• From: BELGIUM
  • Registered: 2007-01-27
  • Posts: 3,403

Topic: ELECTRIC GUITAR TO BASS GUITAR

Sometimes I am really surprised, like KEITH RICHARDS playing bass guitar, or to see Paul McCartney playing acoustic.
- IS IT DIFFICULT when you use to play for years on a "regular 6 string guitar" to try playing a bass guitar, AND/OR a bass guitar player switching to a normal guitar.
My opinion is that guitar players can play a lot easier bass guitar.

[color=blue]- GITAARDOCPHIL SAIS: TO CONQUER DEAD, YOU HAVE TO DIE[/color]   AND [color=blue] we are born to die[/color]
- MY GUITAR PLAYS EVERY STYLE = BLUES, ROCK, METAL, so I NEED TO LEARN HOW TO PLAY IT.
[color=blue]Civilization began the first time an angry person cast a word instead of a rock.[/color]

gitaardocphil's Website

  • From: Bellevue, WA
  • Registered: 2006-06-15
  • Posts: 3,336

Re: ELECTRIC GUITAR TO BASS GUITAR

I play both, and generally speaking, it's easier to go from bass to guitar.  Bass is a more difficult instrument.   We have a moment in our set where we switch instruments for a bit.  Our drummer picks up a bass, I pick up a guitar, our rhythm dude picks up a banjo, etc...  It takes a bit for my fingers to switch modes, but after a few minutes of flexing and warmup, they're off of bass and into guitar mode.

I know bass players that don't play the guitar, and won't because they think it's hard.  But it's not.

Someday we'll win this thing...

[url=http://www.aclosesecond.com]www.aclosesecond.com[/url]

jerome.oneil's Website

  • From: Nottingham, UK
  • Registered: 2006-08-08
  • Posts: 690

Re: ELECTRIC GUITAR TO BASS GUITAR

One of the first difficulties of bass is there's alot less tab out there, both offical songbooks and internet sites. As a bass player you have to be able to work the song out by ear.

It would be easy for most intermediate guitar players to get to the stage of 'playing the root' with bass but this makes for a very dull backing sound. Going beyond means picking up stock grooves, some of which are powerful enough for a whole song, here the challenge is to keep playing the same groove for a whole song  without gettting cramp, some R'n'B/Soul/Funk demands this. Good songs keep you moving and improvising within 'chord' shapes (which are full scale shapes really). Seeking to enhance the basic rythmn without failing to drive the song along (as you would if you simply approached the bassline as a free improvisation). Above all bass' job is to lock in with the drums. So playing a dull bassline to the beat is way better than killing the groove by flying around the neck and losing time.

My current favourite bass practice pieces are Brown Eyed Girl (Van the Man) and Bring It On Home To Me (Sam Cooke/The Animals).

'The sound of the city seems to disappear'