UPDATE: Our Forums have moved. Info for Cohort Participants in your Cohort!
We now have a great way to connect –
Check out our new Ari’s Bass Blog Forums!
Or, maybe we should call it Ari’s fretBOARDS? What do you think?
It all started with our new Cohort Course which we launched in January – Cohorts offer a way to go through the course with extra support, such as:
- making public commitments
- submitting homework (video recordings)
- peer support
In a cohort, we make personal accountability a priority. Now, this only works if you are in control. Because you make commitments and the cohort serves as your witness and source of encouragement.
The current Cohort is full and not open to new participants. And, we have fine-tuned some of the existing features and added new ones, but one thing we have learned for sure is that Cohorts are shaping up to be THE way to go through the online course!
I could not be happier with what I am hearing from current participants:
- “There is something very powerful about making a public commitment and then following it up with a recording of that exercise… and the video you record is incredibly eye-opening! (Fred P)
- “Recording myself has made me accountable to the commitment I’ve promised. It has helped me overcome any fear I have about demonstrating progress I’ve made through my practicing of the material I’ve committed to record. The cohort has made me accountable so I work steadily towards the goal of completing the course. It adds that extra layer of accountability which serves as motivation during those times when it’s easy to simply put things off for ‘another day’.” (Kevin G)
- “I joined the cohort in January and have found recording myself to be invaluable. It lets you spot areas of technique that you should be concentrating on. The Cohort is excellent and I can honestly say I have played for a minimum of 30 minutes each day since 20th Jan when it started. Everyone is so friendly and supportive. I feel like I have improved more in 4 weeks than I did in the last 4 months.” (Chris D)
- “So far I’ve recorded myself twice and I’ll tell you this—- it’s been both humbling and a very worthwhile learning experience. For unit 1, I tee’d up a bit that I had worked on throughout the two week period, and when I was on video it like I was I sight reading and had never seen the piece before! I guess if I want to play to an audience this is a good sense for what that is gonna be like. Practice, practice and then practice some more…” (Bob K)
- “When you record yourself and play it back, it is the same as having your teacher sitting on your shoulder and pointing out where you need to refine and improve. For me, it points out that I frequently lose track of the metronome, my notes do not sound even between my index and middle fingers and I often start to “crawl into” my bass and do not keep myself relaxed. A very effective form of biofeedback!” (Jay R)
Brand New Forums!
So, when we saw the initial forums in the cohort take off the way they did, we knew we were on to something special— and something we had to share with our broader family… you! Our new forum is now polished and ready to go, and this is your invitation to join us! Yes, there is a cohort-only section, but you can still “join the conversation” in the other areas of the forum where we talk basses and bass gear, our bass heroes, our bass journey and experiences, favorite grooves, and of course we talk about practicing and share helpful tips with each other. “All things Bass” with the focus on supporting each other!
You’ll get to interact with course participants, see and hear them play (if they choose to make their COHORT COURSE submissions public) or just shoot the breeze about the bass.
Join the conversation!
To sign up for the forum:
- Go to https://forum.arisbassblog.com/index.php?action=register
- Accept the registration agreement
- Complete the registration form (I recommend using your email address as your username)
- Create a new password
PS: As for future cohorts: We are planning on opening up small cohorts later in the year. If you have a few friends who want to do this together, email us! We’d love to have you!
