Guitarists say the dumbest things.

[dconrad]

Guitar Hero does not help you at ALL in your playing technique :scowl:

That's not what he said. He said it helped his playing. Playing is more than technique. For someone who isnt a fantastic player already, any kind of musical play will be helpful. Listening to music, singing, counting and clapping, etc all can help you be a better player, I don't see why GH would be any different. Playing any xbox game can build finger strength and dexterity, which can improve technique on its own.

 

[Sneckumhaw]

2. Amps might sound different when nothing else is going on, but play alongside a couple of guitars and drums and all bass is an indistinct rumble to my ear. And that includes mega wealthy stadium bands I've seen who should be able to afford the clearest bass sound available.

That's usually down to awful sound in the stadiums themselves- I would say say live shows have far worse bass sound in stadiums as a rule. I just saw The Police on tour in an outdoor stadium, and all three bands had great, clear, distinct but heavy bass sounds compared to the huge bands I've seen in indoor arenas (The Who with Pino), especially first openers Fiction Plane (with Sting's son on bass and vocals).

 

[Zerozeddy]

Perhaps worthy of a different thread, but hey ho.

I play bass in a wind band. On Monday we were rehearsing a tricky passage and the conductor got me and the drummer to have a go on our own first. Then the conductor said "Right, and now with the instruments..."

Thanks a bundle.

 

[brothertupelo]

"i hate thoughts"-yours truly
i was actually trying to say that i like that zone where you're not thinking, you're just doing, but it came out that way, and they didn't let me forget it. oh, and i started out as a bassist in that band, but switched to guitar when they realized i was a lot better at it, and the piano player could cover the bass with his left hand.

 

[Unrepresented]

*When playing a B underneath a G major chord*

"What's that note? It sounds off with my vocals."

"That's the major third."

"It sounds off. It makes me sound like I'm singing out of key."

"It's a major third. You're playing one with your index finger in the chord."

*we try again*

"It still sounds wrong. Can't you just play the root?"

*bassist considers quitting once again*

 

[spudmaster34]

this one is from my guitarist today at practice:

guitarist-"we don't have prostates, only girls do"
*drummer and I stare at him
me-"yes we do, it's a gland"
guitarist-"ohh, so it's girls that don't have them?"

 

[pickinatit]

Hmmm. I suppose. But I still think the nature of how the instrument typically played (one/two notes at a time) is generally easier than haveing to play 4/5 notes at a time that a guitarist has to.

Muscially I wouldn't say that the material is necessarily easier. It's kind of like saying a violin is inherently easier to play than an guitar, and I'm not sure that's true.

Ok here's my thinking about this. Guitar players can pick up a bass and fill in the parts of a bass player, I don't think the reverse is true for most bassists (including me even though I know how to play guitar sorta).

As one who plays both I have to agree that Bass is easier then guitar. When I went to take bass lessons, the instructor wouldn't teach me play bass. He said he would only teach me how to play guitar and when he was done I could pick up a bass and play it. He was right.

 

[Poop-Loops]

I'm learning both, and both have their pros/cons.

Guitar is wicked easy to play single notes. You just touch the string and it's fretted. Want to reach a note 5 frets away? Go for it.

On bass, you actually have to pay attention to fretting properly or else you get lots of buzz and need to think about what position you are playing in more, since you can't just do a 5 fret stretch most of the time.

That said, chords are a pain on guitar. And palm muting. Two things I have the most trouble with. Don't have to worry about either on bass. Well, I've been doing some power chords for Iron Maiden songs, but you can play bass for years without having to have to play a single chord.

But, the main difference between how my teacher teaches me guitar and bass is the roles. For guitar, he'll give me a piece and say "Ok, this is how you can solo over it.", for bass, he tells me how to hold down the bottom end, what kind of rythms, etc. It's very different, but I'm glad I'm learning both because I can apply what I learn to both.

So in conclusion, I don't care which is harder. I enjoy both.

 

[BigMac5]

As one who plays both I have to agree that Bass is easier then guitar. When I went to take bass lessons, the instructor wouldn't teach me play bass. He said he would only teach me how to play guitar and when he was done I could pick up a bass and play it. He was right.

What kind of music do you play on bass? I ask because I take classical guitar lessons. I also play a little bass, but have never taken lessons, but I can do the rock thing. My son takes guitar and bass lessons. I can't play all that funk and Jazz stuff that he is learning. It has given me a new found respect for real bass players.

 

[pickinatit]

I know a few pretty (technically) good guitarists who that really doesn't apply to. Fret buzz, horrible timing (not necessarily due to a lack of a sense of time, but coping with the different feel of the instrument)... I'm sure playing guitar will help with picking up bass (and vice versa), but I've never heard a guitarist just pick up a bass and actually play it well.

Yeah, but your talking about familiarity with the particular instrument. That's different then knowing or not knowing how to play it.

If I haven't played anything but my Takimine Accoustic guitar for a month or two and then I pick up my Harmony (classic circa. 1966 or 67) electric, I have to go through a certain amount of "stumble time" just going from one 6 string guitar to another.

 

[pickinatit]

I disagree with you on the "gutiarists make better bassists than bassists make guitarists" thing. Most times I've ever seen a guitarist pick up a bass, he make it sound like crap. Fret buzz left and right, attempting to play chords, terribly timing, etc. Most bassists have at least a basic understanding of music theory and can at least play a basic guitar part. That is my experience, anyway.

Ditto my response to Otso's post.

 

[pickinatit]

As a bass player that plays guitar, I have to say that I think the whole playing chords/more strings point is a bit silly. It's not that hard to make a few shapes and strum a chord and it becomes quite automatic quite quickly. Especially the basic open chords. Infact I think that it's harder to learn a chord via its arpegiation as a bass player would learn it. Chord shapes on a guitar seem to be based more around muscle memory than anything else. Having to learn arpegios and applying them effectively as a bass player requires a deeper understanding of the music and the theory behind it.

This is nonsense except in the case of a guitar player that has learned nothing except how to play chords. A well taught, well instructed guitar player learns every bit as much if not more theory etc. as a bass player. And forming chords only becomes "muscle memory" by having played and practiced chord changes a thousand times, much as a bassist not having to think about playing a blues run after playing it a thousand times. (And I'm not a guitarist apologist; I play bass primarily myself).

 

[Plantbrain]

Generally ego related issues with Guitarist.
I've heard the "Bass is easier because of less strings".
That's why I have a 6 and a fretless
Strip those frets off, then see what they can do.

I do not even bother looking for them, I'd rather hang out with Keyboardist, Drummers, vocalist. Guitarist are a dime a dozen and the easiest thing to find. I've met many that are damn good, both at simple and the complex.

A good vocalist is about the hardest to find though.
That makes/breaks most bands.

Once the band is going well, then look for a guitarist.
Do not put up with any Ego crap either.

They need held the same standards they want to hold the Bassist to. Their part needs to fill in and be right for the music.


Regards,
Tom

 

[Zerozeddy]

Was ever a bass player who could competently (but only) play four-to-the-floor root notes kicked out of a band for not being suitable?

 

[saxnbass]

I don't think so. Look at Green Day

 

[Zerozeddy]

Was ever a bass player who could competently (but only) play four-to-the-floor root notes kicked out of a band for not being suitable?

Sorry, I meant in this instance "person" not "bass player". I reckon a lot of bands are perfectly happy with having a bass owner, rather than player, in a band. And as I agree with Plantbrain about guitarists being a dime a dozen, it seems the only difficult thing a bass player needs is to do is be willing to pick the damned thing up.

My superhero name is The Grumbler.

 

[Otso]

Guitarists may be a dime a dozen, but how about those that even know the fretboard. I know only 2 guitarists that can even read notation, or actually play properly. I think I know a total of 12 "guitarists". By the same definition that some people are called guitarists I might as well be called a pianist.

 

[BassmanDk]

"All Stratocaster players tune down 1/2 step"
"All blues player tune down 1/2 step"
"Everybody in Nashville tunes down 1/2 step"
QUOTE]

Gee, I know a guy in Nashville playing the blues on a Stratocaster. Wonders if he tunes down 3 semitones???

 

[Plantbrain]

My point is really that many guitarist, not all, act like we are there for them and we should follow them and their ideas muscially.

They expect us to play a certain way like they fantasize about, not like we want to play. They want to be in charge expecting the drummer and I to play along.

I've played all crappy, inappropriate on purpose at auditions for this reason. The jerks never asked me what do I have or like to play. I'm not there for them, I'm there for the music so they need to sit down and think about that some more.

After being frustrated, they give in and ask "what do you got?"
.......Now we are getting somewhere.

A little give and take is nice, especially when they are a dime a dozen. I can simply run the numbers till I find one that is nice, that plays well and does not have an ego the size of a house.

I have one now, but I've seen/played with hundreds that fall into the other category.

Got a great nice drummer also.
Rarely have had issues with them, the keyboardists etc.

Regards,
Tom

 

[Hobobob74]

My cousin told me that the bridge itself on his strat knock off was a pick-up along with the other three.
Sombody probley said that the switch this way is the bridge pick up and he took it the wrong way.


Huh.