Switching over

[wisebeyondyears]

Hey guys. I've been playing guitar for a little over 1 and a half years and have recently become interested in playing the bass as well. Aside from the obvious difference of picking with your fingers rather than a pick, what are the differences in technique between bass and guitar? And, since I already have experiance with the guitar, would it be recommended for me to take lessons for the bass too to avoid developing bad habits. Speaking of those, if you could warn me now of some shortcuts not to take and habits to avoid whill learning, I'd greatly appreciate it. Thanks!

[tallpaul]

best thing to do is search the web for basic lessons on the bass... try cyberfretbass.com

[AnotherTicket81]

I learned both guitar and bass by ear, so I'm no good for the advice on lessons. What I did was just listen to the songs that I liked and learned the bass, and I surfed over several different styles so I wouldn't get locked into, say, a blues walk for everything. I only play rock and country on gigs, but at home I play/practice everything I can get my fingers on. Reggae and jazz being the hardest (for me at least). But if you listen to different bass players and learn different styles and methods and walks and stuff, then you can pull from all those and make your own style. And for me - again, just personal opinion - I play along with cd's. If you play with cassettes, you risk being in a different key just because the tape speed screws things up.

As far as bad habits - don't rest your thumb on your pickup or your top string, and don't just use 3 fingers to play with - utilize the pinky, you'll be glad you did. And don't limit yourself...you can do anything you put your mind to!

[taipei]

I have been playing the guitar for three months, and with this knowledge, I learned the basics of bass playing in a day. Since you just play the root of chords, it is all familiar, and they are both related, anyway. I'm not great right now, but I can play a simple bass rhythm to every song.

[Its_Me]

There's a lot more to it than just playing the root notes :)

[eexplorer505]

thats a definate on a lesson or two and becomeing a bassist or learning will greatly enhacne your skill if you learn more than just to play the root note. my bud started out on bass with me on drums, hes a way better guitarist timing sense of were to take a song then i am. and ive been play guitar longer than him,but dont get stuck in one genre of music playing.i recomend learning slap & jazz, your scales of course 12 bar blues if you dont already know. and worry more bout timing and precssion than any thing else cause bass is the back bone to music and drums the legs,guitarist arms,singer the head tellin every one what to do you know jk lol

[ineedjangle_now]

I learned the basics of bass playing in a day

:eek: Cheeky sod.

[PhantomLord]

i find playing bass exactly the same as playing guitar, cept there's hardly any chords, and you gotta learn slapping, that's really the only new technique. biggest thing is to get your fingers round the different scale of the thing, and to have good timing.

[Plstrcast]

I play with a pick, many do. here is the best advice I can give you;
take a few lessons! There is WAY more to playing bass then root playing. You need the basics to grasp this.

[Peaceful]

"try cyberfretbass.com"

Good site, but watch out for the malware. You'd better run AdAware or some such program afterwards to remove fastclick et al.