Bass vs Guitar

[Pete Academy]

Working in a n music store, I get asked this all the time...is bass easier to pick up than guitar? Recently, I showed someone a relatively easy bass part ro a song, but she struggled with string changes.

So, what do you think?

[JapanAxe]

I'll stick my neck out here and say that playing bass well requires a higher level of musicality than playing guitar well. I say this as someone who attempts to do both.

[LiamPodmore]

My theory has always been that bass is easier to start but harder to master. I know a few people who agree with me on that too.

Liam

[chrismuzz]

I would say that it depends on the style of music. In rock/metal, basslines are mostly simpler than the guitar parts, but it's usually the opposite for funk.

[Pete Academy]

I always say you can get away with a single note on bass, whereby you have to play a chord on guitar. But in the long run bass is hard work.

Edited March 31, 2013 by Pete Academy

[BigRedX]

As someone who has reached the point where I can play both fairly averagely, I can say that they are two entirely different things. Don't be fooled by the fact that they both have strings and frets, because that's pretty much where the similarity ends.

I would say that once you've mastered the basics, the guitar is slightly easier because you can sound good playing by yourself, which can be a great confidence booster, but with the bass it really needs the accompaniment of other instruments for it to shine.

[Higgie]

[quote name='LiamPodmore' timestamp='1364756532' post='2030530']
My theory has always been that bass is easier to start but harder to master. I know a few people who agree with me on that too.

Liam
[/quote]

+1. Always been my philosophy too!

[Lozz196]

From a beginners point of view, just having to play one string/fret, rather than remember chords and get all your fingers working together has to be easier. I do think though, once a few chords have been mastered, guitar is probably quicker to get up and running, as it will sound like the songs, so lends to encouragement.

[Dingus]

It's difficult for me to say because I have never owned a guitar - I always wanted to be a bass player , so any skills I have on the guitar are from noodling on guitars ther peoples houses / rehearsals . Playing the guitar seems harder to me because I am a bass player , but surely to play either well is equally as challenging . If you try and tell that to people who think playing the bass is easier however , then they think you are making excuses .

[Pembo]

[quote name='chrismuzz' timestamp='1364756618' post='2030531']
I would say that it depends on the style of music. In rock/metal, basslines are mostly simpler than the guitar parts, but it's usually the opposite for funk.
[/quote]

Smack on!! The amount of guitarists who cannot play on the OFF beat for funk, dub, ska, etc, is amazing. I play both and find your average pop, indie, country track is easy to play on guitar. However, trying to play jazz and intricate folk is very hard.

[chrismuzz]

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1364757951' post='2030565']
If you try and tell that to people who think playing the bass is easier however , then they think you are making excuses .
[/quote]

Just get them to play a complicated lick on the guitar, and then say "OK, now play it on bass"

[Davetheglitz]

Basic fact - There are more good guitar players around than good bass players. Guitars are cheaper, easier to get a tune out of and can be played on their own - so it's not really surprising.

When I was a kid and forming bands it was the rich kid with no talent who ended up on bass as the equipment was so expensive!

I found the transition from guitar to bass fairly straight forward and it gave me rarity value to join bands! Never looked back!

[Dingus]

[quote name='chrismuzz' timestamp='1364759791' post='2030611']
Just get them to play a complicated lick on the guitar, and then say "OK, now play it on bass"
[/quote]

To be fair they are not usually guitarists . More usually they are women, whose primary skill in terms of physical dexterity is using a nail file , credit card and a Pifco Vibratory Home Massager .

[Tdw]

I play a fair bit of both and imo bass is easier to "pick up" than guitar, this is because you will usually be asked to play less challenging parts on bass. But on the other hand the bass is fundamentally harder to play than the guitar, by this i mean that it is harder to play the same part/phrase/whatever on bass than guitar.

[chrismuzz]

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1364760827' post='2030633']
To be fair they are not usually guitarists . More usually they are women, whose primary skill in terms of physical dexterity is using a nail file , credit card and a Pifco Vibratory Home Massager .
[/quote]

Then the only justification you need is that it's bigger and heavier, so it's a guitar for PROPER men

[steve-soar]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1364757086' post='2030542']
As someone who has reached the point where I can play both fairly averagely, I can say that they are two entirely different things. Don't be fooled by the fact that they both have strings and frets, because that's pretty much where the similarity ends.

I would say that once you've mastered the basics, the guitar is slightly easier because you can sound good playing by yourself, which can be a great confidence booster, but with the bass it really needs the accompaniment of other instruments for it to shine.
[/quote]

[martin8708]

Compared to say, piano or violin , guitar and bass are pretty easy to start of with .
As you get better , the instruments require different mind-frames or attitudes , but I think the guitar would be the more difficult to master from a technical point of view , but the bass player is more aware of the band/ song as a whole , so would require a different set of skills.

[Lowender]

It's easier to play a melody on a harmonica than it is on a violin, but it's easier to be a really crappy violin player than a really good harmonica player.

[JamesBass]

Totally different instruments and totally different mentality to play both to a pro level, equally challenging in my opinion

[Hobbayne]

I play both guitar and bass. However, to play bass properly you must have a good sense of timing. You are part of the rhythm section and must lock together with the drums. With guitar its not really that important.
Thats what I tell the 'Its only got 4 strings' brigade.

[risingson]

Different instruments, totally different approaches in loads of ways, similar looks and tuning but it's really like comparing apples and oranges.

I think if you have musical ability or a love of music then you'll be fine on either, that's what matters.

[Marvin]

I can't play guitar so don't ask me

[geoffbyrne]

[quote name='Hobbayne' timestamp='1364766699' post='2030752']
I play both guitar and bass. However, to play bass properly you must have a good sense of timing. You are part of the rhythm section and must lock together with the drums. With guitar its not really that important.
Thats what I tell the 'Its only got 4 strings' brigade.
[/quote]

OK, try playing rhythm guitar without a sense of rhythm.......

G.

[alstocko]

[quote name='LiamPodmore' timestamp='1364756532' post='2030530']
My theory has always been that bass is easier to start but harder to master. I know a few people who agree with me on that too.

Liam
[/quote]
+1

[alstocko]

[quote name='geoffbyrne' timestamp='1364768137' post='2030769']


OK, try playing rhythm guitar without a sense of rhythm.......

G.
[/quote]