"It's Called The Fretboard
Dear Friend, Anthony Wharwood (name changed for privacy) is a normal 43 year old man who probably loves the electric bass as much as you and I do... That's why this story is gonna sting a little... There he was... He was super nervous and excited at the same time. He said that he still remembers, how dry the back of his throat was and how viciously his heart was pounding as he looked at the set list on his music stand and fidgeted aimlessly with his volume and tone knobs. ...He owned a pretty decent bass... (A 5 string MTD that cost him a pretty penny but naturally played and sounded like a dream)... ...Had all the usual bass instructional DVDs... ...Knew his fair share of scales and had gotten to jam on a few songs with the other guys during rehearsal a couple times before... ...Every day he had the time, he'd listen to and jam along with his favorite songs, trying desperately to be as groovy and as interesting as the bass player on the recording. But
it'd always go the same way... "Is This How You 'Practice' Too?" He'd put on the CD, start working out the song with burning determination and sooner than later, would come across a killer phrase in the middle of the song that flat out blew his mind. "Man, xxxxxx is a beast!" he'd think out loud... So he'd rewind and replay that lick about a dozen times trying to pick it up but the same thing always eventually happens... Before long he'd end up just sitting back, holding his bass in his lap (or randomly playing through a scale or two) and listening in awe as the 'bass master' on the recording performed flawlessly. Eventually he'd change to another song and try to 'jam along' a bit, or sit and try to come up with some
'cool licks' he can add to his arsenal... But
in his gut Anthony knew that truth be told, most all his practice sessions
seemed to end this way... With him feeling like he'd just wasted another
45 minutes... Never really feeling like he was getting much anything
done... "Meet Anthony - Part 2" Now don't get me wrong. His playing dreams weren't unreasonable. He didn't need to conquer the world and have Victor Wooten bowing at his feet... He didn't expect that tomorrow Alain Caron, Christian McBride, Gary Willis, Steve Swallow, Terrence Palmer, Maurice Fitzgerald, Andrew Gouche, John Patitucci, Anthony Jackson, John Myung, Hadrien Feraud or any of the other bass hit men out there were going to call him and ask that he sit in for them on a tour... He had his own goals and simply wanted to do a job both he and the other musicians he played with could be proud of. All he wanted was to play good
enough to have people appreciate and feel good about having him on the
bass. "The Simple
Phone Call, That The final piece of the puzzle fell into place on a Thursday morning just before lunch. Lawrence, the church's 'first-string' hired bass player had been ill since Tuesday and had called Jason, (the band leader) just half an hour before to say he really didn't think he could make it to church on Sunday... (When it happened before that Lawrence was unavailable, Steve the guitarist, would just 'fill' in on bass, but Anthony had been attending rehearsal with the band a lot recently, so the call came...) "Hey Anthony, it's Jason... Would you like to fill in for Lawrence on Sunday... He's a bit under the weather so why not come out to
rehearsal tonight and Saturday night? -- It's not a big deal, the songs are ones I'm sure you already know so you'll be fine..." "Anthony's Big Day!" Sunday morning... The keyboardist was playing some intro/talk music and they were just about to get started... His heart couldn't stop racing. I think what shook Tony's the most was the fact that the service was being recorded and in his estimation the other musicians were scary hot players. The keyboardist and guitarist both had to be a little insane with some of the 'stupid' chords they'd play... And the drummer was a flat out monster and as much as he tried to steady his nerves he couldn't help but feel shaky about being the weakest link. When Lawrence was there, that band was tight! The groove was locked, and the licks were cold... Lawrence clearly had a very strong understanding of the fretboard because his playing seemed effortless... But as far as Anthony knew, Lawrence had only been playing bass for about 4 1/2 years... Now he was already being hired all over the place to play! He tried to clear his mind... "None of that matters", he thought... "it's NOT a competition so all was going to be fine..." He fiddled aimlessly with his bass knobs again... . . . The first song got counted in and the drummer and rest of the band started on a nice, tightly locked groove. Anthony was caught a little off guard but quickly fell into the swing of things. The song was in the key of E-flat... And just as he was thinking about how much he loved hearing the band play this song, he noticed that something sounded as 'off' as sour milk would taste... He glanced at Jason (the band leader and keyboardist) to confirm his
suspicion, only to see him mouthing the words... "Wrong Key Anthony!!" Looking down at this left hand he noticed that he had played the first few measures in the key of E, rather than E-flat... Ouch!! ..."Oh great! Now I look like a real dummy. How could I make such a silly mistake... Don't worry I'll make up for it." he thought in rapid-fire succession... For the rest of the song he first tries to 'make up for the mistake' but makes so many 'fumbles' that Steve (the guitarist) eventually leans over and whispers in a friendly enough voice, ..."Hey Tony, let just keep it basic for now and see how that goes OK?..." He nods, but feels himself shrink a little. So from there on out he kinda tries to play it safe and settles on thumping away at what ever is the root note of the chord. The thing is, sometimes, depending on what inversion of the chord Jason was using, even root notes didn't sound
perfectly right. "I Bet They'll Never Ask Me To Play Again..." As the service proceeded he simply couldn't shake the feeling that for all the songs it seems that the guys were used to having certain spaces owned and accented by the bass when Lawrence played. ...And now the thought that, "This isn't a competition... I'm not on trial..." was doing less and less to comfort him. Try as he might he couldn't help but compare his playing to what he thought Lawrence would do and what he had hoped to be able to do... He'd listened to Lawrence play so many times that for every song he could hear
parts of a fill or a lick that Lawrence would have played, but the fact was he had no idea where to even begin to do those things right. "Anthony's Redemption?" Next song up is one Tony really 'knew' well... It was a pretty slow one and he's played it many times before with the CD player, but while the original recording was in the key of B, they decided on Saturday night to do it in the key of A-flat. "No big deal," he thinks, "I can do this." So even though he consciously knows it's stupid, he again tries to 'redeem' himself. He had practiced a few licks well that would work for this song... The hurtful thing was because of the key change he messed up almost every one of them... Recounting the story he told me that often times he'd know what he wanted to do but as he'd look down at the fretboard his mind would just draw blanks as to where to start... And because of that he'd consistently hit wrong notes. At the end of the song he thinks that the other musicians aren't making much eye contact with him any more... Jason is a really nice guy, but Anthony imagined that he just wanted it to be all over. A
nasty thought plagued Anthony's mind... "I bet he wished they'd
just gone with Steve on bass instead". "And That's When
a
Feeling of Total Before you know it they are on to the second to last song on the set list. Tony thinks to himself that he'd love to get a 'do-over', especially since everything was recorded and he's no longer as nervous, just highly bummed out and disappointed with himself. Then he remembers something from last night's rehearsal... This song was supposed to have a short bass feature in it, but during the
rehearsal on Saturday night Jason had politely called him over and
suggested, "Hey Tony, maybe we don't need to do the bass solo in this song...
You know... Just to keep everything simple." And that's when it hit him, like Mike Tyson hitting a body bag... "I know this isn't
about me, and I'm not on trial, but I am so out of my league here this isn't even remotely funny..." "But Anthony's Unfortunate At the end of the service everyone's milling around just talking... David, the drummer, was surrounded as usual. Kids and grown-ups were always excitedly asking him about some groove or the other he had played during song service, and today was no different. The guitarist is showing about 6 people some fancy altered scales, and you'd need to get in line to even see Jason. And even though Tony knew... "I'm not doing this for recognition," he again felt like a let down. Like he was not able to play his part well enough and disappointed the band. But the final straw came just as he was packing up. He over heard a woman asking Jason... "There
Are Some Thing You "Where's Lawrence today? Is he sick?" the woman asked. "Yeah. Unfortunately Lawrence came down with a nasty case of the flu, so we're hoping he kicks it soon." comes Jason's reply. "So why didn't Steve play bass instead?" she continues? Jason is clearly caught off-guard by the question as he visibly hesitates, nervously glances in Anthony's direction and fumbles for words. But before he can piece together a response the woman continues... "...Anyways, let's really hope Lawrence gets better quick because..." Her voice trails off into more comments but Anthony is no longer interested in hearing any of it. Out of the corner of his eye Anthony can see that Jason is clearly embarrassed and uncomfortable with the comments, and is looking for a way to politely change the subject... But it doesn't matter much. Anthony had already 'overheard' too much. His face flushed red with a mixture of anger and disappointment in himself. Why hadn't he simply rejected Jason's offer to sit in on the bass?.. As he wraps up his instrument cable and stuffs it into his gig bag he silently hopes that the ground would open up and give him a good place to hide... Without looking over his shoulder he makes a beeline for the exit... There's a lump in his throat that feels like he swallowed a box of rusty nails, and Anthony wonders to himself... "I've been practicing for years, what in the world am I doing wrong?" "Meet Peter..." Peter Bannister, (name also changed for privacy) is a normal 27 year old, who probably loves the electric bass as much as you and I... Peter however is one of those guys I know who can play... He almost;
So why am I telling you all this? Simple... Because I personally know a lot of 'Anthonys'
and a decent number of 'Peters'... And if you'd like to know the exact 6
things (N.Eqs + I.M. + A.V. + M.L. + K.C.L. + H.P.I.) all the
'Peters' practice differently to develop their
'crazy' skills I can tell you right now. "So What
Are Some of The Things Peter Practices We've all seen some players get good faster than others... And at one point in time we all feel absolutely stuck. Trust me! I can totally related to Anthony's story! I remember oftentimes wondering what in the world is it that some players practice that gives them so much 'effortless' control and smoothness when they're playing? Well let me confirm one of your nagging suspicions... YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT! If however, you thought that it is a 'special ability' you either have or you don't have... Or that these 'visual skills' can ONLY be developed after 30 years of grueling 10 hour-per-day practice sessions... YOU'RE 100% ABSOLUTELY WRONG! But before you declare 'Shenanigans!'
hear this... "It Sounds Too Simple There Are
Really Just Now I'm not suggesting to you at all that mastering the bass is an easy thing to do... Far from it! In fact musical greatness really is a never-ending pursuit... Neither am I suggesting that I magically invented or 'came up' with these six fretboard concepts myself because I'm some kinda bass super brain... Sorry... I'd love to claim the fame, but I'm as normal a guy as they come. (I can tell you how I managed to learn these things a little later though.) What I am saying however is; 1) That we can see far better, and faster results if we spend time practicing the right things, the right way, in the right order... What I am saying is that; 2) If you're mucking around with your practice sessions and don't have a solid, fundamentally correct game plan, the same skills that could quite likely take you 7 - 10 years to develop can very possibly be devoured by another person with equal or lesser talent than yourself, in 1 - 2 years. What I am saying is that; 3) After 18 long months of being obsessed with 'the fretboard' I'm pretty confident that I've gotten so darn good at explaining what I know and learnt about developing fluency, that I bet I could take a random beginner bass player off the street and explain these 6 'factors' to him, so clearly, that he'd understand it in a lot less than half a day. Now
of course he
won't master playing all the concepts in one day but it's very
likely he'd
understand how it all fits together and see why it works every
time. (And that's even if he's a
1 or 2 on a scale of 1 to 10.) "Is This Just A Bunch of Hype?" I'll be the first to admit that this is a VERY VALID QUESTION! Because in my own digging up, and validating all the info in The Fretboard Formula, I stumbled across and bought into some pretty wild claims about 'learning the fretboard fast'... (I'll give you the dirty details about some of those products in a second... Keep reading.) I've seen all the so-called 'potent ' plug and play patterns, 'mystical' memorization techniques and 'amazing' acronyms... I've also seen 'systems' so confusing I'd prefer try to solve a CIA cipher. ...So for what it's worth I know how you feel. I also know what it felt like when I was just getting started playing and more experienced players would tell me to 'Just Practice!'... Huh? "What do you mean just practice" I'd always ask? What should I practice?... In what order?... For how long?... Why am I practicing a certain thing?... How do I practice it for fastest results?... (Didn't get many answers to those questions though). Let's be straight because there is no point in trying to hide the truth. ...If what you're expecting to hear me talk about is some type of magic silver bullet that's going to slay your fretboard problems in the next 2 hours -- This ain't it! ...If you're expecting that I'm gonna talk about some hokey mnemonic system (e.g. Every Angel ...If you're looking for some mystical memorization techniques that'll see you jump past the boredom of a little thing called 'practice' -- That's an old wives' tale and this ain't that! And unlike some folks, I'm not going to B.S. you and say you can master each of these 6 concepts in 15 minutes and be a bass god by tomorrow... That's plain ridiculous, because even if you did understand the concepts right away, you still won't be able to apply them fluently, that quickly. It'd still take a step by step practice routine and time to build the skill. No
joke! "So What Is The Fretboard Formula?" Well, briefly, it's my detailed and systematic explanation of a collection of concepts that, when put together helps a player understand how music 'works' on the fretboard. Yet with the libraries of material I own, have reviewed and used, I've never seen most any of the really crucial factors of fretboard fluency taught all in one place, in the manner and in the detail I'm going to cover it. I'll
show you the things most people either 1) Won't talk about, 2)
Don't have the time or resources to completely detail 3) Can't
quite explain clearly, 4) Don't know how to replicate or 5)
Are completely in the dark about. "Who Else Feels Like Their
Playing Is Now some narrow-minded 'haters' reading this site may be cursing at their computer screens. They'll say the key to everything is just practice. There's nothing anyone can teach you to help reduce your learning curve. There certainly are no 'secrets' and 'tips' to pick up - Just sit in a room, practice your scales and you'll be fine... Now admittedly blind practice will eventually produce results... You'll stumble across stuff and you will eventually hit a point where things start to make sense. The problem is that 1) This can take several years... 2) You won't know what caused the improvement so you'd have a hard time replicating it the next time you're stuck. So personally, I think this is one of the most ridiculous and backward-thinking statements anyone, anywhere has ever made! If just getting started practicing is the answer why the coaches for people like Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods and Michael Phelps? Of course there are things that you can learn to shorten your learning curve that randomly practicing scales will either not show you or take several years to show you. That's why I choose to spend thousands of dollars on my bass education every year and will likely continue to do so for as long as I play -- I do bass tuition at $90 per hour and sometimes it's just one tiny
thing I end up picking up over 2 or 3 sessions... But I'm still hugely
grateful for every little insight I can get... "Here's One Such 'Tiny' Insight..." TIP# 1: Truly absorbing the fretboard is NOT just about knowing the names of notes... There's a wide array of skills you need to develop that are so intrinsic to bass playing that once you learn them you have no choice but to be a far better player. The note learning part is just one step, but that's like getting out of kindergarten and thinking you're ready for a job as a brain surgeon. Heck, I know the names of all the notes on the piano... I still can't play it
worth jack. "The
Big 'Secret' You Need to Know The only true, reliable and 100% duplicate-able method to outstanding fretboard control I've found, is based on;
In short? If you want to master the fretboard you have to get an insider understanding of how HARMONY works on a
symmetrical instrument! Anyone else who dances around that fact is either innocently or spitefully giving you bogus advice. Now... "For The First Time EVER:
I sort of alluded to this a while ago but I think I need to say it more plainly. (This is NOT going to win me any friends but I gotta be blunt.) Some time after I decided to start putting this training together I received an email from a customer that absolutely floored me. It was a website link that he wanted me to check out and when when I went over to the site it sucked in my attention -- The way a fatal car wreck would capture attention that is -- It wasn't pleasant, but a morbid curiosity wouldn't let me leave it alone. At first I thought it was a practical joke, but just as a young man would poke at road-kill with a stick, I just had to investigate this website closer to see if perhaps I was missing something... So I pulled out the good old credit card and whacked it with another charge. I downloaded the package and started going through the main 'book'... 7 minutes later the entire thing was in my Recycle Bin. Quite honestly I was stunned! The so called 'techniques' weren't only laughable, they were also flawed and obviously hurriedly and thoughtlessly put together. I honestly felt insulted as a bassist to have someone reduce 'mastery' of my instrument to this drivel, but at the same time it was so unbelievable that I couldn't help but laugh... But not being much of a complainer, I just let it slide and went back to work. But as the days went on I started uncovering site after site...
'Magical' technique after technique, and by the end of the first week I had enough data to confirm my suspicions. "...A Lot of These Dudes Are Flat Out, ...I'm not saying everyone is, but the vast majority of magic fretboard mastery solutions I dug up, quite simply had no idea what it takes to develop true fretboard fluency, because most all of them where basing all their so-called 'techniques' on a plainly WRONG assumption that I'll openly correct ;- LEARNING THE NAMES OF THE NOTES ON THE FRETBOARD In fact, that idea is so ludicrous it's almost pathetic. I
honestly started asking myself if any of them even played bass at
all, or if they all just paid the same 'ghost writer' to write a
product for them, slapped some graphics on it and put up a website
that said "Open for Business!"
Part, of one of the modules in "The Fretboard Formula" will show you a method for learning the names of notes very, very quickly. I will teach you some concepts I swear I have never seen anyone detail that will have you laughing at any misconceptions you had about how difficult it is to learn the entire fretboard FAST. But to be clear, that in itself doesn't make you a bass guitar monster... That's just information! So
as soon as that is out of the way we'll go FAR past that stuff...
In fact that 'note learning' thing is just a drop in the bucket
when you consider how thorough The Fretboard Formula training is
in showing you HOW TO USE THE FRETBOARD.
"The Way to Non-Impressive Bass Playing I hope you're getting the idea that "The Fretboard Formula" is like nothing else you've seen but does it work? Long answer?.. The rules of music don't change... If you're stuck expanding your bass playing, while another guy is making leaps and bounds it's just that he understands and sees things that you don't.
The Fretboard Formula is therefore all about understanding how and why things work on the fretboard based on what the music is saying to you! So does it work?... Short answer - Heck yeah! In fact... "I'll Even Bet You $25 Right NOW That
And I'm dead serious... Keep reading and I'll give you some details about that bold 'wager'. You see the bottom line is that, everyone I know who takes this six pronged approach to learning the fretboard does so (I'd modestly guess) about ten - twenty times faster and is exponentially more successful than those who think that "note names" equal bass mastery. Well it depends... First off know that the whole "I'm a beginner thing" isn't too big a deal at all... So if that's what you're concerned about, DON'T be - I will plainly tell you that I can teach this stuff even to someone just getting started on bass TODAY. So that's a non-issue. That said, if you're interested in getting "The Fretboard Formula" working for you I'd be happy to help you get started, and I guarantee that I'll make every effort to make sure you
'get it' otherwise you don't pay a dime, but here's how it's gonna work. "The Fretboard Formula Training Includes..."
I'll be honest... We're talking about over 9 hours and 36 minutes of pure playable content... Quite frankly my 'breakdown' of what is on each DVD is a joke compared to what is really on it! Now if that already seems like a lot of information, it's because it is. It won't always be easy, but it will be loads of fun. And while I don't expect that you'll master everything on the DVDs on the first go, I can tell you this... In the end two things are for sure... 1. You'll have a far more detailed, proven understanding about how to really develop fretboard fluency than most bass players do PERIOD. 2. You'll be able to trigger noticeable growth in your playing time and time again at will... After that you can choose to 1) Ignore the concepts and stay stuck in a rut 2) Use them to help you become a 'butt-kicking-name-taking' bass player. Hopefully #1 is not even an option, so I'm really fired up about you taking the latter. But believe it or not, that's still not all you get in
the mail...
Next you'll find that your package also includes not 1, 2, or 3 audio CDs... But a whooping 6 audio discs that contain, TONS of backing tracks for practice and various exercises and samples that go along with the video training and workbook. But I've still got more for you!
Reading about a subject is one thing, but nothing can substitute for actually WATCHING someone do what they do. That's why the primary element of this training is in video format! But at the same time, video can sometimes be a pain when you're trying to review or refer back to a particular section. So for that reason (among others) I spent a full 23 days, watching and re-watching and re-re-watching the DVDs and fleshing out a ROCK SOLID 335+ page workbook for the entire training course that's filled with diagrams and table, clarifications and further explanations, progress trackers, additional study info, exercises, tabs, etc. etc. etc. Now listen... I've seen some programs try to 'fluff' up their value by offering a 'workbook' that is nothing more than 12 flimsy pages, where 7 are nothing more than 'blank spaces' for you to 'take notes'... When you see this 'workbook' it'll make your head spin. It is so complete, so full and so stuffed with useable content, I could literally take the workbook away from the video training, offer it on its own and it'd still be one of the more valuable pieces of bass instructions you'll likely to ever own. Now I don't want to sound like I'm bragging but I'm pretty darn proud of this feature because it's NOT just a transcription of the video lessons. It looks and reads quite well, and is an indispensable resource that'll help you big time as you work through the course or when you want do quick reviews in the future. Oh yeah... Did I forget mention that I also went past 'norm' to have the workbook contain several full color pages?
. . . As you can see I really went all out on this course... The teaching in unique, I spent a small fortune on
the product itself, and the bonuses are of real high value... So right
about now you may be thinking… “How Much Is This Training Allow me to explain... First, it goes against all logical and economical sense for me to charge anything less than $160 for it and in all fairness I think you know it. Because if you think about it, $160 will (at most) buy you four 30 minute sessions with a decent bass tutor, and most good teachers don't sell lessons in blocks less then 6 at a time because oftentimes it takes 6 sessions just to get into 'flow', properly cover a topic and outline a practice schedule to assimilate what you learnt! So while $160 may not exactly be a swap-meet, bargain basement price it's outrageously reasonable when you see all of what I'm giving you. (Plus the price tag ensures that only serious people apply.) On top of that, as some of you already know... When we originally launched The Fretboard Formula it sold out at between $167 to $197 per copy... But we're aware... We know that right now the economy is in the toilet and we're trying to make this course a little more affordable for the average Joe... But at the same time we gotta be fair to our original customers. So here's the balance we struck... I'll offer you a $40 discount on the price the first group of customer got it for BUT instead of sending you printed hard copy manuals I'll give you the PDFs instead. ALL the info is EXACTLY the same but I just wanted to find a more economical way to deliver the info to you and pass on the savings. Bottomline, if you're ordering today you'll only pay $127. This is the absolutely best price I can afford to give you so I'm not gonna try to force this down your throat. If it's not for you then no worries... I ain't mad at you and we're still friends. If you can't afford it please don't get all 'weird about it' either. I am not asking you to sell a kidney to get this. The fact is this is not for everyone, and while I will be focusing most of my attention on the new crop of Fretboard Formula students for several weeks after the launch, that's not going to permanently stop me from posting quality free content on my blog for everyone to enjoy. But the folks who want this and can afford to take me up on the offer -- I assure you -- are gonna be glad they did. EVERY SINGLE PERSON I KNOW WHO GETS A HANDLE ON 'THE FORMULA' AND WORKS AT USING IT, HAS DEVELOPED REMARKABLE FRETBOARD AGILITY. (And I'm not just talking about people who have been playing for 30 years.) I fully believe that by the time you watch DVD 3, you'll come to realize that you've already gotten far more value than what you paid for the course, and that's less than half way through. But it gets better because here's...
How's that for putting my money where my mouth is? The fact is you're getting this course for one reason... You want to see results and that's how serious I am about wanting you to succeed, and that's also how confident I am that my system really works! You see, if I don't hold up to my end of the bargain, I'm not only $25 in the hole, I'm also out all the time that I spent working with you one-on-one (which frankly costs me a lot more than the $97 sticker price!) I'll say it again one more time just in case you dozed off... If You Go Through The Entire Training & YOU WILL BE WELL ON YOU WAY TO HAVING FAR
But whatever you do, DON’T delay. It's either you know you're in or not. But if you're not getting in, be sure that you have a good reason because I openly predict that this master class will produce fabulous results for a lot of folks. If you want to get this, go ahead and click on the registration button below (as soon as it becomes active) and reserve one of the slots before it's too late...
P.S. Just so you know, there's nothing "magical" about "The Fretboard Formula" even though it may seem like it... There's absolutely no bias against you doing great things with it either... Results are results, a process is a process... The fact is; You don't need to be have type of 'unique creative bass gene' that only a few people are born with... You don't need to have a genius IQ... And it doesn't matter if you're playing 4, 5 or 6 string bass. Great jazz educator Mark Levine once said, "A great jazz solo [I'd further add, "All great music"] is 1% magic and 99% stuff that is explainable, analyzable, categorize-able and doable..." The Fretboard Formula is all about learning a simple but proven set of rules that basically show you 6 unique and detailed ways of looking at the fretboard and 'seeing' plainly how harmony and melody work when it comes to the bass guitar. So this WILL work for anyone who applies it. When you really 'get' how the bass guitar's design is built for harmony the truth is it's hard NOT to see amazing results. P.P.S. Remember, your success with this is totally guaranteed! If you follow all the steps I give you and we still can't make it work (although I can't see how), I'll not only refund every last penny
of your investment, I'll also give you an additional $25 as "payment" for wasting your time. All rights reserved. Bass Guitar Tips - 2200 N
2nd Street |
If you've ever suspected for a second that some
players,
somehow manage to develop a better VISUAL understanding of how musical 'rules'
translate onto the bass neck, that allows them more 'easily' do things that look and sound flat out genius... 
I'm personally a huge fan of video training. 
honestly say that you've followed the steps faithfully but don't feel
like the formula has significantly empowered up your playing, or you feel for any
other reason whatsoever that I have cheated you or short-changed you of the value I promised,
let me know and I’ll not only issue you a refund, I’ll also cut you
an additional check for $25 just for wasting your time.