Bass guitar question?

Question

I'm just wondering whether you can learn to play bass guitar WITHOUT having learnt to play the ordinary 6-string guitar? One person told me you can whilst another person told me you can't.
Which person is right?

Answer 1

You most certainly can!

Answer 2

It's probably easier to learn Bass without playing a 6-string first as the the frets and strings are spread out more on a bass ~which would cause difficulty if you got used to playing a 6-string.
A lot of my friends play 6-strings and have real difficulty trying to play on my bass (yes, it works the other way round too -I hate squashing my fingers up to play on a 6-string).

Bass is eaiser to learn than a 6-string at first, but it's much more difficult to get REALLY good at. It's worth the effort though -people never expect to get blown away by a bassist at a gig!

Answer 3

I just want to say that I completely disagree with anyone above me that said acoustic guitar requires more knowledge of theory than bass. That is completely false. Bass players have to know the theory behind the chords as well, how else would they be able to properly walk bass lines and improvise over the chords. Bass is awesome. If someone told you that you need to learn acoustic before you can play bass, they are probably just an acoustic player with a big head. Go bass players.

Answer 4

Yes of course you can and i think it would actually be easier than learning a 6 string guitar,
Bass is a pretty simple instrument to play.

Answer 5

The first person is right. Less than a year ago, my 16-year-old son took a few bass lessons and got so good, so fast, he was asked to join a band. He soon began to learn regular guitar and is now writing songs and lyrics too! The band is planning trying out for the Warped Tour (sp?) next year and has several local gigs already.

Go for it!

Answer 6

While I took guitar lessons as a young kid, when it came to playing bass, I felt like I was starting from scratch. I didn't feel much in common with the approach to each instrument. If you have any kind of ear, you can pick up a bass and play along with your favorite records pretty quickly - as long as you're not a Jaco Pastorius fan!

Good luck!

Answer 7

Course you can! It's just that a lot of people find it easier to learn guitar first and then transfer across to bass if they want, it's not vital but it just means you can play both guitar and bass, wheras it's harder to do it the other way around, if that makes any sense!

Answer 8

Certainly you can learn it without learning from a 6 string! I play bass, have for longer than I want to say. (Started in 1960) Ok, yes, you can learn either way.

Answer 9

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Answer 10

Of course you can, I did. Though it must be said it does help if you can play 6 string as well. Once you know a bit of chord theory it will help you with the scales on the bass.

Answer 11

i am learning to play the bass and i can only do a few chords on electric guitar. Bass is Ace, i do prefer the bass and drums in any song as its what gets my feet tapping and my heart pounding. You dont need chords with the bass but i think you have to have rythym.......