Why did you decide to play bass?

[riprorin]

I'm not a player myself but my son is. He played guitar for 5 years but took up bass when there was a need in the school band. He prefers bass and hardly plays guitar anymore.

[nostatic]

I had been a guitarist for almost 20 years and wanted to start playing jazz. Too much work to relearn (I was a rock/funk/blues/bluegrass guy and had a lot of ingrained habits) so I switched to bass. 20+ years later my only regret is that I didn't do bass from the get-go...then again, without the guitar experience, along with some piano and banjo mixed in, I wouldn't be the same bassist either.

Bassist who read, have a good ear, and aren't flakes, can get gigs. Guitarists are dime a dozen and you're battling against a ton of guys to play with good players. A bassist who does all three of the above has a much easier/better shot.

[Root 5]

When I was in elementary school,my parents used to take me to coffee houses to hear folk music. There was a singer/guitarist who'd always have the same fine bassist accompanying him. I fell in love with the instrument right there. I loved the mellow, warm, fat sound that was so looooow! I also appreciate how it adds so much to a piece of music, in a subtle way. You often don't recognize how much it adds until you take it out of the mix.

I play guitar as well but bass just feels like home to me.

[snyderz]

I played the flute for 25 years, but 10 years ago I was at a guitar playing friend's for a jam session, and he pulled out an old bass. He asked if I wanted to give it a try, and I was hooked. I've played the flute maybe 3 times since! Gigging regularly in a blues/rock band now.

[jimmyjames77]

Partly because I'd simply seen my dad's Ric and thought it'd be cool. This was a very young age. Got a bass for my 13th bday years later.

[TGITB]

There was a shortage of bass players when I was at school 8 years ago! Best decision I ever made! I have been a guitarist much longer and have always had instruments at home, but it's bass all the way now!

[Rockmusician]

I was playing guitar in a band with another guitarist. We had a drummer but we didn't have a bass player. We were just getting together to jam every weekend. One night the other guitarist told me that everytime I did a fill, it sounded like a bass run. The next day, I started playing around with some of the parts that I had played the night before. I realized that he was right. I called him and we went to the music store so I could buy a bass and an amp. That was 33 years ago. Playing bass came very naturally to me. I still play guitar and also taught myself to play keys but my main instrument is still bass.

[matt11]

I was 14. Just loved the sound and feel of it. And when I look back on all the music I've loved, even as a child, before I knew what bass was, or could differentiate instruments, it all had great thick thumping real (i.e. not synth--except for Stevie Wonder) bass. And all the music that doesn't move me...doesn't.

[fdeck]

Originally Posted by riprorin

I'm not a player myself but my son is. He played guitar for 5 years but took up bass when there was a need in the school band. He prefers bass and hardly plays guitar anymore.

I had a similar experience. I had been playing music from age 6, and started on cello in 4th grade. When I got to middle school, they needed a bassist for the jazz band, so I got myself an electric and joined. The teacher thought that if I could play cello, then I could pick up electric bass quickly. There has always been demand for bassists who can read. I continued to play cello through high school, but adopted bass as my main instrument when I went to college.

My kids are learning music too. I'm delighted. Here's my suggestion as a parent. Your son will benefit a lot from the experience of playing in an organized band that has written charts. If he's really lost interest in guitar, then so be it. Otherwise, he's still young enough that he can pick it up later without too much loss.

The electric bass is an odd instrument that may take some getting used to on your part. It's not typically played as a melodic or solo instrument. But it can provide a lifetime of enjoyment for those who can play it well.

Today, my main instrument is upright bass, but playing electric in bands for many years gave me my foundation in jazz, reading, and ensemble skills.

[ghostdog93]

4 strings were easier to play than 6.

I kid, of course. I always admired the role of the bass as the bridge between rhythm and harmony, and that's what got me hooked.

[Fullback32]

I started playing bass because my mom wouldn't let me play drums.

[cjmodulus]

I'm not entirely sure why. Around 5th grade everyone either started learning drums or guitar, and I figured no one could have a full band without a bass. I wanted to for all of fifth grade and Christmas of sixth grade my parents got me a Washburn starter kit. I had about 2 lessons before the teacher started flaking on us.

The bass sat in the corner till about the end of seventh grade, when my school (small private school) introduced a clubs program, and with it a music club. We never actually accomplished anything, but it got me practicing. Practiced all through summer going into 8th grade, and around fall I started lessons again with a really good teacher. That Christmas I got my first good bass, an ibanez 5 string.
A guitar player friend of mine told me about an arts high school program you could audition for, so I tried out on bass and alto sax. Somehow I got in, and I just started my third year there.
I started playing jazz when I got there, and picked up the upright towards the end of freshman year. I've really learned a lot of theory and my playing has improved incredibly.
Sorry for the long winded story! I love playing, and I've got a lot of time to keep doing it.

[Matthew_84]

I was learning on an acoustic guitar, and mildly enjoyed playing it, but I never really felt inspired by the sound of the instrument. I was fiddling on my buddy's acoustic one night, and his brother (a bassist), picked it up and played Money by Pink Floyd. I threw a fit. I needed him to show me how to play it.

After he did, I played it all night, imagining the thumpy goodness I should have been hearing but wasn't...

The next day I bought a bass without even playing it.

[bigntasty]

Mel Schacher

[turbo chicken]

always been drawn to the rhythm section...

It's the groove ... that being said... at 11 years old... i went into the orchestra room to pick an instrument ... i was just drawn to the bass ... that carried over to electric.

Besides my dad plays guitar... i had to do something different that the old man.

[Icey101]

i'm a failed guitarist.....

[NoiseNinja]

I started out by playing guitar, and played it for a couple of years. But I wasn't really satisfied with the band I was in (somekind of a metal/hardcore hybrid). I had been thinking about trying to pick up the bass and then I saw this announcement that a noise rock band needed a bass player. So I joined them, and I just fell in love with the sound of it. And it was like bass came much more natural to me than guitar.
I still play guitar, but I would have to say that bass has become my main instrument.

[lpdeluxe]

I played lead guitar, harp and Dobro for years with the occasional let's-trade-instruments with the bass player. Then, at the age of 61, I was recording a CD for some locals and they asked me to play bass on the recording. A mutual acquaintance had an upcoming gig and asked around for a bass player, and I was recommended. Before I knew it, I had a full-time gig with a dance hall band on bass. Now, eight years later, 90% of my playing is on bass, and I'm loving it.

[Jarrett]

I was playing guitar in a band in 1990 and we couldn't find a bass player that we thought was good enough, so I became one. Glad I did, the band is gone but I'm still really enjoying playing bass today.

[Jhengsman]

I had been playing around on the guitar for a few years when our bass player moved east for school. Nobody else stepped up so when the wife accepted getting up early for rehearsals I took over the bass chair.