Midcoast School Of Music offers personalized lesson plans and one-on-one instruction with some of the finest musicians in New England, focusing on mechanics, theory, and performance. Below, you’ll see the instructors available for bass lessons and have a chance to learn more about them. For more information regarding available lesson times at either of our campuses, please fill out the contact form at the bottom of this page.
Marcel Hamel
Marcel Hamel began playing bass at age thirteen, lured into the world of music by Maine’s once-thriving DIY (“Do-It-Yourself”) rock scene. He quickly began to grab at every playing opportunity he could, moving out of the grange halls and church basements of the local punk scene and playing in big bands at his high school and the Maine All-State Jazz Festival and at theaters around southern Maine where he played dozens of musicals, doubling on guitar and banjo.
At age nineteen Marcel enrolled in studies at the Berklee College of Music in Boston where he studied with such bass luminaries as Bruce Gertz, Anthony Vitti and Matthew Garrison. He also gigged extensively around Boston and northern New England at large playing everything from jazz and funk to rock, showtunes and latin music with musicians from around the world. Marcel received his B.M. in performance with a concentration in electric bass in 2009, finally completing his degree after leaving school to play guitar and bass in the national tour of the Broadway show Bye, Bye Birdie.
Marcel’s solid background in music theory, fluency in numerous musical styles and obsession with the art of teaching itself help him to find not only each student’s weaknesses as a player but also their strengths as a learner. This and an emphasis on teaching fundamentals through songs that the students want to learn helps to keep lessons exciting and fun for the student.
Johnny Venom
Johnny Venom has been immersed in music since childhood. His grandmother was an accomplished concert pianist and music teacher at Longy School of Music in Cambridge, MA and his mother is a flautist and music teacher in Maine. After studying piano as a youth he began playing guitar. In 2003 Venom received his Bachelors Degree in Contemporary Music Performance and Composition from the College Of Santa Fe in New Mexico. While in Santa Fe he fronted several different jazz, rock and fusion groups and continued his studies with private instruction from Bruce Dunlap (guitar) and Gary Willis (bass).
In 2006 Venom returned to Portland where he has become a bass player in high demand. Averaging nearly 200 gigs a year, he performs regularly with his own reggae group EastWave Radio which released their debut album “Soulful Noise” in April 2009. He also freelances for other Portland bands and is currently in the studio working on a new project as well as a follow-up for EastWave. In addition to electric bass, Venom plays guitar, upright bass, mandolin, piano and also sings.
Beyond Johnny Venom’s formal training, his busy performance schedule and experience as a full time working bass player and guitarist add an important focus to his teaching, giving his students the training and tools to excel not only in the classroom but in the real-world playing situations as well.
Tom Bucci
Tom Bucci has forty years of professional playing experience including two seasons with the Portland Symphony. Tom also worked for seven years at Disney World in Orlando, playing both upright and electric basses.
Tom is fluent in all styles of music including: Dixieland, Modern Jazz, rock, funk and Latin. Tom’s training includes not only instrument technique, but also the necessary music theory every good bass player needs.
Duane Edwards
Bassist Duane Edwards is an accomplished musician from Rockland, Maine. He studied at the University of Maine at Augusta with Boston bassist Greg Loughman, Thelonious Monk Institute Award recipient Steve Grover, and composer Richard Nelson. He graduated from UMA in 2007 with a Bachelor’s of Music in Jazz and Contemporary Music. Duane has also studied with jazz heavyweight Ben Allison. His music has been featured on All About Jazz radio and across the United States. Duane actively performs in many popular groups , freelancing across New England and Canada. He is proficient in multiple styles including jazz, rock, folk, R+B, and Cuban. The high demand for his playing confirms his experience, ability, and continual growth as a musician.
Duane is equally active in teaching private lessons, as well as teaching in public schools and music conservatories. He focuses lesson time on performance, using standards of bass playing throughout the popular era, and the student’s own musical interests. He builds his curriculum with the goal of making music and creating a great sound. Elements of the working musician are pillars to these lessons: technique, improvisation, composition, and solid performance. He is enthusiastic in assisting his students in reaching their goals, while building a solid musical foundation.
Please fill out the form below so we can learn a bit more about you and then match you up with the best possible lesson plan. We look forward to speaking with you soon!
