Switching from Guitar

[Downsman]

I just signed up today, 10 days after taking up the bass.

I found myself in a band just a year and a half after starting to learn the guitar. We had a lot of fun, played a few gigs, but then the bass player quit 2 weeks ago. I already knew an excellent guitarist who was looking for a band, and I thought I'd try playing bass to see if that might be an option. Borrowed a friend's son's cheap p-bass copy, and found I was able to play what our bass player was doing on our songs within a day or two. Just felt a really natural thing to be doing. Though I struggled with the long scale fretboard. Then I heard about the Squier VM Jaguar Short Scale, and as I'd been playing the Jaguar guitar version of that one, and loved it, I thought I'd go to a shop and try it out. Played and felt fantastic, so I bought it (pics of my two Jags attached).

I've barely put it down since buying it. Plays great, really comfortable, and sounds good to me. I'll be keeping it stock at least until I'm more experienced and know what kind of a sound I'm going for, and whether anything needs to change to get it.

So now I need to learn everything I can about playing bass. All the music theory work I'd put in on guitar is paying off in terms of understanding keys, scales, fretboard patterns etc. I know I'll be spending a lot of time on here while I try to figure this out, already picked up some great tips from different threads. Exciting times ahead!

 

[MalcolmAmos]

Band directors have been handing me fake chord sheet music for years. I'm sure fake chord is one of your old friends also. With my 6 string guitar I'd strum the chords, with my bass I play notes of the chord one note at a time. So the learning curve from 6 string guitar to 4 string bass is not that hard.

Roots work on about 90% of what I play and if I need something more the 5 seems to be a good choice. Beyond that the 8 or octave (R-5-8-5) is a generic fit most anywhere bass line. This will come in handy; Chord Formulas As will the following box pattern.

Major Scale Box. Root on the 4th string.

G~~|---2---|-------|---3---|---4---| 1st string
D~~|---6---|-------|---7---|---8---|
A~~|---3---|---4---|-------|---5---|
E~~|-------|---R---|-------|---2---|4th string
You've seen this pattern with dots. Adding the numbers lets the box come alive. Want a 3? The 3rd scale degree is always up a string and back one fret - from the root note. The 6th is right above the 3 on the next string up. Yes the 5 is always up a string and over two frets - or down a string same fret as the root. Little memory work and your fretboard becomes a piece of cake. Put the box at the 3rd string 3rd fret and a C awaits you. Another is found at the 4th string 8th fret and another one is at he 3rd string 15th fret. Help yourself to the octave or neck location you like best.​

Main thing is to start listening for the kick drum and take your groove from what the kick drum is doing. Took me a little while to pick out the kick from all the other drum sounds in his kit. The kick drum's pattern is what our groove is based upon. Having trouble; look at his kick drum foot pedal - match that rhythm.

I started about the same way as you are doing. My friend plays bass in a Country band I play rhythm guitar in. One day he said to me; "I'm going to sing and play my rhythm guitar at the nursing home next Wednesday, take my bass and back me up." He showed me how to put the root on the 3rd string and where the IV and V roots would be and the rest is history.

Still play both, but, the bass is my favorite. Welcome to the bottom end.

 

[Downsman]

Thanks for the very helpful reply. I'll be playing bass with a drummer for the first time on Thursday, which I'm excited about. From playing along to lots of different songs I like, it's true that you can't go too far wrong playing the root while still trying to work out what's going on. I've been really struck, though, by how many songs I could figure out and play the same way as the recording. In the sense that they keep things really simple. Usually it's all about locking into the groove rather than fretboard pyrotechnics like lead guitar.

Our band writes our own songs, so what I plan to do is start by sticking mainly to the root, a bit of Octave, 3 and 5 stuff maybe, and then build up from there as/when I've got that nailed down on the right beats.

 

[MalcolmAmos]

+ 1 Sounds like a good plan.

Good luck.