Should Bassists learn how to play guitar as well?

[Bassace28]

Here's a simple question, should we (bassists) learn guitar, to enhance our playing performance?

[joebar]

it couldn`t hurt IMHO. i think that learning chords is a good place to start.

[ggvicviper]

I feel so, even just a little bit. It shouldn't be terribly difficult to pick up guitar for a bass player (string spacing aside), and vise versa. It's another skill to have and will help you grow musically.

[kotzman]

I have always found it helpful on several levels to know guitar chords and techniques. I wish I had a better grasp of the piano keyboard, as I see how it could really help me. We are by and large accompanists and I think it helps to have a grasp of the most common instruments that we accompany.

[ksandvik]

Yes. Drums, too. Seriously.

[tangentmusic]

It's not a bad idea, but not really necessary. Learning multiple instruments is always a plus for the ongoing musical education.

[nukes_da_bass]

Bass helped my guitar playing- i was a guitarist first. Mediocre at best, but a decent rhythm guitarist. I was better after becoming a bass player.
That being said, i think the opposite of the OP's thesis; that guitarists should learn bass so they can actually learn what groove is all about!

[Kwesi]

I feel like the the most useful secondary instrument for any musician would be the piano.

[Bassace28]

I actually find that when I pick up a guitar, it is far more difficult for me to play notes than on the bass, because the strings on a guitar feel as if they are almost too small for my hands :P

[jmattbassplaya]

Wrong forum, but yes they most definitely should.

I find that the worst thing about only being soley a bassist is that it makes conveying song ideas VERY hard. When I was younger, I'd play a bassline for my band and attempt to explain to them what I wanted them to do, but rarely did my ideas come across in a manner that was easy to convey through words alone. Eventually I learned how to play guitar and now I can show my guitarist exactly what I want him to do. It makes the process easier, quicker, and less mentally exhausting and frustrating.

[ggvicviper]

Originally Posted by kotzman

I have always found it helpful on several levels to know guitar chords and techniques. I wish I had a better grasp of the piano keyboard, as I see how it could really help me. We are by and large accompanists and I think it helps to have a grasp of the most common instruments that we accompany.

Another good point. There are also many bass players who picked up guitar for songs. Paul McCartney, Sting, Peter Cetera, Geddy Lee, Bootsy Collins, Phil Lynott to name a few...

[bassingeorge]

IMO...No, not necessarily.

Why? Because of that pesky B string! Personally I prefer it on top of my E string!

One thing I like about guitars....POWER CHORDS! With a lot of distortion! I could actually get away with playing guitar in a metal or hardcore band if I were ask to, but I'm no guitar player, I suck at picking, finger picking, string skipping and other guitar shenanigans!

It's funny because I think learning to play bass first kinda helps you to play guitar, by being more sensitive and having more finesse. If that makes any sense...

[Largedon]

I would probably pick piano first (for theory) and then drums.

[Bassace28]

@ksanvik, i am a drummer (sort of) as well as a bassist. I played drums before i started playing bass and now that im a bass player, its made me a better drummer :P

[4-stringB]

Actually, the sixer was the first string instrument I learned (barely), but I found it really helped a lot. Simply by watching the guitarist and knowing what the chords were, I could anticipate the changes and go along. Then the others would say something like, "I thought you didn't know that song". I'd just grin and tell'em, "I'm the master" (yea right..yuk yuk)

[Bassace28]

I started playing bass because i wanted to learn so badly. But now I've realized that it will make me a better drummer and guitarist. Being a bassist requires knowledge of Rhythm, Harmonics, Melodies etc... Guitar is mostly melodies and harmonies... not keeping a rythm so much... and drumming is all rhytm.

[audiomitch]

A bassist makes a better guitar player than a guitarist makes a bassist.

IME, at least.

[PBnJBassist]

I agree with most: It can't hurt by knowing how to play a guitar, too. Truly helpful as J.Matt pointed out to convey the compositions in your head to others. I started out as a violinist > drummer > guitarist > bassist and was mediocre at best with the violin and the guitar. Having a sense of rhythm definitely keeps you in the pack, if not ahead of the strays that don't have it. I'd say learning the drums should be thrown in as well. If you don't have the room for a full-sized acoustic kit, some of those electronic kits are a nice substitute.

[Bassace28]

Originally Posted by audiomitch

A bassist makes a better guitar player than a guitarist makes a bassist.

IME, at least.

True say

[ksandvik]

My evolution is backwards, started as a keyboardist, then guitar player, then bass player and now I'm looking into more drumming... Huh.