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While shopping and talking to people about my idea, I was already getting the same responses I've gotten ever since expressing interest in playing bass: "Why wouldn't you just learn actual guitar?" It's frustrating to hear, as always. I've always been interested in bass and I don't know why it's considered some sort of pre-requisite to playing bass by first learning guitar.

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My first step involved actually CHOOSING a guitar to play. So, I went to forefront authority on the matter. (I completed this quiz on February 1st and did a little more research before actually buying my guitar!)

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After being matched with a guitar and price comparing across similar guitars, checking Facebook marketplace for cheap alternatives, and reading countless reviews, I actually bought the Affinity Series Precision Bass PJ in Lake Placid Blue on February 2nd!

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I needed to grab some other stuff to make sure I had enough to make sure I could *actually* play the bass, so I got a headphone-friendly speaker! This arrived on February 9th.

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I'm writing this on 4/6, but I just noticed in the previous post I did not mention that I also had to buy headphones WITH a cord, which at this point I had not owned in a while. I had Bluetooth headphones that did have a backup AUX cord, but I had long since lost that AUX cord. The AUX cord would have cost like $10, and the headphones with a cord I found at Walmart were around $14, so I went with the headphones.

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I also wanted my guitar to feel just a bit more like me, so I found this cool guitar strap too! This also arrived on February 9th.

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As someone who really wants to play this instrument, there's a lot of other, smaller steps I knew I'd have to take. One of those steps was learning how to read bass music. Even though I have my instrument now, I'm learning how to read tabs!

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I'm now well into March, and it's weird to think I've been messing around and learning to play this instrument for a month now.

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Now that I'm working on playing through tabs (VERY SLOWLY), I've noticed bass playing places a LOT more emphasis on the strings than other instruments. Fingering chords and strumming is the big thing of ukulele, but playing bass is all about plucking strings on specific fret-based fingering of one finger. It's a huge difference in playing style!

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I've found so far that reading bass tabs is honestly so much easier than any other instrument. While playing flute and piccolo, I learned how to read notes on the treble clef and often had to differentiate between multiple listed parts, like this file listed above!

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When playing piano, I'm reading both bass and treble clef, like this one above that I played as a senior solo in my piano program. There's also multiple notes, and in both flute and piano I'm dealing with keys, key changes, accidental notes (when a note is written different than the key it's in), and a lot of different things. When playing bass, however...

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It's literally so simple. The note appears on which string I'm meant to play on, with the bottom string being the lowest string (note wise, position-wise it's the top string ironically). Instead of reading notes, a number is included which tells me which fret to play on. When a one appears on the bottom line, I pick the first string and hold the string down on the first fret. It might not necessarily sound simple, but after playing so many instruments it's definitely easier. It's even completely different from playing another string instrument (ukulele) which is another 4-string string instrument. (To clarify, the notes are listed on the top line for those who like to read notes for bass which is an option, and the tablature - the official term for tab sheet music - is on the bottom line).

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I've hit my first major struggle in learning how to play bass: my fingers are apparently INSANELY weak. A major part of playing bass properly is keeping the string down flat to the neck of the bass. Not doing so causes the string to make a really ugly, twangy, buzzing sound in my ears which is just super pleasant. I really have to focus on holding down the strings, but I'm finding the strength to be really unequally balanced; I can hold down the strings super well with my thumb (definitely not an appropriate choose) and my middle, but my pointer and ring fingers are really not cutting it. I'm hopefully going to be able to build up the strengths in those fingers as I continue learning to play.

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Because I was encouraged to look into a potential performance angle for this project, I've been listening to songs trying to find a good bass part. One I've been toying with is Pat Benatar's "We Belong" which has a very easy bass line compared to other songs I've seen and listened to (that was the sheet music I posted in a previous addition). I don't know if this will be the song I choose, but it has been a good song to practice as it gives me chances to practice going between strings and frets at a pretty comfortable tempo.

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Another struggle I have been having is TUNING. Normally tuning is super simple because 1) I play an electric keyboard so it's always in tune, 2) I can tune a flute/piccolo mostly by ear at this point after playing it for so long, and 3) I can tune an ukulele out loud. Because I made the decision to get a headphone amp only to be considerate to my housemates, I have to tune by turning to volume all the way up and pressing my phone over the headphones to try and get my tuning app to hear my strumming. This works fine for my three higher strings, but the top string of the bass is playing such a low note that the phone can't hear it through the headphones and it makes it really difficult to tune. It's also just too low for me to be able to tell if I'm flat or sharp (especially because I'm also very new to listening to these notes), so it's very frustrating. I should probably make the jump for a real amp at some point if I want this issue resolved - also if I am wanting to perform out loud!

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As I've started playing bass, I've found myself more consciously listening for basslines in songs. I do this one because I'm now more aware of what it sounds like and it's cool to be able to pick it out so well, but also because I'm constantly listening for if I want to attempt to learn how to play a song. It's just an interesting adjustment in my own listening style I've noticed as of late. I listened to this song on my drive home and honestly struggled to place the bass line, even after turning the bass ALL THE WAY UP in my car - it's very subtle. I'm not positive the bassist is playing.

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Like I talked about in the beginning of this journey, many people have questioned why I chose bass over standard guitar. My brother, who is also a musician (he claims saxophone, piano, drums, and ukulele though he is working on guitar) argued with me recently over this topic. He says every bass player eventually transitions into a guitar player, which is just blatantly untrue. I brought up several bass players, including Flea of Red Hot Chili Peppers, Mikey Way of My Chemical Romance, Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy, John Deacon of Queen, all of whom are bass players who just play bass. While they might have knowledge of the other instruments, as many musicians have multi-instrumental knowledge, they do not go out and play other instruments as a part of their ensemble. My brother disagreed, somehow. Just another fun element of learning a new instrument, I guess. I might send him this article.

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This article is about how to learn bass without the need to learn guitar first. You can also view our article about whether it is easy to learn bass after guitar and our article about whether bass players are failed guitarists.
If you are thinking about learning the bass guitar, you may be wondering if you should learn guitar first.

So, should you learn the guitar before learning the bass? You do not need to learn the guitar before learning bass guitar. In fact, you will become a good bass player more quickly if you start on the bass because the guitar will not take up time or serve as a distraction.

Let's take a look at the reasons for this.

#1 The Bass Is A Unique Instrument

The bass is a unique instrument in the sense that it carries out a specific function in music. Other instruments may emulate this function, but they are not the sole provider of this function. What is the specific role of the bass? Its primary role is to keep time and provide support for the harmonic content of the music. Now, harmonic instruments such as piano and guitar, can cover this role when necessary; but, they will be dividing their focus between the primary duties of the bass and their primary duty, i.e. harmonic and melodic content.

In fact, when there is no bass present in an ensemble, the melodic and harmonic content of the piano and/or guitar is greatly reduced because they must focus mainly on timekeeping. Therefore, the bass is not only essential for fulfilling its musical responsibilities, but also for allowing the other instruments to fulfill theirs as well.

#2 Examples Can Be Misleading

There are a fair number of examples of famous bass players who began as guitar players and moved into bass playing duties. More often than not, these players will explain that the bass position "was available", and they moved into the spot. Perhaps, this historical event of a particular bass player creates a false assumption: that many good bass players started out as guitar players.

While I don't disagree that many good bass players started out on guitar, I would argue that: the reason they became good bass players was not necessarily that they were first guitar players; but, that they learned to play bass well and learned to understand its role in the band, in spite of first being guitar players. If your desire is to learn bass and become a good bass player, do that, and disregard the possibly misleading historical examples.

#3 Advantages To Learning Bass First

As we mentioned above, the primary role of the bass player is to keep time, I will say it again: The bass player's primary role and main responsibility is to be a timekeeper. Yes, many times, this role is shared with a drummer; but, never-the-less, each must individually keep time, albeit together. Alternatively, the guitarist role is to fill the harmonic landscape and at times to play melodic or counter melodic material. The guitar dances, if you will, on top of the time keepers, namely, the bass.

From a rhythmic standpoint, sometimes the guitar is playing with the bass and sometimes it is playing "in-between" the bass. So, here is the big issue for guitar players who become bass players: they must leave their dancing shoes at the door; however, this is very difficult to do, because it means rethinking and unlearning many of the musical gestures that have been engrained from all the years of playing guitar.

I like to say that a bass player who plays like a guitar player is playing: Jazz Bass; and, I don't mean that in a complimentary sense. He is all over the place! So, take heart new bass players: If you learn to be an exceptional timekeeper, you will become an exceptional bass player. By learning bass first, and learning to perform its fundamental roles exceptionally, you will bypass all of the deprogramming that is necessary (and quite frankly, very difficult to do) in order to transition from guitar playing to exceptional bass playing.

#4 Desire Over Necessity

Motivation is the fuel that makes everything happen. Behind every goal there must be a motivating force stronger than any motivating force pushing away from the goal. Presumably, if you are interested in this question, you are also interested in being the best bass player you can be; and, by doing your due diligence, as you should, you are looking into the best approach for achieving this goal, i.e.

Should I learn guitar before learning bass? Your desire to be a bass player first and foremost, will propel your skills well beyond someone who plays the bass out of necessity, e.g. a guitar player who needs to play bass in the band to make the band work, because the other guitar player is more advanced.

#5 Mastery Over Utility

Let's face it, when you serve two masters, it is very difficult, if not impossible, to please both of them. By learning the bass from the ground up, so to speak, you will be working toward mastering the instrument- your focus will be on mastering the bass. This complete dedication to the instrument will not only bear fruit in your own estimation; it will be noticed by other musicians, who will want to have your musical skill set as a part of their group.

I have played with many musicians over the course of time; when I have had the opportunity to play with a true bass player, one who is completely immersed in his craft, it is a great musical experience. The subtleties and nuances of a professional bass player, as compared to a part-time guitar/ bass player, are unmistakable. Now, let's talk about guitar players who would like to become better bass players, of which I am one.

Bonus: For Guitarists Becoming Bass Players - Unlearning The Guitar

If you are a guitar player, who out of necessity is playing bass, or would like to learn bass on its own merits, this part is for you. We, I include myself, must always keep in mind the primary function of the bass- timekeeper. If you are playing the bass, as a former guitar player, and you feel like you are not playing enough notes- you are mostly likely over the target. As guitar players, our job is to "bob and weave" over the rhythm section; this creates variety and intensity.

However, this is not the role of the bass. It will take a lot of practiced restraint to play the bass well. Here are a couple of rules of thumb: Less is more; and, spend most of your practice time using a metronome or drum machine. You are now the captain of the ship in control of the engines and the rudder; you are no longer the engine, or the rudder, or the deckhands.

From my experience as guitarist/bassist, you will always have to work against your guitar tendencies and learned gestures to perform bass well. But, this can be done through awareness of what your role should be and how it should be done. "Restraint! My good man, Restraint!"

Conclusion

If you are interested in learning bass guitar, you can begin without first learning guitar. In fact, it is arguably a better way to start. Learn by listening and doing; listen to the bass players you want to emulate and learn what and how they play. Your interest and desire to learn the bass will lead you to mastery if you persist!

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5 Reasons You Can Learn Bass Without Learning Guitar First

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This article is about how to learn bass without the need to learn guitar first. You can also view our article about whether it is easy to learn bass after guitar and our article about whether bass players are failed guitarists.

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Today I learned from my dad, who also plays several instruments and knows several people who play bass, that it is actually more than acceptable for me to use my thumb like I've been doing - it's actually common practice for many people with smaller hands who start playing bass. My hand size isn't necessarily the issue, but it'll help me start to work on finger strength nonetheless.

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I'm still trying to figure out exactly how to pick the strings correctly. On ukulele, you can strum with all your fingers essentially (minus thumb, but that feels implied) and it becomes a pretty mindless part of playing aside from keeping in rhythm. With bass, I'm picking specific strings and I'm still trying to figure out which finger placement works best. I try my thumb occasionally, but it's difficult to bring my thumb down onto strings besides the top string without affecting the sound. Using my pointer can work, but in faster tempos with more notes I'm using my pointer and middle finger and it's difficult moving dexterously between those two. Hopefully this becomes easier as I continue playing, but we'll see. I'll keep trying out different options, maybe look some things up!

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So in doing research on PLUCKING the strings (not picking, my word choice has been wrong for a bit there, whoops!), I came across this video. This video gave me a TON of help in learning more mechanic-based information on the bass, particularly the practice of potentially utilizing all my fingers in plucking but receiving affirmation in the use of only my first two fingers. It also emphasizes not just using my fingerTIP, which I have definitely been doing. While he did not explicitly mention it in the video, I also noticed him resting his thumb against the pickup of the bass, allowing for a more comfortable, relaxed hand position. I will be using a TON of this information to help improve my playing!

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I used the word pickup in my last post, and I don't think I've actually used a post to explain learning the parts of my bass yet - my bad! I did not do anything fancy here, I just googled parts of a bass and double-checked that all of the labeled parts corresponded with the manual I got with my bass. This is the image I refer to if I forget a term! I did struggle for a moment because my bass has three knobs instead of two, but the manual was very helpful and explained that my third knob was actually a pickup selector. As I had truly zero clue what the meant, I continued reading my manual. It explained that my bass can switch between two different modes of pickup (3-way and 5-way) which just activate some different parts of the guitar for sound purposes. (I'm still trying to understand exactly what it does, honestly). The tone knob also adjusts for sound, with the knob allowing me to set a preference between high frequencies being present and low frequencies being preferred. The volume knob feels self explanatory.

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My brother presented yet another stellar opinion today, which is that no bass player stays on 4-string bass (standard bass). For those who don't know, a bass can come as a 4-string, a 5-string, a 6-string, or even a double neck bass (or multiple necks, it can be more) with any of these options. Obviously, most tend to start on the standard 4-string bass, but my brother is convinced that all bass players eventually transition to a higher string count (he did admit that not everyone goes to the double neck option, which would be insane). I again cited MULTIPLE bassists who do play regularly on 4-string, but my arguments again fell on deaf ears. He's a very weird dude.

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I will admit, though, it would be WILD to someday learn how to play a double neck bass guitar. I don't know if my skill will literally ever reach this level, or if I even fundamentally understand how one would go about playing this in any way.

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My brother and my dad today both decided to tell me today (March 29th) that they HATE the strap I chose. I've had this strap for nearly two months and they've seen it quite often, but they really just felt the need to let me know very well after the fact that they do not think the strap matches the bass's vibe. They admit that it does match MY vibe, but that doesn't mean it fits the bass. It was a very weird thing to be told so after the fact, I'll admit. I have become very attached to it now, as a result. I'm now very defensive of my bass strap.

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My dad watched me play today for a bit (4/5) which I most often do sitting down because I'm used to sitting down to play (flute is most often sitting for me, as is piano). He noticed, though, that that was causing me to keep my palm flat to the neck of my bass; apparently this is a common mistake even in standard guitar playing as it makes it difficult to move your fingers across frets quickly. He suggested I need to stand up and rely more on the guitar being held by the strap rather than supporting its weight. That way, I won't have to hold the neck the way I have been doing.

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I wanted to add here that I did not notice that the post before last post was all about my dad hating my strap choice then the next post was about him telling me to use the strap MORE. I did not notice the irony, and it is hilarious. That's all.

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So today (4/6) I had some time free in the morning so I thought I'd look at a couple of songs. The Pat Benatar one is pretty easy apart from one section near the bridge, so I wanted to branch out. I also don't want to only be able to play one song on the bass. For the second song I tried to learn, I decided to go to the inspiration of this idea: Marceline the Vampire Queen. In the show "Adventure Time," she plays the song "Fries," which is just a couple of notes on the bass and very short so I thought I'd learn that quickly. However, it seems more difficult for some reason. I'm not finding great-sounding or consistent notes when looking online, and the one that sounds the closest has me going from the third fret to the eighth in one note. I tried three different bass tabs, but not none are sticking out to me. I decided to move onto a different song, one equally inspirational in this project...

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So for my third song attempt, I decided to go with a bass-heavy song from the movie "Scott Pilgrim vs. The World," which is one of my favorite movies of all time. It's also one where the titular character is a bass player; though Scott is NOT an inspiration to me, the music in this movie is amazing. There's one song where they introduce a new antagonist to the audience and to Scott, and the new antagonist also happens to be a bass player. It's very bass-heavy from the intro and verses, and it's a part you can hear very well. I found bass tabs for this very quickly, and the intro and verses were super simple to pick up - I played them with ease and it was super fun. The chorus, however, becomes much less bass-heavy and focuses on a guitar sound and vocals (which is odd because there's not visibly a guitar playing on stage while this song happens). Once I tried playing the chorus, I started to fall apart. I think learning this song definitely has promise, but I need to listen more for the bass part in the chorus so I know more of what to be playing when I attempt this again. Hopefully, it works out better another time.

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As I'm playing and practicing today, I'm noticing that my issue with keeping strings pressed hard enough has moved VERY SPECIFICALLY to the A string (the second string from the top down, so my second lowest string). That one is buzzing all over the place every time I'm playing, and it's weird to me that I can keep a thicker string pressed and thinner strings pressed better than that string.

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Today is May 9th and I am officially selecting my song: Black Sheep by Metric! However, since the last part of my semester has been very stressful with finishing grad school, I am giving myself the somewhat easier task of learning the excerpt performed in the Scott Pilgrim movie. I'm going to put a video of that on the next post.

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Black Sheep from Scott Pilgrim vs.  The World

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I found some great, easy-to-read tabs. I'm going to spend today rehearsing, then record tomorrow!

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Black Sheep Bass Tab by Metric | Songsterr Tabs with Rhythm

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Black Sheep Bass Tab by Metric. Free online tab player. One accurate version. Recommended by The Wall Street Journal

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I'm writing this on May 10th, and I have finally found a solution to my problem. I was struggling to figure out HOW I was gonna record it since I had a headphone amp only, but my brother and I kind of configured a way around that by hooking up my headphone up to an aux cord and plugging that into the speaker he normally uses for his band. It is specifically NOT an amp, but a phone friendly speaker he uses to play music really loudly for his band when they are learning a new song. So, now I can actually play out loud as opposed to propping up some headphones next to my computer microphone and turning the volume all the way up (that was plan B, but originally plan A).

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Here it is! On May 10th, after a whole semester of learning, choosing songs, rehearsing, and stressing, I recorded my performance of Black Sheep on my very own bass guitar. Thank you for joining me on the awesome journey - this has been one of the coolest assignments EVER!!!