How many started playing the bass without playing guitar first?

[BoatyMcBoatface]

Hi,

I just started playing the bass about a month ago. I'm having an absolute blast, but there's so much to learn. On the other hand, if there wasn't so much to learn, I don't think it'd be nearly as much fun.

I never learned how to play the guitar, so picking up on where the chord changes are in a song is a little harder for me than I like to admit. (Great, so admit it in a HUGE public forum. Well, as they say, the first step is admitting you have a problem.)

Anyway, as the thread title says, how many of you started playing the bass without playing guitar first? Was it easy for you to pick up on chord changes?

If you played guitar first before picking up the bass, did you find that it helped? Were there any guitar playing habits you wished you hadn't brought to playing the bass?

Thanks for any insight!

- Melissa

 

[Rev J]

I am a dyed in the wool bass player. I started out playing heavy metal so it was mostly just doubling riffs. Once you learn some theory picking up chord changes gets easier.

C/S,
Rev J

 

[Spectrum]

Started on bass when 15 or 16. Didn't play any guitar until years later. Only instrument I feel comfortable on is the bass.

 

[GwenOnBass]

Never touched a guitar. Went to bass from saxophone.

 

[Orangeclawhammr]

Started attempting bass almost eight years ago. Recently took up guitar, but took some keyboard and percussion lessons. I learned about chords and theory from the keyboard lessons, which helped with my bass playing. Percussion helped with timing.

 

[BoatyMcBoatface]

I'm enjoying seeing how your paths led you to the bass.

I should mention that I played violin in the school orchestra waaaaaaaay back in junior high. I can read music (treble clef -- still haven't gotten the bass clef down), and I understand about whole/half/quarter/eighth notes. The 3 notes in one beat still throws me for a loop, though. And my fingering technique isn't quick enough for sixteenth notes at a typical tempo. Yet.

In the orchestra, we had sheet music, so you just played what was in the page without really needing to know how it fit in with everything else.

I need to work on my ear. It's getting better - I was able to map out the roots of the chords to "Dock of the Bay" and "Blue Bayou" but it was a lot of work.

 

[Roxbororob]

Bass drew me in. Never felt a "need" to play guitar. Im a bass player.

 

[James Hart]

Took sax in grade school because they didn't teach bass. 3 years later I final convinced my folks I was dedicated enough to music to let me take bass lessons. All the local teachers were either country/bluegrass or jazz... none interested in teaching me Black Sabbath, Rush, and Yes without rolling eyes on snarky comments, so I started taking guitar lessons to teach myself bass once I had a couple years of the basics under my belt. I play all kinds of instruments, but in my head I am always a bassist.

 

[two fingers]

Welcome to Talk Bass! Great user name. That was a funky news story. I guess that's what happens when you leave important decisions to the masses.

I played low brass in high school. Band director tells me one day he wants me to play tuba in the jazz band. I say "No thanks. That just ain't cool." He calls me I to his office several days later and point to over in the corner. "You have six weeks to be ready on that." It was a Pleasure bass and a Peavey TNT combo. The rest is history.

 

[GwenOnBass]

I'm enjoying seeing how your paths led you to the bass.

I should mention that I played violin in the school orchestra waaaaaaaay back in junior high. I can read music (treble clef -- still haven't gotten the bass clef down), and I understand about whole/half/quarter/eighth notes. The 3 notes in one beat still throws me for a loop, though. And my fingering technique isn't quick enough for sixteenth notes at a typical tempo. Yet.

In the orchestra, we had sheet music, so you just played what was in the page without really needing to know how it fit in with everything else.

I need to work on my ear. It's getting better - I was able to map out the roots of the chords to "Dock of the Bay" and "Blue Bayou" but it was a lot of work.

Yeah my school teachers had nothing to do with the "why". We were taught to read and repeat. Suppose it was assumed we would "get" it, or shove that instruction off to our university professors. College music theory totally didn't do anything for me either. Writing chord sequences may have been the least illuminating task I ever undertook. Nothing clicked for me until I was able to map out theory on the fretboard.

It was in high school where some of the guys said: hey come play with our band. You know, electric guitars and drums. Not the pep band or the jazz band. Kids who wanted to rock. With me on sax? I was like: where's the music? Sobering moment to realize I couldn't play anything without sheet music to tell me what to do.

 

[Pdaddy1978]

Got my first bass at 13, started taking lessons almost immediately. Started a band, bought an Epiphone 12 string dreadnought about a year later. Taught myself how to play it.

 

[pacojas]

when i was 10 yrs old i asked my mother for a bass for Xmas. she bought me a Strat copy. i pawned it and bought candy & soda. i was strung out,.. needed a fix.

 

[JMacBass65]

Played saxophone from about 9-13. Stopped and didn't do anything but listen to music.

Picked up bass cuz it seemed cool and a friend played guitar. I was 20.

It was rather easy for me to pick up stuff, I have a good ear.

 

[Bobthedog]

I went straight into Bass guitar a couple of years ago. My only previous experience was from Trumpet and Drums some 40 years ago.

 

[crucislancer]

Started playing bass guitar after playing clarinet in school band. I don't recall any problems with chord changes early on, I don't know if that's due to previous music experience, or just that I had a good teacher, or just failing memory LOL

You'll be able to pick up chord changes as you learn and grow as a bassist. I find it so much easier now to listen to a recording or play with a band and be able to figure out what's going on, as opposed to when I was first learning. Just keep playing, learning what the notes sound like, playing with records and with other musicians, and you'll get there in no time.

 

[mournblade]

I started playing 1983. Nikki Sixx looked so cool with those B.C. Rich's back then, it was a no-brainer. 33 years later, I still love playing, and B.C. Rich

 

[BAG]

Started with guitar over 30 years ago.

Managed to teach my kids guitar and by the time #1 child was 9 she was already better than me.

Played rhythm guitar with her on the occasional gig until #2 child was good enough to accompany her.

Played Woodskin cajon and Ukulele in Uke group around three years ago....... bass player quit...... started playing bass for them (still playing Woodskin cajon.... being a one-man-rhythm-section) and fell into it much more naturally than guitar or uke.

Introduced bass into my kids duo to make a trio. Still doing this and even though my kids are still better than me I can hold the bottom end down pretty well. Both of them, and the wife, much prefer the sound with the bass in the mix.

As for hearing the chord changes, i can't help you with that. I can't remember a time when I couldn't just hear a change coming and knowing when to change (changing to the right chord??? well that's a different thing altogether ). My kids are both the same. The eldest was only around 7 when she first started playing and I never had to tell her where to change chords if she'd heard the song before.

 

[MarshallAC50Stack]

Started on Horn in 4th grade, thought I'd play drums after 8th but noticed I was digging the pictures of basses in the Lafeyette catalog, so began playing el bajo electrico at the beginning of 9th grade. Still a heck of a lot of fun. I did pick up some guitar later.

 

[MarshallAC50Stack]

when i was 10 yrs old i asked my mother for a bass for Xmas. she bought me a Strat copy. i pawned it and bought candy & soda. i was strung out,.. needed a fix.

I wanted a Hofner, my dad got me a Kimberly copy from the Lafeyette catalog (thanks Dad, really!). I did play on it for quite a while. It was a really bad bass, but I managed to trade it for a bag of pot. No regrets there!

 

[RedVee]

no ability on guitar. tried a couple of times but it just isnt me.