I'm Back

[Ninja D!]

I was also told to learn guitar first.  I took lessons for a while, with my classical.  I enjoy that, too, but bass is where it's really at.

[Lmns Crn]

I don't get this epidemic of people telling other people to learn guitar before learning bass. That just seems counterintuitive to me; if anything, I'd advise people to do it the other way around.

Maybe it's just that much easier to find a guitar teacher than a bass teacher.

[Ninja D!]

I guess it works either way.  I learned guitar on a classical style guitar so when I first got my bass, the people I was playing with (later guitarist and drummer in a couple of bands with me) were impressed by how easily I played it...wait...you guy don't use picks, do you?

[Lmns Crn]

Mainly I use a bow.

[Hibou]

I wouldn't recommend bass before guitar. The way I see it it's much easier to pick roots, 3rds, 5ths, etc. out of chords once you know them on a guitar, and you can play a bass line with them (starting out).

Additionally, I know two people who started on bass then switched to guitar and are just awful. It may be because they're full of themselves and don't believe they really need to learn or practice different things, but I can say two things about them: 1) they are really good bass players, and 2) they are WRETCHED guitarists. And both want to be serious lead guitarists in a band. I don't know what it is, but once they move from the bass to the guitar, their rhythm goes out the window.

It seems to be a little easier to start with the big bad chords and 6-string scales, then 'simplify' it to a bass part (I hope I'm not sounding like I think bass is simple backing notes following the chords all the time or anything). Of course, if you don't have the rhythm, it doesn't really work either way. :)

[Hibou]

Also I'd like to ask, anyone else here a big fan of bass player Cliff Burton?

[Ninja D!]

I think Cliff Burton is overrated.  I'm not saying I think he's bad, just overrated.  I think he was pretty good.

My favorite bassist would probably be Steve Harris.

[limetom]

Personally, I like Flea.

On another note, I can't use a pick, and you don't need to ever use a pick to play bass.  In fact, most of the better bassists I've talked to consider it completely wrong to use a pick to play bass (most of the better = a guy with his Master's degree in bass).  Just a thought.

[Ninja D!]

Exactly.  I hate it when people pick a bass.  It sounds so much better when you play with your fingers.

Flea is good, yes.  There are others, probably that I enjoy more than Steve Harris, but I said him because he first got me interested in it.

[Ninja D!]

Well, him and a guy named Marc from a local band, anyway.