Bass Guitar: How long to learn?

[bigbadboss101]

For someone who has no musical background, how long would it take to learn bass?

[three.eighteen.]

depends on what you want to play i guess, how bout some examples of what you're trying to learn to play?

[rage2]

bass players don't get laid. ;)

[Darkane]

bahaha ^^ damn frontmen, bass players and drummers find there own whores :)

[infected]

Shouldn't take very long, just a couple classes to teach you about basics, such as how to position your fingers, understanding how to read music sheets, get use to how to count your beat, and you should be good. The rest is just starting off easy with simple songs and getting your fingers use to pressing down on the strings because bass is more difficult to press down on due to the size of the strings. Maybe work on counting and maintaining your beat by practicing. Other then that, just takes time and lots of practice and you'll get the hang of it. Of course you can get into more advanced playing later on which you might need to get someone to teach you, but if you are just starting off and want to play some basic stuff then it should be no problem, anyone can do it as long as they practice.

[hockeybronx]

Honestly if you work at it daily for 20 minutes to an hour you could be confident within 3-4 weeks of playing.

Bass is all about being the foundation for the band you are playing with. Learn the basics first then as you get more comfortable you'll start to develop your own style.

The bassist from Pink Floyd (the one after Roger Watters left) is probably my favorite for personal style and solid sounding bass lines.

[rage2]

Originally posted by hockeybronx
Bass is all about being the foundation for the band you are playing with.
No way man, drummer is the foundation. Hell, white stripes don't even need a bassist! ;). At the motley concert, nikki sixx wasn't even playing half the time, busy checking out chicks up front. Band still sounded great without any bass guitar haha.

[three.eighteen.]

playing with just a drummer for a while, you realize that you NEED a bassist, a bass helps keep the beat and provides for nice undertones (especially if they can improv a little bit)

[hockeybronx]

Originally posted by rage2

No way man, drummer is the foundation. Hell, white stripes don't even need a bassist! ;). At the motley concert, nikki sixx wasn't even playing half the time, busy checking out chicks up front. Band still sounded great without any bass guitar haha.

Yeah I should re-phrase that. The drums provide the rhythm which I guess is really the foundation, but I think bass is extremely important to any great sound that's going to be a classic. In 10 years nobody will remember the White Stripes.

And I wouldn't use Motley Crue as an example for any type of technical musical question. Sure they might be the most kick-ass rock band of all time, but none of them still have any idea how to play their instruments:rofl:

[l8braker]

i've played bass and drums since i was 14 years old. the bass is the backbone and drives the song. it really is the differnece between a good song, amazing song, and a shitty song. you drive everything. a drummer can play any beat, but a soid bassline keeps you groovin' :)

tell me what you want to start playing. rock, hip hop, or jazz?? pm me and i could get you going with some stuff, as opposed to paying for a lesson (which isn't a bad idea, actually) but with a good head, you can learn yourself. it won't come overnight, but with some dedication, in time you could be slappin the seinfeld beat, or some red hot chili peppers.. :)

[l8braker]

Originally posted by rage2

No way man, drummer is the foundation. Hell, white stripes don't even need a bassist! ;). At the motley concert, nikki sixx wasn't even playing half the time, busy checking out chicks up front. Band still sounded great without any bass guitar haha.

haha, motley crue girls :)

playing live and hearing something on a cd is totally different. besides the crowd being drunk and stoned, you can miss a beat or two, and in some cases it sounds better. (and more often than not, ie. tommy lee, the bassist caters to the drummer.. hard hitter)shavo during the system concert left out entire parts in some of the songs. the drums were so loud, it wouldn't have sounded great at all. a smaller venue would be different, but in a huge area it doesn't really matter that much.

my humble opinion :)

[likwid]

What do you call someone who follows a band around from show to show?

































The Bassist

[l8braker]

^ ooooooooooohhh. out of line. take that back!!! :D

[infected]

If you're chinese then play some Beyond, it's easy to start out with. :thumbsup:

[rage2]

I play beyond (guitar). Anyone else?

[bigbadboss101]

Good stuff. I plan to play some R & R, alternative with my free time, but will try to play on a band with some friends. Some of my friends play on a Christian band and I would be interested as well.

Someone did tell me you need longer fingers to play bass cuz it's thicker.

[el-nino]

I think it will take a life time to learn the Bass. Always room for improvement and always room to learn more and more. The important part is commitment. And when it comes to the foundation of a band, i believe that you can't make one instrument a "foundation" but the band itself has to become the foundation. Look at any successfull band and see how each member does its part to make the music work. thats just my opinion.

[Darkane]

play drums instead. Its much more fun.. Even though I have no idea cause i dont play bass haha. Drums you can get good in about 2 months but obviously you'll still suck. Enjoy.

[BerserkerCatSplat]

^Don't listen to this guy, drums are boring! :rofl:

Bass is where it's at, though I don't pretend that any instrument is more important than any other. I enjoy playing it, but it's a long learning process. It takes months to learn how to play, but years to learn how to play well. It's a lot of practise commitment, but it's worth it if you stick with it.

I recommend you start out with jazz, learn how to do a scale-based walking bassline, then expand from there. Jazz bass will set you up to do anything else!

[Mr. Burns]

I play Drums, Guitar, and to a much lesser extent bass. I get so bored when playing bass. My suggestion would be to learn guitar first because if you can play guitar, then you can play bass.. unfortunately it doesn't work the other way around.

[infected]

Originally posted by rage2
I play beyond (guitar). Anyone else?

Right here!! Wanna jam?

[bigbadboss101]

What is beyond guitar?

[rage2]

beyond is a chinese band. That's what this site's named after.

[bigbadboss101]

Ah I didn't know that. Cool. May be I will look for samples of their stuff on the web.

Anyone want to go guitar shopping ;-) ?

[wildkarrde]

well played.