If you have no experience in guitar, and your aim is to earn bass guitar, should you start with guitar first?
Sharii asked:
I want to learn bass guitar, but I have no interest in learning guitar at the moment. So, should I learn guitar first before bass? If so, why, because I thought bass is just a guitar in a lower octave, so I don’t understand what the difference would be learning on guitar or bass.
I want to learn bass guitar, but I have no interest in learning guitar at the moment. So, should I learn guitar first before bass? If so, why, because I thought bass is just a guitar in a lower octave, so I don’t understand what the difference would be learning on guitar or bass.
There is absolutely no reason to start with a standard six string guitar if you have no interest in it. Start with a bass if that’s where your interests lie; it’ll keep you motivated to learn and keep at it until you’re successful. Good luck, and don’t forget to take lessons. Lester G
There is no difference. You might as well learn bass guitar.
I have had experience with musical instruments, and for me, I just pick up the instrument, pick up the instruction book, and start on square one. Brandon
Differing slightly from the previous poster, there is a difference between bass & guitar, namely that the bass is more of a melodic instrument where you don’t strike chords. Don’t get me wrong you’ll need to learn chords for the bass too but you don’t necessarily hold all the chord’s notes down simultaneously to make the instrument work.
If there’s a benefit to knowing guitar before the bass its that you’ll know beforehand how to hold down a string to the instrument’s fretboard. Beyond that, the bass isn’t like the loser brother to the guitar. It can be pretty powerful in its own right &, when its locked in with the drums, can shake out a rhythm that could move mountains!
Like with guitar, there’s so many ways you can approach the bass. You can be slap-happy like Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers or rhythmically simple, yet solid & groovy, like the bass on all the old Motown records. You can be a real virtuoso that can rival any guitar player in terms of fretboard acrobatics, or you can plug into a friggen guitar amp(!) and plow out a brutal sound like Lemmy from Motorhead!
Best part: as a bass player you’ll always be in demand! Guitar players are a dime a dozen. Check out the musicians ads on something like Craigslist. The “looking for bass player” ads heavily outnumber the “looking for guitar player” ones.
Good luck!! TheGrandOnion
if you want to play bass, play bass. its that simple. Ace of Clubs
I’ve been a Bassist for about 16 years now. If I could go back and learn any thing before bass it would have been piano. It helps you understand both staffs. As far as chops there no need to learn guitar first. Robzilla
Hello there,
I agree completely with the answer provided by The Grand. There is minimal benefit to learning the regular 6 string guitar as a preliminary to learning the bass. Those are very limited to the fundamentals of the guitar and can be learned starting with the bass just as quickly as starting with the guitar. The playing techniques are so dissimilar as to offset any general benefit gained by learning the guitar first.
Later, Norm Jones
they are played in different ways, a bassist keeps the rhythm and does not play chords. Guitar could be useful but not necessary. basspwn
If you don’t plan to ever play guitar, then no, theres no point in it. However, I would reccommend playing guitar to have a solid foundation in guitar that you can gi back to at any time. It is a useful skill. However learning it without interest in it would be unnecessary if you only want to play bass.
I play both instruments and I started with guitar and still prefer guitar. TheBen