BASS GUITAR?

[S t e v e]

bass is for people that can't play a 6 string?...something my cousin said many yrs ago but has stuck in my mind ever since, i don't play bass and don't aspire too but what are your thoughts on my cousins above comments?

[damian]

Playing bass well, is harder than guitar........Theory is much more important, etc etc......When a band's bassist s*cks, it shows.......

 

Bass is perhaps more important than a band's guitarest.....Guitarest's skill levels can be all over the map, and might still sound good;

 

Bass players don't really have that option......

 

 

( When I play bass, I prefer a five string fretless ).......

[Lungimsam]

I was a guitarist from 12-37 years old. Both electric and classical. Played 6-string electric and 10-string classical. Also studied Chinese Pipa (lute) for 5 years with a professor from Shanghai. Then turned to mostly bass since 37 years old, which I love even more than guitar. So I would say that your cousin's comment is not true.

 

I have heard of other guitarists who switch to bass later in their careers, or years.

 

However, both instruments are played (physically) and approached (mentally) in a totally different manner. So a great guitarist may not make the greatest bassist even though he may have the chops, and vice versa. But that is more of a head thing than a hands thing.

[EVOL!]

No offense, but your cousin is jr. high league.

 

Never heard a more ignorant music myth in my life.

[stein]

Playing bass well, is harder than guitar........Theory is much more important, etc etc......When a band's bassist s*cks, it shows.......

 

Bass is perhaps more important than a band's guitarest.....Guitarest's skill levels can be all over the map, and might still sound good;

 

Bass players don't really have that option......

 

 

( When I play bass, I prefer a five string fretless ).......

Well said, and absolutely true.

[S t e v e]

No offense, but your cousin is jr. high league.

 

Never heard a more ignorant music myth in my life.

 

i agree 100%

[Silenced Fred]

I think he likes to troll almost as much as you do. That's bush league, and he's an idiot.

[ne14t?]

I started on a four string bass that my buddy owned, I would play it and he would play his 6 string, I then realized why he went from the bass to the 6 string and I followed in suit shortly after, but playing the bass gave me the chance to learn how to read tab and stuff faster and easier with only the four strings. The only thing I can see being a bit tricky is the picking style, bass you pretty much jut walk the strings with your fingers whereas playing a guitar has so many different picking styles. Going from 6 string to bass should be very easy though.

[S t e v e]

I think he likes to troll almost as much as you do. That's bush league, and he's an idiot.

 

wow, a troll calling me a troll?

[CajunBlues]

Bass players get a heck of a lot more gigs/work than guitar players... There is more demand for them...

[fl00dsm0k3]

i can't play bass to much space beetween string

[stein]

In other circles like classical and band stuff, the bass is considered the hardest instrument to play.

 

Because of where the bass sits in the mix, it just happens that TIMING is more of a factor. And timing is NOT just hitting the notes at the right time, there is the decay factor and also where the notes END.

 

Some poeple think this is being "in the groove" of something that you may or may not feel on a particular night. But if someone becomes hip to it, it is actually a repeatable thing that makes a big part of being a good musician.

 

When it comes to the execution of timing, the bass is physically much harder to do this than it is for a guitar.

 

On the surface it may seem that the bass player has the easier job, especially if he is hitting one note while others are doing more interesting things, but the level of concentration of the bass player is much more on the whole.

 

When it comes to WHICH notes to play, the same thing applies to the bass as being the fundamental. Simple pentatonics just don't work for everything like us "GUITARIST". But even something that SOUNDS simple like adding 1 or 2 notes has a drastic impact on what the song ends up sounding like depending on what notes and where they are placed.

 

So, while bass players often start out because it is the easiest or simplist instrument as far as getting into a band, when they progress they usually naturally gravitate toward learning these elements of musicianship because it is the easiest way to progress. The up side is that when these things are learned it makes it easier to play with more different bands. I think it is more accurate to say the reason bass players get around more in different bands is because they end up the better musicians, not because the instrument is easier.

 

Granted there are demands on the guitar player that are not on the bassist. but among equally qualified musicians, it is almost a sure bet that the guitarist may not know what the bass player is doing, but you can be sure the bass player knows what the guitarist is doing.

[S t e v e]

i can't play bass to much space beetween string

 

i just find it bland, no offence to bass players

 

my cousin is a bit of a **** though

[S t e v e]

I think he likes to troll almost as much as you do.

 

i must be the greatest troll ever!, been on the forum over a year and half and over 3500 posts...still going strong

[stein]

I think he likes to troll almost as much as you do. That's bush league, and he's an idiot.

Yea, but if you are going to troll then this is good. Who doesn't like to talk about how awesome bass players are?

 

You problably don't like to hear about bass players right now tho.

 

It's okay man, we all still rooting for your band.

 

You might could use some trolling for bass player info yourself, boss.

[S t e v e]

Yea, but if you are going to troll then this is good. Who doesn't like to talk about how awesome bass players are?

 

You problably don't like to hear about bass players right now tho.

 

It's okay man, we all still rooting for your band.

 

You might could use some trolling for bass player info yourself, boss.

 

i think fred is just a bit uptight at the mo cause he ain't getting any

[Silenced Fred]

wow, a troll calling me a troll?

 

i must be the greatest troll ever!, been on the forum over a year and half and over 3500 posts...still going strong

 

 

i think fred is just a bit uptight at the mo cause he ain't getting any

[MojoRedFoot]

I played bass A LOT for church and having that sense of rhythm made guitar easier and yea somehow theory is easier to learn on bass. I prefer 5 strings

[swleary]

bass is for people that can't play a 6 string?...something my cousin said many yrs ago but has stuck in my mind ever since, i don't play bass and don't aspire too but what are your thoughts on my cousins above comments?

 

 

For the comment Steve, I want my ring back I gave you and my autographed James Hetfeild underwear back..Please take that you and I are in a relationship with me off of facebook..we're sooo done lmfao

[tazzboy]

Yeah Guitar player are a Dime of dozen. A Bass Player is a needle in a haystack.

[rguerra]

I started on a four string bass that my buddy owned, I would play it and he would play his 6 string, I then realized why he went from the bass to the 6 string and I followed in suit shortly after, but playing the bass gave me the chance to learn how to read tab and stuff faster and easier with only the four strings. The only thing I can see being a bit tricky is the picking style, bass you pretty much jut walk the strings with your fingers whereas playing a guitar has so many different picking styles. Going from 6 string to bass should be very easy though.

 

"bass you pretty much jut walk the strings with your fingers"

 

Only if you don't know about all the finger, slapping, pop and pick styles on bass. Any instrument played well takes education, skill and commitment. Sorry, this comment made me laugh. Bass players also need to work closely with drummers...always an interesting skill.

[Shnate McDuanus]

I think it depends on a lot of things. In some respects bass is harder and in some respects guitar is harder. There's certainly a more recognizable role that a bass fills in an ensemble, where a guitar really doesn't have that specificity. I'd imagine that the bass' limitations probably allow for a more focused learning of the instrument. On the other hand, I can imagine that, technically, bass is a harder instrument to play, at least as far as left-hand mechanics are concerned. Strings are thicker and the spacing between them is wider. I know that, the first time I held a bass, I had no idea what to do with my hands.

 

I also think that the ease or difficulty of playing a specific instrument varies from person to person, at least as far as initial difficulty goes. I'd bet that for some bass is much easier to start with, and for others guitar is easier to start with. I think it's a twisted and ignorant fallacy that bass is flat-out "easier" than guitar, and I think your troll cousin should probably get used to not being seen as a credible source of information on musical instruments.

[MrNylon]

Tell that one to Paul McCartney. He started out on 6 string, and wasn't too damn bad, before he lost the two strings.

[milod]

I seldom play bass, but when I do, the fingers on my left hand let me know they're not used to that sorta thing.

 

I think it's not that hard to play, but exceptionally hard to play well if you're a guitar player familiar with some basic folkie flatpicking.

 

The tendency is to play too much and to speed, I think, rather than perceiving yourself as part of the rhythm section and leaving pieces of low notes to hold together what the vocal or solo "voice" is doing.

 

m

[Lungimsam]

I don't think either instrument is easier or harder to play than the other. Just depends what level you want to take it to on the guitar or bass.