should i play bass or guitar?

Question

i want to learn how to play one of the two

and im going for bass because all my firends are plaing guitar, and i want to do something different
i already play the violin, and since it has the same strings, it might be easier for me to figure out
but, is it true that bass gets boring?

and then guitar, because i dont want to get bored on the bass, and its more common, and my dad thinks id have more fun with guitar

Answer 1

You'll have more fun with the guitar, plus it teaches you much of the basics for playing bass. Learn guitar and the bass will come easily afterwards.

Answer 2

I think you should go with the bass. It's easier to learn and play than the guitar.

Some benefits of playing the bass is that there are more ways to play than the guitar. You can be a plucker, a picker, a strummer, or a slapper. Also, you would be the backbone of your band. It's also just fun. You don't have as much pressure on you when you're on bass, so you can just relax and have fun.

You don't have to accept that the bass would be boring either. If you learn how to write on it, you can make a bass sing like a guitar. Look up something like featured bass players so yo'ull get an idea.

Whichever you choose, good luck.

Answer 3

It might be a little easier to learn to play the bass, but the bass IS a guitar... its just a "Bass guitar". Learn to play BOTH. One will help you learn the other. I play both. There is more demand for bass players as there are plenty of guitarists, so if you want to be a guitarist for a living practice a lot until you are great at it, and take some classical guitar lessons to help you with the technique of playing guitars.

Answer 4

If you learn guitar, you'll already have the skillset down for the bass.

If you're worried about getting bored on the bass, watch players like Les Claypool (Primus), Geddy Lee (Rush), Billy Sheehan (David Lee Roth, Niacin) or the late Cliff Burton (Metallica) to see just how far the limits of the instrument can be pushed. My jaw STILL drops when I watch films of these guys.

There's positives and negatives to both - I have played both in my time, and to be honest, there were times I just wanted to thump on the bass for a while, and times I wanted to pick out something on the guitar. At least, if you get, say, a nice acoustic guitar, that can be played anywhere without the need for amplification.

Answer 5

...it's really up to you...

...I play both the bass and the guitar, so pretty much I've got it done on both ends... ...but, you could try picking out from either one what's best for you:

-a standard bass guitar basically has four strings, but the strings are a LOT tougher than that of an ordinary guitar, whether electric or acoustic... ...also, personally I think it's a lot easier to play the bass because you don't have to really play all those difficult chords (for bass, there's just the major chords and their sharps & flats - for the guitar, there's a lot of sustains, augmented's, minors, 7's, 6,'s, 9's, etc...) ...you can try learning the bass guitar if you don't want to to get stuck with that... (...though, it's not as boring as you think it is... ^_^)

-the standard guitar (whether electric or acoustic) is great for learning all those songs that you like that you might have heard on the radio... (...Hotel California, perhaps...?) ...also, if you really want to get into it, you can learn amazing solos and leads that will blow the hell out of your friends' minds, and make them think that you're Joe Satriani... =)

...problem is -

-consists of a lot of practice (A LOT, of course)
-when it comes to some chords, you'll have to learn how to "bar"... (which, sometimes, is ANNOYING and FRUSTRATING...)
-strings can sometimes break if you're playing too much or too fast

...so, yeah, that's pretty much of the laydown to whether if you want a bass or guitar...

Answer 6

I've been playing bass for 48 years and have never been bored.
There's always a gig for a good bass player. I live near Chicago and around here there are so many excellent guitar players it's ridiculous. Good bassists, on the other hand, are not so easy to find.
Learn to play it well, you wont regret it.
David

Answer 7

playing guitar is fun but bass guitar is different, you can definately learn both, since you already know how to play violin it will be easier for you to pick up other instruments. Have fun!

Answer 8

I play both and I think that you should play......both.

Bass is a great instrument for playing with others. And I certianly wouldn't call it boring (Listen to Vic Wooten, thats not boring). But when sitting in your room and wanting to sing a song, bass doesn't quite get it done like guitar.

Answer 9

Hi,

Well I play, Viola, Guitar ( rythmn) but not bass, keyboards, drums, learn to play both and some more, why not ?

Answer 10

guitar. or bass guitar.