Bass player taking up guitar

[cossie]

Hi,

I wasn't sure what topic to post this under so i'm going with Misc, i apologise to the Mods if they have to move this!

I'm waiting on a budget Yamaha acoustic i ordered to arrive, i ordered it because any song writing i do always gets bogged down in the guitar part (i tend to work out a simple enough guitar lick using the upper register of my aerodyne).

while i know that its always good to expand your musical abilities / experience, anyone find playing guitar affected their bass "skills"?

i know that if i keep practice bass (which is my first love) i should be okay, but i know a few people who started playing a bit of guitar and their bass playing got really really noodly, with a lot of fills.

should i ask our drummer to hit me if i start getting too wanky?

[Petary791]

Originally Posted by cossie

should i ask our drummer to hit me if i start getting too wanky?

Sounds like a plan!

And welcome to the boards!

[justateenpoet]

Originally Posted by cossie

Hi,

while i know that its always good to expand your musical abilities / experience, anyone find playing guitar affected their bass "skills"?

playing guitar (it's what I started on) helps me to keep my bass playing from getting too crazy. If I'm looking to dome something really articulate and complex, I reach for my guitars. If I'm looking for plain good fun, it's the bass.

On the other hand, playing classical guitar is a great way to improve your fingerstyle speed and dexterity.

[The Mock Turtle Regulator]

last week I bought a Dean EvoXM (£79 at Peter Cook's Guitar World ) and a Zoom 505II.
-my first electric guitar (had an acoustic guitar for 5yrs now)

it's fun and great for ear training to play along to songs on CD and radio that I learned the basslines to a long time ago.

if anything it's made me appreciate basslines- and my own basslines, more-
how the bass can add so much to a simple guitar part, through deviations from it both melodically and in rhythm.

also now it'll be a lot easier to show guitar players parts I've written/learned off CD.

[AaronS]

I play bass, guitar, dobro and steel guitar. I can't imagine that guitar would interfer with your bass playing unless you find that you prefer the limelight When I am working up a new song I work on the chords and melody. I let the guitarists work out their own leads.

[cossie]

When I am working up a new song I work on the chords and melody. I let the guitarists work out their own leads.

I'm the same, but sometimes i have an idea of what i'd like the guy to sound like, and rather than saying "You know that bit from that solo in 'Otherside'...yeah, like that only do this" - if i could articulate through a guitar what i mean...now i know that each person should bring their own paint to the picture, for my own abilities i'd like to be able to play a bit more.

I tend to work on basic but solid bass and drums first, then i tend to use keys for illustrating melodies, but i'd like to have another outlet for what i hear in my head, if you get me.

thanks for all your replies btw!

[sears]

Learning guitar has changed my bass playing in lots of ways. For example, I had to stop biting my nails to be able to play guitar the way I wanted to. With fingernails my right hand technique on bass had to change. I take a more percussive approach now, hitting with my fingertips so that the nails don't get in the way.