Bass guitarists here?

[Bach5G]

I play some guitar and trombone.

It struck me that trombone + guitar = bass guitar.

Does anyone have experience picking up bass guitar? How long did it take to get competent?

[Posaunus]

Bass and trombone can be a good double. My trombone teacher did this (got more gigs that way), but we parted company before he could teach me bass.

But I doubt there are very many who do that on this forum. Anyone?

[Kingfan]

I played in a big band with a guy who played trombone, then picked up bass. Good reader. How long it took him to learn bass, I don't know. Thought of doing it myself once.

[BigBadandBass]

I play bass and trombone! Started on bass in 4th grade and trombone in 5th! Not that bad and bass with the Hal Leonard books are not that bad to learn and a fun chop break, in the past I would record myself walking a bassline and then playing trombone over it, super fun!

[soseggnchips]

I play some guitar and trombone.

It struck me that trombone + guitar = bass guitar.

Does anyone have experience picking up bass guitar? How long did it take to get competent?

I double on bass guitar (and double bass!) - lots of trombonists seem to, for some reason. I'm sure this thread will draw a few out of the woodwork.

I'd definitely recommend it as a second instrument. The learning curve is relatively gentle, there's plenty of depth to explore as you get more advanced and you can play it in a huge range of genres - including some that won't generally be open to you on trombone.

One big advantage I found coming from trombone was that bass guitarists who can read well aren't that common. Being able to sight-read bass clef opened a lot of doors for me, even as a beginner. Learning the notes takes a bit of extra effort compared to just learning songs by rote, but it's worth it.

I'd also recommend checking out talkbass.com - it's the largest and most active of the internet bass forums, and there's plenty of good info on there to get you started.

[Oslide]

Amateur speaking - fetch some salt...

I started playing bass in the 1960s and - with long interruptions - played in several amateur pop bands. It was fun!

On bass you don't simply play along - you're the backbone of the music. You deliver the fundament for harmonies and rhythm, and your performance affects everything.

Bass lines often seem easy and can be played without much fancy technique, but the way you play them can make the whole band sound good or bad. Minute details are important here, among others how you control the 'shape' of the tone with the pressure of your fingertips. It's one thing to 'know' e.g. a rock & roll bass riff, but it's something else to deliver it with the 'real' drive.

You have to have a solid knowledge of the structure of the music you play, and the subtleties of different styles. At any moment, you have to be aware of what's going on in a song, with an ear not only for your own lines, but for the whole band.

If you're good, it will probably not be noticed by many. But even though it won't earn you much stardom, that central role in the band can be very rewarding.

If all this sounds self-evident - that's a bass player's life.

PS: With your background (trombone, guitar, probably some good general musical understanding) it should not take you too long to deliver useful results - if you're really inclined to play that role.

[robcat2075]

This guy makes it look easy

Luke-Become a bassist

[quiethorn]

I play electric bass. I mostly use it for recording on my own stuff, but I've taught myself to walk decently. I have a 4-string, but I'll eventually get a 5-string once COVID opens up and I can go try stuff out. Having the extra 4th on the low end will help keep a little more space between trombone and bass.

Btw, if you're looking to play along on bass with pop/rock songs or anything with vocals, check out https://splitter.ai/, or better yet, the GUI version https://makenweb.com/SpleeterGUI

Spleeter uses "AI" and "machine learning" (buzz words) to separate out songs into stems. Then you import the stems into your DAW and remove whichever part you want so you can play along with it. I started using it for bass practice. It gets rid of bass way better than any concoction of EQ and inverting one channel or whatnot. It does well on vocals, so-so on drums, and not great on rhythm instruments.

[quiethorn]

This guy makes it look easy

Luke-Become a bassist

I like Scott's Bass Lessons, but it's kind of annoying that sometimes he talks more than plays bass...
https://www.youtube.com/user/devinebass

[harrisonreed]

Davie504

[soseggnchips]

Btw, if you're looking to play along on bass with pop/rock songs or anything with vocals, check out https://splitter.ai/, or better yet, the GUI version https://makenweb.com/SpleeterGUI

That's a very clever piece of kit! Thanks for sharing.

[Bassclefstef]

I started learned bass guitar in 2019. It's an instrument I've always been interested in trying out, but I never got around to trying it out until March 2019- I took a stroll through the guitar department of the music store where I was teaching, and realized that I own mouthpieces that cost more than the basic bass guitars, so I picked one up. I started learning through youtube tutorials, and then found myself a teacher last year.

[GabrielRice]

When I was in junior high and high school I spent a lot more personal practice time on electric bass than on trombone. I never learned to read well on bass, but I learned a lot of my favorite rock and pop tunes by ear. I consider that time extremely well spent for my later career as a professional trombonist.

When I decided I wanted to pursue music as a career I took a hard look at my skills and determined that I had a much more solid base of fundamentals on the trombone, so I sold my bass gear to buy my first bass trombone.

One of those basses was an absolutely beautiful Fodera that had been custom made for my teacher, early in that company's history. That instrument is probably worth 8-10X now what it was then...sigh.

Anyway, I decided about a year and a half ago that I wanted to play bass again, so I picked up a used low-end Yamaha for $60, which I have since converted to fretless. Then I looked around for a good price on a used US-made Fender Jazz and picked up one of those. It needed some work to repair the electronics, which I learned how to do and managed without making a huge mess of solder. Then I looked around some more for a good price on a quality 5-string, and found a Carvin. I don't think I play as well as I did when I was in high school, but I'm having fun.

[TomRiker]

I went to Florida State as a trombone major in the late 90's. I decided to drop the major and stop playing trombone for a while. I wanted to keep music in my life and try something different. I had a lot of friends in garage or cover bands and it seemed like fun. I decided on bass guitar because 1. Everybody played guitar and was looking for bass players, and 2. I could read bass clef so I could use a method book to teach myself. It took me a few weeks to be able to play basic bass pop bass lines (think driving eighth notes over 3 or 4 chords). It took me a few years to feel like I could actually play. Also the biggest improvements in my bass playing came when I jumped into situations I didn't feel prepared for. I will say that when I came back to trombone the process of learning to walk bass lines helped me a lot in becoming a better improviser.

[soseggnchips]

Also the biggest improvements in my bass playing came when I jumped into situations I didn't feel prepared for. I will say that when I came back to trombone the process of learning to walk bass lines helped me a lot in becoming a better improviser.

Same. There weren't many bassists where I grew up, so as soon as I knew the notes people started asking me to play. I was way out of my depth, playing with people much better than me, and I learned really quickly in that environment.

Looking back, I think the harmonic knowledge I picked up playing walking bass lines was key to helping me break out of the 'blues scale, as loud as possible' box on trombone and start playing something related to the chord progression. The other really important thing it taught me was to take responsibility for my playing: you can't be a passenger on bass, you need to provide a reliable foundation for the rest of the band.

[soseggnchips]

I started learned bass guitar in 2019. It's an instrument I've always been interested in trying out, but I never got around to trying it out until March 2019- I took a stroll through the guitar department of the music store where I was teaching, and realized that I own mouthpieces that cost more than the basic bass guitars, so I picked one up. I started learning through youtube tutorials, and then found myself a teacher last year.

It's amazing how good entry-level bass guitars have become, too. 20 years ago, a starter package was a bass-shaped object and an amp the size of a lunchbox. Now, they're decent instruments that will last for years. I quite often see good players set up a top-end, boutique amp and then plug in something very modest - because the basic stuff is just that good now.

[TomRiker]

I started learned bass guitar in 2019. It's an instrument I've always been interested in trying out, but I never got around to trying it out until March 2019- I took a stroll through the guitar department of the music store where I was teaching, and realized that I own mouthpieces that cost more than the basic bass guitars, so I picked one up. I started learning through youtube tutorials, and then found myself a teacher last year.

It's amazing how good entry-level bass guitars have become, too. 20 years ago, a starter package was a bass-shaped object and an amp the size of a lunchbox. Now, they're decent instruments that will last for years. I quite often see good players set up a top-end, boutique amp and then plug in something very modest - because the basic stuff is just that good now.

I can't find it but I read an article once or saw a video (maybe Scott's bass lessons?) where they talked about going to a recording session with an expensive boutique bass and the engineer asked him to use a basic p-bass instead because it was voiced where they needed it in the mix, and the high end bass wasn't. And then went on to talk about how the vast majority of popular music in the last 50 years was recorded on a (usually) passive p-bass.

[GabrielRice]

Yeah, Leo Fender got it right by 1957. He made other great basses - the Jazz, the Mustang, the Stingray, and the G&L L-2000 - but the Precision did exactly what he was intending to do.

Take a listen to Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On" - James Jamerson on a 1962 Precision with flats, played with a plucking technique a lot like an upright bass - and guess what? It sounds a LOT like a great upright bass, but with more clarity of pitch than most players can achieve.

And then with different strings and different techniques you can do a lot of other things with a P-bass too.

[GabrielRice]

I think everyone on this thread will enjoy this homemade documentary by one of Boston's very best rock/pop/jazz bass players, Brad Hallen.

And by the way, he's playing a 1963 Fender Precision with 20-year-old flats.

[TomRiker]

Yeah, Leo Fender got it right by 1957. He made other great basses - the Jazz, the Mustang, the Stingray, and the G&L L-2000 - but the Precision did exactly what he was intending to do.

Take a listen to Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On" - James Jamerson on a 1962 Precision with flats, played with a plucking technique a lot like an upright bass - and guess what? It sounds a LOT like a great upright bass, but with more clarity of pitch than most players can achieve.

And then with different strings and different techniques you can do a lot of other things with a P-bass too.

I have the Standing In "The Shadows Of Motown" book somewhere. Bought it mostly for the transcription of the Bernadette base line. One of my favs. Love the story in that movie of the same name where they talk about Jamerson playing the line for "What's Going On" drunk and on his back.

[walldaja]

I had always wanted to play electric bass. Finally jumped in about eight years ago. By being a trombone player I had a jump on many people I'd play bass with / for--I could read music. A surprising number of bass players are addicted to chord charts or their ear (not really a bad thing) but can't read music.

The Hal Leonard 3 volume set was extremely useful as was a private teacher to make sure I wasn't learning the wrong thing.

It didn't take more than a couple of weeks to venture out and play with a small group. Biggest tip is learn your fretboard--lot of "alternate positions" there much like a trombone. Love the flexibility a five string gives me, an easy octave without moving my fretting hand. Hardest thing was getting the third finger on my left hand to operate on command.

Found trombone warmup drills were good exercise for the fretting hand. Love doing key changes by just moving the fretting hand up or down the neck but the finger pattern staying the same! Much easier than changing the key with a horn.