After all, we don't want the feeling of regret to strike us later on. For example, there is a 7-string guitar and a 5-string bass. Bass without a band becomes pretty boring. This is because it is usually played one note at a time. What style of music do you want to play? What I like about bass is that it forces you to think about your note selection when you play. an advice from someone who plays both: learn guitar first, if you know how to play on a guitar then transitioning to bass is much much easier than the other way around. If you have small hands you might experience some slight physical difficulty- it takes a certain amount of strength in the fingers to play bass, and your hands might need to stretch more than you are used to (or not, since you play piano). To make it even easier for you to choose one of these two instruments, let me share my experience, knowledge, and opinion. Did you learn from this article? ©2020 MusicianWave.com. While a 5 or 6 string bass can seem enticing, a majority of the time all you will need is 4 strings. Great bass players aren't going to be the center of attention , but I'll be damned if they aren't more important than most things . New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast, More posts from the WeAreTheMusicMakers community, Continue browsing in r/WeAreTheMusicMakers, Press J to jump to the feed. Bass parts are extremely important both from a rhythmic and a harmonic point of view in almost any genre, but more specifically in jazz, blues, and rock music. July 5, 2020. Bass players are often understated individuals who appreciate the improvisational nature of their instrument. The guitar has two roles – as harmonic (for playing chords) or lead (for soloing and playing melodies). In fact, a bassist should know how to moderate the entire tempo of the band. The guitar has rather thin strings. We can't blame them somehow, as such question came to us when we are just starting. Moreover, the amount of difficulty increases depending on the genre that you want to pursue. A guitar player has the right and freedom to do a lot of unscripted solos and sound additives. Having experience with both instruments, I can say that they are very close relatives. Arguably the two most important parts of a car. That's a decision that only you can take! Bass is arguably the most important instrument in a band. Moreover, you should not confuse the "lead" guitar and the "rhythm" guitar players as the same. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. But eventually I moved to a small town and slowly stopped playing. The first few notes you hear are the sound of the bass guitar. The number of frets on the bass and the guitar is the same and ranges between 21 and 24, depending on their models. Short answer: no. If you listen to each of their songs, most of his playing styles are truly basic. Therefore, the first step is to define your favorite genre, band, and of course, your favorite artist. Oftentimes, the bass player is the most essential element in creating a successful band. Best advice here. Which instrument do you prefer: bass or guitar? The tuning of a bass guitar is the same as the lowest four strings of a regular guitar, except one whole octave down in pitch. Hi everyone! Of course, you could apply the same to bass. Think of the song ‘Another One Bites the Dust’ by Queen. Using Bass Guitar plucking techniques on an Upright Bass. The deep rumbling notes, the way a single move of the finger can completely shift the feeling of a song, the way that you can dance along underneath a song without overpowering everything. Bass, You are a big fan of The Who or Davie504. Ideally, learn both if finances cooperate. This is the reason for the high, light, and crispy sound. That should tell you the importance of the bass guitar in a band. Of course, there are also acoustic guitars and bass. You can choose between a wide variety of bass guitars including 4, 5, or 6 string basses. However, a lot of musical genres require the guitar to have a rhythm accompaniment, such as rock and metal. After all, it is lighter and has thinner strings unlike its counterpart. The truth is, both of these instruments prove difficult to master. Some guitarists actually decide to become bassists to have a more prominent role in the creation of the groove. The FORBIDDEN RIFF – Is Stairway to Heaven Banned in Guitar Stores? Each of the strings is stretched and produces a specific note. The classic advice here is guitar if you want to write songs, bass if you want to play in bands. Bass player for 35+ years who has taken two years of formal university level keyboarding lessons and taught my two kids how to play guitar but I don’t play guitar: this is true. Of course, there might be a rhythm guitarist filling in with chords, but, even in this case, we would still miss the rhythmic component of the bass, responsible also for the pulse and the groove of the whole song. After all, we rarely see a rock bassist indulge in a hypnotic solo as the lead guitarist would do. There are many guitar and bass teachers online and locally. Most of the time, it is hard to indicate the sound of the bass in a certain rock song. Leo is a music lover and founder of SixStringTips. So I guess that's the biggest factor, make sure you have friends to play with. Choosing the right instrument can be crucial to your development as a musician. It allows you to play many chords with different names and types (major, minor, diminished, sus, 9, etc), as well as melodies, and solos…. This combination is also called the rhythm section. Sometimes the bassline makes the song but with the guitar i can play the chorus. guaranteed, Also, the bass is a heavier instrument overall compared to a guitar. I found keyboard and guitar both had higher entry points to being functional, but mastery of any instrument is unique to that instrument. This means that in order to produce the sound you have to make the strings vibrate. However, each of the note has a one-octave-down pitch. However, we all know that switching is not an easy thing to do. To help you find the better fit for you, let’s start by breaking down the differences between the bass player and the guitar player. For the most part, the only real difference between basses with more strings is the availability of higher or lower notes on the instrument. Required fields are marked *. If you listen to artists like Stevie Ray Vaughan and Kirk Hammett (from Metallica), and then compare them to Tommy Emmanuel, you’ll see just how much flexibility there is with this instrument. Not really true. Therefore, the strings of the bass guitar are tuned E-A-D-G, just like the lowest four strings on a regular guitar. Guitarists play a defining role in the style of a band. Acoustic vs. Nylon String Guitars - What’s Really the Difference? We all know what a guitar is, and have been enjoying the divine music played by expert guitarists over the last so many decades. To use the interactive features of StudyBass, please enable javascript. The strings on a bass are (normally) just the bottom 4 guitar strings, so it's really only different technique, and if you go for tab rather than notes, that's pretty easy as well. The strings on a guitar are smaller than on a bass, so there is less finger strength required to. Having played guitar for 7 years or so, picking up the bass 2 or 3 years ago was so easy. Your email address will not be published. Aside from the number of strings and tuning, a bass and a guitar are pretty similar.