Easiest Genre For A Bass Player

[bass_snake]

What up!

I' ve been checking out Kijiji and Craigslist classifieds lately trying to find a band I can join.

I' ve only been in a band once as a bass player. The group didn' t stay together long. We played few covers of Rage Against The Machine and Black Sabbath back in high school.

Anyway, I' m wondering. Which genre of music is easiest/ simplest to play. I was thinking metal, country/ bluegrass.

What do you guys think?

thanks,

Fred

[KaizerWilhelm]

Punk. Good metal is very hard to play and country is kinda easy, it really depends on the talent of the rest in the band.

[Din Of Win]

This is SUCH a subjective and relative question.

I think most genres... well ALL really, can be easy or hard bassed on how you play and what you are comfortable with.

I usually stick to heavier ends of the spectrum where having good rythm and right hand speed is key. When crazy prog friends of mine try to play some of my songs they just can't because they're not use to the speed i suppose. Likewise, my fretting hand isn't as dexterous as theirs and i fumble around just as much trying to play their songs.



I know most people will say punk here... but i would contest that...


Why would you want to play something easy anyways? Even in punk bands i try to add in little fills here and there to challange myself. Without challange your skills just stagnate...

[bass_snake]

Yeah, I like punk too. It' s just I don' t wanna use pick all the time.

[CrispyDelicious]

Depends... The hardest audition I ever had was for a Trip-Hop outfit. I had just come from playing really technical metal, thinking it would be a snap. Playing tasteful, simple basslines is just as difficult as playing metal wankery. It's just a different kind of difficult.

[bass_snake]

Originally Posted by Din Of Win

Why would you want to play something easy anyways?

My bad. I guess I meant simplest to play.

[KaizerWilhelm]

Originally Posted by Din Of Win

Why would you want to play something easy anyways? Even in punk bands i try to add in little fills here and there to challange myself. Without challange your skills just stagnate...

+1

Also, when I play punk, I don't use a pick. As Din said, why play easy stuff? Hard stuff is more fun and you can show off your chops.

[Din Of Win]

Originally Posted by bass_snake

Yeah, I like punk too. It' s just I don' t wanna use pick all the time.

No one said you had to...

Plenty of punk/hardcore bassists use finger style...

[El Beardo]

Blues

[NickInMesa]

Punk is no easier than any other genres, but it may help you grow.

The thing is always to play the genre you like and to challenge yourself every single day.

You can start by playing the root and 5th in pretty much any rock genre, just ask the guitarist for the root notes, and just tag along, then slowly add fills.

[N.F.A.]

Bluegrass is on the simpler side, but pure bluegrass bands want a stand up player. Rockabilly would fit in there as being on the easier side, but again, most bands would want a stand up player.

[hankazoid]

Originally Posted by bass_snake

Yeah, I like punk too. It' s just I don' t wanna use pick all the time.

I've been playing punk on my bass for 13 years and have never used a pick. Just practice.

At the same time though, I play punk because I love it. I don't get why you wouldn't just try to find musicians with a similar interest in music and play what you like.

[Kenny Allyn]

Originally Posted by El Beardo

Blues

Then you have never heard it played ... CORRECTLY!


... It's like any other genre, everyone "thinks" they can until they try it.

[taviswardlaw]

does U2 count as a style of music? maybe join a U2 cover band?

[Din Of Win]

Also... gonna go on a wee rant here for a sec:

In regards and defence to punk rock and ethically punk bands: There is a WHOLE lot more to playing this style of music than just the physical playing of it. I was a concert cellist, clarinetist and oboeist in highschool. In classical music i was taught to read the notes and play them verbatum. All i had to do was practice my little part and pay attention to the conductor and all was well. Technically, the music was fairly difficult sure... but i didn't think it was "hard" because of the lack of thought involved in playing.

All this changed when i started going to punk shows. Living in DC in the late 90s was an amazing experience, as the punk scene was one of the best history has had to offer so far. I remember seeing a show in a dirty basement with the bands Pg.99 and Jerome's Dream played. My musical world was changed from that point onward. Sure, the music they were playing wasn't technically difficult... but the PASSION they exuded was something i had never EVER seen before. Shoot, i had never even been AWARE of it before. I still remember getting my first bass on my 15th birth day and trying to play along to all the hardcore punk records i started collecting and being so incredibly dumbfounded as to why i didn't sound like they did. I could play what they played fine... but i didn't have the passion. It wasn't untill i started playing in a real all original band where my heart and soul were able to flourish that i began to truly know what dwelled in the heart of punk rock music.

Nowdays i trully am aware of this other factor in music. I see it in my friends, in bands i see live, and on the internet. Shoot, i'm pretty sure i can even tell if someone is feeling the music they're playing from just a recording. It really does make all the difference. Unlike skill though it can't be learned. Because of that i get so irritated when people pass of punk music as "simplistic". There is so much more to punk and music in general that goes far beyond any skill or technique set that one can learn.


I guess that concluded my rant...

take it as you will i guess. I apolagize for sidetracking things

[Jim Carr]

Originally Posted by bass_snake

...I' m wondering. Which genre of music is easiest/simplest to play. I was thinking metal, country/bluegrass....

That genre which you learn best is easiest. Practice, listening, and serious study will be required, classical, jazz, rock, country, rap, blues--sorry, but the demands of music are unchanging and unforgiving. You can be good or suck. It is up to you to do the work.

Most importantly, go after what you love, and REALLY go after it.

[NickInMesa]

Originally Posted by taviswardlaw

does U2 count as a style of music? maybe join a U2 cover band?

Clayton is a typical pocket bassist who grew with the band, started not so good and evolved into a very accomplished bassist.

Listen to I Will Follow from Boy, and then to Please from Pop. Now that's what I call evolving for the better.

In his case, playing with such a great drummer as LMJ probably help.

[El Beardo]

Originally Posted by Kenny Allyn

Then you have never heard it played ... CORRECTLY!


... It's like any other genre, everyone "thinks" they can until they try it.

I have heard some pretty awful blues attempts, but it is still a relatively simple genre for bass.

[grifff]

Originally Posted by bass_snake

Yeah, I like punk too. It' s just I don' t wanna use pick all the time.

Then don't use a pick.

[bass_snake]

Originally Posted by taviswardlaw

does U2 count as a style of music? maybe join a U2 cover band?

I hate U2.