About
Max Gerl is an acoustic and electric bassist from East Dallas, Texas. He graduated with honors from Berklee College of Music in 2017, and has performed or recorded with Tia Fuller, Bob Mintzer, Makaya McCraven, Jordan Rakei, Emily Bear, Shaun Martin, Bernard Wright, Sean Jones, Marshall Gilkes, Chris Cheek, James Francies, Beka Gochiashvili, Stanley Clarke, Cameron Graves, and Mike Mitchell. He released his debut album as a leader, “Tbilisi”, in December, 2019.
I enjoy working one on one with students, addressing the areas they would like to improve, and finding ways of targeting their weaknesses while still keeping things fun for them. Most adult students understand the need to work with a metronome and practice slowly, but for many younger students, that type of lesson doesn't keep them engaged. For younger students, I like to teach them songs that they enjoy, and in the learning/practicing of these songs, I'll isolate specific things to focus on so that they improve in their areas of weakness. For instance, if a bass player really loves soul music and they are having a hard time with 16th note subdivisions, then I would choose a song like "I Was Made to Love Her", by Stevie Wonder, as it's known for a syncopated bassline that is fun to play and directly targets the weakness of the student.
For electric bass: Serious Electric Bass, by Joel di Bartolo
For upright bass: F Simandl New Method for the Double Bass pt. 1