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What does bass is easy mean?!

#24
Brad Johnson aka Devils Advocate in this situation. :D

I think the hardest bass related decision that you have to make is which of your many, many great instruments to play. :D

I going to agree with Brad for the most part. In a the typical rock situation (or even the average band situation) the bass is very simple, but then again so is the majority of the guitar with a little practice. I know ten run-of-the-mill Campfire-chord guitarists for every truly talented guitarist I have met.

But any instrument can be extremely hard; try learning to slide like Dwayne Allman, soloing like Bozzio or Rich, playing countermelodies like Levin, etc.

In my opinion, increase in talent is directly proportional to the amount of practice time on you instrument of choice.

Adam
 
#25
Dynna said:
I always tell people that 'bass is an easy instrument to play...but one of the HARDEST to play WeLL."

Seriously, anyone can sit down, hold a fret with one finger on the left hand, and pluck a string(hopefully the same one) with one finger on the right.

HOWEVER... arpeggios, scales, walking, passing tones, understanding harmony & chord motion, and the ultimate four letter word..T I M E , are what take people years and lifetimes to learn to play WELL.

We could get away with saying "bass is an easy instrument to play" if less people acted on it as if we were serious.
Click to expand...

Great post!

I honestly dont care what is easier/harder...bass is my gig,and thats that.
 
#26
abark000 said:
Brad Johnson aka Devils Advocate in this situation. :D
Click to expand...

Nope, not playing DA this time. Bass "is" easy IME... in the context I specifically stated. I have absolutely no problem admitting that.

I think the hardest bass related decision that you have to make is which of your many, many great instruments to play. :D
Click to expand...

:D

After I learned how to play;)

For some people playing bass is very difficult. In fact just recently I was reminded of why we need certain things in addition to a basic setup just to be able to play competently.

I'm going to agree with Brad for the most part. In a the typical rock situation (or even the average band situation) the bass is very simple, but then again so is the majority of the guitar with a little practice. I know ten run-of-the-mill Campfire-chord guitarists for every truly talented guitarist I have met.
Click to expand...

Take a trip in the Way-Back Machine to before those ten Campfire kids touched an instrument. Have a contest... hand five of them basses, five of them guitars and put "Smoke on the Water" on. First group to succesfully learn their instrument's part of the intro of the song wins a free compressor.

My money's on the bass holders every time;)

But any instrument can be extremely hard; try learning to slide like Dwayne Allman, soloing like Bozzio or Rich, playing countermelodies like Levin, etc.
Click to expand...

Already addressed that part. Doesn't change the fact that just about anyone can pick up a bass and plunk out a recognizable bass line with very little trouble. OTOH the joke about taking one lesson and then getting gigs is a stretch;)


In my opinion, increase in talent is directly proportional to the amount of practice time on you instrument of choice.

Adam
Click to expand...

Of course... but it doesn't necessarily take much talent to plunk out some of this stuff.
 
#27
Brad Johnson said:
Nope, not playing DA this time. Bass "is" easy IME... in the context I specifically stated. I have absolutely no problem admitting that.



:D

After I learned how to play;)

For some people playing bass is very difficult. In fact just recently I was reminded of why we need certain things in addition to a basic setup just to be able to play competently.



Take a trip in the Way-Back Machine to before those ten Campfire kids touched an instrument. Have a contest... hand five of them basses, five of them guitars and put "Smoke on the Water" on. First group to succesfully learn their instrument's part of the intro of the song wins a free compressor.

My money's on the bass holders every time;)



Already addressed that part. Doesn't change the fact that just about anyone can pick up a bass and plunk out a recognizable bass line with very little trouble. OTOH the joke about taking one lesson and then getting gigs is a stretch;)




Of course... but it doesn't necessarily take much talent to plunk out some of this stuff.
Click to expand...


All very true.
 
#31
z4knerd said:
they don't dance to the lead guitar but they had bang to it :P kind of. i guess. no wait, a bass is pretty damn essential. ever hear a band w/out a bass? yea sounds like *($*(%
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Sure. Lots of Jazz trios, groups like Soulive or Joshua Redman for example. They sound pretty damn sweet IMO. Ever heard a group with a bad bass player. Now that sounds like *($*(%

:D
 
#33
I admit that I switched from guitar to bass because I thought (as many people do) that bass was somehow an "easier" instrument to play :rolleyes: Then I discovered techniques like the double thump, slapping, ect...
That and listening to players like Victor Wooten and Billy Sheehan changed my mind ;).
 
#34
I agree that bass easy in relation to some other instruments...
Electric bass is easier compared to double bass...I know...I play both...the sheer size and strength it takes is much more demanding.Not to mention how long it takes to get good at it,playing with a bow,intonation...on and on...
On bass you have a finger/fretboard so you can find the notes easier than on ,say,a wind instrument,where breath control and emboucher are big factors for intonation as well as other factors.
As far as guitar goes,try sight reading large elaborate chords,while playing...same for piano.
That is not to say that there is no skill involved-I don't think anyone can say that Vic Wooten is not an absolute monster player...
I think alot of bassist simply take offence when someone says it is easy,because they are demeaning all of your efforts.You simply have to take into consideration that if they don't play any instrument,then they'er opinion is simply invalid.And if they do play,maby they have a point,depending on they're perspective...but that is just my opinion...what do I know?I am just a bass player...
 
#36
chrismmc said:
I agree that bass easy in relation to some other instruments...
Electric bass is easier compared to double bass...I know...I play both...the sheer size and strength it takes is much more demanding.Not to mention how long it takes to get good at it,playing with a bow,intonation...on and on...
On bass you have a finger/fretboard so you can find the notes easier than on ,say,a wind instrument,where breath control and emboucher are big factors for intonation as well as other factors.
As far as guitar goes,try sight reading large elaborate chords,while playing...same for piano.
That is not to say that there is no skill involved-I don't think anyone can say that Vic Wooten is not an absolute monster player...
I think alot of bassist simply take offence when someone says it is easy,because they are demeaning all of your efforts.You simply have to take into consideration that if they don't play any instrument,then they'er opinion is simply invalid.And if they do play,maby they have a point,depending on they're perspective...but that is just my opinion...what do I know?I am just a bass player...
Click to expand...

That's the problem... how might it be demeaning?

Unless they're talking specifically about you and you thought you were smoking;)

:hiding:
 
#37
So what if it's "easier"? Sure it may be a bit easier to just pick up and play, but as we've discussed, it's much harder to become proficient. Apart from that, why does it matter if bass is easier to pick up? It's still an essential part of any given piece in pretty much all of Western music. Anyone who thinks the bass's "easiness" somehow diminishes its value to the ensemble must be insecure with his manhood. Musicians need to get over themselves and just respect one another for the talent and work that they put into their instrument.
 
#39
Oh well, bass is as hard as you make it too.
Same with all instruments, if you wanna play roots, then it's easy(not in 32th though), if you wanna play like victor wooten and alex webster etc.. then it's hard? :bassist:

Still cannot understand how somebody could pick up a bass, play some roots and say it's easy. if so i could pick up a guitar, play some powerchords and say it's easy.
But i could say playing roots/powerchord was easy,
but not the instrument.

It might be hard to do powerchord than bass roots,
but it's still easy.

Also, english harder than bass?
That's how you compare things...
:o
 
#40
I started playing bass because I wanted to be in a band, and it was the easiest instrument to get something that sounded acceptable out of it

that's not the same as saying 'it's easy'.. just that it's an easy one to get started with and quickly manage to bash out stuff that sounds like what you'd hear on a record... and that's only because rock bass is frequently moronically simple (not necessarily a bad thing!)

but I have to say that I haven't heard anyone say to me 'bass is easy' since I was a clueless teenager hanging out with other clueless teenagers... :) i'm lucky that my band members, other musicians and the people we play to, seem to really appreciate what I bring to proceedings
 

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