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guitarist learning bass

#21
oi_pride said:
oh and i propose a question. if the pick was invented to pluck the strings like a finger, then why are there so many bassist that are hellbent on only playing with their fingers?
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It's what separates bass players from "guitar players playing bass" - on a superficial level it signals that you've at least put in the time to develop the right hand coordination.

Plenty of session players back in the day played with a pick - Jonesy played with a pick (because it was the only way to get a punchy enough sound on the 60's recording gear).

I play with a pick when it's the sound/feel/whatever that I'm going for. Out of the 6 songs my new band has down, I play pick style on 4 of them, though my real style only comes out finger style.
 
#23
MarkTAW said:
It's what separates bass players from "guitar players playing bass" - on a superficial level it signals that you've at least put in the time to develop the right hand coordination.

Plenty of session players back in the day played with a pick - Jonesy played with a pick (because it was the only way to get a punchy enough sound on the 60's recording gear).

I play with a pick when it's the sound/feel/whatever that I'm going for. Out of the 6 songs my new band has down, I play pick style on 4 of them, though my real style only comes out finger style.
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yeah. i was just being facetious. i play with a pick most of the time as well, but live i play a little too aggressive and lively so i drop the pick(s) and end up playing the majority of the show with my fingers/thumb.
 
#24
i know that the plectrum banjo was meant to be played with a pick and that the ancestor to it was African. which is funny because usually when most people hear the banjo they think of racist hillbilly not an African. i don't know about the mandolin, but the ukulele used to have a pick made of felt or wood
 
#34
D-32, I agree with the guys that said you should try to learn both pick and finger style. Coming from a guitar background, you might find picking, at least for now, easier. Those of us who use picks (I'm one) use heavy picks. However, you might want to start with a medium, and work your way up. The girth of a bass string takes a little more umph, than a guitar string. Finger playing is a new animal for you. Your fingertips aren't tough, yet, and your fingers aren't as strong as they're going to be. It's going to take time. So, for now, I would urge you to learn every song using both pick and finger.

Crossroads and the Lemon Song are pretty advanced technically. The main part of Crossroads is pretty easy to pick up, although it's a fast tempo. The improv/solo portion is a monster. This has been a project song for me, for quite some time. Lemon Song is also a very difficult song. While it's slow-medium blues, there is a lot going on in that song. If you really need these particular songs, on a one-month timeline, I'd urge you to get a bass teacher.

Unfortunately, most Cream and Zep songs are pretty advanced. If you're not dead set on those particular songs, you might try something like Sunshine of Your Love. It's medium tempo, amd pretty straight forward. For the outro, think galloping horses. You'll get it.

Instead of Lemon Song, you might consider Red House (preferably one of the live versions). It's a pretty basic blues in A major. Also, a couple of minor blues that come to mind are Key to the Highway (Am) and Blues at Sunrise (F#m). Both are slow blues. This would give your right hand a more mellow tempo to start out with.

As for the other comments, the first electric guitar was, indeed, Rickenbacker's "frying pan". It was an ugly lap steel guitar that looked like a frying pan with strings.

Guitars are not always played with picks, either. A couple of great fingers only guys, that come to mind, are Albert Collins and Mark Knoffler, although there may be hundreds more.

And the first electric bass was the Fender Precision. This bass came with a finger rest. Not a thumb rest. It was originally designed to be picked with the thumb, and not the fingers. Just a little fyi... don't want to start an argument.

Hope this helps. hrb
 
#36
HeavyRockBasser said:
And the first electric bass was the Fender Precision. This bass came with a finger rest. Not a thumb rest. It was originally designed to be picked with the thumb, and not the fingers. Just a little fyi... don't want to start an argument.
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tutmarc bass, 1930's
3563972129_ce6e2ed8a2.jpg


...and not to engage in an argument
 
#38
oi_pride said:
no by all means be a jerk. the best arguments are made that way.

and the guitar has roots in asia and they are of the same family as the sitar. but the point i was trying to make is that "fingerstyle is not home to the bass and the bass only", and i'm not that pedantic, it was just a point i was trying to make.
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agreed, I actually know quite a few guitarists who play with fingers. When i played guitar I actually tended to use my thumb rather than a pick, just found it more comfortable for me. Im still getting use to walking fingers on bass though. I got so use to 1 finger playing haha.
 
#39
PBass101 said:
Crossroads and Lemon Song are not difficult basslines.
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Alright, amendment: when I read Lemon Song, I was thinking of the wrong Led Zeppelin song. Oops. Lemon Song is difficult, but not impossibly so; but learning it without knowing any real bass theory or technique will be incredibly difficult.

Crossroads is kind of hard if you're trying to do exactly what Jack Bruce does on the record, but being that he was improvising on the fly anyway, there isn't a whole lot of real merit to learning what he played note for note anyway because he would have always played it differently.
 

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