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Why did you decide to play bass?

Why did you decide to play bass?

  • I liked the sound of a bass and basslines

    Votes: 59 62.8%

  • I didn't want to play guitar like everyone else

    Votes: 36 38.3%

  • I liked the shape and size of a bass and its strings

    Votes: 10 10.6%

  • I liked the bassist of a band

    Votes: 18 19.1%

  • Someone forced me

    Votes: 10 10.6%

  • Other

    Votes: 23 24.5%
  • Total voters
    94
#21
My brother played bass. Originally, I liked the idea of us forming a band so I started playing guitar. I took 4 lessons and discovered that my hands/fingers were too big for the fretboard, and that I sucked.
My brother said "hey, why don't you try the bass?". I picked up his bass, he showed me some basics, I took some lessons, and I was hooked.
 
#22
I picked up the bass one night in 1979, right before a gig. I had been playing rhythm guitar in a blues band when our bass player quit. I asked the band leader who he was going to get to play bass that night, since he knew most of the players in town. He just smiled and handed the thing to me. Much woodshedding ensued, and I've been a bass player ever since.

After a while, I figured out that singing bass players are much more marketable than singing guitar strummers. I've always had a gig when I wanted one (and sometimes even when I DIDN'T want one.:D )

Oh, yeah: I voted "someone forced me to," although "forced" is a bit strong for how it actually went down.

~John
 
#23
wanted to be in a band and i didnt know any other bass players so i would automatically be the best bass player i knew and be invited to join bands. which i was :)

also thought that 4 strings would be easier than 6
 
#24
I started playing the piano when I was 9, but quit soon, mainly because (believe it or not) my first teacher got pregnant and then our school tried out some five or six ones in less then a year and I got sick of adjusting to each of them and the methods they used. Now twenty years later I can play nothing on the piano and that´s a bit frustrating. All I still remember of my short music school experience is solfeggio.
Soon after that I started playing acoustic guitar, mainly just the basic chords, enough to play some Bob Dylan songs, which was nice for me at that time.
My older brother got some bass from a friend and I tried and liked it. The first song I´ve learned to play on the bass was Beatles´ Something, which is still very dear to me. But I still didn´t really choose the bass as my instrument until high school and the point when we made our first band. We struggled to find a bassist for some time and then I decided to take it.
At that time I also found a lot of inspiration in Michael Hedges music and the sound and style of Michael Manring, who played with him.
Ever since then bass has been my basic instrument, although I still play guitar. I never played guitar in a band as a regular guitarist, I mostly use it for composing.
 
#30
superbassman2000 said:
i really liked the tone of a rickenbacker bass when i hear roger glover's bassline for smoke on the water on a burger king commercial, and i was forever in love with the timbre of a bass
Click to expand...

Yeah, I have to admit that the tone of Geddy Lee's Rickenbacker on the Exit Stage Left video/album influenced me in my decision to take up bass (as well as choice of bass, later on when I could afford a Rick!)
 
#34
Anytime I heard a song on the radio that had a cool bass line in it, I just loved it. My big brother, who played guitar, really influenced me to start playing, and convinced my parents to get me a cheap bass and amp for christmas one year. When I first got the bass, I honestly did not like it because I couldn't play anything good and it really pissed me off. HOWEVER, after wonderful lessons at Atlanta Music Brokers, I fell in love.
 
#35
I didn't know bass exist nor did I know the difference before I started playing. However, when I saw someone play bass w/ finger style for the first time I was amazed. My jaw dropped, and I could not believe what I'm seeing. It reminds me of "Lord of The Dance," but w/ fingers. Wicked fast finger motions yet so fluid.
 
#36
When I first joined my youth group back in 2001, I noticed that we're lacking in bassist to play in the band. So, I thought I may be able to help out by offering to learn the bass from one of the senior bassist in the youth group. I knew nothing about music too. So, I learned the very basic from him and went on to learn by myself. Slowly it grew on me and now I truly enjoy playing the bass knowing full well that it is indeed part of God's plan for me to play the bass.
 
#38
I wanted to start a garage band with my friends who already were playing guitar and drums, so I got the bass. Before I started playing, I actually barely knew what a bass was/sounded like, pretty much all I knew is that told me it was a needed part of a rock band.

The band's long dead, and I'm now the only one still playing my instrument--and hopefully getting a new band together!

-Dash
 
#39
My parents always wanted me to have a go at everythig. They made damn sure I had the opportunity to try everything I wanted and I really respect them for that. At the age of five I started on the cello (actually I was very small as a kid so it was a converted violla). I was still playing when I got to secondry school (in the UK you start at age ten). The music department was run by a great guy called Mr Cowling who really loved anyone who was into music and wanted to give them any help he could. I played cello in the orchestra (the only one for a couple of years), but I also got to play the violin, violla, double bass, guitar, bass guitar, piano, and drums. I had lessons on all of them (I know, I should be a musical genius by now, but yet...).

Anyway, aged fourteen I really lost interest in classical music (it's coming back now though) and I started to focus on the guitar. My parents paid for private lessons and helped me buy my first guitar (I sold my bike to raise the rest. I sold it to my sister, what the heck is that about?).

I played drums, bass, and guitar in a few bands (all of them awful, though I was hardly the strongest member of any of them). I finally formed a decent band at uni (me on guitar). A couple of bands later and the drummer and I are still working together.

So, we come to the crunch moment. This was a pub conversation six months ago. The band was falling apart. I was one of two guitarists, the singer played bass (though he couldn't), and the drummer. We'd come to the conclusion that we needed a decent bassist and no-one really wanted to bring in a new member. So, after a few too many pints I pipe up with "I've played some bass, why don't I do it?". Silence, cheer, silence, and here we are.

I couldn't be happier. I'm having much more fun on bass than I ever remember having on guitar. The band sounds much better now. Partly because we can all play our instoments and partly because one guitar suits what we are doing much better than two ever did.

Sorry, long story. I checked 'other' in the poll.

Cheers
 

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