Review: Adam Ben Ezra Signature Sounds Course

Like many folks, I was introduced to Adam Ben Ezra’s playing by his epically good Can’t Stop Running video.

I’ve had a few moments like this in my life where I saw someone perform something completely new and insanely cool, and I just had to run to my bass and try to figure that thing out.

I must have re-watched Can’t Stop Running 50 times, working out each move that Adam was making and trying to solve the puzzle of how he was getting these cool sounds.

A few years later, I had the pleasure of chatting with Adam for my Contrabass Conversations podcast. It was fascinating learning about his background and how he developed his unique stylistic palette and visual sense.

Learning Can’t Stop Running

I was the featured guest for the Las Vegas Bass Workshop in early 2018, and it was the perfect event to work up Can’t Stop Running. I picked up a copy of the music from Adam’s website and spent an enjoyable few weeks bopping and grooving in slow motion as these various moves started to take shape for me.

…and how much easier it would have been with this course!

How I wish I’d had Adam’s wonderful new course when I was working on this piece! Adam has joined the ranks of Discover Double Bass -link- course creators Lauren Pierce and Geoff Chalmers to provide an incredibly thorough and useful deep-dive into how Adam does what he does.

Here’s an overview of what you’ll learn in Adam’s course:

  • Drumming on the double bass
  • Articulations
  • Imitating other instruments
  • Arranging and composing on the double bass
  • Effects and loops
  • Arabic double bass

Here are some excerpts from the course:

This course is filled with over four hours of content in 60+ lessons.  Also, it was filmed on a boat!

As with every Discover Double Bass course, the content is laid out magnificently, with a logical flow from the most basic slap technique into percussive grooves, grooves in odd meters, articulations, and methods of imitating other instruments.

Adam is also known for his use of effects, pedals, and loops, and this course doesn’t disappoint in that regard! Adam gets into looping, using a pitch shifter and harmonizer, wah-wah, and much more. There’s also coverage of Arabic bass and the use of microtones.

How do You Learn from Video Lessons?

As an “old school guy” in many ways (despite hosting a podcast!), I’ve always had a hard time wrapping my brain around online video lessons. After all, I’ve spent over 20 years teaching live, in private lessons, public schools, and universities. Can a person really get learn from video lessons like they can from in-person lessons?

The short answer is yes – you absolutely can learn from video lessons, and in many ways they’re a superior product to in-person lessons.

What? That’s blasphemy, right? Am I putting myself out a job by making such a statement?

In-person vs video lessons

Now hold on—that’s not to say that there’s not still a tremendous benefit to in-person teaching. There is! I see video lessons as a supplement to in-person teaching, and a great way to communicate important information in a clear and efficient way.

For me, video lessons lay the groundwork for in-person experiences, be they lessons or gigs. Music is a social activity, after all, and for most the goal is to make music in public with other humans participating.

Video lessons are great for communicating information clearly. With a video lesson, you can watch it whenever you like. You can play along with it. You can repeat a specific segment over and over until you really absorb the concept.

What About Human Interaction?

While there’s not a way to actually reach out and interact with the video lesson presenter real-time like in an in-person or Skype lesson, Geoff and Lauren run an active Discover Double Bass Study Group for whom everyone who purchases a course gets access.

This is an excellent way to ask questions and interact with other people working through the same concepts. I’ve been a member of this group for several years, and I can attest that simply being able to interact with the other folks in this group is well worth the price of a course!

Final Thoughts

Geoff and company at Discover Double Bass have done it again. This course featuring Adam Ben Ezra is a top-notch resource that will have you grooving like a pro in no time. Adam is a great teacher and everything is broken down step-by-step in an incredibly helpful fashion.

Discover Double Bass on the podcast

Geoff Chalmers and Lauren Pierce have made multiple Contrabass Conversations appearances in the past, so if you’d like to dig into what they’ve done on Discover Double Bass and learn more about their careers, check out the following links:

I hope you enjoy this course and encourage you to check it out, and let me know if you end up learning Can’t Stop Running or another one of Adam’s pieces!

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