Izzy Posted July 10, 2013 Share Posted July 10, 2013 Hi all, I know many of you give the bass a go as it is very close to guitar in appearance, though I know it is a rhythmic instrument that probably would have a better time catching a beer with the drum set. I know someone here plays drums. I just got a synth and, though it looks like a piano/organ (which I play better than guitar)...JESUS was I in for a major shock! I'm basically starting from scratch on a machine that I do not understand and I am doing homework without even touching the damn thing. I wanted to know if anyone here plays OR tried to play something as regularly as you play guitar and what that is/was, how long it took you to learn it if you did learn it, and any major set-backs. Did you actually get better, stagnate and remain mediocre or did you give up? Also, do you feel that mastering one instrument is better than trying your hand at two or three and being JUST okay at them? We can't all be Prince or Stevie Wonder. :unsure: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted July 10, 2013 Share Posted July 10, 2013 I'm assuming as it applies to recording your own things. I can play anything on a guitar, any style, any time, have since 1971. I use a Boss DR-880 for drums. I can program it well enough to have people ask me who the drummer is. It takes time and patience. I program and record the entire drum track first, so it takes time but is enjoyable. Bass & Keys: I know them well enough to get me through this song I'm working on now. Other than that, I enjoy sitting around thumping at my delicious bassii and making Deep Purple and Boston sounds on the Hammond, but I feel no need for mastery as long as I can get on the songs I'm making the sounds I want. Good luck and have fun with it. The biggest problem is the lust we all have for the stuff we use to do this. Once you tame the lust, figure out what you need vs what you want you'll have it pretty much under control for making your own music by yourself. rct Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kennis Posted July 10, 2013 Share Posted July 10, 2013 At different times in my life, when I had access to piano and drums, I played them a lot and at least on drums I got fairly proficient. I don't agree with the concept of mastering an instrument in that sence, it's not something you're ever done with. And learning different instruments is at least very beneficial, if not also a necessity. It can teach you a lot about about music and what the people you play with are capable of. Playing drums taught me a lot about rhythm guitar, and playing piano taught me a lot about what a bass is actually supposed to be doing. in short, broadening your horizons will make you a lot better musician than practicing that guitar scale over and over again ever will. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted July 10, 2013 Share Posted July 10, 2013 I can play almost anything I pick up and get a tune from it.. Bass took me a while to stop playing it like a guitar and as you say use it as a proper rhythm instrument but obviously guitarists who move to bass have a slight head start. But basically yes it takes as much time to learn all the subtleties on every instrument.. I think though once you play one instrument moving your skills to another is much easier than starting with no knowledge at all.. I have kept up playing the bass and do get better at it. One of the best live multi instrumentalists I have seen is Edgar Winter.. man that guy is a demon.. just amazing.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pEtnT40RnY And of course theres David Gilmour... One of the best guitarists ever.. but also has other talents. Anyone who can get so good at more than one instrument like that just deserves respect. Heres a pic of me playing a double bass.. I had never played one before (or since) but I started off just not knowing what was going on, within five minutes I was playing along to the music that was playing in the shop and the guy behind the counter looked at me approvingly :) You can see here I really didn't know what I was doing, but went for it anyway ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookieman15061 Posted July 10, 2013 Share Posted July 10, 2013 Drums since about 5. Guitar since about 13. I've played bass in bands but just always loved guitar more. As for keys I know chords but that's it. I can play early RnR 3 chord type stuff in major keys or some two chord funk stuff but that's it. I think guys like Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder and Todd Rundgren that can play it all are just genius. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted July 10, 2013 Share Posted July 10, 2013 Talk of Stevie how about Jeff Healey :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdhhezV5aPE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdgm Posted July 10, 2013 Share Posted July 10, 2013 Forced to play piano as a kid, gave up as teacher smashed ruler over knuckles regularly, never took classical guitar as I thought that would happen again. Played a lot of bass in bands when I was learning guitar, did me lotta good, still have a bass. And my Dad's old 4-string banjo and ukes; can't play banjo, uke is brilliant! If you are thinking about bass Izzy you need to try both long-scale (Jazz, Precision) and medium-scale (Mustang B, Gibson EB). Long-scale has more bass 'oomph'... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krock Posted July 10, 2013 Share Posted July 10, 2013 I also play piano, bass and keytar. Some marginally better than abysmally. I mainly just focus on the guitar in my spare time and only get the keytar out when people request it at house parties Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buxom Posted July 10, 2013 Share Posted July 10, 2013 yea, i'm a **** drummer, but i get it done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyK Posted July 10, 2013 Share Posted July 10, 2013 Bass I could never master, but I played drums for a few years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Izzy Posted July 10, 2013 Author Share Posted July 10, 2013 I'm assuming as it applies to recording your own things. The biggest problem is the lust we all have for the stuff we use to do this. Once you tame the lust, figure out what you need vs what you want you'll have it pretty much under control for making your own music by yourself. rct I wasn't just talking about recording. I think "good enough" is the name of that game when recording solo and it takes talent to get an instrument that isn't yours to sound good enough. Its like going to China and knowing enough to eat and shop and not be rude to anyone. But being fluent in Chinese is another story... At different times in my life, when I had access to piano and drums, I played them a lot and at least on drums I got fairly proficient. I don't agree with the concept of mastering an instrument in that sence, it's not something you're ever done with. And learning different instruments is at least very beneficial, if not also a necessity. It can teach you a lot about about music and what the people you play with are capable of. Playing drums taught me a lot about rhythm guitar, and playing piano taught me a lot about what a bass is actually supposed to be doing. in short, broadening your horizons will make you a lot better musician than practicing that guitar scale over and over again ever will. I really like that perspective. "Never done learning, I can be better" is the attitud to have with any passion. The insight gained when you broaden is invaluable...just hadn't noticed before. So far bass and drums as I suspected. Is it an availability thing? Where there is drums there is a guitar and a bass round the corner. I mean, I don't see a violinist Violin is serious, the possition alone is a b*$@h! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfpup Posted July 10, 2013 Share Posted July 10, 2013 Violin is serious, the possition alone is a b*$@h! That's my retirement plan - learn to play the violin and piano and sell all this electrified sh!t Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted July 11, 2013 Share Posted July 11, 2013 Back in the '60s and '70s I was half decent on the banjo, functional on mandolin. Haven't really played either since '80. Thing is, I'm on record for always wanting to learn new stuff. But a couple of factors enter here, one being priorities. I was with a lotta folks doing "old time" in the '70s and that kinda added to the priority of playing them. Right now it's not a priority. I likely could do a gentle gig on bass if I knew the book or if the music were relatively simple in structure, but... ain't touched one in a cupla years. A second thought, too. I think most of us on the forum likely make comparisons of ourselves to "the best," whoever we consider excellent players. Most of us ain't going to make it. I think a perfect example on piano is Conde Rice's comments in an interview that she'd hoped/planned to be a concert pianist. She was, and is, an excellent player. But at a piano camp (I don't recall what sort) she discovered that there were those who could pick up in hours what took her days or weeks. At that point she began to consider other career options. It's good to seek one's best, and to learn as much as possible, but those sometimes themselves are conflicting goals. E.g., do I want to do a major work on my guitar or do I want to get back to as good as, then better how I played the five-string banjo and/or mandolin? Now we're back to priorities. m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LHW Posted July 11, 2013 Share Posted July 11, 2013 I used to play the organ and sax when I was a kid. About all I can do now, though, is crack my knuckles. Does that count? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CindyC Posted July 11, 2013 Share Posted July 11, 2013 I'm just starting on the Piano, Izzy. I never had any interest in it before but suddenly started thinking about it a few months ago and now have a piano! I'm finding it much easier than guitar, which is probably because I have musical background now. I've only had the piano for less than two weeks but can play quite a few songs. I'm starting slow with an instructor making sure I have proper hand positioning and not creating any bad habits from the beginning. I read sheet music but got lazy on the note reading since in guitar you can get away with tab usually, so I'm working on that and have quite a lot down already. It does take considerable more book study time to play than guitar does. I am absolutely loving it! Maybe a little more than guitar even .But I'm making sure to not neglect my guitars I wouldn't want any of the hard work I've done there to be lost. I think the combination of guitar and piano is going to be perfect for me! Hope you enjoy your synth! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaysEpiphone Posted July 11, 2013 Share Posted July 11, 2013 I program and record the entire drum track first, so it takes time but is enjoyable. rct Trust me bro... If your doing things on your own it takes a good bit of time to get a live drum-track down correctly too. I speak from lots of past experience. At least its sometimes that way for me, rarely it gel's right off the bat and take's just a few hours to get a basic, drum's-guitar-singing-bass thing together but most of the time I'll listen back and say to myself... I can improve this drum track and re-do the other stuff so the whole thing will sound much better. I've not done much of this type of thing lately but I did a bunch of it back in the 1980's and 1990's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Izzy Posted July 11, 2013 Author Share Posted July 11, 2013 @ milod priorities is exacly what I was getting at. today andyesterday I spent a considerable amount of time researching and watching vids on synth set-up. Did I get to play guitar? NO! I want to and I will when I'm done eating a bit, but it makes me realize...I could be awesome at one thing (awesome as I can be) or okay at two...or suck at seven, lol. @ Rays You're so right about tweeking after the song is all "done." There are times when you realize a fril would be good here or a pause would be good there. When I do drums I first do a basic beat like a metronome, then I do rythm and vocals and frills, then I do drums last. May be that I am bad with timing, but sometimes I have to make up for my lack of it and can because I don't program drums so much as play along with my fingers on the midi. @ rct have we gotten to hear your stuff? I don't remember hearing your stuff. (off to look in walkdawalk) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaiser Bill Posted July 11, 2013 Share Posted July 11, 2013 I play pedal steel, lap steel, bass, uke and guitar. I have also been known to play banjo on occasion. Fifty years ago I could hold my own on drums...but not any more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riptide Posted July 11, 2013 Share Posted July 11, 2013 I don't play anything really well besides guitar. I have a piano in my house that I mess around on... I'm the type of person that just plays what I can get my hands on.. so over time I've messed around with mandolins, banjos, basses, drums, etc. If you learn music theory you can pick up any instrument and play it okay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrosurfer1959 Posted July 11, 2013 Share Posted July 11, 2013 I play quite a few instruments and honestly it was the second one that came hard (mandolin) after that I started comparing the music concepts rather than the specifics of the instrument and it came much easier. I was also lucky that my parents made me stick with piano when I was young and wanted to quit so bad. I think if you have the basic skills of reading music and learning the concepts behind it, makes it much easier. I play the Guitar, Bass, Mandolin, Banjo, Ukulele and Mountain Dulcimer. I also play drum's both standard and digital including the Zen drum which is a digital drum device that most play standing although mine is a laptop model and I have it sitting on a stand. I also play most of the Latin Percussion instruments when needed. I also play the piano and synth and do all the recording, sampling and patching if needed. Then as long as I'm not gonna sing I can play Harmonica, Sax, Trumpet and a few less popular ones. The Sax is what I played in school until i decided football was a lot faster way of dating cheerleaders. The strangest instrument I play is probably the 10 string Chapman Stick which was kicking my butt until I decided it was more like playing the piano than a guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sellen Posted July 11, 2013 Share Posted July 11, 2013 Just bought a bass, hope that gonna learn me a thing or two about rhythm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btoth76 Posted July 11, 2013 Share Posted July 11, 2013 I play piano, but I do the same stuff on it as on my guitars: rapid scales. That comes naturally, it's like a bad habit: hard to get rid of it. At least, no bends and vibratos are applied to them on the piano. Cheers... Bence Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badbluesplayer Posted July 11, 2013 Share Posted July 11, 2013 I play the harmonica. I started playing using a harmonica holder but I realized real fast that you can't play the harmonica well using one of those things so I don't play much anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonzoboy Posted July 11, 2013 Share Posted July 11, 2013 Although guitar has been my main instrument for almost 50 years,I learned my first song on piano when I was 3 or 4.My mother was a church organist and she figured that it was time for me to learn piano.I kept playing piano but I'm completely self taught except for that one song that my mother taught me. I picked up several more instruments over the years and I have varying degrees of proficiency on each one.Besides piano I play organ and synth-although they are keyboard instruments the playing methods are quite different.I also have a mandolin and ukulele and know a few chords on each but never got around to spending a lot of time at either one.Of course like many other guitarists I play bass too.Even though a lot of people look at the bass as a guitar with the B and E strings removed and the rest dropped an octave,the whole approach to playing bass is quite different and you have to know how to play the bass scales or else you'll just up playing lead riffs on a bass guitar.Back in my teens and twenties I was decent enough on drums to fill in for our own drummer if need be,but I haven't sat at a drum kit for over 20 years now. I've been mentioning getting a set of drums but the Missus says that if I come in through the front door with a set of drums,she'll be leaving through the back door at the same time-something to keep in mind....lol.I keep telling her that my Marshalls and Vox AD-120-VTH are much louder but she'll still have no part of it.I also play autoharp and the harmonica type of harp,the harmonica was indispensable to me when I was playing in coffee houses in the late 60s and early 70s and I still have the same old holder as well and I still have one of my old Marine Band harmonicas with the $4.95 price tag still on the original box that it came in.You wouldn't get a Marine Band harp for that price now,I believe that they are now over $30.I used to know several of Harold McNair's flute parts on recorder for Donovan songs like "Lalena" and a few others that slip my feeble mind at the moment.Being able to play several different instruments can really help build your song writing abilities because just noodling on another instrument may inspire you to write something with that instrument as the prominent one.I also play a mean jaw harp and that finishes up the instruments that I can play-or at least can remember at this time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vangoghsear Posted July 11, 2013 Share Posted July 11, 2013 I started with snare drum in grade school and field snare in marching band in High School. I can play a little set drums. I play a little violin, cello, piano, and bass. I taught myself on each of those, so I break a lot of rules and have a lot of bad habits. I taught myself piano to help me with writing songs. I still play cello in my church orchestra. Drum Cat, an electronic drum machine you play with sticks and the sound comes through an amped synth. I played that in a band with my brother for a few years. We put a marimba sound on it and used it like rhythmic bass. I also think that acoustic guitar and electric guitar are two different instruments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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