Advice for guitarist turned bassist please...

[fireincairo]

What advice would you give to a guy who has been playing guitar for like 20 years, and has only dabbled in bass? I'm making a full effort at this point, and have recently purchased a giggable bass rig.

I'd love to hear whatever wisdom you may have, but mostly I want practical stuff that can help me get my timing, fundamentals, and bass sensibility rolling.

Youtube links to lessons are encouraged. Thanks in advance!

[Toronto Bassist]

Transcribe, transcribe, transcribe.

Pick a bass player you like and learn all the licks you like from them. You should, however, give us an idea of what kind of music you're interested in, so we can recommend some bassists to listen to.

Also, don't be too proud to take lessons - bass has a different function than guitar and a good teacher can help you learn what works and what doesn't.

[fenderhutz]

Turn back

And stay off this site if you want to keep money in the bank.

[skiscem]

All i can say for now is CONGRATULATIONS, very good choice

Now for real, i agree with taking lessons, i play both instruments and i think bass its an instrument full of posibilities that can only be explored if you learn different tecniques.

[skiscem]

Originally Posted by fenderhutz

Turn back

And stay off this site if you want to keep money in the bank.

Man i wish i heard the same back when i started here, now im poor and full of gear

[winstonthecat]

I did the same thing about 4 years ago. A couple of things that helped me:

- I started playing bass because I was forming a band. It helped to have songs to focus on and learn the parts. Listening and transcribing are critical. I do use tabs to get a sense of some songs, but you have to listen to the songs closely to get the timing right.

- Start playing with your fingers, if you haven't already. I started playing with a pick, since that was what I used for guitar. But for most of the music I was playing, the pick sound wasn't right. After a year I started trying finger style, and it really helped in my ability to play a wider range of music.

- Lessons are good, although I was too cheap and hard-headed to try this. I have subscribed to Bass Player magazine, which has a lot of good excercises. Plus, they have one full-song transcription in every magazine. I have found this a great way to learn some really cool basslines.

- Learn some theory. Again, lessons is the best way, but I bought a few lesson books, which I have found really helpful.

Practice, practice, practice

[Barkless Dog]

Lesson and concentrate on the groove. Ed Friedland's groove basic book is a great place to start.

[MixBass]

Once you find the part, don't fear simile. Repeat,repeat,etc, and focus on the nuance inside the part: length of notes, strong/weak notes, timing,timing,timing.

[Busker]

I switched to bass from guitar as well. I never had any bass lessons, but I'm sure it would have helped, and still would. I do feel fortunate that I played a lot of fingerstyle guitar, so going to fingerstyle bass was a pretty natural jump.

Slap, pop and that kind of stuff? I'm lost. I don't care about those techniques however. To me, that's show-offy stuff I don't need. I certainly don't hear it in the country and rock music I'm playing.

The way I have learned is just to woodshed. Playing along with CDs over and over, trying to replicate the bass lines I hear on the songs. It took me several months to begin to feel like a bassist.

[ducknturtle]

You have discovered which instrument is the most important. Congrats

[butchblack]

Others have hinted at it. The approach to bass is very different then the approach to guitar, especially lead guitar. Don't try to play bass like a 4 (or 5 or how many) string guitar.

Things to remember;

you're a rhythm instrument now

your primary job is to lock onto the drummer, help drive the rhythm and provide the transition from percussion to melody

less is generally more

quarter notes are your friend

The suggestion on learning fingerstyle is very good.

Listen to some good bassists in the genre you're playing

[Ezbass]

Listen to music with bass ears, you'll find things you never heard before and you'll start to appreciate music you might not have bothered with before.

Muting is far more important on bass than guitar.

Learn how to lock with the drums and practice with a drum machine they are way better than a metronome.

Learn about playing on the beat, behind the beat and ahead of the beat and what musical genres to use each feel with.

Read all you can, but only take what you need. Tony Levin's "Beyond The Bass Clef" is both fun and informative IMHO and not just about playing.

Learn how to play fingerstyle, slap and with a pick they are all valid.

Lessons are good no matter how well you played guitar, the bass is a different beast.

Welcome to a world of GAS way beyond that of the guitar.

[Dave Muscato]

Butch et al have it. I'm a former guitarist, as well, and the biggest difference is that you're the backbone now. That means strong & steady, not embellishments and frills. Ninety-nine percent of the time, the bassist keeps time. I *love* it!

Quarter notes are the money notes.

Here's a link that might help!

What I learned from a week at Berklee

[mike.b]

if you've been a guitarist for 20years then picking up the bass will be easier than if you hadn't played a note before.very similar to guitar in that you very quickly gain your own style.decide whether you like using picks or fingers,where to pluck notes,when to deaden notes.its all a learning curve and you're gonna have fun as i have and still do.you will take a back seat when it comes to soloing though and you'll become invisible very quickly which you will learn to accept.one thing i don't miss is the eye scratching jealousy of other axe players.the bass community is generally more helpful.enjoy.

[capnsandwich]

Very good advice so far. I'm also a guitarist of over 20 years and I've been a bassist for right around 10 of them. I, like others have said, used a pick when I first started. There's nothing wrong with that as long as you try out different techniques as well. The best thing about the bass is the versatility of tones you can get with a simple technique change.

Another thing that I learned that helps me is to listen carefully to music and pick out the bass lines. Study them with your ears and even listen to them at home and play to them. That will really help your ear and help with transcribing also.

Learn to listen to the song as you play the song. As a guitarist I used to just listen for opportunities to add a scale or a lick, but now as a bass player you really can't do that and still sound good. As others have said, you have a different role now. You connect the rhythm with the melody. Every note means something, as opposed to guitar since you can get away with a little more there. There are times to play and times not to play, and both are equally important.

Finally, learn your instrument. Know where the notes are and learn different positions on the fretboard. Sometimes it's easy to get lost, especially doing walking bass lines in jazz, and the more you know where you're going, the less likely it is for you to cause a train wreck.


Oh, and welcome to TalkBass!!!

[BuffaloBass]

All great advice. I like Barkless' recommendation on focus on "groove". Groove is that glue in rhythm that lets the melody work. Our own Jauqo III-X has a wonderful " Essence of the Groove" instructional set which has some finger funky lines you can play with.

Find a youtube vid of Victor Wooten talking about " the pulse" of a song. Key concept, since its the bassists role to make that pulse work.

Unlike the gutarist's role in our band, with bass, the spaces between notes are as important as the notes themselves. work on your timing, work on breaking out of the 4/4 mold. Your more of a precussionist than you know !

[MysticMichael]

Originally Posted by fireincairo

What advice would you give to a guy who has been playing guitar for like 20 years, and has only dabbled in bass?

Originally Posted by fireincairo

I'd love to hear whatever wisdom you may have, but mostly I want practical stuff that can help me get my timing, fundamentals, and bass sensibility rolling.

Hoo boy, have you come to the right place! I can address the development of "bass sensibility" - because IMO, this raising of your consciousness will ultimately drive everything else, including technique, style, musical function, etc.

Someone mentioned something about learning to hear music as a bassist would. And I second that. For starters, go back and listen to some of your favorite all-time music, and try to listen to it more holistically than you might have done before. In particular, pay attention to the pulse and the groove. If the tune happens to have an especially great bass part, listen to it very carefully - over and over if necessary - and analyze it to discover why it works as well as it does. Make a habit of doing this with all music you may encounter from now on. The purpose is to awake and to channel your inner bassist...

I conceive of the bass as the lowest common denominator between the three fundamental elements of music: rhythm, harmony and melody. As a bassist, you will be uniquely positioned to influence the music you play in a profound way that no one else can reach. Take great satisfaction in that knowledge, in that role - and in the power that it confers. Despite most people - including many other musicians - not being able to fathom the mystery of what makes a good, well-executed bass part as powerful as it is, they will be able to sense it and to feel it when it's happening. At the end of the day, that's all the explanation that's necessary...

MM

[JAUQO III-X]

Originally Posted by fireincairo

I'd love to hear whatever wisdom you may have, but mostly I want practical stuff that can help me get my timing, fundamentals, and bass sensibility rolling.

Go to the link under my sig called The Essence of The Groove and if you feel that you can benefit from it contact me at

jauqo@yahoo.com

and I'll send it to you for free.

[fireincairo]

Thanks for the input, guys. I'm heavily influenced by post-punk styles, so I use a pick mostly. I do, however, work in some thump and slap and finger technique. I've taken to using my index finger tip as a pick when I combine the finger/slap stuff and can't transition to the pick quick enough.

Any other advice would be greatly appreciated. I will be revisiting this thread often over the next few weeks establishing some routines and developing my style.

[DanRJBrasil]

click tight with the drummers and go with the groove , let the guitar part go by it self