How many started playing the bass without playing guitar first?

[godom72]

I just picked up a bass about a month ago. I started out like some of the others. I played cello in school, then percussion in band when the orchestra folded due to a lack of interest. I'm coming along, in part because I can already read F clef and partly due to the percussion background. I wish you the best of luck. It was 29 years since I picked up an instrument. Very glad my "mid-life crisis" was to play music again. Could've been worse I guess.

 

[godom72]

Oh, I can already see this becoming an addiction. I bought my first bass ( a small Ibanez Mikro short scale) and have already bought a full scale squire jaguar. Not ready to drop 500.00 plus yet, but when I do, I'll probably grab a MIM P-bass.

 

[c_maj]

I can't play guitar to save my life. Started out on piano as a kid, then took up the 'cello. Played 'cello for a number of years at my church, when suddenly we were in need of a bassist. My Pastor asked me to switch, and I happily obliged. Because I had played 'cello for so long, I down-tuned a bass an octave lower than a 'cello and the rest is history.

Our EG marvels at the fact that I can't play guitar.

 

[T-Funk]

I started learning guitar about 5 years after studying bass. For me, the guitar felt very unnatural for about the first two years, but things started to come together afterwards. However, it took a lot of dedication, which took away some time from the bass.

Overall, I believe learning both instruments, bass and guitar, has made me a better musician. I highly think learning guitar or piano, as a bassist, is worth consideration.

With that said, if a person is just beginning his or her journey on bass, I recommend gaining some proficiency on the bass before learning another instrument, especially if person's available free time is limited.

 

[bassmutant]

Ive only ever been a bass player, but am working on piano as well now. I noodle around on guitars sometimes, but they just feel wrong to me. Kind of like theyre a toy or something, not to mention the skinny ass strings and too tight spacing.

 

[jdthebassman]

I started on double bass at age 5 took up electric bass at 15 never looked back.

 

[newmusicmichael]

Yes, I started on the guitar first. Then moved to electric/acoustic. I don't necessarily think it was hard to pick up the 'changes', but certainly if I didn't have a guide for the song, I wouldn't necessarily know what the next chord would be. Playing guitar helped a lot with that, especially now that I can look over at the guitarist, and so long as he's playing in standard, I know what chord he's playing (well, unless he's using a non-traditional voicing too, I suppose).

 

[JRA]

Seems like a disproportionate number of saxophone to bass. Drawing no conclusions, though.

sax = using both hands together and 'independently' to speak, so to speak. bass = same thing.

also: very 'liberating' to go from a position where you 'ride' on top of the rhythm to actually being the rhythm. somewhat counter-intuitive, but i feel i have way more control over every aspect of ensemble playing than i did as a sax guy. bass players are less 'dependent' than sax players! ha!

 

[GwenOnBass]

sax = using both hands together and 'independently' to speak, so to speak. bass = same thing.

also: very 'liberating' to go from a position where you 'ride' on top of the rhythm to actually being the rhythm. somewhat counter-intuitive, but i feel i have way more control over every aspect of ensemble playing than i did as a sax guy. bass players are less 'dependent' than sax players! ha!

For me, part of the draw from sax is the ability to play more than a single note at once. Yes, it is possible on a sax but only with skills that far exceeded my high school chair. (Only held first chair briefly.)