Meh guitar player about to begin playing bass

[bowiebass]

Hi all,

I've been playing guitar on/off for about 15 years. Along the way, I haven't focused on technique as nearly as I should've, but I got into music theory a bit, developed some beginner/intermediate skills (lower intermediate?) etc. I know about scale chords and how to implement them, I know your basic scales, the concept of modes is not unknown to me etc. Can play a few of Nile Rodgers tracks, several Gilmour solos, can even compose a bit. However, I find guitar utterly boring nowadays. Still a great tool, but for me, when I listen to music, I almost exclusively focus on the b a s s nowadays.

My main inspiration for this is Bowie's stuff. While not particularly famous for bass, David Bowie's music always had some of the most prominent bass players (George Murray, Carmine Rojas and Gail Ann Dorsey, for example). Since what hooked me on bass was the more modern Bowie stuff (Gail Ann Dorsey live, Tony Visconti and Tony Levin in studio mostly, although GAD had her share in studio, like on Earthling and such), I opted for a 5-string bass. In addition to that, I'm a huge Jamiroquai fan, Duran Duran fan and I am very fond of more alternative/experimental/exciting music (in addition to pop/rock and funk) that could benefit from that extra B string.

In about month's time, I will be turning thirty and I will get myself a Cort B5 bass (the newer version with Mark Bass Preamp, natural finish). I have tried it out in the store (with this little trace of technique for bass I posses) and it's simply wonderful. If China Girl bridge bass riff sounds amazeballs on it, as it does, it works for me! Since I live in a small apartment, I have no room for amps, I will play the bass through my old faithful Scarlet 2i2 1st Gen (with all kinds of software such as Guitar Rig, Amplitube, Bias FX/AMP etc). I have a decent pair of shelf speakers and, more importantly, the almighty BD DT770 80 Ohm headphones. So let say I got that covered.

Being a mildly anxious man, I have several concerns regarding bass:

1. My guitar fingerpicking technique is almost non-existent. I realize that it differs on bass since it doesn't involve all fingers plucking like on folky guitar stuff (which I despise, generally). I am keen to develop a perfect technique on this mighty instrument. I've always been lazy to do so on guitar (lucky I realized I'm just not interested in the instrument, heh) and I'm worried if my guitar bad habits will prop their ugly head for bass playing? I mean, they sure will, but I want to stop them as early as possible. Any advice is much appreciated.

2. I will work with a teacher. I have this guitar teacher who was actually primarily a guitarist in several local bands and is a great expert on music generally. I believe that he will be more than adequate for teaching me the basic technique + the application of music theory on bass. What are the things I should pay extra attention since I'm coming from a EADGBE to BEADG string pattern?

2a. What are the most important things for right hand technique? I believe I'll have it easier when it comes to the left hand part since I already know where notes are because of my guitar playing.

3. Since I'm getting a 5-string bass, do you guys recommend utilizing the B string whenever possible? E.g. reaching the F of the E string's 1st fret on the 6th fret of the B string etc.

4. I'm going to have the instrument setup the moment I buy it. Which strings do you recommend? The store offers Elixir Nanowebs, but I'm okay going with something less expensive too.

5. Generally, what are some things I should pay attention as a guitar player that is learning bass?

I really have this urge to perfect bass. Something I never had for guitar. Ffs, I wrote this post first thing in the morning, on a Sunday.


Thanks in advance, can't wait to become a bass player!

 

[J_Bass]

Hi, welcome!

I'm just going to leave some quick suggestions, I'm sure you'll receive a lot of useful answers here.


Since you're a beginner, concentrate on the playing. You already have the gear, don't stress about strings, for now. The Elixir you mentioned are great.

Play with a pick, if you like. Lot's of players play with a pick, the sound is great. Check out Bobby Vega, for example.

Check out 1-3-5 and 1-2-3-4-5 fingering. In my opinion, you should use both, depending on the position of the fretboard and type of bass line.

Check out floating thumb and moving anchored thumb techniques. You're starting on a 5 string, you'll need to check it out.

And, very important, learn how to mute. This is very important, if you want a clean sound. With your right hand and with your left hand.






Learn how to mute.

 

[bowiebass]

Thanks man!

EDIT:

As for pick/fingers playing, I think I avoided the whole debate thing over stuff like that some years ago. I think it's important to know what serves the song best. For example, you'll play Under Pressure with a pick, for sure, but China Girl with fingers (although Rojas uses a pick, as I've read somewhere), since it gives it that smooth warm swing your ass vibe of the bassline.

 

[scott sinner]

And, very important, learn how to mute. This is very important, if you want a clean sound. With your right hand and with your left hand.

Learn how to mute.

This is the number 1 thing I see former guitar players mess up on bass. Frankly, people should do it on guitar better too often, but while it just tends to sound a little messy on guitar, it can completely destroy songs on bass if the strings you are not intending to play are ringing out, potentially messing up everyones perception on what chord you are on.

Also no offense to your teacher, but unless they are also a regular bass player, I wouldnt take lessons from them. They may teach bad or inefficient habits from a technique standpoint. Have they played bass in a group? Recorded albums? Learning good habits even to play the simple lines is important, like the muting.

The bass is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural. It is possible to learn this power, but not from a guitar player.

 

[bowiebass]

This is the number 1 thing I see former guitar players mess up on bass. Frankly, people should do it on guitar better too often, but while it just tends to sound a little messy on guitar, it can completely destroy songs on bass if the strings you are not intending to play are ringing out, potentially messing up everyones perception on what chord you are on.

Also no offense to your teacher, but unless they are also a regular bass player, I wouldnt take lessons from them. They may teach bad or inefficient habits from a technique standpoint. Have they played bass in a group? Recorded albums? Learning good habits even to play the simple lines is important, like the muting.

The bass is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural. It is possible to learn this power, but not from a guitar player.

I addressed this concern with him and he said we'll go through everything from bass standpoint. I trust the guy since we're friends and he's also one of the most experience musicians in my country's rock music scene. But if I feel that his teaching isn't doing me any good, I'll look for another teacher. This guy is known for guitar playing but I think he's also proficient with bass too. We'll see.

I heard what you guys said about muting, I'll focus on that a lot, especially since my right hand muting on guitar isn't my strongest point. Thanks!

 

[J_Bass]

Where are you from?

I'm just curious, since you mentioned you wrote this early in the morning, we must be on a similar time zone.

Europe?

 

[MrLenny1]

Bass strings are tuned in 4ths vs the 3rd you have on geetar.
The Low B should be played when needed just like the other strings.
I use the B sparingly but it's very effective when used.
Listen to bass, think like a bass player and yes take lessons.

 

[bowiebass]

Where are you from?

I'm just curious, since you mentioned you wrote this early in the morning, we must be on a similar time zone.

Europe?

Belgrade, Serbia!

 

[InhumanResource]

Hi all,

I've been playing guitar on/off for about 15 years. Along the way, I haven't focused on technique as nearly as I should've, but I got into music theory a bit, developed some beginner/intermediate skills (lower intermediate?) etc. I know about scale chords and how to implement them, I know your basic scales, the concept of modes is not unknown to me etc. Can play a few of Nile Rodgers tracks, several Gilmour solos, can even compose a bit. However, I find guitar utterly boring nowadays. Still a great tool, but for me, when I listen to music, I almost exclusively focus on the b a s s nowadays.

My main inspiration for this is Bowie's stuff. While not particularly famous for bass, David Bowie's music always had some of the most prominent bass players (George Murray, Carmine Rojas and Gail Ann Dorsey, for example). Since what hooked me on bass was the more modern Bowie stuff (Gail Ann Dorsey live, Tony Visconti and Tony Levin in studio mostly, although GAD had her share in studio, like on Earthling and such), I opted for a 5-string bass. In addition to that, I'm a huge Jamiroquai fan, Duran Duran fan and I am very fond of more alternative/experimental/exciting music (in addition to pop/rock and funk) that could benefit from that extra B string.

In about month's time, I will be turning thirty and I will get myself a Cort B5 bass (the newer version with Mark Bass Preamp, natural finish). I have tried it out in the store (with this little trace of technique for bass I posses) and it's simply wonderful. If China Girl bridge bass riff sounds amazeballs on it, as it does, it works for me! Since I live in a small apartment, I have no room for amps, I will play the bass through my old faithful Scarlet 2i2 1st Gen (with all kinds of software such as Guitar Rig, Amplitube, Bias FX/AMP etc). I have a decent pair of shelf speakers and, more importantly, the almighty BD DT770 80 Ohm headphones. So let say I got that covered.

Being a mildly anxious man, I have several concerns regarding bass:

1. My guitar fingerpicking technique is almost non-existent. I realize that it differs on bass since it doesn't involve all fingers plucking like on folky guitar stuff (which I despise, generally). I am keen to develop a perfect technique on this mighty instrument. I've always been lazy to do so on guitar (lucky I realized I'm just not interested in the instrument, heh) and I'm worried if my guitar bad habits will prop their ugly head for bass playing? I mean, they sure will, but I want to stop them as early as possible. Any advice is much appreciated.

2. I will work with a teacher. I have this guitar teacher who was actually primarily a guitarist in several local bands and is a great expert on music generally. I believe that he will be more than adequate for teaching me the basic technique + the application of music theory on bass. What are the things I should pay extra attention since I'm coming from a EADGBE to BEADG string pattern?

2a. What are the most important things for right hand technique? I believe I'll have it easier when it comes to the left hand part since I already know where notes are because of my guitar playing.

3. Since I'm getting a 5-string bass, do you guys recommend utilizing the B string whenever possible? E.g. reaching the F of the E string's 1st fret on the 6th fret of the B string etc.

4. I'm going to have the instrument setup the moment I buy it. Which strings do you recommend? The store offers Elixir Nanowebs, but I'm okay going with something less expensive too.

5. Generally, what are some things I should pay attention as a guitar player that is learning bass?

I really have this urge to perfect bass. Something I never had for guitar. Ffs, I wrote this post first thing in the morning, on a Sunday.


Thanks in advance, can't wait to become a bass player!

You are getting an overwhelming list of advice here so I will keep this short.

Please, please find a bass teacher. Just because they are both guitars from a technical perspective don’t mean they are interchangeable. Get someone who knows the role of bassist from having lived and breathed it.

 

[Killing Floor]

Second practice muting, both right and left hands. Where lengthy sustain is quite appropriate on guitar you'll want to lock the bass onto the beat sometimes. Not quite the same as staccato but you'll get there. You can use a pick if you want, nothing wrong with that. Most commonly you pick downward on a guitar and that's not a natural stroke for plucking with your fingers. Just work through one step at a time. It's like guitar in that it is as difficult or as easy as you need it to be. No wrong way to play it. I would recommend as you learn to keep all your right fingers working.
Good news, a bass G string won't slice your callouses like an 8 or 9!

ps I love Carmine Rojas. You'll be fine. Have fun.

 

[DrayMiles]

Don’t study with a guitarist… That’s like having a kung fu expert teach Akido.
You need to think like a bassist, and there are subtleties that they won’t know.
IMHO you need to understand chords and the encapsulation of chord tones… Inversions etc.
Also, don’t get too caught up in talking about playing without putting in some playing time live… as a bassist.
Enjoy yourself.. You are the most powerful member of any ensemble.. imho.

 

[Hawk256]

Hate to pile up on the guitar teacher but I think it needs to said (again) don't take any more lessons from a guitarist than you have to. Preferably none. Most guitarists can pick up a bass and play "notes" but they are not playing "bass", if you get what I mean. My experience has been that drummers make better bass players than guitarists. YMMV.

 

[LanEvo]

I started playing bass and guitar simultaneously in the mid-1980s. You have to approach them very differently.

The main thing for a bass player is to focus on the drums and make sure your timing is perfect. The “best” rock guitarists do this naturally: EVH, Townsend, Billy Gibbons, SRV, etc. are/were all phenomenal rhythm players. But too many guitarists are missing this trait.

Tone is another big difference. A bass tone that sounds great when played solo through headphones often disappears on a loud stage or in a recording mix. Some of the greatest bass tones on your favorite records might sound quite ugly if you were to hear them isolated.

For example, you mentioned China Girl. I haven’t listened to that in a while, but I remember it being very mid-heavy with tons of compression and a “clicky” kind of attack. If you could listen to the isolated bass track, you’d probably be surprised at how weird it sounds.

All of this to say, you’ll need to start thinking in terms of how you fit into the bigger picture as a bass player.

 

[fearceol]

One important thing that I don't think has been mentioned yet is timing and groove. If these are not spot on, it renders anything else you learn to be useless.

Listen closely to the bass in songs to get a feel for how the bass "fits in" to the music.

 

[Mushroo]

Biggest mistake I sometimes see people make, who are coming from guitar to bass?

They think because they already learned the guitar part, that they "know" the song, and they don't need to learn the bass line note-for-note. They play "something else" instead of of the song's real bass line.

Therefore I would encourage you, right from Day 1 of playing bass, to learn the actual bass lines of your favorite songs.

For example you asked a question "should I play F at the 1st fret of my E string, or the 6th fret of the B string?" My advice is: don't guess! Go on YouTube and find a live performance of the song. Watch the bassist's fingers and learn how they did it.

--------------------

I'm going to disagree with a few of the comments above: Bass guitar is a member of the guitar family of instruments, and you can totally learn bass guitar from a good guitar teacher, no problem. Your preexisting guitar technique and musicality will give you a huge head start on learning bass.

 

[dab12ax7ef]

Welcome to the world of bass. Even though you are a guitar player, you’re already thinking like a bass player. Along with all the technical advice, I’d say, think more like a drummer than a guitar player. As in when to play, when to leave space, and when and how long the notes should be. How to lock in with the kick pattern and let space for the snare (while not a hard and fast rule, this will get you a long way). It’s the feel and the groove that separates former guitar players who play bass from bass players.

Good luck! I have an older Cort as my first 5 stringer and quite enjoy it still.

 

[jallenbass]

Be sure you can play everything (assuming it's in 4/4 time) with a metronome on 2 and 4. This will keep you honest with your time.

You didn't mention playing in a band but if that's a goal always come to rehearsals prepared and be easy to work with. Your band will forever be in your debt.

 

[english4bw]

As a former lead and rhythm guitar player for most of my life who only dabbled occasionally in the land of bass playing, I would echo the advice to take lessons from an actual bass teacher. I switched to playing bass about 12 years ago and it is a completely different animal to guitar playing. You cannot learn that on your own, and you will only learn how guitarists play bass from other guitar players. Get a standalone bass teacher. I did and it was the best thing I could have done. Right away I saw how years of playing guitar can cause habits that will only hinder your bass playing. You have to unlearn those habits.

Oh... and learn the importance of leaving SPACE. Knowing when NOT to play is better than filling in space with useless notes.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

Hi all,

I've been playing guitar on/off for about 15 years. Along the way, I haven't focused on technique as nearly as I should've, but I got into music theory a bit, developed some beginner/intermediate skills (lower intermediate?) etc. I know about scale chords and how to implement them, I know your basic scales, the concept of modes is not unknown to me etc. Can play a few of Nile Rodgers tracks, several Gilmour solos, can even compose a bit. However, I find guitar utterly boring nowadays. Still a great tool, but for me, when I listen to music, I almost exclusively focus on the b a s s nowadays.

My main inspiration for this is Bowie's stuff. While not particularly famous for bass, David Bowie's music always had some of the most prominent bass players (George Murray, Carmine Rojas and Gail Ann Dorsey, for example). Since what hooked me on bass was the more modern Bowie stuff (Gail Ann Dorsey live, Tony Visconti and Tony Levin in studio mostly, although GAD had her share in studio, like on Earthling and such), I opted for a 5-string bass. In addition to that, I'm a huge Jamiroquai fan, Duran Duran fan and I am very fond of more alternative/experimental/exciting music (in addition to pop/rock and funk) that could benefit from that extra B string.

In about month's time, I will be turning thirty and I will get myself a Cort B5 bass (the newer version with Mark Bass Preamp, natural finish). I have tried it out in the store (with this little trace of technique for bass I posses) and it's simply wonderful. If China Girl bridge bass riff sounds amazeballs on it, as it does, it works for me! Since I live in a small apartment, I have no room for amps, I will play the bass through my old faithful Scarlet 2i2 1st Gen (with all kinds of software such as Guitar Rig, Amplitube, Bias FX/AMP etc). I have a decent pair of shelf speakers and, more importantly, the almighty BD DT770 80 Ohm headphones. So let say I got that covered.

Being a mildly anxious man, I have several concerns regarding bass:

1. My guitar fingerpicking technique is almost non-existent. I realize that it differs on bass since it doesn't involve all fingers plucking like on folky guitar stuff (which I despise, generally). I am keen to develop a perfect technique on this mighty instrument. I've always been lazy to do so on guitar (lucky I realized I'm just not interested in the instrument, heh) and I'm worried if my guitar bad habits will prop their ugly head for bass playing? I mean, they sure will, but I want to stop them as early as possible. Any advice is much appreciated.

2. I will work with a teacher. I have this guitar teacher who was actually primarily a guitarist in several local bands and is a great expert on music generally. I believe that he will be more than adequate for teaching me the basic technique + the application of music theory on bass. What are the things I should pay extra attention since I'm coming from a EADGBE to BEADG string pattern?

2a. What are the most important things for right hand technique? I believe I'll have it easier when it comes to the left hand part since I already know where notes are because of my guitar playing.

3. Since I'm getting a 5-string bass, do you guys recommend utilizing the B string whenever possible? E.g. reaching the F of the E string's 1st fret on the 6th fret of the B string etc.

4. I'm going to have the instrument setup the moment I buy it. Which strings do you recommend? The store offers Elixir Nanowebs, but I'm okay going with something less expensive too.

5. Generally, what are some things I should pay attention as a guitar player that is learning bass?

I really have this urge to perfect bass. Something I never had for guitar. Ffs, I wrote this post first thing in the morning, on a Sunday.


Thanks in advance, can't wait to become a bass player!

Welcome to the world down under!

1) When plucking, make sure your volume level and tone change does not change from finger to finger. Sounds silly, but something like that will show on a recording. I would also recommend to continue to use your pick. Being able to do both will come in handy.

2-2a) I’ll leave that to your teacher to decide. One point about teachers, make sure you two can communicate with each other. You are a team. Don’t pick one out by them being a virtuoso, but by how well they bring you a long. Record your work. That’s your report card.

3) A 5 string is a great idea. IMO, let the music you play decide how and when you play the B String.

4) +1 on a pro setup. Strings? You may just have to go through several sets of different strings to find your brand. One other point about strings, they are not a lifetime commitment.

5) As a guitarist that became a bassist, don’t over play. You don’t get paid for being overly complex or by the note. You get paid for providing the logic for the chord changes.

Best wishes.

 

[SLO Surfer]

Please, please find a bass teacher. Just because they are both guitars from a technical perspective don’t mean they are interchangeable. Get someone who knows the role of bassist from having lived and breathed it.

This. Get an actual professional bass player/teacher for lessons.