And who better to ask then the bassists of Jam Session?

[PerianArdocyl]

I have a curious little itch for all of you expert bassists out there...
And a lot of questions.

1. Is it hard to play bass?
2. Why is it hard to play bass?
3. Would people be disgusted if you used a pick on a bass?
4. What is considered talented for a bassist?
5. If someone already had experience on an accoustic or electric, would that make bass playing a sinch?

And take note, if you were offended, I feel like a kid asking "Mommy, what's that word mean?"
I'm only curious, I want to know what bass playing is really all about.

[PhantomLord]

1. no it's not hard to play a lot of bass lines, with exceptions of course, some are very hard

2. it's just got such big strings that it takes a while to get used to pushing down, and the frets are so far apart.

3. no. a lot of people use a pick on bass.

4. not sure. a lot of the crazy slap bass type players are pretty good. think seinfeld intro just...better. anesthesia by metallica/cliff burton is pretty hard to play on bass.

5. yes it is pretty simliar, kinda like going from an acoustic to an electric. different, but pretty much the same concept.

[thunder_bird]

1. Is it hard to play bass? depends how far you want to take your instrument but generally it is easier to make bass sound good than it is on guitar
2. Why is it hard to play bass? some very hard techniques
3. Would people be disgusted if you used a pick on a bass? they shouldn't be but yea some ***** are
4. What is considered talented for a bassist? timing is very important for a bassist. Locking in with the drummer
5. If someone already had experience on an accoustic or electric, would that make bass playing a sinch? Bass is still a guitar and isnt too hard to switch to

[PerianArdocyl]

Ok; jes' wondering, cuz my sis picked up a bass guitar at a friend's house and started playing and her friends said she was pretty good, but I really felt later on that I should let her know that it's not that hard to sound good on it. And then I asked Flying_Llama, and she said that there were tricks to learn 'n stuff.

So thanks for clearin' that up!

[Lazy Bee]

One thing that makes bass er...difficult, depending on stlyle, is that every note needs to be a gem. Might just be a little walking thing, but does it sound like doink doink doink doink, or could you land an aeroplane on it. I seriously doubt there's a guitarist on the planet that could pick up a bass and do what Victor Wooten does on a bass. Touch is everything.
As far as a pick goes..Paul McCartney, Sting,Chris Squire, and Jason Newstead did pretty well with a pick.

[bugman]

4. What is considered talented for a bassist?


Listen to Victor Wooten (both solo stuff and his work with Béla Fleck)

also

Les Claypool (Primus)
Jaco Pastorius (Weather Report)
Charles Mingus

also (many people don't like them) but the bass/drums working together in DMB is pretty tight. (check The Stone)

[t_shirtsnjeans]

1. Is it hard to play bass?.........finger dexterity plays into picking up the bass. The frets are farther apart and if you started out playing guitar then (most) you tend to keep your fingers grouped together and it is harder to spread for walks and runs. You do have to play cleanly though, because it carries sooooo far sound-wise and if you miss a note it is VERY noticeable!

2. Why is it hard to play bass?......uh, fret distance, most of the time you have to be spot on to get the proper effect, especially playing with drums. Rhythm plays a HUGE part too, with guitar you can kinda get away with a lot of sidestepping and plucking off beat, but with bass you really need to be strong on the downbeat (for the most part)

3. Would people be disgusted if you used a pick on a bass?....it does add a different tone, but a lot of bassists use picks, just try and use fingers too for that really fat sound.

4. What is considered talented for a bassist?........being able to translate feel through a bass, not just sound, feeling bass rumble through your chest adds so much to music. If you just play it just doesn't work as well. Guitarists can get away with just strumming along while a song is playing, but bass is a whole diff'rent animal. I've heard bassists that would make tears come to your eyes just from how they play, not just playing, that wouldn't be felt if bass wasn't in the music.

5. If someone already had experience on an accoustic or electric, would that make bass playing a sinch?.......no, like I said earlier, the finger spread is much different, and you don't just use your fingertips on bass strings, you gotta use the flats of your fingers and sliding makes for whole 'nuther set of callouses too. Tone is very important, a bass can be too bassy, or too much treble will make a bass sound like a messed up guitar. The spread of the strings make it very different too.


And take note, if you were offended, I feel like a kid asking "Mommy, what's that word mean?"
I'm only curious, I want to know what bass playing is really all about..........


It is very rewarding to play bass and get that feeling from the instrument. But it can be frustrating too, it is as tempermental if not more than a guitar. One advantage I've had is I started out on bass before I started playing guitar so it comes more natural.

[Peaceful]

Wow! You all are great! What a terrific set of answers to the questions. Notice a similarity in them?

But y'all missed one point, though - it is much more fun playing bass.

[PerianArdocyl]

Bass guitars' amps need to be turned up louder, says I...most songs, you kind of have to imagine that the bass is in there.

[Lazy Bee]

Bass guitars' amps need to be turned up louder, says I...most songs, you kind of have to imagine that the bass is in there.

On some recordings I agree. I used to go nuts learning Michael Anthony parts. They would be so underneath.

[gamma_function]

i have been on both sides of the 4 vs. 6 string fence and perhaps you might find my responses worthwhile:


1. Is it hard to play bass?

bass is hard to play like any instrument is hard to play. a greater general musical knowledge you have will make things easier. being a guitarist does not neessarily make the transition much easier. if you have lots of experience on guitar the bass' scale length and string guages will be prohibitive, as will your deisre to strum the bass (please try to aviod strumming the bass if you are more a chordal guitarist -- it ends up being muddier than you'd like). if you are relatively new to guitar and are not too set in your preferences than bass will not be too foreign. you will approach the instrument more open mindedly and not have too many pre-conceived notions on how to play a guitar-type instrument.

2. Why is it hard to play bass?

see answer to #1. i was under the misconception for many years that bass is like "guitar lite." fewer strings and no nasty chord theory. boy was i wrong. i think being a "good" player on bass is every bit as challenging as being a good guitarist.

3. Would people be disgusted if you used a pick on a bass?

unfortunately some people will stand with mouth agape as you try to using a pick on bass. i recommend using the pick until you are comfortable with playing fingerstyle (aka 2-finger). having both techniques at your disposal will make you a much more rounded and generally better player. i find that the pick has a very sharp attack with a generally brighter sound. fingers are best for a fat, round, bummpy sound. let your ears be your guide.

4. What is considered talented for a bassist?

depends who you ask. i consider victor wooten and marcus miller VERY tallented bassists. ask a professional drummer, and they'll tell you any guy who can hang with a dotted 8th feel or a varied swing feel. ask a guitarist and they'll tell you a good bass player is one who compliments the guitar's sound (this is a bit more esoteric and tone related, but you'll make instant friends by working around the other players, particularly in the area of finding a good tone.).

5. If someone already had experience on an accoustic or electric, would that make bass playing a sinch?

not necessarily. it will make the transition easier technique-wise than if you played the piano, but the key to being a good bass player is understanding that the bass is a completely different instrument from the guitar (despite that they look and are tuned similarly) with a very different role in most musical situations. i have recently picked up acoustic guitar after spending 4 years solely playing bass. i found that i now have a much harder time playing barre chords than before, but i have a new sense of scales, musicality, and how the different string instruments fit together.

learning a new instrument cannot hurt your overall sense of musicality. it can only help you. the only area you may really suffer in is instrument-specific technique. i switched to bass after struggling with guitar for a number of years and it couldnt have been more eye opeining. it was the best move i made. to me the bass is a more comfortable instrument. it is simpler in some aspects, but its learning the subtlety of how to play the right notes and learning the indescribable "groove" that really make it a great instrument. i also tend to thing that the bass (and its various siblings) are more physically satisfying to play and to me are more expressive instruments.

plus there are far more gigs for a capable bassist than there are for guitarists.

[PerianArdocyl]

Wow! T-shirts 'n Gamma, nice answers. I have a few more questions.

1. How long does it take (just gimme an average) to get good at bass-playing?
2. I've only seen one kind of bass, with all the tuning pegs on topside of the head, and the above cut-away very long...how many different looks are there to the bass?
3. If they call one who plays accoustic/electric guitar a guitarist, then why don't they call one who plays a bass guitar a bass guitarist?

[Strat Kid]

1. Well, if you already play the guitar I'm guessing a little less than a year.
2.That's like asking how many diffrent guitar styles there are, endless.
3. Er, well no idea.....Good question, maybe just because it sounds awkward?

[PerianArdocyl]

That's like asking how many diffrent guitar styles there are, endless.

So there is more than one style. Ok, cool. :p

[Strat Kid]

Yep, I've seen a Les Paul shaped Epiphone bass that's semi hollow.

[PerianArdocyl]

Really? Does that help the sound at all?

[Rock n' Blues]

I'm learning the bass...

biggest problem so far...

dampening the strings from vibrating sympathetically when I don't want them to...kind of like "palm muting" but with your fingers.

[anthony2]

I saw some talk about the theory of the bass, and the transistion from guitar to bass.

I would say that the acoustic guitar has made the transistion to the bass, exceptionally easy. I play the acoustic with a classical hand position, though I do not play classical music, and I use the side of the thumb, and the index and middle fingers to slap, pick, or strum. I play some chords, but largely I concentrate on melody notes and runs. Often if I make a chord I will play it in a piano like style, one finger on each string, sometimes strumming for variation. So nothing changed really, just thicker strings. Yea, I guess chords are out for the most part, but there are still some power chords. Maybe gotta control the buzz a little better, but no big deal.

What fouls up the guitar theory and actually playing the instrument tremendously is that B string which is not tuned in the same relationship as the other strings. But that doesn't exist on a bass. It's just EADG. So no matter what pattern of frets you play you can move it from one string to the next and the relationships between pitch will be exactly the same. ie.

---------
--------3-
----3-----
-0-------

has the same relationship between pitches as:

------3--
----3----
-0-------
---------

That's true on the guitar up until you get to that B string, then everything is shifted a fret. So just play the EADG on the guitar ignoring the other two strings. That's what I do sometimes anyway.

The acoustic really does have a fairly decent bass sound of its own if you play low enough. Try B major on the guitar like so 221xxx and you will see and you will see.

Anthony

[Strat Kid]

Really? Does that help the sound at all?

In theory, but not in practise, if you get what I mean :p

[SKEETER]

1) "hard" is a relative term. It is "hard" to play sports, but you don't need to be particularly smart. It is " hard" to learn a musical instrument, but you don't need to be physically strong. There is a lot of work in learning music, the real issue is if the work is enjoyable to you.
2) See above
3)lots of guys from the rock era used a pic on the bass. It depends on what kind of sound you want. I use my fingers to play bass, the bass player in the band I am in uses a pic.
4) I consider a good bassist to be someone that can hold down the bottom end and the beat while doing occasional short runs that compliment the musicm as well as knowing enough music theory to be able to play bass tastefully. I don't consider those that try to play a bass like a lead guitar to be particularly musically inclined. They tend to miss the point of what a bass is there for.
5) I never really tried to learn the bass. Playing bass was just a side effect of playing guitar. I just knew how to do it after playing guitar for years.....

[SKEETER]

Also, bass is just the last 4 strings on a guitar down an octave. So if you know the fretboard on a guitar well, playing bass should be a snap for you.

[Strat Kid]

Ain't it down two octaves?

[SKEETER]

I don't think it is, if you hit the E note on the 12th fret 4th string I think it is the same octave as the low E on a guitar, I never really thought about it hard enough to try it, but that seems right to me.

[Rogue Axel]

ok well i have to say that only uncool guitarists turned bass player use a pick. If you're a REAL bass player, then you use your fingers, and build up callouses. I can pick up a burning pot and i dont feel it.
And for chords (when you play, which is rare) You use your fingernail

But no one has mentioned snap and pop, unless i missed something.This is a funk bass technique using thumb to hit strings and your 1st finger to pull them up, which hits with a really cool snaping noise.

BASS PLAYERS OWN

[Rogue Axel]

o and tom petty owns too.