Is it hard to learn/play bass guitar?


It is probably the easiest of the everyday instruments you hear on the radio. Your typical bass has 4 strings vs. the guitars 6, making it much easier to handle at first. Secondly, the use of chords is pretty minor compared to a normal guitar. The bass was my first instrument, and was a handy stepping stone to both acoustic and electric guitar.

Keep in mind, though, that a lot of it depends on what type of music you want to play. There are certainly easier genres and more difficult ones. Some rock bands are quite easy, while others are difficult. Most country is fairly easy. Jazz can really be anywhere on the spectrum depending on the song.

If you do end up picking up the bass, be sure to learn how to read tabs, since they are much easier for beginners (and even advanced) players to read. Here’s a great site for tabs: www.911tabs.com

Good luck!

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9 Responses to Is it hard to learn/play bass guitar?

  1. Paul Bill says:

    ya, it takes a while to learn.
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  2. felixthecat says:

    well i dunno i play guitar n it isnt difficult(much) it just hurts ur fingers
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  3. Action Jackson says:

    Probably but bassists are often mocked at how unimportant they are even though you need them
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  4. Richy says:

    no not really just learn how to read and play tabs
    i play guitar for high schools then one day they told me to play bass for the first time ever on stage and i nailed it its easy =D

    feel the beat :)
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  5. baby_trif says:

    If you already have a lot of musical experience it’s not too bad. If it’s the first time you’re picking up an instrument then it will be extremely difficult unless you have some insane natural talent which is extremely rare.
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  6. revolution_courage8 says:

    i say it depends on how musically talented you are. i pick it up pretty fast. so i you can play other instruments you can play the bass. and you have to put a lot of time in to it. but over all i thought it was easy to learn.
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  7. Austin24 says:

    It is probably the easiest of the everyday instruments you hear on the radio. Your typical bass has 4 strings vs. the guitars 6, making it much easier to handle at first. Secondly, the use of chords is pretty minor compared to a normal guitar. The bass was my first instrument, and was a handy stepping stone to both acoustic and electric guitar.

    Keep in mind, though, that a lot of it depends on what type of music you want to play. There are certainly easier genres and more difficult ones. Some rock bands are quite easy, while others are difficult. Most country is fairly easy. Jazz can really be anywhere on the spectrum depending on the song.

    If you do end up picking up the bass, be sure to learn how to read tabs, since they are much easier for beginners (and even advanced) players to read. Here’s a great site for tabs: http://www.911tabs.com

    Good luck!
    References :
    Experience.

  8. russell says:

    I learned how to play bass in about 2 months, and I’m decently good. Going to lessons usually helps though. Bass guitar is one of the most kick-ass instruments ever. Rock on.
    References :
    my own experiance

  9. larry says:

    Anyone can fake a bass line "by ear" with minimal effort. This is not the same thing as knowing what you are doing, or sounding really hot!

    The easiest way to know what you are doing to play bass, is to first play guitar enough to know what chords are, and how it all fits together. Once this is done, examine what notes make a particular chord, and their relationship to each other. For a single example, one note and another 3 frets above it are in harmony. There are lots of others, and different harmonies to work with for different effects. But not all notes are harmonies or the right harmony for the moment. The rules are the same for singing harmonies.

    The lead and the bassist do not play the same note, except momentarily for effect sometimes. But they are always in harmony with the run of the music, and in a dance with each other, always in harmony with each other by definition.

    Study some existing masterworks for ideas and instruction.
    References :
    Musician.

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