How easy is it to learn bass

[peaveyuser]

OK i'm going to put it as simple as possible

Bass is easier to learn than Guitar but harder to get good at.

[ALiP BoB]

Maybe "easier" to master is a better term.

[DocBop]

Originally Posted by peaveyuser

OK i'm going to put it as simple as possible

Bass is easier to learn than Guitar but harder to get good at.

One is no harder than the other if you really want to do it right. I've played both off and on all my life. At different times I considered myself a guitar player or a bass player. Which ever one I was the other had to be a distance second, because the mindset for each is totally different. I started back playing again a few years ago and full on bass player now. I still play guitar some, but because my piano playing is almost non-exisitant. So with guitar I can lay down rhythm tracks to practice with and try out chord subsitution ideas that would be harder to hear on bass.

I was at a bass clinic yesterday and one of the comments kind of fits this topic. Norm Stockton was playing this real simple two note bass line. He said if you don't enjoy laying down a simple groove like that, them maybe you should play guitar, sax or something else. Bass is mainly about laying down the groove.

There is a lot of truth in the statement, it is something to think about.

[codyAllen191]

just a matter of opinion.....

[DJ-Jazzy-Jay]

if you are just wanna know how to play a few notes, then bass is easier. Cause with guitars, when they say play G, you play the chord. But with bass, when they say play G, you play the note. But I guess the easyness depends on what material you`re playing, and what a certain song requires.

[bassbully]

I feel its about equal to guitar. People think holding chords on a guitar is so tuff hold an A or cowboy chords all day but try just some 5ths on the bass...ouch! I think with bass the tuff part is after the muscle memory in the fingers and getting use to the physical end...then.
Ear training , chord structure and knowledge, how to groove , how to rock, how to play in the pocket,Walk, solo all the tuff stuff comes afterwords...one tip get with others and play with them ASAP !# way to learn....good or bad.

[dvh]

Originally Posted by hbarcat

The bass is an instument that sits in the band in a different area than the guitar and it interacts with the percussion and rhythm instruments differently. It requires a more conservative and deliberate mental attitude to play properly and many guitar players who switch to bass play the bass poorly because they don't posess the right musical philosophy. A good bass player is always selfless and thinking in terms of what's best for the entire band's sonic image and maintaining the groove.

:

This is so true. Like almost everyone else I first got a guitar when I got curious about playing music at 16. I have no idea now, nor did I likely then, why I chose to get a bass guitar two years later. No regrets thirty years later. I love the role of the bass, I love to play it, and it suits my personality - all described above very nicely.

[armandine2]

I would say that you learn music with the instrument. I failed to learn music with drums as a teenager. But now having had some success with bass, I reckon I'd do much better on a drum kit now. Plato says the instrument should "essentially be simple" and I agree with this notion: with a little xylophone I gave to my 5year old niece last xmas she is now playing twinkle twinkle little star on.

[the_fonz]

yes
it's simple

[Bassinthehole]

Well I play bass, guitar, keys and horns....and none of them are any easier to "learn" than the others. Drums can be considered a little bit harder to learn initially, only because you have to synchronize your hands and feet, while with most other instruments you're only synchronizing your two hands. However, the musical expression you can get out of a string instrument is, for the most part, going to be greater than that of the drums simply because you have so many more options in front of you. As has been said already, pick the instrument that speaks to you...I prefer the bowel vibrating power of the bass to the melodic voice of the guitar...but that's just my personal preference...I like being able to groove and not have to worry about coming up with extreme solos to show people how good I am. Don't get me wrong, playing guitar...both rhythm and lead...is extremely fun and rewarding, but I prefer the low end. Learning open chords on a guitar should take about as much time as learning a couple of scales on the bass...so just wank around with all of the instruments that you can and pick the one that you like the most....unless you're just trying to get laid, in which case....grow your hair long and pick up that strat.

[kipsus]

Here's another example: harp. A simple diatonic harmonica is not just easy, it's probably THE easiest melodic instrument once you learn the physical part which takes a week at most.

But heck, try playing blues riffs with all those bends cleanly!

And if that isn't enough, there is always a chromatic harmonica. My neighbor is a professional composer with prefect pitch etc and after 5 years of playing that thing he still considers himself a very mediocre player at best.

So yeah, simple punk/rock lines are easy. Try playing jazz on a fretless in tune and in time!

[Blackmag+c]

Bass is an acquired taste. If you like its sound then its for you. If you think that guitar is "cooler" or sounds better then you may want to reconsider. However, once you start to learn the bass you will slowly start appreciate the bass and bass players in bands more and more.

As for whether it is easier than guitar, that is an unanswerable question. This is mainly due to the fact that everybody is an individual with different strengths, weaknesses and personality traits. For example, I know a guitarist who is great at guitar but sadly lacks the co-ordination to play the bass (guitarists seem to think its easy to play). On the flipside to this I know an amazing bass player who can do great things with guitar as well.

So the truth is we can't really help you decide, my best advice is to try it out. If you like it you can persevere and if you don't learn the trumpet or something.

[Asa Samuel]

Originally Posted by Depth_Charge

I had to look QFT up myself:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QFT

I'm siding with Quoted For Truth

And there's a saying in BJJ - just because something is simple doesn't mean it's easy

i think he meant 'quantum field theory'