Should you play bass or guitar? Choosing a new instrument to play can be tough, especially if you’re a beginner who doesn’t have the time or money to test out a bunch of different options. While each and every instrument has its pros and cons, the benefits of playing bass guitar often go unnoticed by many beginner musicians.
While many believe that guitarists are the only band members to shine, the fact of the matter is that playing bass guitar in a band has a lot of hidden benefits too. Here are some reasons to learn to play this beautiful instrument
Easy To Start, Difficult To Master
Out of all the instruments you’ll see in most rock, pop, or jazz groups, the electric bass is most often the easiest to pick up and start playing right from the get-go. Unlike the guitar, which often requires multiple notes and tough memorization of chords, the bass guitar often has longer rhythms and only single notes. This makes it incredibly easy to pick up and play songs you already know and love, even if you’re an inexperienced player. This helps a ton with encouragement and makes learning and mastering the bass guitar a lot funner, and a lot less frustrating.
Despite how easy it is to get started, there is plenty of room for growth and improvement. The bass guitar is difficult to truly master, but with enough practice and determination, it is certainly possible. You could be the next Paul McCartney in the making, and you might not even know it yet.
Every Band Needs One
Check your local ads for wanted bands. Chances are, most of the open positions for most bands or music groups will be for bass players. The fact of the matter is, bass is the least common instrument that people in bands choose to play, so there are almost always open positions for bass players. After all, every band needs one. If you decide to play bass, it’s almost a certainty that there will be a band in the area looking for your services. Good bass players are hard to come by, so it’s much easier to develop a reputation and become famous by playing bass rather than guitar or drums.
The Bass Gets The Audience Moving
The bass dictates the feel and mood of a song more so than any other instrument. While the drummer is responsible for keeping the band and audience in rhythm, the bass player really gives the song its ‘groove’ and gets the audience moving to the music. It is hard-wired into listeners brains to connect with the bass groove patterns that the bassist provides, which means you have more power over the audience than any of the other band members. While this can add a lot of pressure to the performance, it is an incredibly rewarding experience when you are able to pull it off. You’ll feel it, and your audience will feel it to.
Don’t believe me? Take your favorite song, and find a version of it without the bass part. The old saying, “you don’t know what you have until it’s gone” definitely holds true to this. Songs without bass are boring, bland, and lack that bit of flavor that makes the music beautiful.
You Can Read Off Of The Guitarist
The 4 strings on the typical electric bass will be the same 4 notes as the strings on a guitar, only they are an octave lower. This means that you can read the chords the guitarist is playing, and form your own bass line off of those chords. This makes coming up with a bass line incredibly easy, as the guitarist is already doing the hard work for you.
You Can Sing At The Same Time
Because the basslines can be easier to play on a bass guitar, this opens up the ability to focus your efforts on singing as well. This is why you see so many great bassists like Roger Waters or Paul McCartney singing along while continuing to rock the bass.
Your Turn!
Why do you love the bass guitar? What made you choose the bass over the regular guitar, or any other instrument? I’d love to hear from you!
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