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Is it hard to learn bass guitar?
- Thread starter NelsonLawson
- Start date
Playing an instrument is as easy or hard as you want to make it, depending on your aspirations. To pick up on some basic skills, not hard at all if you are willing to put in a little bit of practice time and are determined.
Hopefully the days of things like The Byrds song Eight Miles High - Live at the Filmore East are a danger that's now something safely in our past.
There's even a bass and drums solo in the middle of the song!
Welcome to the board and forum. IMO, the bass is easy to play (notes), but hard to master (like which notes when, why, and where). Some, like me, are still growing as players after 50+ years of playing.
It helps if you have the ability to understand music ( a musical ear is a common term). I came from a long line of musicians and from my earliest remembrances, I could alway differentiate bass parts from the rest of the song. Kind of like a builder that always looks at the foundation first. I guess I was born with it, that sense of musical logic.
Best. advice, see if you can get your hands (borrow) on a playable bass and try a few lessons at Guitar Center and see what you think before jumping in with both feet. Best wishes. Remember, we always have the light on for you here at Talk Bass if you need any advice.
Don't let not knowing how to play stop you from joining ... a lot of us are still running with that ball
It was harder trying to learn more about my ex-wife and I still don't know who she is (long story). But I do have an good idea about playing Bass.
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College student enters to ask about the relative difficulty of playing bass, leaves discouraged about the possibility of abiding love within marriage.
"Love is giving something you haven't got to someone you don't know." -- Cesare Pavese
Fortunately the hardest part of learning bass guitar is figuring out what flats to put on your P.
Unfortunately nobody can agree on that, so.... learning to play bass guitar is basically impossible.
Moreso if you want to play metal, because nobody even knows what kind of bass to use, much less which brand of flats.
/s
Kidding aside, bass guitar is technically not especially difficult, but its role in music is critical and mustn't be taken lightly.
Unfortunately nobody can agree on that, so.... learning to play bass guitar is basically impossible.
Moreso if you want to play metal, because nobody even knows what kind of bass to use, much less which brand of flats.
/s
Kidding aside, bass guitar is technically not especially difficult, but its role in music is critical and mustn't be taken lightly.
Welcome to TB. Like others have said, it's easy to start with the fundamentals but takes a lifetime to learn if you're serious. If you join a guitar club as a bassist chances are you'll get more attention compared to all other guitarists, you'll be in demand, and it may work for you in that sense. Taking on a musical instrument is not an instant gratification pursuit. The equipment needed for a novice is not extremely expensive. You'll need a bass, an amp, a cable to run between the two and possibly a pick (though many players just use their fingers). Used basses that aren't garbage can be found for $150, though you may get lucky at a yard sale or at a Salvation Army store. A decent amp can be had for about the same. Cables are usually under $20. Strings are in the range of $15- $100 depending on type and brand. Round wound strings are usually cheaper than flat wounds and are easier to bend. Amps are rated by watts. The smallest you'd want to go is 20 watts which is considered a practice amp. A 300 or more watt amp is large enough to gig with. Hope this helps.
Definitely one of the easier ones to get into, but the drawback to it is that, for example if you're in school band, or working with other musicians in a group, you are on your own. trumpet/sax/trombone you can copy the other folks if needed, a bit, and ask for help.
Not so much on bass.
So not so challenging to start out with, but requires self confidence and, more importantly than just be confident, you have to be right LoL.
So you listen to recordings of what you're learning and make sure you can play along reliably with it, and then record yourself (with your phone is fine in a video) and listen back and see how it sounds, over and over, etc etc. Assuming you're learning on your own.
Great instrument, and as others have noted, it is challenging to play it well, even the supposedly simplest sounding bass parts require serious concentration and diligent practice to play well. .... specially when there's a drummer rushing beside you who's fills aren't accurate and the guitarist is playing a chord wrong all the time and goes off on tangents that leave you as the only one playing the actual song, and the singer is listening to the bass part to know where he is and if he's in tune.
No pressure! Hahaha
Not so much on bass.
So not so challenging to start out with, but requires self confidence and, more importantly than just be confident, you have to be right LoL.
So you listen to recordings of what you're learning and make sure you can play along reliably with it, and then record yourself (with your phone is fine in a video) and listen back and see how it sounds, over and over, etc etc. Assuming you're learning on your own.
Great instrument, and as others have noted, it is challenging to play it well, even the supposedly simplest sounding bass parts require serious concentration and diligent practice to play well. .... specially when there's a drummer rushing beside you who's fills aren't accurate and the guitarist is playing a chord wrong all the time and goes off on tangents that leave you as the only one playing the actual song, and the singer is listening to the bass part to know where he is and if he's in tune.
No pressure! Hahaha
That being said, a bassist is ALWAYS in demend with guitarists. So if you do learn to play a little bit and join the guitar club, or even join the guitar club and then learn to play a bit from the help of those people, you will be needed by them forever.
Just don't make the following mistake: bring a bass, and let them all play it. Then you are no longer needed, and it's just your bass they want. At least until you're really good and they choose you for your playing, not for your gear.
And yes you'll need to bring a small bass amp with you. But that should be ok in most guitar clubs. I'd really be surprised if a guitar club turned a bassist away. Just play the roots note of each chord (the name of the note, also if it's flat or sharp then down or up one fret from the note name), and play the note once per count in the bar for now, 1, 2, 3, 4, staying exactly the same speed of the song they are playing, listening to whoever is guiding the tempo to make sure you don't speed up or slow down or mess up and confuse anyone else.
You got this!
Bass is easy to pick up, but much, much harder than guitar to master (while you can get by playing roots, if you want to really kill it, you'll need an insane amount of theory, and need to know everybody's else's part too).
Get used to having no free time though, because bassists are always in demand, while you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a Berklee-educated guitarist.
