Is bass your best instrument?

[Slapstyle]

Where... Does one get a setup on a harmonica? I'd like to play more... The current one is in C. Is there a better key to get?

All of them. Everyone starts with C, but you really need a set if you want to be versitile. My very limited knowledge of harp is as such, straight forward rock,folk and such, generally, say the song is in A, you play an A harp and start on an exhale. With blues, say it's the key of E, you have a harp that's the 4 chord, in this case an A, and start on a draw. Of course, this is grossly oversimplified, but hopefully helpful.

I really suck at harp though. So there's that.

 

[placedesjardins]

By this, I mean do you feel that you are best on bass over any other instrument(s) you might play? I haven't been playing all that long, but I played guitar for nearly two decades, and still enjoy playing. I'm a pretty good guitarist, and as such, I'm better at guitar at this juncture. You?

I'm better at guitar than bass.

 

[BassBrass]

I think so, but people seem to want me to play trumpet & flugelhorn and they keep dragging me back to it. As I get older it seems more acceptable for an old guy to play a horn than be a part of the rhythm section. I also love playing with good bass players, especially double bass or R&B bass players (things I don't do) so there's no jealousy. I will say, it Is fun to not have to play and be responsible every moment and just look around, or argue with guitarists in rehearsal.

 

[pappabass]

Yes, I have a bass gene! I have played some horns, decent amount of keys, but bass is it. Playing keys is fun only if the band is not keyboard driven.

 

[vinnie6]

Yes, the Upright piano has to be the most neglected instrument in history. I've even seen people pay you to take them as long as you come pick them up. Poor things!

That's how we got our piano.

 

[OhulahanBass]

The answer to the original question is:

Funk yeah!

 

[Kinsman]

I played clarinet starting in fifth grade. Picked it because it looked cool. Was given a cheap guitar at about ten or twelve, and I played a fair bit.

Eighth grade, a friend asked if I could play bass and I said yes. So BOOM we had a band! I stayed with bass ever since. Have played guitar the whole time and I can get by just fine; played guitar in a band. But bass is my favorite and the one I play best.

I need to practice piano. I never played it much growing up even though my mom did and we had one in the house. I mean I farted around but never got serious about it; I can see that it is a great tool for writing.

 

[Tommyc]

Only completing my first year playing bass but I've played classical guitar for over 45 years. So one does help the other somewhat. The 9 inch neck length difference is still somewhat disorienting as is reading on the bass but it's coming along. Strangely, I thought because I've only ever played guitar with my fingers that it would be an advantage, but I really prefer the sound I get on the bass with a hard pick. So it's back to square one with alternate picking exercises and string crossings daily.

 

[socialleper]

I have a guitar I play very rarely.
I'm a bass player. Period.

 

[Nev375]

Well, it's a matter of perspective. I'm far more articulate and advanced on bass, but I play it incorrectly most of the time sitting home alone arpeggiating chords and mimicking drum beats and layering stuff on a looper. I mean, no one's got time to listen to a bass play every voice in a song. Ick! That would suck.

So I guess it's my best AND worst instrument.

 

[Deleted member 284617]

I'm much better at trombone and upright bass than electric, but electric serves as my passion, while the other two can feel like work sometimes.

 

[Fingerpickingood]

That's how we got our piano.

I just shot a text to the poster. If it's still available, it is mine.

 

[PaulJSmith]

I play 13 instruments ... so far. Never met a musical instrument I didn't like and want to learn (except oboe). Of all of them, though, bass guitar is definitely the most comfortable for me. I've spent the majority of my 40 years as a musician playing bass guitar, so it's undoubtedly my "best" instrument.

 

[carl h.]

Good question, maybe someday I'll have an answer as I get asked that ALL the time.

 

[Mahcks]

Where... Does one get a setup on a harmonica? I'd like to play more... The current one is in C. Is there a better key to get?

There are a few sites that offer them, but they range from around $100 to $350 depending on the quality of the setup. It's not as simple as the four saddles and a truss rod of a bass, though perhaps a bit more intuitive. A harmonica is a set of 20 little instruments that ought to be gapped, shaped, and tuned. Also the comb and reed plates oftentimes leak and will benefit from sanding and embossing.

The easiest and by far the most significant improvement is gapping the reeds, which can be done with a toothpick or a paperclip or even the screw driver you use to take it apart. There are loads of youtube videos on how to improve a harmonica so that it can play without effort, bend more easily, and even overblow for a chromatic scale across all three octaves (it takes a lot of practice to play the wrong notes).

A Bluesband is perfect for experimenting on if you have the time to tinker.

Key isn't so important as a beginner. Most guitarists I've jammed with are usually happy to play in G, C, or D though.

 

[BassWaffle]

I'm studying classical saxophone at the undergraduate level, I hope I'm better at that than I am at bass haha

 

[TolerancEJ]

I was in grade 11 when my parents bought my first guitar for Christmas. I took private, ear-training lessons immediately in January. In Grade 12, I took music at school... For the 1st semester, myself and another guy tied for the top grade in the class. I was very comfortable on the guitar and happy with my progression.

For the 2nd semester of Music class, it was required to take a different instrument which was read in a different clef. I figured bass would be easiest to learn due to the fretboard similarities and I would only need to learn the notes on the bass clef. As soon as I bought my first bass, I immediately felt the love and hadn't looked back.

That said, I own both guitars and basses at home right now. Some days I feel like picking up a bass and other days I pick up a guitar.

 

[DavC]

bass - 2nd

piano - 1st

all else - whatever

 

[Versatek6]

My music education has centered primarily around trombone, starting in aboubt 1974. Just had played in a concert this past weekend.

I really wanted to play guitar, and my dad knew enough to get me started. I've kept it up and am a decent player. After three or four years of piano lessons, that just wasn't sticking. I remember enough piano to struggle through some really simple things. However, the theory I learned via piano was really valuable as I began transcribing songs off LP records for guitar.

My church put together a contemporary worship band about eight years ago, and needed a bass, so I took that as an opportunity to learn something new, and it's been a great time. I wish I had taken it up years before, since I feel I have missed out on years of great music-making.

Here is an observation about myself: I am much more comfortable imporvising on the insatruments I learned mostly on my own (guitar and bass) than I am on trombone, where I had formal education. It could be that I just have not had enough opportunity to exercise those chops on 'bone.

 

[Gaolee]

Way back in the mists of time, I played piano in front of people. I have also played guitar in front of people. Now, I'll only play bass or drums in front of people. For the time being, I'm playing upright in two regular bands, electric in one band, and drums in one band. None of them gig very much, fortunately, otherwise it would be way too much. Electric bass is the probably what I'm best at, but upright is so much fun that it's what I play most.