My Story

Welcome to onlinebasscourses.com - a site that exists to help you improve all aspects of your bass playing.

My name is Dan Hawkins and I'm a full time musician making a living from playing bass guitar.

I'm also an author and session player, but more on that in a second...

Click the picture for an interview Bass Musician Magazine did with me.

Bass Musician Magazine Dan Hawkins Bass Interview
Dan Hawkins Online Bass Guitar Lessons & Tuition

A Few Things About Me

I’ve been playing the bass guitar for nearly 30 years, 16 of them as a full time professional.

Here are a few things I've done in that time:

  • Played 1000s of gigs of all types as a freelance musician based in London. From pit bands in London's West End to pub gigs and concerts with famous artists like Katie Melua and Martha Reeves and the Vandellas. I've played my fair share of TV gigs (I say 'play'... I rarely played a note but don't tell anyone!). Bass has been the one thing that has paid the bills in my working life.
  • Recorded on over 1000 tracks for musicians around the world via my remote recording service www.onlinebassplayer.com. I've randomly heard my bass playing quite a few times now on TV shows and adverts. I never get bored of that...
  • Taught 100s of music students one to one in person. This is really where I learned where people's blind spots are as well as methods to get students playing well with great habits.

Me not playing any notes with Rod Stewart

With Katie Melua at Buckingham Palace (yes the Queen was there!).

A selection of TV shows my bass playing can be heard on

Teaching Philosophy


What I love about teaching is being able to explain musical ideas clearly enough so that someone can instantly begin to make music. You can find those lessons here. I'm a big believer in learning the fundamentals. Combining these basics in a few areas leads to the light bulb moments. These lead to better playing. It's all about connecting the dots to deepen your understanding and increase your confidence.

Everything I teach is based around seven important musical ideas - technique, fretboard knowledge, theory, reading, mindset, groove, and learning bass lines. There are many more topics to be found within these subjects such as working on your ear. I believe that if you improve your knowledge in these areas (even just a little bit) you'll get fantastic results.

How To Learn Bass Guitar

It's all about building that solid foundation from which you can flourish. You’ll find tons of free bass guitar lessons here aimed at the practical tools, mindsets, and tactics you can use to become an awesome bass player. This is an approach that will work on how you think about music as well as what you learn. Here's a small taste of the kinds of lessons you will find here.

“I'll show you how to think for yourself by increasing your musical skills. I want you to learn the process of how to improve fast and make great music ”.


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Follow Me

You can follow me on social media for more behind the scenes action and - especially - gear pictures. Who doesn't love gear??

I send 1 email every Sunday with free lessons, pro tips, gear, gig advice and more. Your details will not be passed on or shared with any other party. Privacy policy.

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