Would it be alright to learn bass guitar without knwoing how to play guitar?

Question

my dad keeps insisting that i learn how to play a regular guitar before i learn how to play bass guitar, but i really, really want to learn bass guitar right away. im bored of the clarinet (ive been playing for 6 years), so i know how to read music and stuff. your thoughts?

Answer 1

i got a guitar last year and i got a bass comin in the mail and I really dont think that they are thjat similar. the fretting is the same but you dont need to learn on a guitar first.  strumming is totally diff. and  guitar may messu up before u start

Answer 2

ABSOLUTELLY! My 15 year old sister just started playing bass guitar about a year ago, and she is AMAZING! Also she NEVER learned how to play regular guitar before she started playing bass.I would actually recomend starting on bass guitar cuz bass has 4 strings and regular has 6 strings. They are TOTALLY different instruments....so take my advice and start on bass. Tell your dad what i said. They have lots of differences. Especially the strings which is probably the biggest defference. So, good luck!

BTW-If you are buying a bass guitar get a Fender Squire-They are AWESOME! Here is what it is-

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/S...

(This is EXACTLY what my sister got and this is where she got it)

These are what they look like and they are AMAZING!

Answer 3

hey, i've been playing guitar since about 2000, and bass guitar since 2002. obviously i learned acoustic guitar before the bass guitar.

learning guitar or bass guitar will be equally challenging. it's all a matter of how much effort you put into learning it.

music theory helps a lot (which is sounds like you have)

and playing with other musicians.

bass guitar will be easier for you to learn though simply for the fact that you WANT to learn it. you'll excel faster at something you want to be good at (bass) then something you don't really care for (6 string guitars).

after playing guitar for 8 years, and bass for 6, i prefer bass. i have a peavey millenium bass (was like $179) which has a thin neck (nice for ladies with small hands), and i use a Fender Bassman 250 (15inch speaker).

check this bass player, Dave Larue, playing for guitarist Joe Satriani

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgUwD9e8u...

Answer 4

sure, you must just spend many hours on learning but, i play a little.  I play the piano it takes me away when I play good luck.

Answer 5

Yea, the common belief is that bass is easier to learn. However,  it can get just as hard as guitar if you make it. But the basics are pretty easy to pick up. So it is fine to learn on bass.

Answer 6

I play bass, I did learn how to play guitar first but it's not necessary. It was easier because the bass strings are the same as the 4 low strings on the guitar, and the frets are the same. It is definitely easier to learn bass though because you don't need to learn chords. I really think you could go either way, learning bass first would make learning guitar easier, learning guitar first would make learning bass easier. Go for the Bass, it's really a fun instrument.

Answer 7

You dont have to learn guitar first. My daughter tried to start on guitar, it didnt stick, but then she tried bass, she took to it like water on a ducks back!

Answer 8

You can learn bass without first learning to play guitar however, unless you learn some basic regular chord shapes you will have a difficult time jamming with guitar players. I have played with bass players who also play guitar and other bass players who do not andit is much easier to play with bass players who have some basic fretboard knowledge and can follow the chord progressions.

Answer 9

Clarinet are done in a different claf, so you'll have to learn new notes anyway

Also, it's perfectly normal to learn Bass without guitar traineing. Youcplay it slightly differently anyway.

Answer 10

Lets see, in elemetary school i played the clarinet for a bout 2 years then saxaphone in 5th, learning the sheet music is good for you. I played regular guitar for 1 year in 6th grade and did not like it at all but learned little things. Then i picked up a bass and its been about 5 or 6 years of playing bass really all self taught. Does your dad play the guitar, They are imilar and if theres anything you need to know ask him, or find a friend you can jam with and learn from. Youll need to learn simple things like house to use your fingers, pinky hammer ons slides , pull off, things like that. They'll all come to you in time, If you have a question about what something is just look foor it on the computer most deintlly it will be there.