Whats the diffrence in playing a bass guitar from a 6 string guitar?
kay asked:
I have been playing the 6 string guitar for about 6 months. I just won a bass guitar now. Will I get confused between the two if I start learning bass, when Im just starting to learn the 6 string?
I have been playing the 6 string guitar for about 6 months. I just won a bass guitar now. Will I get confused between the two if I start learning bass, when Im just starting to learn the 6 string?


a bass doesn’t have 6 strings. Sarah
They have a lot in common - it’s good to learn both. The biggest difference is on bass you play single note patterns, not chords as on guitar. Bass forces you to learn the notes on the fret board - always a good thing. PJH
no the notes are the same only thing is say you play a A bare chord on the 5th fret on a guitar on bass the only thing you do is play the E sting on the fifth fret single notes instead of chords. Diane
You won’t get confused, it will probably help you more than anything. If your bass is a four string it is strung E,A,D,G just like the guitar’s last four strings. Look up a few bass tabs at ultimate-guitar.com and you will notice like others have said you play a note at a time on bass unlike guitar you play chords. That said there are times that you can play chords on a bass however not constantly like on a guitar. helper
Hi Kay,,What’s that, you WON a bass guitar, I can’t win a chook in a pub raffle.ho ho..
Hate to be a nark, but poor Sarah ( above ) is a bit out,there’s six string bass guitars everywhere…
I don’t think you’ll get to confused..The other chap was right..It forces you to learn to play the individual notes as against the whole chord…But you you must practice,practice…Good luck,happy xmas…. eric
different pitch sounds Manny G
Guitar have 6 strings…bass have only 4
The guitar have high and low notes the bass only low.
The bass is 12 notes lower then the guitar bass strings.
Bass guitar is for giving the bit in a song, and guitar gives the melody http://www.beginner-bass-guitar.com
oh dear god who said they are nearly the same?
its like saying a violin & acoustic guitar are the same cause they have strings.
eh okay the phyiscal difference:
bass is bigger
it has 4 strings
the strings are thicker
the frets are pretty damn big
they are the 3 main differences
the sound:
bass notes are lower (one octave lower than a guitar)
they run on the bass clef
they create the rythm of a song & groove (when listening to a song tap it out & then focus on the bass, it is the bass that is mainly making you tap. imagine a song without a bass it sounds dry & not as well layered)
they lock in with the drummer to create that groove.
bassists don’t rely on belting out notes, in fact there is many a case when a bass that is tight with the drummer is better (eg the pixies music).
as for getting confused the main difference is they arn’t the same thing, guitar/bass have different purposes in a band & run on different clefs (when reading music). i cannot say that it will/won’t help you, i really don’t know.
my main concern would be bass technique is pretty damn important, a guitarist can get away with having slightly sloppy technique but a bassist with bad technique is very noticable from the buzzing noise he will get & the lack of strength in his hands.
perosnally i would recommend lessons, whats better than learning off somebody that knows what they are on about & are qualified to teach rather than use internet sources.
your very look to have won a bass John
bass and lead guitar are very similar as they both have melodic patterns but learning guitar will teach you chords that you will need to know to play arpeggios on bass. basspwn