Note: This guide will help you answer questions like “is bass guitar easy to learn?”, “is it easier to learn bass or guitar?”, “how long does it take to learn the bass guitar?” and many more! They’re also supported with relevant infographics and curated videos.
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Bass is the heart of music. It defines the tone of low pitch frequency, ranging from (nerdy stats incoming) 16 Hz to 256 Hz. A bassist provides the backbone that controls the role of the other instruments. A base instrument produces tones in the low pitch. There are different types of bass that cover a broad part of the music.
The work of a bassist is to carry the band. In genres like In metal and hard rock, it means supplying the meat of the guitar riff, that part of the sound that puts the audience through the back wall or the jazz and blues, this means settling into a groove and working with the drummer. A good bassist is valuable for a band. A drum or bass handles the rhythm section
Yes, bass is a relatively easy instrument to learn if you compare it to other stringed instruments. Although you can face some challenges due to the nature of the instrument – thicker strings make it more physically challenging.
A guitar is a fretted instrument that is also one of the most important things in music or a band. It is a string instrument. A person playing the guitar has more freedom to go off-script with solos and embellishments. Guitar has its own identity. A guitarist has the power to lead the whole band or the music towards another turn.
Both the bass and the guitar are valuable in music, and both have some basic steps to learn. Here is a discussion that would help you easily pick your choice between bass and guitar. I also have answered a lot of other questions I get on here. So, let’s begin –
Is It Easier To Learn Bass or Guitar?
The answer is yes, Bass can be easier as a beginner rather than learning guitar first. Bass guitar strings are basically the same 4/6 strings of a guitar and you play a bass one string at a time – that makes it easier to learn and play.
Learning anything can be easier if one gets proper training in that field, he or she practices their lesson regularly and has much interest and patience for learning.
After getting a good experience of playing guitar, bass can be more physically demanding for you. It has a longer fretboard of 25 inches. But the strings of the bass are thicker. So it can create some problems while running your finger on the fretboard. In that case, the guitar is easy to handle because it has slender strings. So you can run your finger on the fretboard smoothly. The larger fretboard will make your finger and hand stretch more every time. So for those people who have a small finger, that will be painful for them.
Bass guitar is always connected to the drum or other brass instrument in the band, so it gets easy to catch the rhythm while playing and maintaining it. But a guitarist must identify the musicality and retain it in his or her way. That needs much talent and creativity.
Anyone may think that the bass guitar has only four strings, but sometimes it can be five, seven, or eight also. In that case, the width of the fretboard will become more stretched and create some problems while playing. But a guitar always has six strings that become easier to play than a seven or eight-string bass guitar.
As a result, one can say that yes, learning bass guitar is much easy for a beginner. After learning a bass guitar, you can easily switch to guitar. Learning bass guitar will give you more knowledge about rhythm and make your concentration stronger. It would also help you to discover more paths in music.
How long does it take to Learn Bass Guitar?
It takes about six months to learn the bass guitar. Although it can be faster or slower depending on the hours you put in. Practice ultimately decides how long it should take you to learn the bass guitar.
It’s not that you can’t learn the bass in a month or two. One can put their mind to learning and start playing amazing basslines within a month. On the other hand, one can take a long time to learn if they’re not putting in consistent efforts. These are some factors behind learning bass guitar that’ll determine how quickly you can become one with the instrument:
- Knowledge about music: Learning the bass may take more time than others if anyone has zero knowledge about music or rhythm. As a beginner, one must know rhythm or music, because it will make their work easier. Especially a person who knows any string instrument or has some minimum knowledge about playing guitar can easily learn the bass.
- Practice: Regular and proper practice of new lessons can make your learning easier. It would help you remember all your notes and knowledge about learning bass guitar.
- Age: Age is also an important factor behind learning. Studies say an early age person or a young kid has much more interest than an adult or old age person. Younger people always want to learn new things and explore the unknown about everything. They also have more dedication, patients and concentration in learning new things. So if you are a young person, nothing can stop your learning. Do proper practice and grab your lessons easily.
To be honest, no one can say the exact timing of learning a new thing. I say, if one takes the lesson properly and practices the lessons regularly, they can easily play the bass guitar. But it will take more time to play the bass guitar like an expert.
How to Learn Bass Guitar
Every learning needs a proper way to start and continue it. Similarly, learning basic guitar may follow the appropriate way. Your learning will get super easy if you follow the given steps below.
- Start with the right bass: Bass guitars come in all shapes and sizes. Manufacturers have seen a market for bass guitars in different sizes and thus, created a range of options for every need. You can find guitars like short scale bass, fretless bass, bass for kids & 5-string bass.
- Learn the notes and gain the basic knowledge: As a beginner, one must know the basic things about the bass guitar. They have to gain knowledge about strings, fretboard, notes, and chords. This basic knowledge will help one understand their lessons easily and learn to play the guitar in the shortest time.
- Listen to the songs: Listening to the new songs and different music will grow your interest and make learning easier as you will get in touch with the new rhythm that would encourage you to pick your guitar and play some new rhythm. After learning the guitar, you will easily create a new rhythm and play new songs easily.
Also, your learning will be easy if you start playing the guitar using a pick instead of your finger. That would create a sound more easily, and you will learn your lesson easily.
To learn bass guitar, one must understand the basic things about the cords and notes of the guitar from an expert or watching videos. Practicing the lesson properly will also make your learning easy and fast.
What to Learn First on Bass Guitar
This is the very first bass lesson by ‘Marty Music’ – one of the most popular YouTube channels for learning guitar and bass. This will be the perfect first lesson for you.
Being a beginner always creates confusion about where to begin. Especially in the field of music, a beginner must start from the music’s alphabet. That is also the same in the case of a guitar.
You must create a solid plan or discuss your guitar learning with experts. At first, one must know the proper technique of holding a guitar, fingerstyle, basic cords, notes to get familiar with your new bass guitar.
So, You have to learn how to strum on the guitar using a pick? How to hold cords? Or how to shift your finger on the fretboard? These things will be the basic criteria to learn first on bass guitar.
After successfully getting those points, one must learn how to read the notes because if you can not read the notes properly, you will not be able to play them on your guitar. Start to read some simple notes first and play it on guitar. That would be helpful.
The essential thing is to set up your mind as a musician. Try to explore a new rhythm or new tone every time and play it on your guitar. When you explore more, you’ll expand your musical knowledge. Start your journey by following this simple thing and making your learning more powerful. Always keep in mind an expert will also guide you in a better way.
Playing or learning guitar depends on some basic things. They are divided into a few steps, those are:
- Let yourself know the technique of holding a guitar, pattern of strumming and some basic fingerstyle.
- Try to learn a new cords pattern and shift it randomly on the fretboard.
- Learn new notes and tones of strings.
- Always try to find new music and rhythm and play it on your guitar.
- Get suggestions from an expert and follow them seriously.
Is It Easy to Learn Bass After Guitar
The answer is – yes. The bass guitar consists of 4/6 strings of a guitar. So, that does make it easier for guitar players to play the bass – especially because you play the bass one string at a time and you don’t have to hold chords down like you have to with a guitar.
The guitar is one of the standard and popular instruments. Most of the person who loves music has an interest in playing the guitar. So we can see that many people have an idea about how to play the guitar. But a bass guitar is a little different than playing guitar. It is helpful to learn bass guitar after guitar. There are some similar things between bass and guitar, those are:
- Fretboard and scale knowledge: Both the bass and guitar have fretboard and scale. If a person can play guitar, they understand fretboard and scale, which is helpful to play bass guitar.
- Both hand coordination: There is coordination between the right and left hand in the guitar. Making a syncing between right and left hand is one of the most important things in both bass guitar and guitar, so it would also be helpful in this matter.
- The idea about tones and rhythm: Bass is an instrument that helps maintain rhythm and bass in the music. When people know how to play the guitar, they have a firm idea about tones and rhythm. That idea about finding or identifying new rhythms or tones is a fantastic advantage of learning bass after guitar.
Yes, they learn bass after the guitar is helpful and easy because both the bass and guitar are string instruments. They both have lots of different techniques and patterns. Knowing the guitar’s notes, scale, fingerstyle, and fretboard is actively beneficial in learning the bass as both have similarities in strings patterns, some notes, or scales.
What is the Fastest Way to Learn Bass?
The fastest way to learn anything always needs proper guidance and a perfect routine. It goes serious when it comes to the matter of any instrument. Learning to play an instrument like bass in the fastest way would need you to maintain some routine like;
- One must practice daily and take lessons on learning and understanding the instrument thoroughly. You should be able to tell which note on the fretboard is located where and that’ll give you full freedom of creating music on your own.
- Learn the basics of playing guitar. Regularly practice the chord-shifting fingerstyle in the fretboard of your bass guitar. Learn how to emphasize the rhythm for each particular tone and track. Do not miss or stop practicing for any reason.
- To learn the bass guitar in the fastest way, you must practice your lesson regularly from 30 to 60 minutes. Make a more brutal concentration to archive your learning faster.
- Take some more assertive advice and training from a bass artist, Because a good teacher can save your precious time. It is also one of the effective ways of fast bass learning.
- The fastest way to learn bass is to gain basic knowledge from YouTube or check information on google. Start by learning how to read tabs and then the major scale intervals of the bass guitar. Daily practice your lesson to grab the technique fast. Take advice and proper training from an expert that can be helpful for you to learn the bass guitar quickly.
Understanding Bass Guitar
Bass guitar is a string instrument that is quite familiar with a standard guitar. It is mainly used to maintain the rhythm of a song or a tone. It plays with a sync of the kick drum. The main work of a bass guitar is to keep the exact rhythm in every step of the song. It gives immense support to the singer. The Bass guitar is one of the best instruments for beginners because it is relatively straightforward to play as a string instrument.
Bass guitars are available in different variations like hollow body basses and solid body bass. Pickups can be public in single-coil or humbucker, and electronics are also available in passive or active. Basses can come with four, five, and even six strings.
These variations accept the number of strings that affect the bass’s tone. These are also not crucial to its playability. The scale length of the bass is also smaller than a standard size guitar, so it is helpful for younger people. The variation of the bass is also dependent upon your budget.
It is also one of the comfortable instruments for a beginner. A shorthand guitar player or a young person, anyone can easily play the bass guitar and rich to the expert level.
In Conclusion
That’s all I have in store for bass guitars. They’re a really good instrument and essential for any musical collective. I learned bass right after guitar and that made it easier for me. It’s a great instrument to understand music more deeply. I hope you start your musical journey soon too. That’s why I wrote this article – to inspire you and solve all the doubts that I get on here. All the best!
Cedric Philips
Hey there, I am Cedric and I've been playing guitar professionally for 9+ years. I also work in a music shop so I can get my hands on a lot of different guitars. And so, I like to share my take on these fantastic instruments here. Cheers!