first instrument if not bass and how did it changed the way you play?

dubist · #1 01-01-2010, 01:43 PM

bass was my second instrument after the drums. I play more bass now and love it. i think coming from a drummers mind set changed the way I play and learned the bass guitar. I love the pocket.
I love playing with and around the drums bass pedal.
I do have some melodic excerpts. but i do tend to focus on rhythm.

when jamming with a band at least.

what instrument did you start with and how did it effect your learning and playing now?

tplyons · #2 01-01-2010, 01:45 PM

Started on saxophone... having that knowledge of theory meant I could teach myself and take lessons only to work on specific techniques.

As far as my playing, not much effect at all. I don't play bass like a sax player.

TortillaChip520 · #3 01-01-2010, 01:47 PM

I played guitar for a year but never really felt it was my thing so it never affected by bass playing. I took up drums a year back and that has caused me to play bass more rhythmically, and play drums the same way I would play bass (if that makes sense).

fdeck · #4 01-01-2010, 02:08 PM

In this order: Piano, recorder, flute, cello, electric bass, and double bass.

Classical training and the ability to read music have opened many doors for me. Also, my cello background has probably made me more interested in a "front man" role.

standupright · #5 01-01-2010, 02:14 PM

started on piano in third grade. father switched me over to double bass in fourth grade, showed me the intro type stuff, then my private teacher who was also my 5th and 6th grade strings teacher (db player in the va symphony) took me from there. never looked back.

learning to read music in 3rd grade really helped when it came to playing doublebass later.

thesteve · #6 01-01-2010, 02:15 PM

I played guitar for four or five years before picking up bass. Bass became my primary instrument for the past 4 or 5 years (ending in March). Now I play each on a regular basis.

Spending a few years playing bass as my primary instrument really allowed me to appreciate what was going on during walk ups and single note runs and I've found that a lot of what I learned from playing the bass has helped me become a better guitar player.

CBgaragebassist · #7 01-01-2010, 02:16 PM

First was trombone, then baritone, electric bass, then a little sousaphone. Influence was i read music a little easier seeing they are all bass clef and concert pitch.

Al Berry · #8 01-01-2010, 02:32 PM

I grew up learning percussion first then moved quickly to Drums.. After having my Drum kit stolen and my next instrument, guitar, broken.. I quickly rotated to my Cousin's dusty Bass that kept staring at me from the corner of his room..
My drumming and rhythmic approach paired with beginning guitar technique was a perfect transition into Bass..
I got asked to join a Band about two weeks after someone heard I had started playing Bass, the rest is History..
I'm still very much a closet drummer in my head which makes for really interesting grooves and Bass lines as well as keen sensibility as a live player..

In a nutshell, my first instruments and experiences had a major positive effect on my playing and still does.. Even as I try to get better on guitar and still mess around on my Son's Drum kit, I think it definitely makes me a better Bassist..
cheers,
Al

Mazatleco17 · #9 01-01-2010, 02:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CBgaragebassist

First was trombone, then baritone, electric bass, then a little sousaphone. Influence was i read music a little easier seeing they are all bass clef and concert pitch.

I wanted to play the trombone in high school but my counselor did not allow it

CBgaragebassist · #10 01-01-2010, 03:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mazatleco17

I wanted to play the trombone in high school but my counselor did not allow it

Counselor racist against slide instruments?

Specifically the trombone or musical instruments in general?

casualmadness · #11 01-01-2010, 03:29 PM

Bass was my last instrument. My parents got me a guitar when I was four and signed me up for lessons. That went on for about two years, then at six, my grandparents got me a set of drums and signed me up for lessons. (I figure the drums gift was mostly to punish my parents). I kinda started to abandon the guitar and really got into playing drums. A couple years later I played sax in my school band (band director wouldn't allow me to play drums for a long list of reasons). I pretty much stuck with drums until I was around thirteen and wandered into a neighbor kid's house one afternoon to watch his band play. I had never even considered bass until I saw his bass player pull a shiny red Charvel out of a tweed case and plug it into an old Sunn amp. It sounded like thunder! I was mesmerized. I sold my entire drum kit within a week or so. To be thirteen years old, I had a pretty serious kit too. Anyway, sold it all and bought my very own Charvel (mine was black) and a Peavey TNT130 and a 2x15 cab. That was about 23 years ago.
As far as other instruments affecting my bass playing; I think it gives me a better perspective of the whole band. I feel like because I've played drums and guitar and actually had years of instruction on both; it gives me an edge because if I hear something in my mind on the drums or guitar that someone I'm writing with doesn't hear, I can usually play it so that the person I'm writing with better understands my vision.

goeyj · #12 01-01-2010, 03:45 PM

I started piano in 1st grade. Started trombone in 4th. Bass came as a Senior in high school. I studied music in college (Music Ed.). Focused on the trombone, but I did take jazz bass lessons for 2 years. Played the bass in my church for about 5.

The piano definitely gave me an understanding of chords, harmony, and reading notation that I could easily transfer over to bass.

The trombone is, by tradition, a support instrument, but has voice-like lyrical qualities. I think that support role mixed with the melodic sense from playing solo and chamber literature transferred over to the bass.

The funny thing is that I didn't get into jazz until I started playing the bass. That influenced my piano and trombone playing to incorporate a whole new spectrum. My rhythmic sense has improved greatly since playing bass and has carried over to everything else.

All this to say that you can gain valuable musical skills (applicable to ANY music or instrument) from playing different instruments and picking up on traits inherent to their respective roles.

fdeck · #13 01-01-2010, 04:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by casualmadness

Bass was my last instrument.

Reminds me of the saying, that you always find something you are missing, in the last place you look.

sonic assassin · #14 01-01-2010, 04:30 PM

played guitar for every bit or 4 years before i touched a bass. because of this, i had a better idea of chord voicings and i could fly around a lot more knowing where the 3rds, 5ths and octaves were. i wasnt just playing what i call power chord bass (all roots, 4 notes a measure.. boring). i could arpeggiate chords.

i dont think a lot of bassists will start out with such a knowledge. so all i had to learn was the role of bass and overcome the physical demands of the instrument

Mazatleco17 · #15 01-01-2010, 04:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CBgaragebassist

Counselor racist against slide instruments?

Specifically the trombone or musical instruments in general?

Instruments in general, I started high school on the 10th grade (came to the U.S from another country) and I was already playing soccer... It was pretty much to late for me

warwick.hoy · #16 01-01-2010, 05:04 PM

Made the switch to bass as a 15 year old after 9 years of piano lessons. I'm sure it helped but I was over the cerebral part. There were a lot of a ha moments later in life when I went back to school briefly and took some theory courses and revisited the piano. A piano now sits in my apartment (sadly out of tune) for writing purpose and if I go back to school.

ADbassman · #17 01-01-2010, 06:31 PM

Song Flute --> Trombome --> Percussion --> French Horn --> Bass --> Tuba --> Piano --> Guitar

Nyarlathotep · #18 01-01-2010, 08:20 PM

Regular treble 6 string guitar for me..... I kept downtuning it tho.... so I went for bass. And downtuned that too

MikeyFingers · #19 01-01-2010, 08:27 PM

I started playing the Cello at the ripe old age of 7. After a few years of that, and having not made much progress, I switched to piano. I took piano lessons for 4 years and became pretty good on it. But by this time I was in my early teens and wanted to RAWK!! So, naturally, I started taking guitar lessons. I only made it through about 2 months of lessons before I realized 2 things: 1 - My hands are too big and 2 - bass is much more fun.
My brother had been playing bass for years prior to this, so I dropped the guitar lessons and started tooling around on his old 1983 Washburn (it looked like something Dimebag would play and weighed about 50 pounds). I fell in love with the instrument and my bro gave me a ton of lessons/pointers as I went along.
What did I take from my previous instruments? I don't think anything. I developed my technique and style based on my brother's teaching and my musical influences (the most obvious of which are Jaco, Les Claypool, and a little Wooten).

Chunk-O-Funk · #20 01-01-2010, 08:29 PM

My first instrument was trumpet, and second was trombone. Both in grade school and I really did not continue playing either outside of school, so suffice to say I really didn't excel on either instrument.

The only thing that I bought to the bass world was it wasn't the first time I seen sheet music so I was able to pick up lessons a little quicker. Not much, but it's something.