why play bass

[bobyoung53]

I feel like I was born with music and always loved music and played instruments since the 4th grade in school, went through trumpet, baritone horn, ended up playing guitar but had always wanted to play bass since I first heard [I Wanna Hold Your Hand[ by The Beatles when I was ten years old in January 1964, I just loved the sound so I guess the reason I play bass is because of Paul McCartney.

 

[hdscout]

A band consists of bass, drums and assorted variety acts.
-Pink Floyd

 

[Michedelic]

Because somebody has to do it right. Any schmuck can play guitar, but bass players are specialists.

 

[wluffman]

In my teens I *was* the lead guitarist, vocalist and BL, but only because I was the only one who "wanted it" enough to do so. I wasn't that good, but no one else stepped up. Even then, I knew I really wanted to play bass, if I could find someone else to move up front.

Then life intervened, and I pretty much gave up making music for playing records as a radio deejay. I didn't buy my first bass until I retired, some 20 years ago.

Today I'm happy to be a bassist, even if only in my living room playing with (and occasionally against) recordings of my favorite artists.

 

[mongo2]

But that's an affectation, not required movements to play the instrument.

Required movements? What would they be?

Which raises the question: What are the required movements for electric bass?

IME, good musicians tend to play the way they play.

 

[Reckless666]

Mine was Smoke on the water. When the bass kicks in at the start it completes that famous riff. Without it, it just sounds hollow.

 

[Cernnunos]

The first time I was allowed to thump on a bass that was plugged in, I felt that vibration in my chest and that was it! My paradigm instantly shifted and I was a bassist.

 

[leftybass54]

I messed around with acoustic guitar and later a reassembled Tele guitar copy. But soon enough I realized too many other guitar players were better than me. So after listening to the cool bass lines in Led Zep II and other early-70's rock albums, I found an ad in the local paper, some guy selling a Gibson EB-OL bass for $200. (Can't believe with my small hands, I learned on a long-scale!) Soon afterwards, a guitar-playing coworker at the dept store we worked at asked me to join his band. Ready to practice with them, instead I got thrown into a live gig that first time out. Haven't looked back since. It's only bass for me!

 

[djetz]

I AM a lead guitarist and band leader. But in my other band, I'm the bassist. Why do one when you can do both? I've always loved playing bass, never seen it as a lesser instrument.

 

[TexasThunder]

Drums were my first instrument. A few years ago I wanted to learn a 2nd instrument and bass seemed like a natural progression. Since then I’ve fallen in love with the bass. The bass punches the soul. I wanted to be that for others at gigs. I feel less like I’ve chosen the bass guitar, and more like it chose me. It consumes my thoughts.

 

[Pursizzhun]

Ahh whuz bone ta baise!!!! Azzit.....

 

[Miles_ONeal]

I had some musician friends as a kid. I was a fair 6-string guitarist. Nobody played bass and I had never even held one when we got a bass and rig. I was in love from the first moment I held it. Then I plugged it into the amp and promptly informed the rest of the band that I would be playing bass guitar. They could fight over the scraps. I have never wanted to play anything else. I have never wanted to be the front man, though I tend to have more moves and personality than other bandmates. I think bass is a state of mind. We played defense on the football team. We are catchers and outfielders. We can play chess. BMW motorcycles are more attractive than crotch rockets. Bandmates do not know what we do or how we do it, but they sure appreciate our craft. Not to mention audiences.

Sorry. Crotch rockets for me. But otherwise...

 

[Miles_ONeal]

A lot of you aren't going to like this, but ... I switched over to playing bass because after 5 - 6 years of trying to play guitar, I just couldn't cut it. View attachment 4074085

I'm not claiming that I'm a virtuoso on bass, because I'm definitely not, but I can play the bass lines in many of my favorite songs from my yoot in the '80s. I could never do that on guitar.

Also, I'm currently into cycling during the warmer months, but it's not my first choice either. I have a bad back, which prevents me from running like I used to.

When life deals you lemons, you learn to make due with what you have.

I started on trombone in the summer between 5th and 6th grades. In high school I started learning guitar. Every once in a while a few years later, I did something incredible when I was practicing several hours a day, but I couldn't afford to keep doing that. So I was a mediocre guitar player off and on for years.

Then at a smallish church I attended, the drummer quit. I'd been tapping out rhythms for years, and more recently playing hand drums. I auditioned playing a floor tom with my hands, and played djembe for 2-3 years. By then we had 3 drummers, and our bass player quit. I immediately went out and bought a Thunderbird (I'd wanted one since seeing both Leon Wilkeson and John Entwhistle play them at the same concert in 1973), and switched to bass. It brought in elements of trombone, drums, and guitar, and within two years I was almost as good on bass as I'd ever been on guitar.

Guitar was a lot of work for me, and a reasonable amount of fun. Bass is a reasonable amount of work, and a blast. Plus, I have Thunderbirds.

Bonus: everyone wants to be the guitar player. Get with people to jam, try to start a band, everyone else plays guitar, most of them enjoy the spotlight, and most of them leave me in the dust. Pick up a bass to jam, and you're in, and you get to do your thing.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

I decided to learn bass after playing guitar a loooong time. I remember the first time I tried a bass, one of my siblings friends brought it over, and let me try it, even hang onto it for a week. I knew right away I wanted to learn bass, and it was a natural transition from guitar.

It's also great being able to sit down and write a cool guitar riff, then plug in the bass and back it up, along with programming drums, doing all 3 on the computer daw.

I also don't think anyone should relegate themselves to one style of playing. I obviously knew how to pick, because I play guitar. But I also learned to use fingers, and slap as well. In my band, sometimes I do all 3 techniques in 1 song, in a metal band. They give different sounds.

Keep in mind I'm lefty too, but learned to play righty. Honestly it perplexes me how right handed players don't play left handed instruments, I think it's all backwards.

I have often wished I had learned to play lefty!

 

[Toneguy66]

Kiss! The bass forward mixes on the early albums I ran out to get immediately after after hearing Destroyer did me in. I was about 11 years old and started playing trombone at school and found I could figure out parts of songs. I would later find out that those parts were the bass lines... being an idiot, I hadn’t yet figured out that Gene Simmons wasn’t the normal Front Man. Who knew!? He had the Coolest Outfit, Biggest Guitar, his own Riser! I’ve played in rock bands, theater, big band jazz etc my whole life and on more than several dozen occasions have been reminded I’m not the front man and to quit being so entertaining. My current band loves it though as my two lead singers are keyboard players so SOMEBODY’s gotta get those people dancing!

 

[Blankandson]

As much as I loved playing bass from an early age I never experienced that 'thump' in your chest or having my pants flap while standing in front of a speaker. All that changed about 10 years later when I was playing bass with a "put together" orchestra in Nashville. I was handed a very nice P-bass and told to play "through that!" He was pointing over to a stack about 6 feet high full of 12 inch and 15 inch speakers and horns. Two Cerwin Vega cabs. Amp was a MacIntosh pushing at 4 ohms probably 2000 watts. Pre-amp. Nada. Just me direct into the Mac. Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh man. From then on I looked at bass differently. A P-bass and POWER . . . It . . . will . . . change . . . you.

 

[Eric Kjelstrom]

1964, we had 3 guitar players so we each flipped a coin. I lost, so I went home and said, " If I wanna stay on the band I have to play bass. My folks were the greatest, and got me a nice Harmony bass. Luckiest day of my life. Played bass for 55 years, and was never without work. I actually won the toss.

 

[EddiePlaysBass]

I’ve played in rock bands, theater, big band jazz etc my whole life and on more than several dozen occasions have been reminded I’m not the front man and to quit being so entertaining.

I am seldom the least mobile guy on stage. In fact in my current band, I am basically the only one who uses the stage. Scr*w whatever anyone else thinks about it, I play to entertain myself first and foremost (sue me) and if I am having fun, it will show.

 

[bass theory]

A band consists of bass, drums and assorted variety acts.
-Pink Floyd

My guess is that came specifically from Roger Waters. He may be a hard person to work with, but he is the one who influenced me the most. From the first time I heard "Money" I have been a super fan. He is the perfect example of how the bass not only does fill, and rhythm, but can also take control of the melody.

 

[Old_Noob]

I decided to reconnect with music after 20 years due to COVID and mid-life crisis. I had tried guitar 2-3 times in HS and college and it just never took....it was like golf...I wanted to like it, but every time I did it, I got frustrated and pissed off. I figured the learning curve on a bass to be minimally competent enough to jam with people was lower; plus, I wanted to learn theory and the bass is tuned in 4ths; But the main reason being that I want to be in a cover band after the plague ends and have no desire to be front and center. I just wanna play and groove and feel my liver vibrate.