Bass?

theholyghost

I'd like to hear what people about think about this. Do you think if you play the guitar but are more passionate about playing rather than what you play it's not a bad idea to switch to learning to play bass?

Seems there's loads of people looking for bass players and not many out there. Or is it just as hard to hook up with people to play with if you play bass as guitar?

AlmightyDublin

theholyghost wrote: »

I'd like to hear what people about think about this. Do you think if you play the guitar but are more passionate about playing rather than what you play it's not a bad idea to switch to learning to play bass?

Seems there's loads of people looking for bass players and not many out there. Or is it just as hard to hook up with people to play with if you play bass as guitar?

No way, you'd be in high demand as a bass player

Rigsby

Generally I think most people play an instrument because it appeals to them, not because of any pros or cons that may happen as a result of their choice. IMO, the lack of bass players has something to do with their role in the band. While there are exceptions, the bassist is usually the one in the back ground, out of the lime light, who along with the drummer, holds the whole shebang together, while the guitarist struts his stuff up front where every one can see him. So, the bass chair is not for everyone.

You are correct in that generally guitarists are two a penny, bassists are scarce, drummers even more so, and trumpet/sax players and keyboards are like the proverbial dodo.

I dont see anything wrong with playing more than one instrument, for what ever reason. It's all music after all.

To answer your question, I definitely think it is easier to hook up with other players as a bassist than as a guitarist.

flameboy87

Hey, just gonna give my two cents, I can see where you are coming from in terms of wanting to play in a band. Changing to bass however, should be something you want to do tho, not something to do to get you into a band. Also, just because you play guitar doesn't mean you will necessarily be good at bass, many people regard it as a lesser version of guitar but for me anyway, I think of it as a complete different instrument. Not trying to deter you from doing it but want you to ensure that you dont head out and buy a bass under false illusions. If you dont really have a big interest in bass then once you are in the band, u might find your interest waning.

I do however, agree that it would make it easier to get in to a band with bass.

gotBass

theholyghost wrote: »

I'd like to hear what people about think about this. Do you think if you play the guitar but are more passionate about playing rather than what you play it's not a bad idea to switch to learning to play bass?

Seems there's loads of people looking for bass players and not many out there. Or is it just as hard to hook up with people to play with if you play bass as guitar?

You are either a bass guy or not.
Its a different mindset, to guitar (most of the time). if you can do both fair play.
If you are good enough on either instrument, finding players isn't hard, just be patient and play with as many people as you can.

theholyghost

Thanks for the replies.

I sort of agree with what you are saying flameboy, I think bass is a cool instrument and slightly more interesting because people don't bother with it.

I suppose it depends what angle you approach it from. I'm mostly into originals so if a band needs a bass player I can't really understand why a guitarist just wouldn't say, "I'll play bass" if that's what is needed to keep your music going. I don't see why more people don't do that. But I suppose most people are not in that situation and just wnat to play guitar because that is what they enjoy and that's fair enough.

Rigsby

flameboy87 wrote: »

Hey, just gonna give my two cents, I can see where you are coming from in terms of wanting to play in a band. Changing to bass however, should be something you want to do tho, not something to do to get you into a band. Also, just because you play guitar doesn't mean you will necessarily be good at bass, many people regard it as a lesser version of guitar but for me anyway, I think of it as a complete different instrument. Not trying to deter you from doing it but want you to ensure that you dont head out and buy a bass under false illusions. If you dont really have a big interest in bass then once you are in the band, u might find your interest waning.

I do however, agree that it would make it easier to get in to a band with bass.

gotBass wrote: »

You are either a bass guy or not.
Its a different mindset, to guitar (most of the time). if you can do both fair play.
If you are good enough on either instrument, finding players isn't hard, just be patient and play with as many people as you can.

I agree with the above.

theholyghost wrote: »

I can't really understand why a guitarist just wouldn't say, "I'll play bass" if that's what is needed to keep your music going.

It is not quite as simple as that. As has been said, the bass is a completely different animal altogether from the guitar. It would be a major jump, both from a mind set point of view, as well as a physical one. Just getting used to holding the bass, those big frets and cables for strings , would take some time to adjust to. All this without taking into consideration the completely different role in the band. As a bassist, the ex guitarist's timing would have to be spot on.

I also agree that an instrument has to be taken up for the right reason, i.e. love of the instrument, rather than merely filling a void.

Gen.Zhukov

Rigsby wrote: »

Generally I think most people play an instrument because it appeals to them, not because of any pros or cons that may happen as a result of their choice. IMO, the lack of bass players has something to do with their role in the band. While there are exceptions, the bassist is usually the one in the back ground, out of the lime light, who along with the drummer, holds the whole shebang together, while the guitarist struts his stuff up front where every one can see him.

flameboy87 wrote: »

Changing to bass however, should be something you want to do tho, not something to do to get you into a band. Also, just because you play guitar doesn't mean you will necessarily be good at bass, many people regard it as a lesser version of guitar but for me anyway, I think of it as a complete different instrument.

gotBass wrote: »

You are either a bass guy or not.

You've nailed it lads and saved me much typing:)

Malice

I play both guitar and bass and would agree with the sentiment that despite their similarities, they are two quite different instruments fulfilling different roles in a band. It's quite interesting to pick out what both instruments contribute to a song's overall sound, at least where the bass is doing something more interesting than relentlessly pounding on the E or B strings.

I think prospective players should explore bass playing on its own merits rather than from the narrow-minded perspective of "It's got less strings and people are less likely to pick up on your mistakes".

theholyghost

Malice wrote: »

"It's got less strings and people are less likely to pick up on your mistakes".

Of course, I didn't say anything of the sort.

Perhaps it is just because a lot of the bands I like people tend to hop around instrumentally sharing keyboards, bass, guitar etc. that makes me see the functional side of things rather than see it as a calling. But I totally agree that there is a big difference between really being a bass player and being able functioning on bass.

Malice

theholyghost wrote: »

Of course, I didn't say anything of the sort.

I meant "you" in a general sense rather than "you" as in specifically you the individual user. I've reworded what I wrote anyway to avoid further confusion.

Blong!hahaha

I'm somebody who changed to bass out of necessity, as there aren't many others here into the same music. Started with a pick, but realised I could get more output finger-style, so that's how I play now. I don't mind bass, as it's more the whole sound of the music I enjoy creating, not just my individual part. Though I must say I don't play bass at home - only in rehearsal and gigs. I just find it more fun to play my guitar or keyboard at home.

i57dwun4yb1pt8

I started as a drummer, ( 30 years drumming ) learned guitar as well, - then keys .
took up bass about 3 years ago , but started really practising it in the last year.

i play with fingers , dont get on with the pick at all.

i just spent the last 6 months learning to play iron maidens number of the best album with two fingers
specifially as a heard the raw bass tracks on you tube and had to learn how to do it .

did bloody wonders for my technique ,
a6 months ago i thought id never do it- its prety natural to me now - after 6 months an hour a day
hes some player is steve harris.

but im playing old disco , chic, funk etc , and love it - as a drummer ive found it pretty natural to play bass once i got
round to finding the right bass ( jazz and p bass ) for me , and the right string guages- and built up some hand strenght

its like drumming in a melodic way to me , feels and sounds great .

i did go thru a big phase with guitar , but find bass and keys much more satisfying tonally and melodically .

alot of people are moving to synths now as every c.unt and his mother is playing guitar these days

i think you do have to have ' groove ' to play bass, its easier for drummers to take it up,
guitarists tend to over play and not lock into the drummer when playing bass.
you have to think like a drummer to be honest .

tis a well sexy instrument though.

KeithTS

I'm a guitarist who plays a bit of bass, it helps when writing songs and its good fun but there's a big difference between a guitarist and a bassist in terms of mentallity and the role of the instruments.

Although they both might share similar techniques and the fingerings etc make it very easy to pick up bass after learning guitar they are two different instruments altogether in how they are employed within a song.

One of my pet hates is when you see a "guitarist" who is playing bass and they just don't realise when and where notes should be, its the most obvious thing in the world and it does my nut in.

As a guitarist I personnally view drums and bass to be the most important aspects of a song, along with vocals perhaps. My guitar is there to add a little flavour, distinguish between minors and minor 7ths and to fill a bit of space but all the energy should come from the drum and bass, bassists are hugely underestimated and as a result they don't get the praise they deserve leading to nobody playing the bloody instrument.

Grolschevik

KeithTS wrote: »

I'm a guitarist who plays a bit of bass, it helps when writing songs and its good fun but there's a big difference between a guitarist and a bassist in terms of mentallity and the role of the instruments.

Although they both might share similar techniques and the fingerings etc make it very easy to pick up bass after learning guitar they are two different instruments altogether in how they are employed within a song.

One of my pet hates is when you see a "guitarist" who is playing bass and they just don't realise when and where notes should be, its the most obvious thing in the world and it does my nut in.

As a guitarist I personnally view drums and bass to be the most important aspects of a song, along with vocals perhaps. My guitar is there to add a little flavour, distinguish between minors and minor 7ths and to fill a bit of space but all the energy should come from the drum and bass, bassists are hugely underestimated and as a result they don't get the praise they deserve leading to nobody playing the bloody instrument.

This!

Rigsby

KeithTS wrote: »

I'm a guitarist who plays a bit of bass, it helps when writing songs and its good fun but there's a big difference between a guitarist and a bassist in terms of mentallity and the role of the instruments.

Although they both might share similar techniques and the fingerings etc make it very easy to pick up bass after learning guitar they are two different instruments altogether in how they are employed within a song.

One of my pet hates is when you see a "guitarist" who is playing bass and they just don't realise when and where notes should be, its the most obvious thing in the world and it does my nut in.

As a guitarist I personnally view drums and bass to be the most important aspects of a song, along with vocals perhaps. My guitar is there to add a little flavour, distinguish between minors and minor 7ths and to fill a bit of space but all the energy should come from the drum and bass, bassists are hugely underestimated and as a result they don't get the praise they deserve leading to nobody playing the bloody instrument.

Interesting post from a guitarist's aspect, and being a bassist myself, one that I entirely agree with.


Another reason for not taking up, or giving up, the bass that is often mentioned is that it is too easy. :eek:

This always makes me smile, as these people dont seem to realise that it is the music they are playing that is easy, and possibly does not require any more than root notes, with the odd "five" thrown in now and then.

Malice

KeithTS wrote: »

I personnally view drums and bass to be the most important aspects of a song

Really? Even more important than the melody?

i57dwun4yb1pt8

most songs / mixes are based on vocal , drums and drum / bass groove

if these are great ( including melody ) and sound great - you are on to a winner

the rest is ear candy .

you should be able to play any mix with just drums . bass and vocal and still sound fantastic.

KeithTS

Malice wrote: »

Really? Even more important than the melody?

I did note along with vocals in my post, obviously melody is up there.

Malice

KeithTS wrote: »

I did note along with vocals in my post, obviously melody is up there.

No, you didn't. That's why I asked the question.

KeithTS

KeithTS wrote: »

As a guitarist I personnally view drums and bass to be the most important aspects of a song, along with vocals perhaps...

I'm pretty sure I did, anyway, no fights to be had.

You are of course correct, melody, be it performed by a singer or an instrument is obviously a key element of any song.

Bass and drums are, in my humble opinion, rather important too though.

Malice

KeithTS wrote: »

I'm pretty sure I did, anyway, no fights to be had.

Not at all I'm just of the opinion that a vocal line isn't necessarily providing the melody of a song and therefore I was curious why you'd apparently relegated the role of the instrument providing the melody to below the vocals, bass and drums.

Other than that I agree with most of what you wrote.

murphyebass

Just to give the other side of the arguement here as it looks to me this is fairly one sided.

I am a guitarist turned bass player. 10 years roughly now.

I would have happily played guitar in a band back all those years ago but sure theres thousands of guirtarists out which doesnt help your odds
( he says as they continue to look for one for wedding band http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056715124 )

So I turned to bass as there were numerous bands looking for bass players.

Took a while to get used to and obviously I'm still learning and always will be but the bottom line is personally I dont regret the decision at all.
I've played in a few different bands in the past 10 years growing as a musician and have met some great people.

Drums is another option to get into a band if you have any sort of rhythm OP. Few lessons, practice and you'd be in a band in no time!

ps I still play guitar btw just not in bands, although that said I did end up in the last band I played in playing rhythm guitar on a few songs.

Mr. CooL ICE

KeithTS wrote: »

As a guitarist I personnally view drums and bass to be the most important aspects of a song, along with vocals perhaps.

A friend of mine once said "a band can only be as good as the drummer". I thought it was an outrageous statement, but the more I think of it, its pretty damn true.

As a bassist, I am guilty of spending a long time playing a simplified version of the guitar but the more people I play with and the more styles I am exposed to, the more I realise how important playing along to the drums rather than the guitar is. It just adds so much more depth. Who cares if I stand in the background for a guitar solo - if I stopped playing, it would sound... wrong.

I would tell anyone who underestimates the importance of bass should just listen to Rush. I have yet to find a bass line in their discography that isn't perfect - neither underplayed nor overplayed. Geddy Lee is IMO the perfect rock bassist and anyone learning bass for rock should use him as a guide for what bass can add to a song.

viadah

One of the best guitarists I ever knew was also one of the sloppiest bass players I ever knew. But only because he did it solely for the purpose of tracking a demo, it wasn't an interest of his. In this discussion though, any stringed instrument can be included, because they each have different disciplines, and that's what makes the difference as you pick up different stringed instruments. Guitar and bass are culturally closely related which brings more focus to this discussion.

Ever tried to play a violin like a guitar?

contact with a corpse

may i ask does anybody here know any bassists??? in dire need of one

Malice

contact with a corpse wrote: »

may i ask does anybody here know any bassists??? in dire need of one

I know a few bassists. I think what you really mean is whether anyone here knows bassists from Wexford and in that case my answer is no.