Is playing bass easy?

[slobake]

I spent years as a mediocre guitarist. A friend asked me to play bass in her bad and I was in love with bass from the first time I picked up my beat up Mexican P. I picked it up really fast and my band mates say I am a good bassist.
I have been wondering is the bass simple or am I just a natural bassist? I have been doing my own little study by trying to teach people a simple song. Simple whole notes that go A E C E. No one has been able the play that song right out of the gate like I did.
Next up the first song I learned on bass, U2's "With or Without You." A very simple song, right? Same result, no one has just picked up the bass and played out the gate like I did.
All this to say I guess that some of us are just meant to play bass.
What do you think?


P.S. Don't be offended.

 

[bolophonic]

I feel like I am a natural bassist, therefore, the learning and practice and determination comes easier for me than with, say... computer programming.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

It's just a matter of playing the right note at the right time

 

[hondo4life]

I also spent years as a mediocre guitarist. Then I realized being a mediocre bassist was much easier, and nobody really paid attention to your mistakes.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

I monkeyed around on guitar & bass for years & finally gave up on guitar. I can pull off power chords, & that's about it. Maybe I'll get that Luna bass ukulele, which is essentially flatwounds tuned EADG like a guitar.

 

[slobake]

I seem to hear nice simple bass patterns, I realized that I had been playing guitar like a bass. Lots of muting and very chunky. I almost never cover a bass riff from a song we play and I my lines evolve as I play songs. Some songs we have been playing for several years and I play them differently than I used to. Of course, how I play also depends on the rest of the band. I do my best to find my place in the mix. Does that make sense?

 

[hrodbert696]

Well, I hear guitarists and others say it's hard to find a really good bass player, so I guess doing it well can't be all that easy. One of my mantras about this is that all instruments are easy to play badly, and all instruments are hard to play well.

The other thing I like to think about it is this; suppose you asked a pianist to play JUST the bass line to With or Without You. They could do it super easy, just one finger. So is playing THAT PART easier on bass or on piano? Then think of it the other way; imagine playing, say, Pachelbel's Canon. On piano, it's not too hard of a piece, an intermediate pianist can do it. Now imagine playing the Canon - the whole piece - on bass. That would require Victor-Wooten-level chops to do, right? So what's easier, piano or bass? I think that what you realize, when you think about it that way, is that what's easy or hard isn't really the instrument, but the music you set out to play on it.

Having said that, I think it's true that a lot of bass PARTS are easier than a lot of the music PARTS written for other instruments. But at the end of the day it's a matter of what you choose to play on the instrument and how much you challenge yourself, not the instrument itself.

 

[Kukulkan61]

Yup Bass is easier cause it only has 4 strings....

 

[TOOL460002]

I started on bass but also have taken guitar and piano lessons, both of which I suck at. I would say I'm far worse at guitar because I just can't seem to fit my hands in all the strings. Could be something like that.

 

[Lesfunk]

Bass is a simple instrument to play but very challenging to play well.

 

[Chasarms]

Are you really asking "is bass easier than guitar?"

IMO, it depends. If you're talking bass versus rhythm guitar, I think it takes a little more knowledge of key structure and melody to play bass because of all of the leading tones, passing tones and movement within the chord.

If you're just talking about the physical dexterity to execute the riffs, I think rhythm and bass are about the same in terms of demand.

My comments are more about forming your own lines to music.

Lead guitar demands a lot of the same knowledge as bass and perhaps, but not necessarily, more dexterity,

 

[Tom Lane]

Rests take training.

 

[RED J]

I thought about this for a while. It's really a pretty broad swing.
For instance, is it easy to use a knife ? Well yes, but is it easy to use a knife like a chef in a Japanese Steakhouse ?
Is it easy to use a hammer ? Well yes but if someone gives you a hand full of nails and tells you to drive them, and then tear apart a wooden crate with it which requires the secondary skill of using it's claws, and...
You are competing with someone who has been a carpenter all his life, well,
I know you will get my point.

 

[foudufafa]

It is easy to play easy bass lines. The majority of rock bass lines are fairly easy so it is relatively easy and forgiving to be the bass player in a rock band. It takes years to play complicated bass lines well.

 

[two fingers]

I feel like I am a natural bassist, therefore, the learning and practice and determination comes easier for me than with, say... computer programming.

Couldn't have said it any better myself.

My brother can smell what's wrong with a computer. I don't know and don't care. But he is a "natural" at something many find hard.

A bass is an extention of my hands. It works in my hands. People will ask me how I play and sing a certain part. I tell them I have to work like crazy on vocals but playing bass is like falling off a log. That's not to say I can't be challenged. Of course I can't play anything I want with ease. But playing songs with a band comes naturally to me.

Almost forgot to answer your question! So I'm guessing you're a natural.

Now, posting a question like this in Miscellaneous rather than Off Topic might be something you struggle with.

 

[fdeck]

We get paid for the notes that we don't play, while looking good. If a guitarist thinks that's easy, tell them to see how many notes they can not play.

 

[MAJOR METAL]

Depends on the day.

 

[dreamadream99]

As a former band director, I have experience teaching all the instruments to beginners, and I have fielded this question many times ("is the _______ an easy instrument to learn/ play?")

This is the most honest answer I know:

Some instruments are easier to start on than others, but to become good on any instrument takes years.

Now, to answer your question: Bass is one of the easier instruments to start, and achieve early success. Not as easy as kazoo or percussion, but generally easier than brass or woodwinds, which have complicated embouchure requirements.

Yet, I maintain that to achieve a professional level on any instrument, takes 5-10 years.

 

[Grumry]

I'm way better at playing Bass by ear or just jamming to something, but I'm a more capable writer with a guitar.

 

[blastoff99]

I'm not a good bass player, but I am a decent musician and rarely make mistakes with generic musical things like entrances. I also know what's important and what's not, musically speaking. I can play in time perfectly.

I've played bass in a band at a very large church. It was easy, even for me. CCM has what, four chords? Not very many different notes, and all I had to do was put them in the right place at the right time. So I did. I did simple things reliably and it worked or very well. Nobody ever knew I'm a lousy bass player.

So yes, bass must be easy