.

Beyond performing and teaching, Tom brings extensive music business experience, having successfully run music promotion ventures and guiding others on building sustainable careers.

He’s a mentor who provides sincere, tactful feedback and knows how to encourage and challenge you, helping you overcome sticking points in both your playing and your career.

If it wasn’t for Tom’s guidance, I don’t think I would have come so far in my playing and belief in myself so quickly.
— Hector Carrillo

Over the last forty years I’ve had six piano teachers, attended four piano camps; three guitar teachers; and four bass teachers. Hands down Tom is the best.

He coaches the whole student — not just exercises, and not even just music — the musician. It’s a journey he takes with you, and sometimes he directs a pivot and sometimes he follows your pivot.

He is so experienced both as a teacher, having taught at least hundreds of students in his career, and as a gigging professional, having gigged across genres, geographies and generations, that he can coach the business of music — how to start a band, how to select band mates and run a rehearsal, how to get gigs, how to prepare for a jam and lead a song — all the while never letting you forget that you have to keep working on the basics.

If an exercise or concept doesn’t work for you, he works until he finds one that resonates with you. In the world of music lessons and coaching he’s a lucky find.
— Dharol Tankersley

Working with Tom has been a turning point in my development as a musician. His teaching goes far beyond technique — he brings clarity, musical context, and real-world experience into every lesson. Tom is a true mentor: he has an incredible ability to meet you where you are, challenge you thoughtfully, and help you connect theory, groove, and feel in a way that actually translates to playing with others.

Through his guidance, I gained confidence not only as a musician, but in myself, and developed stronger musical instincts and a deeper understanding of how to function in real musical situations. Studying with Tom has been both inspiring and transformative.
— Anacarina Acuña

Getting Started

If you’re interested in lessons, feel free to reach out with any questions or to check availability. Whether you’re just beginning or looking to take the next step in your playing, I’d be glad to help you move forward.