For those who double - guitar

[RedHatter]

Hey all,

Looking for some opinions from those who play the bass and also play the guitar. As of late I've grown a bit bored of the bass - I've been playing off and on for about twenty years or so and lately the bass just hasn't really been doing it for me (gasp!). The bass is all I play but recently I've been thinking about picking up a guitar/amp and giving it a go. My personal/professional life is pretty busy these days so I don't have many hobbies other than messing around on the bass guitar, which I am perfectly fine with.

I've spent the last several weeks trolling these forums and other sources on the internet reading about the differences between playing the bass and playing the guitar (don't laugh, seriously, I consider it to be research /grin) and the general consensus is that typically it's easier to start with the guitar and then move on to bass. Much like everything else on the internet, I realize that this 'advice' should probably be taken with a grain of salt.

I'd like to hear the opinions of those who play both the bass and the guitar. I'm currently forty-two, do not play in a band, and basically just find enjoyment (see above, except for as of late) playing the bass by myself while learning new material. These days I mostly listen to and play classic rock from the 70s.

I'd be interested in hearing/reading the opinions of others who play guitar and bass. Thanks a lot in advance.

 

[ajkula66]

No harm in playing both, IME, and I'm pushing four decades of doing so. While I was always mainly a bass player, I was never without a couple of guitars either. Guitar helped me explore harmony-related spaces that bass didn't offer, and vice versa.

Obviously, YMMV and then some.

 

[Roy Royerson]

It's too bad you only play at home. If you don't play music with other people you aren't getting the full expieriance of being a bassist. If you can find an outlet to play with others, even just for fun and not a band , that will probably reinvigorate you passion for bass.

I love guitar and play some myself but I would recomend keyboard. It might be a tougher instrument for you as there's less similarities to playing bass but there's already so many people playing guitar. Also keyboard will most likely open more doors for you as far as knowledge and theory go. I sit down at a keyboard and try to keep learning when I can. It's a fight and usually my hands and brain hurt at the end but I do also learn a lot.

 

[lz4005]

I'd like to hear the opinions of those who play both the bass and the guitar. I'm currently forty-two, do not play in a band, and basically just find enjoyment (see above, except for as of late) playing the bass by myself while learning new material. These days I mostly listen to and play classic rock from the 70s.

Playing bass by yourself, with no band or without being in a band as a goal, can easily become boring. Because it's pretty pointless.
Bass is a support instrument. Alone you have nothing to support and no other musicians to interact with.
I say that as a bass player for over 30 years who wasn't in a band for the first 10.

Playing any chordal instrument (guitar, keyboard, ukulele, mandolin, etc) in addition to bass will teach you a lot about theory and structure. Even if you're never as good on that other instrument as you are on bass it's more than worth the time and money you would invest.

 

[TolerancEJ]

Ideally, you will benefit overall by learning different instruments. Maybe something you play on a guitar will suddenly spark you to try something new on a bass, and vice versa. I own 15 basses and 7 guitars.

At least try everything that presents an opportunity to you: drums, keyboards, wind instruments, strings (such as violin, cello), etc.

 

[RedHatter]

It's too bad you only play at home. If you don't play music with other people you aren't getting the full expieriance of being a bassist. If you can find an outlet to play with others, even just for fun and not a band , that will probably reinvigorate you passion for bass.

Playing bass by yourself, with no band or without being in a band as a goal, can easily become boring. Because it's pretty pointless.
Bass is a support instrument.

Quoting the above two because it's just easier to do in one post.

I agree with both of you and I think that's exactly where I am now, it's feeling somewhat boring and pointless. I was in bands, a few that were somewhat successful in the local scene, in my twenties, but I don't feel like I have it in me any more for the drama that typically follows along. At this point in my life I have much less of a tolerance for attitudes - and it seems that in my area attitudes are not in short supply.

 

[lz4005]

Quoting the above two because it's just easier to do in one post.

I agree with both of you and I think that's exactly where I am now, it's feeling somewhat boring and pointless. I was in bands, a few that were somewhat successful in the local scene, in my twenties, but I don't feel like I have it in me any more for the drama that typically follows along. At this point in my life I have much less of a tolerance for attitudes - and it seems that in my area attitudes are not in short supply.

You might consider one of the variations on the Bass VI as well. To ease into chordal playing/learning.

 

[RedHatter]

You might consider one of the variations on the Bass VI as well. To ease into chordal playing/learning.

Thank you, I am going to look into that right now.

 

[viper4000]

Learning a new instrument will definitely spur new creativity. Any new instrument. I'm a guitarist too. I rather enjoy playing guitar at home alone. Also write on guitar. Allows me to understand where the bass role is, and how to better interact with chordal or melody instruments.

Do it. Good Luck, and hope to see a post in the future about how you are reinvigorated!!!

 

[RedHatter]

Learning a new instrument will definitely spur new creativity. Any new instrument. I'm a guitarist too. I rather enjoy playing guitar at home alone. Also write on guitar. Allows me to understand where the bass role is, and how to better interact with chordal or melody instruments.

Do it. Good Luck, and hope to see a post in the future about how you are reinvigorated!!!

Thank you for the enthusiasm, I appreciate it.

 

[rodak]

After struggling with guitar from the age of 10 to about 15, and not really progressing with it, I bought a cheap bass, and played in a few different bands over the next 10 years, and got pretty decent with it. Then around age 25, I found myself in a band with two bass players, so we switched off on bass, guitar and organ (it was a 60s classics band!). After all those years playing bass, and becoming better acquainted with the fretboard and thinking in terms of roots, the guitar suddenly became a lot easier. I'm by no means a *really good* guitarist, but I could hold my own playing rhythm for most any rock band situation. So playing bass made me a better guitarist!

 

[Vinnie Boombatz]

I've played guitar since I was around 14, and I'm 41 now. Messed with the bass here and there, only got somewhat serious with it recently, learning and applying theory, playing only with my fingers, applying chord structure, arpeggios, etc. from the guitar world and applying it to playing bass, etc.

I think if you're a competent bass player with a fundamental understanding of theory and basic chord composition it will be fairly easy in that regard, but may be a different story mechanically, but only you will be able to know for sure. I love being able to play both and be somewhat competent on both. Learning bass and how music theory works with bass actually helped my guitar playing as well.

 

[Wolfenstein666]

Literally just ordered a guitar today. I've never messed with them too much, but I'm in a three piece band right now and I need to pick up the slack with writing. It's hard for me to write stuff with just a bass guitar, so that's where my new fiddle will come in.

Pretty excited to really start digging into it. I'm hoping it will allow me to be a little more expressive and give me a fresh perspective with my bass playing as well.

 

[whatizitman]

I played guitar for many years before taking up bass. I like to write music and sing, so I will never be without at least an acoustic guitar. I've seen some interesting solo acts with just UB and vocals. But in general you need a chordal instrument of some type for composing and vocal accompaniment.

Aside from the obvious difference of chordal style verses note/scale playing and strum and pick patterns, if you know scales on the bass, you can pick up guitar pretty quick. And IME within a very short time you will actually be both farther along in playing and more knowledgeable of the instrument than most beginning to intermediate guitarists are or will ever be. From what little experience I have teaching beginning guitar (not pro), people just seem to have the biggest hurdle going from playing a few chords in open position or scales to understanding how that translates systemically to the rest of the neck, or how chords fit into common scale and key patterns. For those electric players that want to be rock gods without actually learning the instrument, this is where you get the "weedly weedly" lead guitarists that drive bassists nuts. Despite the fact they play chordal instruments, it seems like aspiring lead guitarists too often have not connected how the root notes and intervals work together to form music.

I consider my friend a better lead guitarist than I will ever be. But occasionally I still have to show him which frets to play the chords or scales in, depending on the key of the song. Bassists really can't get by without knowing a little theory IMO.

Pick out a few favorite songs to learn the basic chords to. Preferably songs in D, C, A, Em, or G. You know the root notes already. Just start strumming away. Your strum is your rhythm section. Just keep it going while you change chords. Don't worry about how long it takes to change chords or finger them properly. Just keep strumming and sing along until it all comes to you. You will be hooked in no time.

 

[mmon77]

I started on guitar, played for many years, and only started playing bass seriously in the last few. I think the more different instruments you learn the better musician it makes you as a whole. It forces you to pay attention to different aspects of music than you're used to. Kinda pushes you out of your comfort zone, which is refreshing if you're bored or feel like you've hit a wall.

 

[hrodbert696]

I wouldn't worry about which to play first or any of that, since that ship has sailed anyway. I started learning guitar a couple of years after starting bass. How easy or hard it is depends on what you try to do with it. Learning basic chords and strumming your way through a song is not very hard at all, and frankly if you're playing on your own is probably more satisfying than playing a typical bass line by yourself.

 

[Ender_rpm]

I started on guitar and switched to bass. Understanding basic chordal theory really helped me when making the change to the low end, but honestly guitar isn't THAT hard to learn at a basic level.

 

[knumbskull]

Where it shines is writing/demo-ing your own songs, or loops, or sketches, or whatever you call them...

It cuts the fat when you need to get the idea down NOW. So the right guitar sound is whatever you happen to be using, the right bass is whichever one is nearest, and the right effect pedal is none unless you really need a certain sound for the track.

Plus playing bass along with your own guitar parts allows you to learn about chords, dynamics, what works and what doesn't. Your guitar player will be honest with you, because it's you

 

[Inara]

I started on guitar involuntarily, lol. When I was a kid, I saw the local high school jazz band perform. Their bassist had a white unlined fretless Jazz bass with a tortoiseshell guard. I fell immediately in love with the look and the sound. I told my mom and stepdad (who was a professional jazz trumpeter) that I wanted to learn to play bass. Stepdad thought it was best for me to start on guitar, so bought me a Yamaha classical guitar. I played that until I got to about intermediate level classical guitar skills, then they got me an electric guitar, and I branched out to other styles, and learned to use a pick (which I hated, lol). I didn't start on bass until a few years later, but once I did, the guitars took a back seat in the closet. I hardly play guitar now, though I get one out and do some writing with it now and then. But I'm sure that the guitar background (along with voice and flute) have broadened my musicality.

I do have to point out one thing: you *can* play bass as a solo and chordal instrument. Plenty of people do ... I'm working up a solo act myself, even (me singing and playing bass and foot percussion, interspersing solo instrumental compositions I've written for bass). So I would say that picking up guitar could be very fun, interesting, and rewarding ... but so could thinking about bass in a different way. And nothing says you can't play with both of those. Best wishes, whatever you end up exploring!

 

[silvertone]

I'm 52.
I've played guitar since I was 10.
I first played bass at 14.
I started on the mandolin at 26.
I started on double bass at 42.
I get paid to play all these instruments on a fairly regular basis.
In any given week I'll play a rock gig on electric bass, swing jazz on upright and bluegrass on mandolin.

I flatpick and fingerpick guitar
I play finger-style and use a pick on electric basses (4, 5 and fretless.)
I do both pizz and arco on upright.
I play Monroe style Bluegrass, Grisman-esque, Dawg & gypsy jazz and straight ahead swing and realbook jazz on mandolin.

To me the fundamentally important thing I always try to keep in mind is to approach and play each instrument with fundamentally correct technique. I strive to never be perceived as a frustrated guitarist who plays bass. I've taken some lessons on all these various instruments in the past and have mindfully put a lot of thought into separating what the responsibilities of my left and right hands are in each case.

From a rhythmic standpoint, it's interesting to be aware of the variance in the role each instrument generally has in, for example: Bluegrass.
When I play mandolin, the chop is all about the off beats 2 and 4.
When I play double bass it's all about the 1 and 3.
When I flat pick a Martin, it's the weaving of bass lines through a hybrid - "boom-chick, boom-chick," feel that compliments both mando and bass and links chords with walking bass lines.

On electric bass - for me, it's all about locking in with a drummer.

There are a couple of goals I strive for that are still in their infancy:
-Being able to slap the upright bass - and not just single, but double and triple slaps.
-Being able to approach the electric bass from a more chordal vocabulary ala Janek Gwizdala - where a more complete knowledge of theory really helps.

IT'S ALL MUSIC!