a guitarist can easily play bass. physically it is not much different, the notes are in the same location. they could jump in and fake their way through with 99% of the audience not noticing any difference.
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I guess I should check them out. I play in a band with people who have always listened to music from that era, and I know that some people, including my band mates, refer to Yes, but either being influenced or inspired by bands such as Yes. I am way younger than the rest of the Band (age is ranging from 28 to over 60),and I grew up listening to other bands, and only not too long ago i started to get into modern prog rock/prog Metal, so i have nö clue about Mostly Anything lol
If you're into prog whatever, this is it's roots, sonI guess I should check them out. I play in a band with people who have always listened to music from that era, and I know that some people, including my band mates, refer to Yes, but either being influenced or inspired by bands such as Yes. I am way younger than the rest of the Band (age is ranging from 28 to over 60),and I grew up listening to other bands, and only not too long ago i started to get into modern prog rock/prog Metal, so i have nö clue about Mostly Anything lol

If you're into prog whatever, this is it's roots, son
Chris Squire is likely a partial reason a lot of your older musically inclined friends picked up a bass to begin with (Just click around on user profiles and see how many TB users list him as an influence.)
Guy was a pioneer![]()
a guitarist can easily play bass. physically it is not much different, the notes are in the same location. they could jump in and fake their way through with 99% of the audience not noticing any difference.
Well, it's true that 'you don't know what you don't know', & until somebody or something enlightens you on something... you never willYeah, see, I am one of the rare species called bassimus erectus in my surroundings, so I hardly know any Other bass players![]()
As for you fellas(?) squabbling about the different approaches to the bass vs a 6 string geetar, there are already probably 100+ threads dedicated to that here and near ... a few clicks would show them.
Word, my man.I responded to that because I felt that this way of thinking is part of why bassists are often underrated.
"Any guitar player can do it", "bass player is often just a failed / the worst guitar player in the group".
No. Its not that simple, playing bass in a competent way requires way more than just to play it like a larger guitar with fewer strings. BTW if it isn't obvious from my sig, I actually AM a guitar player - who likes noodling around on a bass from time time. I can't do half the stuff on bass that I can do on a guitar.
But maybe that just means I'm a bad bass player, just wanted to give my opinion.
Chris Squire is likely a partial reason a lot of your older musically inclined friends picked up a bass to begin with
Not true IME. While the basic technique is similar (press down string at fret), bass requires a totally different technical approach to play it cleanly. The frets are much further apart, so are the strings.
You need to mute much more with your fretting hand, even using a pick is different on bass, since the instrument is much larger and hangs in a different position.
Sure, any guitar player can pick up a bass and fret some notes, but without adjusting to requirements of the instrument, it is usually a mess. Same goes for a bass player picking up a guitar BTW.
I beg you pardon my broken German?![]()

According to current scientific research..yes.
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That's great!!I played a concert with Marshall from New Model Army, he's a very genuine and sweet guy!
That's great!!
NMA are one of my all time favorite bands.
Had the opportunity to see them (by chance) during a visit to Austria (Speak On Festival). I was having so much fun.
Bottom line... All of their bass players are amazing (past and present) and put on a great show.
My wife seriously does not understand why my band skip practice when I am sick or otherwise engaged. "Why do they need your bass?" she says...
Sad but true. Many famous bands have basslines that have sat on the root for 99% of the time.what i am saying is if the bass player suddenly dies on stage and someone from the band needs to replace him,the guitarist could easily do it in more than acceptable fashion. yes the nuances that only bass players have/notice would probably not be there but for 99% of the population they would be just as good as the original bassist. the drummer, which was mentioned as a more appropriate replacement for the bassist previously, is less likely to be able to pick up the bass for the first time during a show and play the rest of the set.