Learning Bass Guitar

[neepheid]

and bass seems 33% easier as its 2 less strings.

I hope you're joking.

[Flights]

I hope you're joking.

Despite being a guitar player I was thinking the same!

[fatboy]

bass is totally different from guitar, saying that alot of bass players seem to be failed guitarists, doesn't make them good bass players.

I'm a better guitarist than a bassist

[Old Gold]

To clarify: you're a failed guitarist if you can't play all the solos in Master of Puppets.

[Guest Gladstone]

I imagined he was joking.

It's easier to play bass to a basic level than it is to play guitar to a basic level.

To be amazing at bass is more difficult than to be good at guitar and probably on a par with being amazing on guitar, but it's difficult to compare when you get to that stage because they are very very different.

All in my opinion of course based on my own experience of being fucking hopeless at guitar and taking about 10 years to even be able to play anything half decent, but being able to jam along on bass to a very basic level within about 2 weeks.

[Guest Gladstone]

So - droid does bass lessons?

Where are these lessons held and how much do they cost?

Droid's doing well out of this thread...

[fatboy]

What i was meaning alot of people who take up bass have previously tried guitar found it too hard and took up bass instead so they can still participate in playing in bands, as opposed to the people who pick up bass from the start as if they wanted to play bass. I joined a band on bass a few months ago. having guitar fretboard knowledge helps alot as its the same you know but in terms of dynamics/your role in the band etc is alot different to guitar.

[Guest Gladstone]

What i was meaning alot of people who take up bass have previously tried guitar found it too hard and took up bass instead so they can still participate in playing in bands, as opposed to the people who pick up bass from the start as if they wanted to play bass. I joined a band on bass a few months ago. having guitar fretboard knowledge helps alot as its the same you know but in terms of dynamics/your role in the band etc is alot different to guitar.

I understood that. I'm a bassist and I fall squarely into that bracket.

You will get some purists who will say you're speaking shite and that bass is as difficult if not more so than guitar but I disagree. It's amazing how simple some basslines are in some very famous songs by some very famous artists. Some are so basic that I could have played them after about three attempts without ever having picked up a bass before. I don't think that would be possible with guitar.

Obviously to get really good at bass isn't easy and is probably as difficult as being really good at guitar.

[Guest droid]

Droid's doing well out of this thread...

Yes, i already have 30 students at the moment...but i'm always looking to help out.

[Jaaakkkeee]

I started on bass because I wanted to play bass. I only picked up a guitar for the first time a couple of years ago.

[BlueMountain]

To the OP

Lessons, according to the others, are always a good idea but not what I did so I cannot comment too much on them. I used to wear out tape machines doing what I'm about to advise. It learned me to learn things quicker and saved a fortune on books - especially for blues guitar.

Dig out your favourite mp3 tracks which have the bass performances you would like to learn. Or dig out something you like less which you know is easy and perhaps within a beginners grasp. If you aim too high to begin with, you run the risk of becoming defeatist and feeling as though you won't ever manage to cut it.

Get a set of headphones on at the PC and begin sussing out each note in each part of the song. There will be a lot of stopping and starting but keep with it. Quite a lot of the time, learning the first verse will give you all verses - same with choruses. However, there may be small variations between them.

Once you have things sussed, play along with the song with your bass loud enough that you hear it above the song. You'll be surprised how involved you'll feel despite playing over an already recorded bass track. It can be pretty cool - kinda like being in the band. Incidentally, the record will likely leave you eating its dust the first few times you play along but this is normal. Do it again and again and again and you'll note continual improvments each time you play along with it. You'll feel very satisfied after managing to play your first tune along with the band without a gaff and will be scouring your collection for more basslines in no time.

You can make this process even easier if you wish by using 'slow downer' software, 'Amazing Slow Downer' or 'Best Practice' being examples of this. Hell, DAW software may assist with this too so feel free to import mp3s into it. If using DAW software, you can also boost the bass frequencies so that you can pick out the notes easier. If you get stuck on any notes,

I know it sounds arduous and sometimes it is but it's worth doing and if you're able to get the notes correct, you needn't be a rocket surgeon to guess correctly where the notes are played on the fretboard (i.e. open string A versus E-string 5th Fret). Yo'll get a feel for it.

Stewart