Bass - the easy option?

[Dingus]

[quote name='great harry' timestamp='1399914082' post='2448918']
Get him Rocksmith
[/quote]

Get him a clip round the bleedin' ear more like!

Kids nowadays want everything right now or they think that life has been just too cruel to them and they give up trying . Then they expect the school to provide counselling and an week long adventure holiday to improve their confidence and self esteem.

Back when I started playing the was no You Tube or internet to help you, and if you were rubbish ( I was) then everybody would tell you so and you just had to get on with it as best you could.

If were in the same position as the O.P I would try and explain to my son that, unless you are gifted, it takes years and years to learn any instrument properly, and in reality bass isn't any easier than guitar. I would tell him that you need physical strength , stamina, and above all , a massive wedding package to be a convincing bass player, and the fact that you are whining about how hard it is to play guitar means you probably won't be up to the job. Tell him if he wants instant results then buy a scratchcard, because playing the guitar or anything else is a long-term project.

Edited May 12, 2014 by Dingus

[Dingus]

[quote name='Dr.Dave' timestamp='1399880339' post='2448464']
And which is more likely to inspire a young player to want to play ?
[/quote]

Funnily enough Dave, I started playing bass when I was twelve and one of the players I wanted be like back then was Percy Jones. I didn't know what he sounded like, but he was in an advert for Wal basses in International Musician and Recording World magazine, and so I though he must be good ( he is). I suppose the equivalent to Oasis back then would have been The Jam, but, good as they were, they never captured my imagination in the same way.

[discreet]

[url="http://www.southparkstudios.com/clips/pa80cd/guitar-hero"]http://www.southparkstudios.com/clips/pa80cd/guitar-hero[/url]

[Myke]

Surprised no one has said this yet. Tell him guitars get girls, basses don't. (Apparently size doesn't matter ) He'll keep it up then

[discreet]

[quote name='Myke' timestamp='1399922745' post='2449050']
Surprised no one has said this yet. Tell him guitars get girls, basses don't.
[/quote]

That isn't quite true.

[geoham]

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1399921102' post='2449018'] Get him a clip round the bleedin' ear more like! Kids nowadays want everything right now or they think that life has been just too cruel to them and they give up trying . Then they expect the school to provide counselling and an week long adventure holiday to improve their confidence and self esteem. Back when I started playing the was no You Tube or internet to help you, and if you were rubbish ( I was) then everybody would tell you so and you just had to get on with it as best you could. If were in the same position as the O.P I would try and explain to my son that, unless you are gifted, it takes years and years to learn any instrument properly, and in reality bass isn't any easier than guitar. I would tell him that you need physical strength , stamina, and above all , a massive wedding package to be a convincing bass player, and the fact that you are whining about how hard it is to play guitar means you probably won't be up to the job. Tell him if he wants instant results then buy a scratchcard, because playing the guitar or anything else is a long-term project. [/quote]

Sounds like one of my rants to him!

[Weststarx]

I suppose at the end of the day you have got to let him find his own path, I say give him both options, leave him to it and see which one to hear him playing the most.

My betting is you will hear the bass for a good few weeks and then start hearing the guitar more when he gets bored of playing roots (if he does) or he will try and start playing more complex things on bass.

Whichever one it is, if he's playing along to a song, after he's finished pop your head in and tell how great he sounded and give him encouragement.

There is nothing worse than feeling like you suck when you are trying to learn something that's difficult for yourself - especially when you are new to an instrument and expect yourself to be really good really fast. That little bit of motivation might urge him not to give up so quickly.

[Graham]

If he likes metal and thinks bass is easy, show him this:

http://youtu.be/4x0sVpfRBf8

[Dingus]

[quote name='Graham' timestamp='1399932728' post='2449213']
If he likes metal and thinks bass is easy, show him this:

[media]http://youtu.be/4x0sVpfRBf8[/media]
[/quote]

Hang on a minute, isn't this that Austrian fella that won Eurovision the other day?

Edited May 12, 2014 by Dingus

[Dingus]

[quote name='geoham' timestamp='1399928614' post='2449151']
Sounds like one of my rants to him!
[/quote]

What's the point of having children unless you don't get to rant about how much tougher ( but better) life was when you were young? It's mandatory.

Edited May 12, 2014 by Dingus

[Dingus]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1399922811' post='2449053']
That isn't quite true.
[/quote]

Yeah, I play bass and I attract loads of women . Admittedly, nowadays a lot of them suffer from a combination of mental health problems and cellulite, but it's still nice to be asked

. If you are a naturally sexy man, playing the bass can only enhance that.

Edited May 12, 2014 by Dingus

[Graham]

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1399933183' post='2449217']


Hang on a minute, isn't this that Austrian fella that won Eurovision the other day?
[/quote]

[jakenewmanbass]

Bass:
Easy to play, a lifetime to master.

[lowdown]

[quote name='jakenewmanbass' timestamp='1399969428' post='2449354']
Bass:
Easy to play, a lifetime to master.
[/quote]

Indeed.
Churchill and Beecham would have approved.

[cytania]

I am reminded of when I went for bass lessons years ago. I could hear the chap before me laying down an elaborate rhythmic line. I was impressed.

When it was my session I asked the tutor what the track had been, some sort of jazz fusion? No he replied, Run To The Hills by Iron Maiden...

[geoham]

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1399933409' post='2449219']


What's the point of having children unless you don't get to rant about how much tougher ( but better) life was when you were young? It's mandatory.
[/quote]

True though! I remember wanting to play guitar as a kid and making do with my old man's beat up Eros acoustic. I didn't have my own bass until I was 16! Having to practice bass lines on that acoustic's fat strings or use one at school!

My own story....

I originally wanted to play guitar, but the school guitar teacher was full, but the bass teacher had a space. Taught myself guitar, and did the lessons with my jazz loving bass teacher. (Wonder if he's on here?)

At the age of about 18, I decided to play bass in my new originals band - simply because I played bass better than any bass players we tried out. At 6 foot tall and about the same wide, a bass definitely looks better on me too!

[Damonjames]

To the OP, it may bbe worth mentioning to your son the simple life lesson that anything that is WORTH doing will be difficult and he should be patient and stick with it. But if like
Most young men, myself included he will pay No attention to his old man because you don't know ANYTHING!
My advice would be rather than be insulted by his ignorant comment, embrace it as a chance to hang out and teach him something. There are far worse bass players to copy than cliff Williams! He isn't flashy, but he is rock solid and bang on with his timing which will teach him some valuable lessons about how a band should work. He may then decide to learn more and retract his statement about bass being easy, or he may then find with some strength and coordindatio. In his hands that he wants to try guitar again. Either way, I will be stoked if either of my two kids decide to play at some point, and if I do t approve of the type of music he is in to, I will do what all parent a do and fake enthusiasm for it, sure if you son is old enough to play, you have mastered this skill??

As to the comments about metal being rubbish... Ignorance must be bliss!

Edited May 14, 2014 by Damonjames

[geoham]

[quote name='Damonjames' timestamp='1400012386' post='2449952']
To the OP, it may bbe worth mentioning to your son the simple life lesson that anything that is WORTH doing will be difficult and he should be patient and stick with it. But if like
Most young men, myself included he will pay No attention to his old man because you don't know ANYTHING!
My advice would be rather than be insulted by his ignorant comment, embrace it as a chance to hang out and teach him something. There are far worse bass players to copy than cliff Williams! He isn't flashy, but he is rock solid and bang on with his timing which will teach him some valuable lessons about how a band should work. He may then decide to learn more and retract his statement about bass being easy, or he may then find with some strength and coordindatio. In his hands that he wants to try guitar again. Either way, I will be stoked if either of my two kids decide to play at some point, and if I do t approve of the type of music he is in to, I will do what all parent a do and fake enthusiasm for it, sure if you son is old enough to play, you have mastered this skill??

As to the comments about metal being rubbish... Ignorance must be bliss!
[/quote]

This hits the nail right on the head for me. With his guitar playing, he does struggle somewhat with timing - often pausing for a moment to get his left hand fingering just right. I'm sure it's something we all did at the start.
If I can get him playing some basic on-beat root notes in time with original recordings, then this can only improve his overall musicianship - while feeling he's accomplished something and improving his confidence.
Whether he ends up on bass, guitar or both - I don't mind. My issue was quitting guitar because it's difficult and going to bass because it's easy!

[Painy]

Don't think you can really quantify which instrument is easier as such.what you can often say though is that one piece of music may be easier to play than another.
As a bass player that has been playing for 19 years with over 1000 gigs under my belt but also just messes around on guitar a bit, I would say that playing Wonderwall on guitar is quite easy but Metropolis by Dream Theatre is pretty tricky on bass. On the other hand, I could probably play Running with the Devil with one hand whilst simultaneously making a sandwich with the other and yet if I tried to play He Man Woman Hater by Extreme on guitar it would sound like I'd just dropped the guitar down the stairs!
I'd say choosing an instrument because it appears easier is probably not the best way to choose 'your' instrument (otherwise we'd live in a world full of gazoo players).
Having said that, I originaly took up bass at a friend's suggestion because it had less strings and you don't need to learn chords and by happy accident out turned out to be the right instrument for me. Turns out though that a knowledge of chords is actually pretty essential for constructing bass lines in the right key so ended up having to learn them anyway and I now play a 6 string bass. Go figure!
In a nut shell, his reasons for wanting to play bass may be flawed but once he has a go he might fall in love with bass and become the next Jaco and even if he doesn't then a working knowledge of the other instruments you play alongside in your band is never a bad thing anyway.

[thisnameistaken]

One observation that I don't think anyone has made yet: Being an excellent bass player isn't a massive benefit to most bands. If you were an excellent almost anything else, you would be more valuable.

In some bands it's a boon, but not in most. Also as a bass player you probably have the least influence of the whole ensemble over whether the band sounds any good or not. The singer is first, then the drummer, then everybody else to varying degrees, then the bass player.

And however good your musical ideas are, you'll probably have to give most of them to other instrumentalists where they'll have more impact.

I still love playing bass and double bass and wouldn't swap it for anything except maybe piano which I love but never practise and am rubbish at.

[CamdenRob]

[quote name='thisnameistaken' timestamp='1400705390' post='2456351']
One observation that I don't think anyone has made yet: Being an excellent bass player isn't a massive benefit to most bands. If you were an excellent almost anything else, you would be more valuable.
[/quote]

It's worth noting though that an excellent bass player doesn't necessarily mean one that plays complicated overbearing basslines... Sometimes all it takes is root notes. I think recognising when not to overcomplicate things is one of the most important aspects to bass playing. I'd argue that a great bass player with a feel for what to play and when would be of enormous benefit to any band... although obviously no-one would notice how good the bass player was if the singer wasn't up to the task.

Your right about drummers as well.... so important to find a good one...

Edited May 22, 2014 by CamdenRob

[CamdenRob]

It's a rare thing that bass players share anything with our musical counterparts... but all of us, bassists, singers, guitarists, kazoo players... we are all at the mercy of the drummer...

It is far easier to ruin a tune as the drummer than it is playing anything else...

[steve-bbb]

easy peasy squeezy lemon cheesy

you are ALL in soooo much denial it is unreal

[steve-bbb]

[quote name='thisnameistaken' timestamp='1400705390' post='2456351']

....Being an excellent bass player isn't a massive benefit to most bands.....

.....Also as a bass player you probably have the least influence of the whole ensemble over whether the band sounds any good or not...
[/quote]



maybe i wont bother with sunday night's gig and just send a txt to the keyboard player tell him to wiggle his left hand about a bit more

[itsmedunc]

Ah! But its knowing when to play and NOT to play! Complimenting each other and knowing when to back off for the sake of the song. Not banging on with every note you can muster, just for ego's sake. Thats a discipline in itself and certainly not easy. Unfortunately it's not one of the disciplines that most guitarists, singers and drummers I've played with can come to terms with!

Edited May 22, 2014 by itsmedunc