Guitarist turned bassist

[onatire]

Hey everyone.

First post. So I've always been a guitarist and pretty much was under the impression that bass was a boring version of guitar. However, a good friend of mine was starting a band and needed a bassist so I figured what the hell. Turns out I took to bass like a duck to water, I love it. Anyhow, I was wondering what some useful exercises or tips anyone might have for making me into a true bass player instead of a guitar player with a bass.

PS: I spent some time checking out this forum before I bought my first bass and amp and it seems like a great community and I am looking forward to be a part of it!

[MKoby]

You have ascended musically playing bass, friend! Welcome to the family.

Takes at least as long to play bass well as it does guitar.

Listen carefully to recordings of good bassists. (to get the sound and feel in your head)
Think of the bass line.
Take lessons with a good teacher.

Where do you think you want to be musically?
Do you want the sound of guitar an octave lower ? Bottom thump? Tone and sparse lines? (Reggae?) Lots of little notes as the main interesting part? (Motown?, slapped or finger plucked funk?)

[GRAHAM SG1]

About 6 months ago I was in the same position as `onatire` .
I find playing bass is more of an experience than guitar because the vibes and tone feels more alive and deep .
I have been learning using a combination of watching you tube clips and listening to recordings, the latter is not always easy because the bass is not very audible in many recordings and does not cut through the overall sound .
It is worth learning where the notes repeat themselves on the different strings, I am now playing with a lot of confidence and have started really driving the band, I like to play with fingers as much as possible, this seems to take more time to get right than using a pick but has improved my sense of timing .
I have found the most off-putting part to be the horrible scratchy/squeaky sound the strings make when fretting notes, did consider swapping over to flatwound strings but have read that they are not as bright, more practice required I think
Another mistake I made was thinking I was better than I was just because I was a guitarist, its always best to start at the beginning rather than think you can carry on at the level you achieved on another instrument, does that make sense
Overall, I love the bass and enjoy it far more than guitar, I love my GK MB210 amp, really impressed with it, and love my Gibson SG and Fender Precision MIM basses

BASS RULES

[MalcolmAmos]

My rhythm guitar is on automatic pilot right now. Ten years with the same band playing the same songs. I have loved adding the bass. Bass is different, but, everything you learned on the 6 string will flow into your bass. Jam every chance you get - with people of course, but, your CD's, jam tracks, Internet video, whatever.

Have fun.

[shadow_FIX]

You might find that a lot of those super-fine muscles you've toned for guitar...now need to be beefed up for bass Also be prepared to re-live the painful callous-building days

Welcome to the club!

[Atomik Rooster]

Originally Posted by onatire

Hey everyone.

First post. So I've always been a guitarist and pretty much was under the impression that bass was a boring version of guitar. However, a good friend of mine was starting a band and needed a bassist so I figured what the hell. Turns out I took to bass like a duck to water, I love it. Anyhow, I was wondering what some useful exercises or tips anyone might have for making me into a true bass player instead of a guitar player with a bass.

PS: I spent some time checking out this forum before I bought my first bass and amp and it seems like a great community and I am looking forward to be a part of it!

Considering your background as a guitarist, I think one of the fundamentals shifts that go with playing bass is to pay closer attention to the other half of the rhythm section, that being the drummer. Your musical relationship with percussion is at least as important as hitting the right notes.

[plangentmusic]

I've learned more about soloing from guitarists than bassists (because they do it more and the instrument is better geared for it) so you already have a nice advantage.

Though instead of exercises I'd recommend working on feel and VOICE LEADING. That's the BIG overlooked factor with bass. It directs everything.

Do that enough, and the chops will take care of themselevs.

[GRAHAM SG1]

You guys mention the words `chops and voice leading`, now I understand riffs but what do the other two mean, I am possibly doing them without realizing
I have noticed that quite a lot of my guitar playing has carried through, I used mainly open guitar chords with runs between them so a lot of the bass stuff is natural to me ,

[colcifer]

Voice leading is like building a bridge from on chord to another. You'll get the hang of it pretty quick, but depending on your background you're theory might need work.

So far as technique, just make sure you're comfortable and getting a nice round sound (never punchy at first).

I'd also make a point of picking up all the Aretha stuff with Jerry Jemmott and Steely Dan's Gaucho if you don't already have them.

[GRAHAM SG1]

Thanks for that .
The songs I am learning are the ones we play in the band, I am hearing songs differently now I am paying attention to bass, take for example `should I stay or go` by the clash, a much better bass line than I thought it had when I was on guitar .

[BassMonstrum]

Connect with the drummer. Get a feel of the beat and pay attention to his kick, snare and hi-hat.

[capnsandwich]

I did the same switch about 15 years ago when I had been a guitarist for about 20 years. There are some things to learn, however. You'll find that you can't listen to a song the same way. As a guitarist, I listened to a song's melody first and then everything else. As a bassist, I had to learn to listen to a song from the foundation and go up from there, meaning the rhythm. There were some definite technique issues when I started as well. Get a good teacher or mentor to help you overcome any bad habits and teach you how to play with good technique. That will help you to get better much faster than trying to figure it out on your own, like I did. Pick playing is just fine as well. Don't let any stuck up bassists or ignorant musicians tell you differently. However, just like guitar, it's better to learn the more popular techniques and being able to play both with a pick and fingerstyle will definitely help you get more gigs and play more versatile types of music. At least that's what it did for me. You'll also find that with your new instrument, you can steer the music more so than you could with guitar. It's kind of like a car. The bass and drums are like the engine and drive train where the guitar is more like the body and paint job. A Corvette is a nice looking car but it would NEVER be the same unless it had the Corvette engine underneath the hood.

Good luck with your new role in the band and welcome to the bottom!

[eyecandy]

i had been a guitarist for a year... and i shifted to bass.. well i find a home in playing the bass and it takes me a while to master guitars

[pasta4lnch]

played guitar for almost 2 decades before I picked up bass. same as you, got a call to fill in and now i'm a bass player - haven't gigged on guitar in almost 2 years.

getting my right hand was the hardest, and still is a struggle. just plain 'ole scales to a metronome helps. also, as others have said, connecting w/ the drummer is a new concept since on guitar I fed off the drummer and listened a lot to the vocals. I've taken some gigs or tunes and done nothing but played along w/ the kick just to learn to hear/feel it better. . . and learn as many Motown songs as you can!!!

[RonChase]

I read an article in Guitar Player in 1984 it was basically saying if you want more jams more money put down guitar and play bass,I was younger than I am now my firstborn was about to be born and I was working 2 jobs and still cash short.I was doing the night club thing in 3,4or 5 piece bands playing guitar and singing.I got a Gibson EBO at the music guild in danbury ct and there was no looking back.I got 5 times as many gigs and the bands were better.Maybe I would have progressed naturally but the bass widened me,I did find it was trickier for me anyway to sing and play bass but eventually got that down also.I would say practice alternate plucking and watch your favorite bands on DVD.You have a good leg up being a guitar player but they are outnumbering bassists 100% so you will be glad pretty quickly(providing you are going to do this with your life)I developed bad arthritis and went to light weight bass's and got a couple Hofners,I was watching Sir Paul and noticed he was using his thumb I started using it a lot more,I did use it but the technique a new color on the color wheel and I wish I used it earlier.It turned out Paul was using a pick.I would say go to a bunch of jam sessions they are usually looking for a bassist and you can practice on someone elses dime.Plus having guitar means when you write your songs you can play all the instruments so I wish you well let me know how you develop

[sheebes]

Gotta do stretching exercises to get yourself acclimated with a longer scale. Also, As tempting as it maybe to use a pick, Try alternating pick and finger so you can master both techniques as they are equally useful!

[Tusec]

Originally Posted by onatire

Hey everyone.

First post. So I've always been a guitarist and pretty much was under the impression that bass was a boring version of guitar. However, a good friend of mine was starting a band and needed a bassist so I figured what the hell. Turns out I took to bass like a duck to water, I love it. Anyhow, I was wondering what some useful exercises or tips anyone might have for making me into a true bass player instead of a guitar player with a bass.

PS: I spent some time checking out this forum before I bought my first bass and amp and it seems like a great community and I am looking forward to be a part of it!

I picked up bass 6 months ago after ~20 years of guitar and have been amazed at how just plain fun it is. Who knew? Compared to guitar the left hand is easy but getting the right hand down has been surprisingly tricky (fingerstyle). I love the way it's changed the way I listen to music. I hear bass lines that I was never conscious of before. And of course now I have bass GAS on top of my normal guitar GAS (in fact I bought a bass just today...paid more for it than I've ever paid for a guitar). In terms of listening, lately I've been copping the bass lines in Cake songs. They're simple but ultra funky and they're pretty high in the mix. Here's a good one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPGKR_mLouQ&feature=fvw

[Arch1medes]

I seriously just logged on right now to start a thread with this name. must be fate that i found this.

I played guitar for 8 years before dedicating myself to bass. I feel like you can affect the dynamics of the music so much more with the bass. It also makes you work harder to sound good since their are only 4 strings to work with.

Since I've started playing the bass and learning theory I am twice the musician I used to be. I used to think that bass players were a recyclable thing . I'm finding that a good bass player is hard to come by and are in high demand.

[GRAHAM SG1]

I like practising to blues based music, I find it allows good learning because you know when the turn-around will come, it gives a comfort zone when first playing but I can see how it may limit your playing eventually .
As for singing, wow that was hard while playing bass, that surprised me a lot, I have always been the singer and playing guitar was easy while singing, not so for bass, it threw me out all the time but is getting pretty good now, the other part of bass I had to adjust was where to play the notes on the fretboard, at first I was playing at the low end which did not cut through the bands sound, now I play higher and it sounds a lot more alive and the other guys can really hear what I am playing .
if you can learn or find something new every time you pick the bass up then it keep the interest going .

[jarrhead]

Just remember if you get a six it's got a high C not a B! On bass the positions of the first four strings of guitar apply, even with five and six and seven string basses.