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Why bass?
- Thread starter Dlew919
- Start date
I remember riding in my dad's pickup with him when I was maybe 4 years old. A song was playing on the radio and at one point he told me, "That is a bass guitar." Now, I don't know for certain, but part of me believes the song was "The Chain" by Fleetwood Mac. From that point on, I think bass just stuck out in music to me and I loved how it sounded. When I was a sophomore, for some reason that I cannot now remember, a friend loaned me their P bass. I had it at my house for less than a week, but I almost couldn't put it down. My senior year, my two buddies came up with a grand plan to start a band. One of them had an amazing voice and the other was learning to play guitar. So, I said I would play bass...that was 1990 and here I am.
Turnaround
Commercial User
Bass parts drew me to the instrument, the actual low-end bass line/melody of music. It wasn’t the instrument itself I was drawn to, as I was first drawn to guitar because a few friends were learning it and I started liking rock n roll.
I joined elementary school band on clarinet. When I first heard the bass lines trombones were playing I wanted to play those notes and not the top melody anymore. I didn’t want to play the trombone, just their notes and bass lines. In middle school I learned that bass clarinet played bass lines so I switched to that immediately. The same type of thing happened around that time when I first started guitar and was learning rock songs; I liked the bass line notes more than the guitar parts so I switched to bass guitar.
I’m drawn to bass parts of all music, whether it’s middle school wind band or rock n roll or pop or funk or soul or jazz or…
- I like counterpoint. Growing up listening to classical music did this to me. Hearing a melodic counterpoint in the basses, low brass or organ pedals always brought me shivers.
- I like to bridge the purely rhythmic instruments with the harmonic/melodic instruments. Playing Latin did this to me.
- Without a strong, well-grounded foundation, no structure can endure, no matter how solid or beautiful. Being part of that foundation is extremely powerful.
I like playing one note at a time. Also bass is objectively cooler.
Ric5
Inactive
- Jan 29, 2008
- 29,772
- 30,452
- Disclosures
- I like 5, 8, 10, and 12 string basses
The Inevitable Question: Why The Bass?
why play bass
Why I Play Bass
Why are you a bass player?
Why did you pick bass?
Why did you choose the bass?
When did you get into bass playing and why?
Why do you play bass ??
why do you play bass guitar ???
Why Bass?
Why Play Bass?
why bass?
Why I Play Bass - The Book
How And Why Did You Pick Bass?
Why did you decide to play bass?
Why I Started Playing Bass
We all play bass. That's obvious. But why are we so atteacted to it?
Why did you choose to play bass?
Why did you pick up the bass?
Why do YOU play bass?
so why do YOU play bass?
Why Bass? Who Or What Inspired You?
Why did you take up bass??
Why did you choose the bass?
Why did you decide to play bass?
Why did you Start to play Bass?
Why did you pick bass?
Why the bass guitar?
Why did you start playing bass?
Why the Bass?
Why do you play bass ?
POLL! why do u play bass?
why the bass?
One more try: Why do you play bass?
Why Bass?
Why do YOU play bass?
why play bass
Why I Play Bass
Why are you a bass player?
Why did you pick bass?
Why did you choose the bass?
When did you get into bass playing and why?
Why do you play bass ??
why do you play bass guitar ???
Why Bass?
Why Play Bass?
why bass?
Why I Play Bass - The Book
How And Why Did You Pick Bass?
Why did you decide to play bass?
Why I Started Playing Bass
We all play bass. That's obvious. But why are we so atteacted to it?
Why did you choose to play bass?
Why did you pick up the bass?
Why do YOU play bass?
so why do YOU play bass?
Why Bass? Who Or What Inspired You?
Why did you take up bass??
Why did you choose the bass?
Why did you decide to play bass?
Why did you Start to play Bass?
Why did you pick bass?
Why the bass guitar?
Why did you start playing bass?
Why the Bass?
Why do you play bass ?
POLL! why do u play bass?
why the bass?
One more try: Why do you play bass?
Why Bass?
Why do YOU play bass?
In schools, they ask the same questions every year during the exam period.... only the students who don't know how to answer them have problems with this.
You better get used to it because the phenomenon won't go away because of your post.
I dunno...cause it's fun, I suppose. Also I suck at guitar. I'm pretty good at drums, though.
devnulljp
Supporting Member
In schools, they ask the same questions every year during the exam period.... only the students who don't know how to answer them have problems with this.
You better get used to it because the phenomenon won't go away because of your post.
You miss the point. The question is understandably a perennial one. We expect it to be asked as long as people play bass. What is not understandable is the proliferation of threads asking the same question that many others did for the past 22 years.
When I was 16 Chris Squire, when I was 18 Phil and Jack, when I was 30 Jaco. As a result of being in school classical bands since I was 12, time keeping is in me. Not something I have to count...Why bass?.. I guess I needed to start learning humility and long time ago. Still a work in progress.
I played sax for years
Then I picked up the guitar
It warn't working out
Rush is what grabbed me
Geddy's lines were just sublime
The rest is hist'ry
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I was hanging out with some dumb friends in 7th(?) grade. One of them said they were a band. I played violin and this dingaling said “violins have 4 strings so you play bass” and handed my this junker and showed me how it “worked” and that was it. Pretty sure I broke a string one of the first days. Took lessons once I was able. I read (upper clef) but didn’t matter because my friends didn’t.
It stuck.
I play bass because a friend handed me a bass and said GO.
It stuck.
I play bass because a friend handed me a bass and said GO.
What do you want them to do? Start a Why Bass?-forum and move every similar post with a Haiku to this it?
