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guitar more difficult than bass! HA!

#21
Yeah, likewise. The string spacing as too close and the strings are too small. I mean, they dont know how to set up their guitars right :p

No but seriously, I picked up a bass rather than guitar only because I thought it would be easier, I assumed more people played guitar and no one bass so I'd get more gigs, and my brother already played guitar and I figured I would complement it by playing bass. I was right on all but the first assumption. At the time it was easier (because I was used to bass rather than guitar) but now I am looking into many different sides of it.

Also, if these "guitarists" picked up a bass, they wouldn't know what to do with it. I laugh each time I see my guitarist play my bass. He's excellent on guitar but to see him "stuggle" on bass is funny. Its a different instrument altogether, not to be compared to guitar. We have the same, if not more options as far as technique than guitarists, and we could do everything they can and more. Try slapping on guitar. Yeah Reggie Wooten does it, sounds cool, but the notes lose their definition, where as on bass, they gain. We could play chords, tap, solo, play fast, whatever. If these snot-nosed know it alls knew so much about bass where they can belittle it as an inferior instrument, then they havent begun to understand their own. They should realize that a bass isnt just 4 strings, but it covers their a$$ in what they can play. That and if they took their heads out of their a**es they would see that basses can come with more strings than guitar: 5, 6, 7, 8, 12 strings, or even Chapman stick. As you get older and out of those high school bands, you meet guitarist who appreciate the bassist. I bet they would've given up playing guitar by the time you reach this level.

It all comes down to stereo types and ignorant people. They should open a book before they open their mouth, and most find their place rather quickly and disappear.

I've started working on solo stuff just to satisfy my own needs, even though I don't get crap from my band mates. Its just my way of proving to myself how it doesnt matter what instrument you play, its how and what you play.
 
#26
This topic is interesting to me. I recently took up bass. I'm 45, and have only minimal experience playing gigs (I gigged in a duet with a guy for a few months, and played solo guitar occasionally with a vocal group I was in in college) but have always played as a hobby, playing with friends, at parties at my house, etc. Over the last 2-3 years, I made a concerted effort to get better at guitar. I wanted to be good enough to play in a band. While I certainly am, it has proven much more difficult for me to become what I consider to be a "good" guitarist than I thought. It's both technical and artistic - learning to play creatively and not just spew notes out is difficult.

I decided to take up bass because I think it suits me better. I think in general a bass player's role in a band or ensemble is more clearly and narrowly defined than that of a guitarist. Yes, I know, bass playing has advanced tremendously, and many bands have incredible bass players who are soloists, etc., but in general the bass is part of the rhythm section and with the drummer sets the beat and the groove of the music. A rhythm guitarist has a similar job, but the flashy lead guitarist has much more freedom of expression, I think.

Maybe I'll think differently after playing bass for a few years.

I don't think it will necessarily be technically easier than guitar, although I think one can get by in an ensemble playing very simple bass parts much more readily than one can get by playing very simple guitar parts. I think in some ways bass is harder, since the need to be steady and establish a groove for the group will mean that mistakes might be noticed more than mistakes made by a treble instrument like a guitar.

In a way, playing bass well can be peeing in dark pants: you get a nice warm feeling, but nobody notices.

Anyway--that's my 2 cents. I don't think either job is harder than the other, they are just different. I think (hope) I'll prefer the slightly more defined and "fundamental" role of the bass in a band over that of the more flashy guitar role.

One final thing - I've done alot of singing in my life (choral, small group), and if I were the lead singer in a band and had the choice of having average guitarists but a great bassist and drummer, as opposed to great guitarists and average bassist and drummer, I'd take the great bassist and drummer every time. The great bassist and drummer will make the guitars sound better, and make their job easier. The average bassist and drummer will detract from and hinder the great guitarists.
 
#27
My take:

Bass = easier to start (your first few months are gonna go much smoother, no chords man)

Guitar and Bass each offer a lifetimes worth of challenges

Bass = Harder to "get" IMO. You can't get good at bass without playing out, without jamming and learning from others. It's harder to understand your role, or at least it took me awhile.

Guitar = Kill or be killed, there is no room in the world for a mediocre guitar player, but every band needs a bassist and there aren't that many of us around.
 
#29
Bass is much easier to pick up. If you can rock 8th notes and follow a progression (and make it look semi easy) 90% of listeners will throw you to the wayside and say "ahh he's decent" However, I believe that bass is much more difficult to get "good" at. Sure you can rock 8th notes at 100bpm and make it sound fine, but then you find songs where your rockin 16ths at 116, you're jumping strings, doing fills, complementing melody, guitar, and drums the entire time while still trying to hold the bottom end down. - alot more rides on a bass player than some may think

Now guitar is clearly a difficult instrument. It's not incredibly difficult to pick up, but if you learn a few handy tricks, learn your modes and chord positions, HEY! you're in the money. From there it's just repetition, getting faster, teaching your brain to work a certain way.

So, I think it ultimately comes out being about the same, but for me I think the bass is harder.
 
#33
As someone starting out with bass, previously playing guitar, and knowing my own reasons for trying bass, I did a search to see what other people had written about the difference between playing guitar and bass. This thread was interesting to me. I didn't realize until later the thread was so old. So I'm happy to have made Lazarus out of this thread. And yes, I hope he shagged the girl, and didn't shank her. A shank in golf isn't a cut with a knife, but it is a way to slit your own throat. So, in any connotation, I don't think we want to be "shanking" the ladies. ;-)
 
#34
DudeistMonk said:
Bass = Harder to "get" IMO. You can't get good at bass without playing out, without jamming and learning from others. It's harder to understand your role, or at least it took me awhile.
Click to expand...

I agree with this. I know plenty of guitarists who can pick up my bass and play the exact same lines as me but can`t figure out why I always sound and groove better. It`s all in the approach and understanding your role as a musician. Even people who aren`t musicians can usually "get" guitarists because you always see people playing air lead to songs - they know the guitarists role already. With bass playing you really can`t understand the role until you get both hands on experience and real listening experience as to what the bass is suppose to do.
 
#38
86 general... I think you touched on something when you said you started playing bass because you thought it suits you better. Personality definitely plays a part in our ability to excel with either instrument. Guitarist, especially lead guitarists, tend to be a bit more flamboyant in their nature. They want to be the center of attention at parties and they can't get enough of the spot light. People that are drawn to the bass tend to be more deliberate people. The spot light is cool, but it doesn't have to shine on them all the time. Bassists love structure. They like order. I know far more guitarists that have messed up lives and messed up relations, while bassists tend to be the glue that keeps these crazy guitarists from falling completely apart.

This is all generic of course. I know a few guitarist that structure everything, and they are fantastic. Their solo's have interest and melody. Not just a rambling of unintelligible riffs that tire the ear. Their solo's grab your ear and pull you around at their will... you hang on every note and space.

I play bass because it's all I've ever done. In grade school, I was poor so I had to play the schools instruments. Those where always the more expensive horns, like Baritone, Tuba, Trombone. All lower instruments with rhythmatic characteristics. The bass lines became a part of the way I interpreted music. Consequently, I grew up never knowing what any song was about, because I was listening to the rhythm and melody.

Bass is the perfect marriage of rhythm and melody. Playing bass takes an ability to make the two, one. Many guitarists don't like this type of puzzle. They just want to show off their skills, remember the spot light. The bassist is more intellectual in the approach. Almost nerdish. An obsession with perfection... timing... tone... space.

Is the bass easier to play than guitar? Is the guitar easier to play than bass? The answer to both questions is... depends which personality is attempting which instrument. For sure the working learning curve is much shorter for a bass. It takes less time to become an adequate bass player in a band than a guitarist. But people notice a great bassist. There are tons of bass players... there's one in every band. But not all bands have bassists playing for them. There is a difference. One studies the bass and develops his own techniques and style. The other plays the bottom end for a song.

At our gigs I don't do any of the singing... except for an occasional oooh or aaahhh. Yet when the band members are introduced to the audience individually, I almost always get the loudest cheers. And I assure you it's not because I'm the best looking dude in the band... cause I'm not. But people notice the effort I put into making my bass lines special. Not always flashy, but I can play and they notice. I don't do solo's... I just play the music the way I think a bassist should, and that get's noticed.

One guitar player in one of my coverbands asked me why I changed so many of the bass lines from the original. I told him, cause I'm a better bassist than most of those guys on those records. He still thinks I have an attitude to this day. It is really more of an observation. I didn't ruin the song, I made it better. And I'd do it in a way that doesn't detract from the song. Sometimes the differences are so subtle people compliment me on playing it perfectly note for note. I assure you, I rarely play a cover note for note. I play it the way I would play it if I wrote the song. I put ME in the song.

Don't get me wrong about guitarist. I think what some of these guys do phenomenal. But I could never be that guy. I'm too structured... too orderly... I don't like chaos... not my nature. It takes a crazy guitarist that can't keep an 'ol lady for more than a week to create the virtuoso solo.

Just my little theory
 
#39
I love the whole "what's harder to play" arguements me an my friends get into. They're all convinced that I only play bass because I looked at a guitar an thought "nope, way too many strings!" which admittedly, isn't a complete lie >.> Don't worry, I'm already ashamed of this!

I think HookerRoad hit the nail on the head with the whole personality thing. The whole reason I play bass instead of guitar (despite being convinced at age 13 that I'd look stupid holding a guitar once I'd stopped growing...I was half right!) is because I'm simply not that sorta person. I'm too shy for a whole crowd to focus on me, screw that! That's WAY too much pressure!!! I only want that level of attention directed at me once I KNOW I deserve it!
Don't get me wrong, I like showing off as much as the next guy, but I wanna only have to show off when I feel like it. I don't want to be expected to show off at some point during every damn song!

In my - admittedly rather small - experience, guitarists are always the type of people who'll listen to a band who sound crap tone-wise, but have brilliant solos (example A: Children of Bodom. he's not a bad guitarist, but his tone is so damn awful!). Whereas bassists seem to be a lot more interested in the band as a whole, does the band work well together? Do they compliment each other? Or do they just try to out do each other in childish displays of superiority?...It seems to me like guitarists (ESPECIALLY lead guitarists) are a lot more focused on individual instruments, an not so much on the other-all sound. Bassists seem to be the polar opposite, lol.
 
#40
I was drawn to the guitar for perhaps the same reason as many others: seeing the attention the guitarist got, and the dramatic, soaring, singing lines they played. But to actually do it in front of others, doesn't suit me. I think every person likes and wants attention, but not everyone at the same level. I'm very perfectionistic and deliberate, two features which do not fit well with ripping off screaming improvisational lead lines. I have been lucky to have a guitar teacher who is a true professional. He can certainly play lead, but he is a fantastic rhythm player and accompanist, and he has emphasized that it's ALL part of playing guitar; guitar isn't just lead/melodic playing. My main interest is jazz and blues, and he has encouraged me to listen to horn players, not guitarists. For rhythm playing, he's encouraged me to listen to piano players. As I've been educated in this way, I've noticed when I go listen to music, I listen less and less to the soloists (singer and lead guitarist) and focus more attention on the drummer, bassist, and other rhythm instruments.
 

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