This is what I was getting at when I mentioned don't fret too hard. My mind got tricked into thinking I had to fret harder, since I was trying to depress more strings than 1, and due to the awkward positions my hand was in. It is counter intuitive but once you get your fret hand pressure just right, the notes sound better and your hand has less fatigue. You can also move faster around the fret board. This is the same with bass as we all know.
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Tips for a bassist learning guitar
- Thread starter KickingBass
- Start date
This is what I was getting at when I mentioned don't fret too hard. My mind got tricked into thinking I had to fret harder, since I was trying to depress more strings than 1, and due to the awkward positions my hand was in. It is counter intuitive but once you get your fret hand pressure just right, the notes sound better and your hand has less fatigue. You can also move faster around the fret board. This is the same with bass as we all know.
This is exactly what I hope happens for me. The combined knowledge of guitar and bass playing will help me with playing bass more melodically and also be a tool for me to do more songwriting like Lobster11 said.
Yep, I must second this, as it will make things more complicated in terms of learning chords and recognizing chord shapes (when playing alongside other guitarists). It would also mean that every time you grab someone else's guitar you'll have to alter its tuning in order to be able to play.
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I was given a guitar, and I noticed I spent a lot of time on the low E & power chords so I decided to get a bass.
The first guitar book I read was Bill Edward's "Fretboard Logic", which gives a rationale for the guitar's unique B string & lays out the CAGED chord pattern method for learning to play chords. Here's a link if you want to read more:
Fretboard Logic SE: The Reasoning Behind the Guitar's Unique Tuning Plus Chords Scales and Arpeggios Complete(2 Volumes): Bill Edwards: 9780962477065: Amazon.com: Books
But I'm in the same boat - I just found out that you don't always have one finger on each fret when playing the bass, so I don't have to feel guilty anymore when I 'cheated'.
The first guitar book I read was Bill Edward's "Fretboard Logic", which gives a rationale for the guitar's unique B string & lays out the CAGED chord pattern method for learning to play chords. Here's a link if you want to read more:
Fretboard Logic SE: The Reasoning Behind the Guitar's Unique Tuning Plus Chords Scales and Arpeggios Complete(2 Volumes): Bill Edwards: 9780962477065: Amazon.com: Books
But I'm in the same boat - I just found out that you don't always have one finger on each fret when playing the bass, so I don't have to feel guilty anymore when I 'cheated'.
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Learn it as a completely new and different instrument. There are very few things that work from instrument to instrument outside of theory and extremely basic technique. Find a song you like and learn it, something simple, then build from there. Watching videos helps but finding a legit guitar player to reach you is always better. Start turning off your bass ears when you hear a piece of music (unless you are learning a bass part). I play bass primarily but often have to back up on lead so I learn both parts and quite often chords and riffs are not played in the same position which can be confusing if you are trying to approach being a guitar player by being a bass player.
Thank you, that's good "bassist advice about guitar playing" that I was hoping to get.
Welcome to the journey friend! I started in the same direction last fall, my advice is first just start getting used to the instrument. Memorized the basic open string chords and some barre chords and work on switching between them with a metronome. Once you can handle some chords, work on very simple songs.
I also recommend the Hal Leonard guitar series. It helped me a lot.
I also recommend the Hal Leonard guitar series. It helped me a lot.
Actually, yes, and the basic blues riffs, shapes, etc. I grew up on bass, and now use guitar in the studio for composing work quite a bit, but I NEVER learned that basic stuff, like, how to play "Johnny B Goode" or whatever. If somebody shows me something I can pick it up right away, but I don't have those basic rock and roll/blues riffs, shapes and patterns in my subconscious. I can fake 'em, but I play them kinda…weird(like a bass player
. It's just really good to know that stuff, even if you're not playing that kind of music. They inform LOTS of guitar styles.
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- Jan 12, 2011
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I am guilty too. From my last Gig's pay I bought an inexpensive SX Hawk (strat like) I sold some Pups and picked up some inexpensive distortion, overdrive, and delay pedals. I'm doing this to open up other ideas for my music and bass playing. I'll never be a Guitarist but I'll know how to get around one. Good move IMO.
Thanks for the encouragement and really awesome advice everyone. My guitar should hopefully arrive on Tuesday, I can hardly wait to put a lot of this advice to use.
A while back I recorded some tracks for a duo of junior high kids who had just taken up playing, but already had a number of original tracks to record. One played electric guitar and sang and the other played drums.
The guitar player made amazing progress within six months of starting from scratch by taking lessons from a local musician who would work with him on disecting, learning and recreating songs he found interesting along with teaching the basics of the instrument.
Soon he was writing so many originals they barely had time to work them all up. Having ambitious goals helps you make progress, and having someone hold you accountable really keeps you at it.
Oh, and the drummer was simply a phenom. AFAIK, he's still doing music for a living a decade later, while the guitarist moved on to carpentry and then organic farming.
Otto
The guitar player made amazing progress within six months of starting from scratch by taking lessons from a local musician who would work with him on disecting, learning and recreating songs he found interesting along with teaching the basics of the instrument.
Soon he was writing so many originals they barely had time to work them all up. Having ambitious goals helps you make progress, and having someone hold you accountable really keeps you at it.
Oh, and the drummer was simply a phenom. AFAIK, he's still doing music for a living a decade later, while the guitarist moved on to carpentry and then organic farming.
Otto
If you can, play in/with a 4 piece. You can work on rhythm by accenting different strokes. Most guitarists turned bass players will accent all of the rhythm strokes, but that is not nearly as tasty as an up stroke here and a down stroke there to create the groove of the song. Lock to the kick(which does'nt mean duplication either, it just means lock on the 1 and follow your groove. I learned my craft with a 4 piece and now I add those accents whether or not there is a rhythm guitar. I'm just saying when you have no clue, this works.
I wouldn't necessarily recommend straight fourths for a beginner. Fourths serves its purpose but there is value in having some familiarity with music created in standard tuning.
Otto
Otto
work on learning chords variations all over the neck ..
work on scales , all 5 penta patterns
work on finding a note , quickly on each string ... just pick a note and go ... start on low string and move across ...
fiddle with penta & regular scales using one string
find those " boxes " of notes , ... then attach them together to move around
learn how your picking angle can change the tone and dynamics
learn to mute things effectively
don't squeeze the life out of your guitar neck ... relax
i need more coffee ............
work on scales , all 5 penta patterns
work on finding a note , quickly on each string ... just pick a note and go ... start on low string and move across ...
fiddle with penta & regular scales using one string
find those " boxes " of notes , ... then attach them together to move around
learn how your picking angle can change the tone and dynamics
learn to mute things effectively
don't squeeze the life out of your guitar neck ... relax
i need more coffee ............
Glad I saw this thread because I've been playing bass for 40 years and never learned to play guitar. Now I want a Bass VI. Planning on getting the Squier; don't like the Fender Pawnshop version. The Squier's electronics are truer to the original. I know already the biggest challenges will be getting used to that 3rd between the G & B strings and playing with a pick. I messed around with a LaBella Bass VI which has a wider string spacing so I could use my fingers, but that axe is out of my budget. I'll be coming back to this thread looking for tips after I get the new axe.
- Jul 7, 2010
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DON'T DO IT!
Just kidding...
I suggest as others have said, learn scales first and then listen to the songs from a different point of view.....listen for parts that are layered. Most songs will have 3 or 4 different guitar lines. What I am getting at is sometimes you hear a song that you THINK is played a certain way, BUT there are different parts layered on top.
Once you start to hear the actual song in its parts you will then be able to play them better and it will give you ideas of the different techniques being used.
Just a suggestion.
Have fun playing....BUT don't quit BASS!
Just kidding...
I suggest as others have said, learn scales first and then listen to the songs from a different point of view.....listen for parts that are layered. Most songs will have 3 or 4 different guitar lines. What I am getting at is sometimes you hear a song that you THINK is played a certain way, BUT there are different parts layered on top.
Once you start to hear the actual song in its parts you will then be able to play them better and it will give you ideas of the different techniques being used.
Just a suggestion.
Have fun playing....BUT don't quit BASS!
When learning barre chords, make sure the pad of your left hand thumb directly behind the fingernail is behind the neck, not poking up over or wrapped around the top of it. This will more evenly distribute pressure and strength to the finger doing the barring. Think of the ideal hand position as pinching your thumb towards the knuckle closest to the nail on your middle finger, keeping your fingers fairly straight but with a bit of curve too.. Practice alternating between a G Major barre chord with root on the 6th to a C Major with the root on the fifth, as this builds up that strength in both your index and ring fingers. Be patient, work hard, enjoy the process.
I'm planning on using the guitar in acoustic sets with my band and possibly in church so I should hopefully be able to have that support and experience opportunity.
Haha yeah I cant quit, my band and church both need me on bass and I have a bunch of bass equipment I don't plan on getting rid of. Thanks for the advice.DON'T DO IT!
Just kidding...
I suggest as others have said, learn scales first and then listen to the songs from a different point of view.....listen for parts that are layered. Most songs will have 3 or 4 different guitar lines. What I am getting at is sometimes you hear a song that you THINK is played a certain way, BUT there are different parts layered on top.
Once you start to hear the actual song in its parts you will then be able to play them better and it will give you ideas of the different techniques being used.
Just a suggestion.
Have fun playing....BUT don't quit BASS!
I also am learning guitar. It's not as bad as it seems. The reality is that there's really only 5 strings to think about the top and bottom string are both E so that's easy to figure out. The 2nd string, the B string is tuned different but means you do everything one fret up from what you would expect. Basically, you can do things in 2 octaves from one position on the guitar compared to bass. If you learn to play some chord progressions you can record them and then practice bass also.
